Question for Marti :)

[CapeMaui]

Hi Marti,

I've been pointed in your direction from Cruiser to get some PP help :)

First, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your MP books! They are all so gorgeous and amazing! I was referred to MP from a friend simply for a photo book. Then when Cruiser pointed me in your direction... well, after reading all of your posts and looking through your digital scrapbooks, I'm just thrilled with the possibilities!

I have a few questions... I'm pretty proficient in PP and have made many presentations, cards, invites, announcements, etc. However, I'm having trouble saving them as high dpi jpegs... When I save the slide as JPG, the text on the slide has a halo/shadow around it and the slide overall is just not as crisp as it is if I'd printed it on the printer. I'm worried that that's what it's going to look like in the MP book. I came across the post to change the REG key but it didn't work b/c my PP is 2002 and not 2003/2007. I've finally figured out how to get a 300 dpi jpg out of MS publisher using postscript, ghostwriter, and freePDF converter. This whole process will also work for PP, but I was wondering if you know of an easier way to do it than that.

Second, based on your other posts, I've checked out the Shabby Princess (and bookmarked many to check out later!). I downloaded one of the free kit just to play around. How do I get them to work in my PP? I noticed the file types are png, which is compatible with MS Publisher (I've also used that many times for cards, invites, etc.). But I am way more comfortable and more proficient in PP and would love to use that instead... Any step by step?

Thank you in advance for your help and I can't wait to get started on my twin girl's first book!

Cheers,
Annie

Message was edited by: CapeMaui

[CapeMaui]

Hi Marti,

Just figured out how to get 300dpi jpg from PP, so I'm set on that front. But would still love to hear how to go about using the scrapbook kits in a PP as all the directions are for Photoshop element.

Thanks!
Annie

[Marti]

Hi Annie,

Twin girls, huh? I'm partial, as one of my twin sons and his wife had twin girls almost 3 years ago, our first grandchildren. They are very special! I posted a couple MP books of our twins. Hope you saw them.

Okay, PP. As far as the halo-ing text is concerned, I have experienced that to some degree in PP when the slide is saved as a .jpg. It's not bad and doesn't always affect the print on the book page, but if you have a work-around, you might want to use it.

I have all my Shabby Princess papers and elements (and many, many others, too) in separate folders under My Docs in my computer. When I'm in PP, I either copy and paste a paper or element from Explore to the slide, or I use the "Insert" tool on the tool bar in PP. The fact that the papers and elements are in the .png format shouldn't matter.

The only problem at times is that almost all the freebie papers online are 12x12 squares and the PP slides, as you know, are landscape. Sometimes I go into "Paint" and extend the pattern on a paper to create a landscape shaped paper, although that's not always possible depending on the pattern. Textures work best. If enlarging the paper won't work, then I tend to use two coordinating paper patterns, one in the 12x12 size and one underneath it to fill in the rest of the landscape-shaped slide. A narrow, vertical border or ribbon along the seam of the two papers makes a nice addition, too.

I hope this explanation is helpful, but I'm not sure I've been as clear as I could be. If you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I know once you get started you are going to have a ball putting your twin girls' book together. It's so much fun, I can't even tell you. For your first book, though, you might want to start with a Classic book and do the minimum number of pages. It's not too expensive that way and once you receive the book, you can actually see how your images are being printed.

I'm very excited for you, Annie. Much good luck and keep in touch!

Marti

[kemeador]

Hi Marti!

Love your stuff!! I am making books for our family, my sisters family and my parents of our "family cruise" we just came home from. I think I figured out the PP stuff - my pics were HUGE on the screen but I just resized them to 10x7.5 and used the highest resolution setting.

My question for you is: how did you "turn" your pics in your natural wonders album? Like on the "Valley of Fire State Park" page? I like that look but can't figure out how to get it...

Also, on p. 70 of the same book you have a picture that is divided into many pics. Are those grid lines?

Thanks for your help.

Kristine

Message was edited by: kemeador

[Marti]

Hi Kristine!

The pictures that are "turned" in my Nature's Wonders book were done on a PP slide first, then saved as a .jpg and uploaded to the page. On the pages where the photo is split between a two-page spread, I do that in PP, too. I use "Paint" in Microsoft to split the picture and save both halves as .jpgs. Then I reverse one picture so the images match in the center on the two-page, full-bleed spread template in the book.

Good luck with your family cruise book. Your family will be blown away with the finished product - trust me - you'll look smart, professional and creative!!

If you have more questions, just let me know,
Marti

[kemeador]

Woo Hoo! I got the split figured out but am still at a loss on the "turning" a photo. I'm working in PP but can only "rotate" a photo at a quarter turn... What am I missing??

Thanks!

Kristine

[Marti]

Hey, good for you on the split photo thingy, Kristine! That was the hard part.

Okay, on the rotating of an image in PP: Click on the image you want to rotate. Little white parameter-points should appear around the edges of the image. On my system, there's also a green point that appears in the center at the top of the image (just outside it's parameter). If you place your curser on that green point, the curser turns curvy and from that vantage point you can rotate the image left or right as much or as little as you want.

I hope it works. Let me know if it doesn't.

[kemeador]

Here's the silly thing. I was a PC tech and systems support employee for about 10 years just 5 years ago. I usually think I'm pretty technical and the girls in the office I work in call me "their techie". I kept thinking "I've lost it" because of this simple thing. I know all about the "green turny handle" but for the life of me could not find it!! After your email last night I figured my office software (MS Office Pro Small Business 2000) must just be old... I took a PP slide to work with me today and "wallah" the handle is there just where it should be!

I'm heading to Staples right after work to pick up Office 2007 - then back to business, I can hardly wait!

