Pocket Fiche

Community Parcel Selection Guide

What is this?

This is a parcel selection map for Pocket Fiche, an ultra high resolution slide made of 500×500 pixel parcels. Sign in, claim a parcel, then upload a black–white bitmap (500×500 px) to display on that parcel. Claimed parcels appear on this public map. After the campaign ends, this patchwork of images will get etched onto golden fiches at a resolution of 1μm per pixel.

To receive a login for the parcel selection map, you must be a backer of Pocket Fiche, Pocket Family, or Pocket Fiche Custom on Kickstarter. Backers of Pocket Field (standard microscope slide version) will not receive access to this map. Sorry!

Each backer of Pocket Fiche will get to claim a 500 x 500 pixel area on the golden slide. This giant patchwork of 1000 images will be etched into every Pocket Fiche and distributed widely.

Parcel selection logins will be sent by order of backing, so earlier backers will get first dibs on claiming their parcels. Logins will be sent in waves during the Kickstarter campaign. If you back the project for multiple Pocket Fiches, you can claim an equal number of parcels. If you end up canceling your pledge or downgrading to Pocket Field, your parcel will be released for others to claim.

Quick Start

  • Sign in (top-left of the map).
  • Pan/zoom. Hover a parcel to show actions.
  • Click 🚩 Claim on an unclaimed parcels (highlighted in blue)
  • Click Upload 500×500 bitmap to upload your artwork.
  • Re-upload anytime; the latest image saves over previous versions.

Rules

  • Each parcel is exactly 500×500 px.
  • Images are displayed as 1-bit black/white. Uploads with more colors are dithered.
  • Transparent pixels are treated as white.
  • You can unclaim a parcel you own at any time to claim a new parcel.

Using the Map

Navigation

  • Scroll or pinch to zoom. Drag to pan.
  • Zoom buttons are bottom-left.
  • Bottom-right: mini map shows the overall circular area. Click the mini map to jump.

Claiming a Parcel

  • Make sure you’re signed in.
  • Hover a parcel (zoom ≥ 0) to show the centered overlay.
  • If it’s unclaimed, click 🚩 Claim.

Editing Your Parcel

  • Hover your claimed parcel to see actions.
  • Upload a 500×500 image; non-bitmap images are automatically dithered to black/white.
  • You can re-upload anytime to update the parcel.
  • Use Unclaim to free it (be sure, this releases it for others).

Multiple Parcels

If your account has multiple parcel slots, you can claim more than one. Your parcels list appears in the top-left panel of the main map. Click an address there to jump to it.

Address Labels

Each parcel shows its address (e.g. A:1) at the bottom-left and is not editable and will appear on the final golden slide (for navigation purposes). Addresses are column letters + row number.

Tip: If you don’t see hover actions, zoom in to level ≥ 0 and make sure the parcel is inside the circular region.

Create a 500×500 Black–White Bitmap

To get the cleanest result, start and finish in black/white. If you upload a grayscale or color image, the server will dither it to 1-bit. When the golden slide is made, black pixels will be dark (gold pixls blocking light) while white pixels will appear bright (letting light through).

Specs

Photoshop

  1. File → New → 500×500 px.
  2. Work in black (#000000) and white (#FFFFFF) only.
  3. To convert an existing image:
    1. Image → Mode → Grayscale (discard color).
    2. Image → Mode → Bitmap…
    3. Method: Halftone Screen or Diffusion Dither (try both), Output: 500 px/in is fine.
  4. Image → Image Size… → set to 500×500 px (uncheck “Resample” only if already exact).
  5. File → Export → Export As… → BMP or PNG.

GIMP (Free)

  1. Image → Scale Image… → 500×500 px.
  2. Image → Mode → Indexed…Use black and white (1-bit) palette. Enable Floyd–Steinberg dithering if you want.
  3. File → Export As… → BMP or PNG.

Preview (macOS)

  1. Open the image → Tools → Adjust Size… → 500×500 px.
  2. File → Export… → BMP or PNG; set Mono if available (or let the site dither).

Checklist Before Upload

Troubleshooting

I can’t claim a parcel

I can’t zoom out to see the whole slide

My image looks “dotty”

Upload failed

Forgot password

Use the password reset page.