Online Measurement

I am starting to get into collecting Israel Doar Ivri plate blocks. One of the big differences between various printings is the distance between two points on a stamp. Is there any tool that someone knows of that will let me take measurements between various points on a scan of an image? Need it to be relatively accurate at millimeter scale. Thanks.

I have used Screen Calipers for years, it works well and is not expensive ($29). There is a free trial download.
Don

http://www.iconico.com/caliper/

Might want to try this website...They are all FREE

http://alternativeto.net/software/k...form=windows

...and what is wrong with using a simple ruler to measure stamps?

I don't know about the specifics of the stamps mentioned, but I have cases where the measurement has to be accurate to the one-tenth of a millimetre, (Polish 1919 "Krakow" & "Gniezno" issues) a simple ruler won't work in this instance

Lets put one thing to bed. The 'free' apps are usually not really free. Most expect donations and if you use them you really should donate if you want the software to move forward (with bug fixes and updates as new operating systems come out).
Other times, the free versions come with some kind of downside. They may not be as full featured or otherwise be crippled in some way. Others might have ways that generate ads of other income producing things for the author.
Some of this is common sense. How could some manufacturers charge for a product if the marketplace was full of truly free apps? Always be aware that you can find 'free' apps to do many things. These may fit the bill if you are doing something only once or twice a month. But if you are doing something often, it may be false economy to go with 'free' software.
So when looking for apps which can do what you are looking for, the first consideration should be how often you anticipate using the software.
Don

Don...Dont mislead the the guys on this post by suggesting that ALL free and or open source software has a downside to every one they might download...I have always run Linux and there are approximately 37,000 programs/add ons that I can use at my desire for FREE...These programs are FULLY functional...Yes I agree with you that all should donate to help the cause, but let the people out there know some of these sites biggest income is not from people like me and you...It is from companies wanting to get space on their website because of the number of hits per day they receive...Below is a part list of software that is FREE and fully functional..

1 - LibreOffce (not windows office)
2 - Gimp (not photo shop)
3 - Oklur (not adobe)
etc...etc.

All these are completely free...Let the guys on this website knowing they are smart enough to recognize what is good and what is bad, choose what is helpful for their needs.

Sorry Don my friend, you are wrong on some of your thinking, but I still consider you a friend.

Robert,
Stop, read what I posted. I never said 'ALL'. Secondly, you are looking at this from a limited perspective. Total cost of ownership is something that I spent quite a bit of time on and I am not wrong. (If I am wrong then I am joined by hundreds of other IS/IT professionals.) For example, read this article Why free software really isn't (and shouldn't be) free at TechRepublic http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/te...dnt-be-free/

You can also Google total cost of ownership and find many online white paper and discussions about 'free' software.

But I will restate the point of my post. When deciding on a new piece of software people should weight how much they will be using it. If it is something that they might only use once of twice a month, then 'free' software might be a solution. But if they are going to invest a lot of time and really 'live' with the product on a daily basis, then they should consider the commercial products too.
Don

No more arguments from me Don...I will say you are 100% right and I am 100% wrong..Enjoy your day...
Robert

Don, thanks for the link to those calipers! That is just what I have been looking for to measure the perforations on my Canadian Small Queens.

I downloaded the trial version and it is very user-friendly. I will continue to test it and find the $29 very reasonable.

The key to using it is calibration. My scanner is not extremely accurate, the image size varies depending on where the stamp is positioned on my scanner.

Wert - have you tried any that you linked to? If so, what do you recommend?

BeeSee...I would use what Don suggested.

Pardon me but what good are the calipers if the scan isn't the exact size as the original? It's like the Kansas/Nebraska overprints. There is supposed to be a precise measurement from tip to tip of the "Kans." and "Nebr.". But if the scan isn't representative in size to the original, what good would the calipers do?

. ?



-IBFS

I Brake For Stamps..You are correct sir..


ALSO....
http://www.maketecheasier.com/6-scr...r-image-fit/

AND
http://www.devlounge.net/design/fiv...creen-rulers

AND
http://screen-ruler.winsite.com/

LAST ONE FOR NOW
http://vernier.downv.com/Windows-so...r-simulation
I use KRULER..but it is for Linux only...

IBS,
When taking screen measurements, the scanned image has to be 100% scale. Most of the better tools account for this by allowing the user to enter in the image resolution and/or tweaking the zoom level. But you are correct, you cannot enlarge an image to 200% and then use one of these tools to determine the 'real life' measurement, it has to be to scale.
Don

Yes the tool has to be calibrated to suit the image inaccuracies. Screen calipers allows that.