My next question, and I may be able to answer it with the new software, is about your frames. You know how sometimes you outline the photo and then another line just inside the photo. Are you making those or is that an option? And you also have photos that have a "offset rectangle" over them - kinda like a frame gone wild... Did you create them with drawing tools?

Thanks again - You're the best!

Kristine

PS. I'm loving your late night posts! After 2am?!? We could be great friends! I have to force myself to go to bed between 1 and 2 to make it to work at 7:45 the next day!

[Marti]

Ha, ha, ha!! I'm glad these things happen to you, too. Honestly, I thought it was only me. I can be using a tool for months, and then suddenly, if I haven't used it for awhile, I can't figure it out. So join the group - it happens!

On the frames, they were done in PP, too. There's a rectangle shape on the tool bar. You can make it any size you want, and you can rotate it, too. Then I use "Fill Color" on the tool bar and select "no fill". That way the rectangle is transparent on the inside. You can make the border lines any color too by selecting a color with the "Line Color" tool. Hope this gets you started.

Yes, Kristine, we probably could be good friends, but I'm probably 3 times your age. I am 63 and retired, so have become a real night owl, especially on the computer. My husband's the same way. We make a good duo. When we were working, it was a bit of an issue. Hard to get to bed - but harder to get up in the AM! I don't feel my age at all and people say I don't look it either, so that's nice. In fact, I'm headed over to Gold's Gym this afternoon for a workout.

Say, have fun! Your enthusiasm is so cute and I enjoy hearing from you. Let me know how things are going - and especially if you have more questions.

Happy bookmaking,
Marti

[Marti]

Hey Kristine,

I just re-read my previous message - and I really did preview it, but man, I got carried away with the word "too". Sorry about that. Just ignore it. Don't know what I was thinking.

Marti

[Cruiser]

Kristine, you might also try Photoshop Elements 6. It is under $100 and is the baby version of Photoshop. I use Photoshop to do my power processing of photos but I use Elements to do my scrapbooking. Marti got me hooked too. I don't know the first thing about Power Point but I'm getting pretty good at Photoshop and Elements. In Elements, you can drag and drop your photos, resize them with handles, create layers, correct imperfections using the brush and clone tools, resize and change the dpi then save as jpegs. The advantage of using Elements is that you can do almost everything you would do in Photoshop to prepare your photos for printing.

It has a bit of a learning curve but works great. If you have mastered PP, however, you can do most anything you want. I haven't come close to Marti's skill yet. I did try PP and was able to do some basic work but she is the guru of PP scrapbooking.

Many of the wedding albums posted are done in PP. People who really know the product can produce spectacular work. I understand they make their mat 3 times the size of the MyPublisher dimentions. I read on one post that one person used 45" x 35" or something like that. I tried that, saved the picture and was amazed that it worked fine in MyPublisher's software. You can do a search and find all kinds of posts from people who have done beautiful books using PP.

Good Luck...

[Marti]

Hey, Cruiser, my friend! Thanks for the words of praise! How nice of you. I agree. If I were as proficient in Photoshop Elements as I believe I am in PP, then I would switch in a minute. But, alas, I guess I'm just too set in my ways. Maybe one day I'll get in the groove -

As far as increasing the mat, I have never done that. I tried it once after someone's suggestion, but it didn't seem to make a difference for me. It's certainly an option, though. I believe in using whatever works the best to produce the best results.


Btw, Cruiser, your books are fantastic! Your photos just jump off the page! You do have a way with that camera of yours!

[Cruiser]

Thanks for the kind words. Our next trip in September will be to East Africa on safari. I want to make a very special book when we return. I'll be looking for some African wallpaper and elements to use for my pictures. If anyone knows where I can download some good ones, please be kind enough to post where I can find them.

[CapeMaui]

Hi Marti,

Just realized that some of my responses from my email never made it here.

Just wanted to say that I really enjoy your answers to others as it is helping me with my books tremendously!

Quick questions, have you ever used page templates from kits in PP? If so, how
do you put pictures in the frames provided? I know that in PS
element, you can play with the different layers, but do we have that
option in PP?

Thanks for the suggestion with starting with a Classic book with minimum page numbers. I think it is very easy to 'get lost' in the scrapbook mode and end up with way too many pictures!

Cheers,
Annie

p.s. I'm glad I'm not the only night owl here. I have to force myself to get to bed by midnight so I can be a good mom to my 20 month old twin girls :) And WOW, twin sons and twin grandkids! That really is something special :)

[Marti]

Hi Annie!

Sorry your emails never made it here. I looked forward to hearing from you. And I'm glad if my replies to others are helping you, too.

To answer your question: Yes, I have used page templates from kits in PP. But the only ones that work well are those that have been designed for the area where the photo goes (usually the framed area) to disappear with the "Set Transparent Color" tool. If the image isn't designed that way, then the photo can't be placed behind the template and still show through. Sometimes on a square-framed or landscaped or portrait-framed template, you can place a photo on top of the "frame" and it looks okay, but most times for it to look professional, the photo should be placed behind. And of course, oval frames never work unless the center of the oval can be removed so the photo can fit behind it. I hope that's clear. It sounds a little awkward now that I read it.

The main reason I started with a Classic book with the minimum number of pages was so I could see what the finished product would look like without spending a lot of money. Once I had the actual book in my hands, I could assess if I needed to edit or adjust things differently for future books.

And yes, I can't tell you how many times I have gotten "lost" in the scrapbooking process. Once those creative juices start flowing, you could go on forever! Hours just melt away.

Your 20-month old twin girls bring back memories. Not only of my 3-year-old twin granddaughters, but also of my own twins. But I don't know how you have time for scrapbooking or bookmaking. I don't think I felt "free" until they were in Kindergarten!! I'll bet your little baby girls are adorable!!

