Late-type dwarf galaxies in the Virgo cluster; 1, the samples

We selected complete samples of late-type dwarf galaxies in the Virgo cluster with HI information. The galaxies were observed at the Wise-Observatory using several broad-band and H\alpha bandpasses. UV measurements were carried out with the IUE Observatory from VILSPA, and use was made of images from the FAUST shuttle-borne UV telescope. We describe our observations in detail, paying particular attention to the determination of measurement errors, and present the observational results together with published data and far-infrared information from IRAS. The sample will be analyzed in subsequent papers, in order to study star formation mechanisms