The Digital Asset Library stores images, including high resolution originals at 100's of Megabytes, and provides the user with a fast web based view, resize and cropping options without the need to transfer the original file.
The resulting file (size, trim and format) chosen by the user does not affect the original, so there is no risk of losing the orginal artwork. The clever part however is when it comes to downloading the selected image, the software uses some clever code that makes it possible to convert large files in a matter of seconds. In one trial file using a mid range PC (not a server) to run the software, a resized and cropped image from a 400mb original was completed in under 4 seconds.