Well, join the other night owls here, Annie. There seems to be a few of us!

Take care of those precious little babies and let me know if you need more info.

Marti

[CapeMaui]

Thanks Marti! LOL about the free time... I don't feel like I have any free time since the birth of my girls, but I make the time to do my arts and crafts, it's the only thing keeping me sane :p I actually made the invites and thank you cards on PP/MS Publisher for their first birthday and plan to do the same for their second. Computer arts & crafts is so much fun b/c of 1) instant gratification and 2) easy access. I had bought all these scrapbooking things when I was pregnant, but never found the time to do traditional scrapbooking. However, now that I know of digital scrapbooking, I feel like I can give it a try! I have all these ideas and projects in my head already!

Anyway, so with the set transparency tool, this means that if the page was designed with it, I would be able to go under Format Picture and under Fill to set Transparency to 100%, correct? That makes a lot of sense. I'll have to check the few page templates that I downloaded to see if any of them have that option.

Now that you have figured out what's optimal, are you onto deluxe books or do you feel the classic already offer you plenty of options?

Thanks again for everything! I can't wait to come back with my first book :)

Cheers,
Annie

[CapeMaui]

Oh, one more thing, I forgot to mention that I used to stamp and make my own cards. I even made my own wedding invitation and my friends' invites and programs, combining both stamping and computer. It always was a lot of fun for me! Digital scrapbooking will be like combining the best of both worlds.

[CapeMaui]

Oh my goodness, what a dummy I am! I just answered my own question and found the transparency tool! Awesome and love it! I'm going to try a few pages tonight :)

thanks again!
Annie

[Marti]

Well, when my twins were babies, I remember wondering if I would watch TV, read a book, or go to a movie ever, ever again! It's certainly important to have a creative outlet.

I think I see that you figured out the transparency tool. Hope that works well for you.

On the style of book in MP, I have done both Classic and Deluxe. If you can afford it, the Deluxe books are spectacular, especially if your photos are large, clear, and vivid. The Italian leather Deluxe book is just breathtakingly beautiful! But because of expense, I usually select the Classic style. It's really wonderful, too, and before I saw the Deluxe, I was thrilled with my Classic books, and still am.

I'm anxious for you to get your first book, too. I can't tell you what a thrill it is to finally get it in the mail. The shipping turnaround, for me anyway, has been really fast - I can have a book in 3-4 days from my order date. Anyway, continued good luck - and keep having fun!

Marti

[Marti]

I was a diehard traditional scrapbooker for years and just couldn't get enough. As new, more exciting things came out, I was there. I have closets and rooms full of papers, elements, and scrapbooks. Then one day I ran across something on the computer that introduced me to digital scrapbooking - and I never went back! I fell in love. It was so much cheaper, easier, quicker - and no mess! Then I discovered bookmaking and the two went perfectly together, I thought.

I once made cards, envelopes, invitations, etc., too, and stamped. It was so much fun then, but I haven't done it in years now. All the physical elements don't intrigue me like they used to. I guess I've moved on - as you likely will.

[CapeMaui]

Oh my, this is SOOOOO addicting! Made 2 pages tonight, LOVE IT!! Also made a new desktop picture with a template page! LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT! This is way too much fun :p

OK, have to get to bed now, it's 1AM!!

Annie

[Marti]

Congratulations! It IS addictive, isn't it?! So glad you're having fun. It's just the best!

Well, I'm off too, it's 1:45 AM - don't know what I'm still doing up.

Best wishes, Annie
Marti

[CapeMaui]

Hi Marti,

As I finished the 3rd page 2 nights ago, I realized how bare my first 2 pages were! Last night, I redid page 1 and 3 and was up till 1:30! Eeks! It's getting later and later and it's catching up with me today.

I also realized that I need to approach it a little more like traditional scrapbooking. I've been throwing everything I want on a page and then doing the layout while working on the layering. It's taking forever that way! Maybe it's just my old PP acting up (PP 2002), but the order function is not working that great. When I do bring forward and backward, it sometimes doesn't work! The easist is to send to back and bring it up a layer at a time, and as you know, that takes forever!

Anyway, I'm hoping to get the newer PP from my brother soon so I can do more. But in the meantime, I'm hoping the new revelation will save me some time :) My hubby is also promising to get me photoshop from a buddy at work...

I can't wait to get my first book done!

Annie

[Marti]

I agree. Once you get onto the whole process, then you want speed. I generally select the photo(s) for my slide, then see what configuration looks best. After that I usually insert paper(s) and some elements. I guess I do the title and journaling last and fit them in where it looks the best. I'm sure I don't always use this process, but usually. I also look around online to get layout ideas, then use my own paper and elements.

It all requires some manipulation, including layering, but I don't have much trouble with bringing layers to the front or back. It's instantaneous on my system, so maybe your upgrade will improve that for you. I've gotten so spoiled that anything that takes more than a half a second is too long for me.

I know how excited you must be to get your first book! I felt the same way about all my books. Every one of them is special and unique. I love them all!

Keep moving forward,
Marti

[mommaactress]

Hey Marti,

I'm really new to this board and MP. I have just started to use PP and this might be a dumb question....when I take one of my photos and insert it into PP, then save it as a Jpg, then pull it into MP it gives me a red box around it and is very blurry. How can I keep the clarity and size when changing it over? Does it make it smaller? Also Is there a certain page size in PP that I need to use? If so I don't know how to change it.

[Marti]

Hi Mommaactress!

