Black Ice Software offers several image and document imaging development tools which can be used to develop document conversion and imaging applications.

Depending on what kind of project you are developing, we have several products which will aid you in this process.  Below are a series of questions which which will assist you in determining which Black Ice products are ideal for your particular imaging project.

1.  Do you require a mechanism to convert any file (Word, Excel, etc.) into an image file (TIFF, JPEG, etc.)?

• You will need a Black Ice printer driver which can convert any printable file into an image file.  We offer several different printer drivers to meet a variety of needs.

2.  Do you need a toolkit which will allow you to display, print and modify image files?

• If you are looking for support for TIFF images only, such as faxing or scanning applications, please look at our TIFF SDK/ActiveX.

• If you are looking for support for additional file formats, including TIFF, JPEG, EMF, etc.  then please look at the Image SDK/ActiveX or the Document Imaging SDK/ActiveX.

3.  Do you want to add annotations to image files?

• Please look at the Annotation SDK/ActiveX.  The Annotation SDK/ActiveX is available as an add-on to either the TIFF SDK/ActiveX or Image SDK/ActiveX, and is already included in the Document Imaging SDK/ActiveX.

4.  Do you want to create PDF files?

• If you want to convert any file (Word, Excel, etc.) into a PDF file then please look at the PDF Printer Drivers

• If you want to convert existing image files into PDF files, please look at the Document Imaging SDK/ActiveX.

5.  Do you want scanner support?

• TWAIN scanning support is included in the  TIFF SDK/ActiveX, Image SDK/ActiveX and the Document Imaging SDK/ActiveX

6.  Do you want to convert existing image files from one format to another?

• Please look at the Image SDK/ActiveX or the Document Imaging SDK/ActiveX.  Both of these toolkits contain advanced image conversion functionality.

7.  Do you want to perform image clean up functions such as Punch hole removal, Black Border removal and Scan Line removal?

• Please look at the Document Imaging SDK/ActiveX which contains several high level document clean up functions, in addition to a long list of additional features.

8.  Do you want to apply high level filters and effects to image files?

• Please look at the Document Imaging SDK/ActiveX which contains over 60 filters and effects.

9.  Do you want to create a fax related application?

• Please look at the following products:  Monochrome printer driver to convert any file into a faxable tiff file, TIFF SDK/ActiveX to display, manipulate and print tiff files, especially useful for the user interface portion of your application, and the Fax C++/ActiveX for the actual fax functionality.

10.  Do you want to dynamically create personalized cover pages for your image files?

• Please look at the Fax Cover Page Generator SDK, which is available as an add on to either the Image SDK/ActiveX or the Document Imaging SDK/ActiveX

11.  Are you looking for batch converter functionality?

• Please look at the Black Ice printer drivers, which include a batch converter module which can monitor a specific email address or directory and automatically convert files to image files.

12.  Are you looking for barcode read/write/decode functionality?

• Please look at the Barcode SDK/ActiveX, which can be used with any Black Ice imaging toolkit or with third party imaging components.