1.	There are three different types of computer graphics packages which can be used to produce images. They are painting packages, drawing packages and computer aided design (CAD) packages.
2.	Many specialist hardware devices such as scanners, digital cameras, high resolution monitors, plotters and printers are available to assist in the production of computer graphic images.
3.	This table compares the three different types of computer graphics packages.

Comparison of Graphics Packages
Comparison	Painting	Drawing	CAD
Image Storage Method	Images are made up of thousands of small dots called pixels. The colour of each pixel is stored in a file known as a bitmap. This makes image files very large and difficult to edit.	Two dimensional images are stored as groups of objects. This makes image files small and easy to edit.	Three dimensional images are stored as groups of objects. Images are easy to edit and can be viewed from any position.
Tools	1. Palette 2. Freehand Brush 3. Straight Lines 4. Shapes 5. Text 6. Flood Fill 7. Zoom	As for a painting package, but : 1. No Flood Fill 2. Probably No Freehand Brush Objects can be : 1. Moved 2. Resized 3. Deleted 4. Grouped 5. Accurately Positioned	As for a drawing package, but all tools will work with 3D objects and be more accurate. Many CAD packages can also : 1. Store Libraries of Components 2. Cost Designs 3. Control Computer Assisted Manufacturing (CAM) equipment
Advantages	1. Cheap to purchase. 2. Easy to use.	1. Easier to edit images. 2. Images can be resized without becoming jagged/pixelated. 3. Image file size is small.	1. Can produce 3D designs. 2. Many highly sophisticated tools for designers.
Disadvantages	1. Image files are very large. 2. Difficult to edit images. 3. Resizing images produces jagged/pixelated results.	1. Unlike a CAD package only works with 2D images .	1. Very expensive to purchase. 2. Training is required to make good used of a CAD package.
Cost

(C) P Meakin 2004