There are no dumb questions, so don't feel you have to apologize. We all had questions at the beginning. Let's see if this helps:

When you place a photo on a PP slide, you want to cover the slide in patterned or textured paper and make the photo as large as you can on the slide without it getting blurry. Hopefully your photo was taken on a high resolution setting on your camera. The higher the resolution, the better the photo quality. Then you need to surround the entire slide with your cursor to create parameter points around the slide as well as around all the elements on the slide, including the photo. You want to save the entire slide as a .jpg, not just the photo on the slide. I'm not sure if you are just saving the photo as a .jpg or the entire slide, but it has to be the entire slide with the photo and elements on it.

Anyway, let me know if I'm missing something. Maybe I'm oversimplifying.

Look forward to hearing from you.

[kemeador]

I obviously got my software - new not outdated PP... I can't get away.

I am overwhelmed by the number of photos from this trip though. I confiscated everyone's camera chips so I could put all the pics on a CD - well, it'll have to be a DVD b/c they are all high MP and more than 800+ in number of shots. :o) Then take the only scrapbooker of the family (me) and try to sort through that number and put them in a "book" for everyone. I am famous for not being able to "throw anything away" so imagine me not being able to eliminate shots!

Marti - I had to laugh(cry) at one of your posts from a day or two ago... Somethin' about all the "traditional" SB supplies, now no longer needed. I owned a couple of SB stores for three years, liquidated and closed them 01/05 and today is the first time I've sat in my "SB" room at home in more than 6 mos. It has become my junk room. Combine that with my "pack rat" tendencies and my not being able to "throw anything away" and oh what a collection I have, not to mention that if I happen to stop in hobby lobby or the local SB store I cannot resist PAPER!! Mind you, I'm obviously a collector of SB supplies since I haven't made time to use them - and now with this latest "obsession" can see myself never really needing to go back --- UUUGH!

I spent most the day in here today on the PC working on this trip. I've completed day 2 of our 7 day cruise... and am already on pg 13... I can't imagine how many pages I'll end up with (what's your largest number of pages in a deluxe book?).

I'm gonna need some counseling. :o)

You're the best for "taking us all in" and leading us on this new venture! Thank you so much for all of your posts that will help in this journey! If you don't hear from me in another few days - you'll know why!!!

Many smiles and blessings to all.

k

[mommaactress]

Ok, :)

Yea I believe all my photos are very high resolution I only take them with my 10mega pixle camera and on the 10 setting. So I don't think it is that.?.?.?

I'm tried to drag a box around the entire slide but the corners of the slide were not selected just the picture....but when I save it and re-open it has the entire slide with background and all.

Well I believe I'm saving the entire slide because it asks me if I want to export every slide in the presentation or just the current slide. So I pick the current slide. Also when I choose to save as a jpeg is says jpeg file interchange format, which is the only jpeg option. Then when I bring it into MP and drop it into a full bleed page it gives the red box around it and is slightly blurry.

Don't worry you are not oversimplifying

Thanks so much :)

[Marti]

What a sweet message, Kristine. You are such a neat person! And guess what? I'm exactly like you - in every way, so I can more than sympathize with your project. Everything you described (except I never owned a SB store) is ME to a "T". Funny, huh? I have an entire room full of SB supplies and I rarely go in there anymore. I figure someday, when my granddaughters are old enough, we'll tackle that room together and have a ball making scrapbooks for them to take home.

Anyway, I've made 100-page Deluxe books (I don't think they offer more than 100 pages, do they?), but it's very expensive. The only difference from a Classic 100-page book is that it's larger, so if you have sensational photos, they probably are showcased better in a Deluxe book. But at $300 +/-, it's a little steep for me on a regular basis. Editorial Note: The Deluxe Italian leather books are gorgeous and impressive - worth every penny of the price. It's just that my budget won't support very many of them per year.

Oh boy, trying to delete photos. I'm afraid I have no ability for that. I tend to love every picture we take (unless it's really bad) and have a very hard time deleting any. When we went to Europe we took almost 2000 photos. What a nightmare organizing them and getting them into a book. I thought I might scream at a couple of points. Patience, my dear - ha, ha, ha! It eventually all fell into place and the book is beautiful.

Well, keep on working, Kristine. I'm so glad you got your new software. Just know I'm a click away if you want to vent or have another question. And also know that I'm a horrible pack rat, too, so I know exactly what you're going through.

Persevere, don't rush (if you can help it), and you're going to be delighted with the book at the end!

Happy digital scrapbooking/bookmaking,
Marti

[Marti]

Well, B, you're doing everything right - except I'm concerned because you said the corners of the slide were not selected, yet the entire slide is saved. My experience is that for the slide to be saved properly, the points have to be completely around the entire slide, as well as around each image on the slide. Then you right click (I usually place my cursor on a photo on the slide for this), and save as you describe.

The only way that I can get the points completely around the slide is to place my cursor as far on the upper left (or right - I'm lefthanded) gray area outside the slide. Then click and pull the dotted lines completed around the slide. Do this only on the gray area, don't touch the slide. When you're done, you should have lots of dots all over the slide (if there's a lot of elements) as well as dots at each edge of the slide.

Now, if an element's parameter extends beyond the edge of the slide, then you have to make sure your cursor is outside of the farthest parameter point of that element. Sometimes that's tricky because you can't always see that point without moving the slider up or down, or side to side, but if you don't do that, then your saved image won't be the entire slide.

But honestly, I don't think that's your problem. If the entire slide is being saved, yet still appears on the MP page with a red box and is blurred, it might mean your PP image-setting thingy needs to be increased. And okay, here's where it gets technical and I'm not your girl. Months ago someone here who uses PP as you're doing, said she enlarged the size of the slides before she saved them. And there's a way to do that. I tried it, but it didn't make any quality difference on mine, so I left it alone.

What I might suggest is searching on "powerpoint" and see if you can find that message. I hate to let you down like this. Was also hoping someone else might read this who's savvy and would jump in with a suggestion. Anyway, I'll search, too, and see what I can find. In the meantime, maybe someone can solve this for us.

So sorry, B! I wanted to give you the correct directions so you could move forward. I know how disappointing it is to be stuck.

[mommaactress]

I just appreciate somewhere to go for a little help. You have given me a few more ideas to try so I will so that and get back to you. I was looking at your beautiful Nature Wonders book in the bookshelf and noticed that the pages where just about as blurry as mine were. But I assume they weren't bad when you had it printed...and I know you have done many books so maybe mine won't be a problem. Then only thing I worry about is the red box around my pics. So will keep experimenting. :)

You are awesome!!!

Thanks
Bethany

[CapeMaui]

Hi B,

I will jump in here and see if I can be of some help. It sounds like the picture resolution is not your problem here since you are taking your photos with the highest quality on 10mp cameras. What is sounds like is your PP output dpi is not high enough.

What version of PP do you have? If you have PP 2003 or 2007, you can go into the RegKey in the PP program and change the dpi of the JPG output. This is the more technical way of doing things. See here:
How to change the resolution of a slide that you export as a picture in PowerPoint
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827745

Another technical way of doing this is to set up a 'ghost' printer drive that converts your slide into high dpi/resolution jpgs or pdfs. This is also a multi step work around, but one that is working well for me since my PP is 2002 and changing the REG Key did nothing for my JPG output from PP.

The other workaround is what Marti has mentioned. Double or triple the size of your slide, and work on it as you would normally and make sure nothing is distorted on your screen. Then when you save it as jpg and downsize/resize the jpg to the small pixel size, theoretically, the image at the smaller size won't have degradation to the quality, hence, no blurry. I know I'm not making much sense probably. But basically, if you save a 3000x2000 jpg at 150dpi, then when you resize it down to 1500x1000, the dpi becomes 300. Vs. if you save a 1500x1000 at 150dpi then when it gets enlarged to the full bleed size to 3000x2000, the dpi is now 75dpi and that's not good enough for the full bleed pages. Hence, the red box.

The other reason for the redbox could be that your image is too high of quality or resolution or dpi. I know it sounds insane, but MyPublisher actually recommend that if you take your pictures with cameras >5-7mp to resize it down.

For the newer versions of PP, I believe you can actually just set the dpi of the jpg output from PP. If you load PP and go under help and type in how to change resolution, you may have an answer there too.

Anyway, I hope something above helps :) Good luck with your book!

Cheers,
Annie

[CapeMaui]

P.S. Note The default settings for a slide that you export as a picture from PP is only 960 x 720 pixels at 96 dpi which is way too low from MP.

[Marti]

I think you're awesome, too, B! You seem like a very sweet person and I'm enjoying our chats.

On my Nature's Wonders book: Those photos are from an earlier camera and the resolution setting wasn't what it should have been. However, the photos in the book are just fine. Now having said that, some of them are not up to the standards of a professional photographer, I'm sure. And also keep in mind that the photos in the Deluxe size book are more unforgiving. Those pages are so large that a slightly imperfect photo is going to show its flaws when it's blown up, especially on the full-bleed or almost full-bleed templates. But I have to say that I haven't printed any books where the red box appeared around the image. I always adjusted that to the blue box before I finished the book.

I just had a thought: Send your issue in the form of a question to MP customer service. I think they published the stats for the correct setting for PP slides somewhere. Maybe they would be willing to do it again if you can't find it through "search".

We'll keep working on it, B. Good luck.

[Marti]

Thanks, Annie. Maybe that will help Beth.

[Marti]

Oh, Annie, how wonderful of you! You are a techie, for sure! Thanks for coming to my rescue. I hadn't seen your post when I suggested that Beth write to customer service. Hopefully you have saved the day for her!

[CapeMaui]

Thanks Marti! Just hope I can help Beth. You've helped me so much so I thought I should jump in when I can :)

[Cruiser]

I tried the resolution change in PP 2002 and it didn't work. I'll do some research to see if there is a work around for those of you who have 2002. I can't see buying a new version if you can get what you have to work.

[Marti]

Yay, Everyone, Cruiser is here!!! She's a good online friend of mine who is terribly smart and a great photographer. Her MP books are awesome! If anyone can solve this, she can (although she's doing her scrapbooking in Photoshop Elements 6.0 and will admit that PP is not her favorite piece of software.)

Hi Cruiser!
Hey, we're back here together again! Nice! Hope everything's fine on the west coast this week.

[Cruiser]

Hello Marti...I thought I would chime in here. The sun is shining and all is well in San Diego.

I have PP 2002 and as I said earlier, the fix didn't work for 2002. So, I did some looking on line and found this work around. And, it looks great as a full bleed Deluxe page in Bookmaker.

Take what ever MyPublisher size page you want to make. I used a Deluxe full bleed at 14.63" x 11.3" and tripled the size to 43.89" x 33.9". When I saved my picture in PP, it saved as 3160 x 2440 @ 72 dpi and 765 kb. When I took it into my book as a full bleed, it had a blue line around it and it looked great in the review. When I moved it around in Bookmaker, the edges were right on. I think this is what others were talking about when they said they made their pictures larger in inches. The dpi isn't as important here as the resolution. I understand that 2003 & 2007 PP has a dpi of 92. This formula will work for what ever size picture you want to put in your book. If you are doing a Classic, use the Classic size. Make all your pictures the same size and if you use a smaller template like more than 4 per page, you might want to reduce the size but do it porportionally.

I did make a 14.63" x 11.3" picture and saved it but when I brought it into Bookmaker, It had a red line. I reduced it in Bookmaker until I had a blue line. That put a large border around the picture but it didn't look bad. It would work fine in the smaller templates.

The secret here is don't be afraid of your dpi or your resolution. If I can put a 72 dpi picture in Bookmaker Deluxe book at full bleed and have a blue line around it, so can you. Go to the help section on the MyPublisher web site, jot down the measurements for the Classic book and the Deluxe book and work with those measurements. I am going to try some scrapbook pages in PP and let you know how it goes.

Also, for those of you worried about blurry text. The site I looked at said that PP doesn't do a good job of previewing text. If you are worried about whether your text is blurred or not, save your picture and print it out on your home printer. I believe you will find that it looks just fine. I believe Marti said her books printed just fine. You can even open them in Windows Viewer.

I just did a Classic full bleed and it worked out the same. This time I did a background with some pictures and text. Much like a scrapbook page and it worked out great. I used 33.9" x 25.5" for the Classic size full bleed.

I also pulled the full bleed pictures into the smaller molds and they looked fine in preview. I suggest that the same size picture be done for all pages and then try dragging them into the smaller molds to see how they look.

[Marti]

Thanks, Cruiser! I knew we could count on you. As far as I'm concerned, I am well satisfied with all my books. As you know, though, sometimes the quality of a photo will appear a little darker or lighter than you expected when it's printed, but that happens rarely. I should also reiterate one more time: I am not expecting professional photographer results, so my level of satisfaction may be somewhat lower than others.

[CapeMaui]

Thanks Cruiser, for the clarification on what I posted. You explained it so much more eloquently :) Basically, by tripling the page size, the dpi of the jpg output essentially gets tripled when resized down to the smaller page size. So 72dpi at such a large size is essentially like a 216dip at a third of the original size, which is exactly what MP recommends. I have the PP 2002 as well, and as I've mentioned, the reg key workaround doesn't work for me either since it is for 2003 and 2007 only.

I didn't want to deal with that and installed a ghost printer that basically is a file converter that can output any office document to any dpi you set or to different quality of PDFs. This has become very convenient as I work on different projects outside of digiSB :)

Anyway, good to see you here :) I have been so busy this weekend that I've not had a chance to work on the book! Can't wait to get back to it tomorrow :)

Cheers,
Annie

[Krisi616]

I have also been pointed your way from Cruiser...

My post in the Babies section was as follows:
I was wondering if someone would mind looking at my book and let me know if you have any suggestions. This is the first time I have done this kind of "scrapbook". I wonder if anyone can tell me if the wording or pictures are to close to the edges of the page. Of each 2 page spread, one page is a direct import of pictures and the other I created from scratch with an image of 11.08 x8.58 with a dpi of either 150 or 300 (can't remember).

Your Share ID # is: S1347152
Your Share password is: 2181111

Can someone tell me why the text on the disney page is fuzzy?

Thank you in advance.


She replied with:
I can't tell if your writing is too close to the binding. I always allow 1/2" on the binding side because some of my pictures have been cut off. Your book is very good and I can tell you did a lot of work on your pages. What program did you use to make your pages? You should use a minimum of 180 dpi or 200 dpi with a maximum of 350 dpi for your book pages. If you used 150 dpi then the resolution has to be quite high for the pages to look good.

I believe the left Disney page may have some pictures that were not high enough resolution. You won't be able to tell until you get the printed book. When I enlarged the left page, the picture on the top appeared over-processed but that could be the software that MyPublisher uses for us to view the books.

Maybe someone in the scrapbook section can help you more than I can. Marti always makes her books using PowerPoint and she has a lot of good ideas. You might read some of the posts over there.

And my response was:
I used Microsoft Digital Imaging. What do you mean by resolution? The pictures are taken with a 8mp Canon Rebel - is that what you mean? As for the picture of the 4 of us on the Disney page - I think it is just the picture. It didn't come out great but that was all I had - and it was 4 generations. Okay I am looking at my settings and under resolution it is set at 300 pixels per inch. I guess I don't know how to set dpi (or is that the same?).

I will post the question to the scrapbook section also.


So... anyone have any suggestions.

Thanks bunches
Krisi

[Marti]

Hi Krisi,

So you haven't ordered this book yet? I thought you had to order the book before you got the order # and password. Maybe something's changed with the most recent upgrade.

First Krisi, your photos are beautiful and your book is just lovely as is! You've done an amazing job! Very, very nice!! Now, having said that, here are some minor thoughts:

* You might want to consider a photo on the front window opening. If you want the title and dates to appear as well, you can create a cover layout in PP. Include your photo and the other information on the slide, save it, then drop it into the photo window template on the cover.

* I looked at your Disney page using a 200% enlargement and it didn't appear fuzzy to me. That doesn't mean it isn't, but I can't tell. Sorry about that.

* I agree with Cruiser on the gutter and outside edge page allowances. I always allow at least 1/2" on the outside edge (right) and even more on the gutter (seamed side). I have had text and photos get caught in that gutter, but it's very difficult to say exactly how much space is enough. I error on the side of caution and leave a little extra space. Once you get your first book, you can judge this better for future books (I know that doesn't help much on this book and you hate to "experiment" with any book).

* I think your dpi (dots per inch) look fine. My books have pretty much printed exactly the way I see them online in the preview. Occasionally there will be some difference in brightness, but not a lot. If a page is blurry online, it is likely to be blurry in the book, too.

* Now here we get a little technical for me, but I think the resolution is the setting on your camera. When you take pictures, you want that resolution to be set as high as possible. That will produce huge digital photos in your computer, but those print best for books.

I don't know if I've answered everything clearly enough. I hope so. Your book is really wonderful! Just be careful of those right and left page margins. Some of your text appears to be right on the edge of being caught in the gutter or possibly cut very close on the outside page edge. But that's only my opinion. I know how difficult it is to go back to your PP slide, make adjustments (especially when you have a lot of text, as you do), re-save, and re-upload on the page. It's almost like starting all over and it can be a pain. So you have to weigh the time and work vs. the outcome on the printed page.

Anyway, if I can help further, just let me know. Your baby is adorable, btw. Looks like you have a wonderful family. Lucky girl.

Happy bookmaking,
Marti

[mypublisher]

Marti - thanks for fielding these questions :) You have a great fan club, myself included.

[Marti]

How sweet, Julia! A fan club? Well, this would be a first, I can assure you! Anyway, I have to give Cruiser a lot of credit. She was the one who inspired me to take better pictures and to create a more professional looking book - and she's smarter than I am, too!

We both enjoy offering solutions or suggestions whenever needed. We're having fun, so if we're helpful, too, then terrific. The posters here are the nicest people, so sincere and engaging. I get excited about their enthusiasm. I just want them to be as happy as I am with their books.

Anyway, thanks again, Julie. It's nice to be recognized once in awhile! Hope all is well with you!

Take care,
Marti

[mommaactress]

Hey Marti :)

Just a quick question..... I have been playing around in PP and when I go to change the transparency, it won't change.

I click on the picture, go to solid fill and then move the slider but the picture doesn't change. I have tried to change it on one of the pictures that the program supplies but it still doesn't work.... I'm using 2007 version.

I tried looking it up in the help section but couldn't find anything

Thanks for you thoughts

Bethany

[Marti]

Hi Bethany,

Okay, the transparency tool in PP: Are you working with a shape that is filled in with color and you want to remove the interior color so the center is transparent? If so, click on the shape, click on the "Fill Color" icon on the tool bar, and then click for the pull down window. At the top of the pull down are the words "No Fill". Click on that, then click on the center of the shape, and it will disappear leaving only the outline.

If you are working with a .jpg image and want to make the black or white background around the image transparent: Click on the background area of the image (the black or the white), then click on the "Set Transparent Color" tool on the tool bar and click on the background area again. The background should disappear entirely leaving only the image. You should then save the image as a .png if you intend to use it again.

I hope this helps. I'm certainly open for others to comment as well.

Let me know if this works for you.

Marti

[mommaactress]

that does help with a few other things thanks!!

I'm still a little stumped about makeing one of my pictures transparent. It tells me I can, but when I move the transparency slider it doesn't do anything

[Marti]

Are you trying to make the background on a photograph transparent? I'm not sure PP will do that. The transparency tool may delete some of the background in a photograph, but probably not cleanly - at least that's been my experience. You might need Photoshop or some other software to do that. Although again, I'm open. Maybe someone else has some ideas, or maybe there is a way to do that in PP and I'll learn something, too. Wouldn't that be great?

[Cruiser]

Marti, I may be wrong but mommaactress may be trying to use the technique we have seen in many of the travel books posted here where the background is faded and pictures or text are on top. It is a very good way to introduce a book or a section in a book. Using the transparent feature would allow her to fade her background picture and then she could add what ever she wanted to make a single or two page layout.

[CapeMaui]

Sounds like she's looking for watermark effect? I did do watermark once in PP when I did my wedding seating chart. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find that function in my PP 2002. Try searching under help?

Annie

[CapeMaui]

here, try this:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/HA010797741033.aspx

[Marti]

From reading the other comments, it sounds like you're trying to create a velum paper overlay look with a photograph. If that's so, here's how to do that in PP:

Make a shape the same size as your photograph.
Fill it in with color. For an opaque look, select white.
Click the shape so it has the points around it.
Click on the "Fill Colors" icon on the tool bar.
Select "More Fill Colors".
When that window opens, at the bottom of it you'll see the word "Transparency" and a slider. You can adjust the level of transparency with the slider.
When you've decided the % of transparency on the slider, click "OK".
Place the shape over the photo by right clicking on it.
Selecting "Order". Select "Bring to front".
The transparent shape will be positioned over your photo and it will now look like there's a velum film over the photo.

This technique in PP will not work on photos or clipart, only on shapes you've created and filled in with color. If someone knows otherwise, please clue us in.

I hope this is what you're trying to do, Bethany. And thanks to Annie and Cruiser for giving me some input. Let us know how it goes. :0)

Marti

[Marti]

Thanks for the link, Annie. I'm going to check it out, too.

[CapeMaui]

Hi Marti,

It's like what you've described, but done by PP. Once you selected the 'washout' option, you can then adjust the brightness and contrast to change the shade of transparency of the photo.

For PP 2007, use this link instead:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/HA101184961033.aspx?pid=CH100673421033

Hope this helps :)

Annie

[Marti]

I hope it helps, too, Annie. You are on the ball - thanks!

[ledmonds]

Thank you - thank you - thank you....you just cleared up my whole problem with this simple technical step.

thanks again
Laura

[Marti]

Not sure if you're thanking Annie or me, Laura, but I am sure I speak for Annie when I say that we are both thrilled if something either of us said opened a door for you. That's what it's all about!

Have oodles of fun,
Marti

[Cruiser]

I'm going to try this technique in Photoshop. I just figured out how to do a lot of neat things and this might add to my bag of "tricks" for photo processing.

[Marti]

The more "tricks" in your bag, the more fun this is. As you master one thing, it's fun to figure out something new. Keeps it fresh - and those creative juices flowing freely!

[CapeMaui]

Absolutely! I've learned so much here that if I can even just give back a teeny bit, I'm thrilled!

And hey, the more tricks the merrier :)

Annie

[Cruiser]

I just received Scrapbook Factory Ver 4.0 and installed it. I took the suggestion from a post in the Wedding section. I'm anxious to try it out and see what kind of pages I can come up with.

[Marti]

I've had Scrapbook Factory 3.0 for sometime. It has a lot of cute clipart and other elements. It's fun software. I think you'll really enjoy it.

[CapeMaui]

it sounds interesting... do you use it more than PP?

[Marti]

I use all of my software along with PP, but I only use PP slides as the "canvas" to create my scrapbook layouts. I access all kinds of ideas, papers, elements, clipart, and other embellishments from my various software (all available online or at your local computer software store) and use them with my photos and journaling on the slides. Everything works beautifully together. Then each slide is saved as a .jpg and uploaded to a MyPublisher full-bleed template to create book pages. It's easy, fun, and the creative possibilities are endless.

[karenschulz]

Okay, Marti - How do I get to see the scrapbooks of yours that everyone is drooling over?

I have used MP for the past year and made 7 books using their templates. I MAY be ready to branch out into the digital scrapbooking arena, but need some inspiration and motivation.

Sounds like you are the perfect place to start. Do you mind sharing your albums with me?

Karen

[Cruiser]

I understand that Marti is on vacation and will be home next week. These are links she posted on other threads:

http://www.mypublisher.com/bookstore/book_viewer.py?order_id=M508701&sp=x

And this one:

http://www.mypublisher.com/bookstore/book_viewer.py?order_id=M552655&sp=x

And:

http://www.mypublisher.com/bookstore/book_viewer.py?order_id=M434562&sp=x

[Marti]

Thanks, Cruiser, for helping Karen in my absence. Arrived home on June 14 and am trying to get back into the swing of things now. We took almost 3500 photos on our 30-day adventure through Europe, so I have my work cut-out for me getting them all organized and edited. Can't wait to get started on my first book, but with so many pictures from 10 countries, I imagine one book will only be the beginning.

[sblee]

Do you save your PP as PNG or JPEG files to upload to mypublisher? Is there an option to save as a high quality file so as to not loose quality in printing?

I have both PP and Photoshop Elements. I can't help but think that the PP way might be easier to make the book since you could creat all the pages in a book and keep them together, rearrage pages, etc until you are ready to save the files, instead of creating each page individaully in photoshop. Just wondering.

I am new to this site and wanted to try my first book.
Thanks for your help!
Shelly

[Marti]

Hi Shelly,

I think MP requires your uploads to be in a .jpg format. I know there are other more high quality formats, but I don't think they'll work in MP.

PP and Photoshop Elements both have their strengths. Photoshop probably creates a crisper image and might have more versatility, but PP might be easier for the reason you mentioned. I like the landscape shape of the PP slides, too. They slide right into the full bleed templates in MP. Cruiser, another power user in MP, uses Photoshop with beautiful results.

Good luck on your first book. You'll have fun and end up with a wonderful keepsake, too.

Marti

[Marti]

I hope everyone on this site understands that I am not an expert in MyPublisher (MP) Bookmaker (BM) or in Powerpoint (PP). I am a regular person who is making MP books for fun. It just occurred to me that this category is entitled "Questions for Marti" like I am some technical customer service rep or something. I definitely AM NOT. So please take my comments with a grain-of-salt. I am self-taught in PP and MP and am not a computer wiz. There are many other MP users who are more proficient in these areas than I am. I thank everyone for their confidence in my abilities, but I thought I should clarify.

Thanks so much,
Marti

[Cruiser]

I concur with Marti. She and I are only users in the forum. We are not employees of MyPublisher. Neither of us are experts by any means. We learned by trial and error and sometimes you have to do the same thing. We are both happy to help but ONLY after you have searched the forum, checked your software manual, did some research on the internet and then cannot find an answer to your question.

For every question someone asks me, I have to do research too. I am in the process of scanning negatives and old photographs for books that I will be making soon and may not be able to answer promptly or at all. That is why we keep referring you to the forum posts for answers. Use the search capability.

I apologize to Marti for calling her the guru in PP. That may have led others to believe that she can answer every question they have. She is a very busy lady getting her photographs ready for printing and may not have the time either to check in on a regular basis.

Maybe we should end this thread now and let her do her books...

[CapeMaui]

PLEASE ALLOW ME TO JUMP IN HERE!

First, let me apologize to Marti for putting her on the spot by posting a new topic with "questions for Marti" as the title! I should have been clearer that this is for questions from one user to another, not for bombarding Marti and Cruiser with bunch of tech questions that are either already answered or should be directed to MP tech support. Marti and Cruiser have been more than generous with their time and they both have a ton of pictures to go through for their next book!!

Second, please let me just say how much I appreciate all the time Marti and Cruiser have put into this thread in helping me and everyone else!! I've learned so much, eventhough I'm not even done with my first book yet! (life has been crazy with my almost 2 year old twins).

So, what I'm trying to say here is, PLEASE, fellow users, PLEASE go through MP's tech FAQ first, then please use the SEARCH function in the forum. I guarentee you that most answers are already there!!

I'm sure Marti and Cruiser will continue to check in and answer questions when their schedules allow, but in the mean time, please let them work on their books and try to search for your answers first before posting. And for all PP new users, kindly go through the tutorial in the program (under help, there's a link to animated tutorial) and you will have get a lot of good basic knowledge and it will probably answer most of your quesitons! The Help function in PP is also quite useful :)

I hope I didn't offend anyone here. I just want to say thank you for all the help I have received and hope I can be as helpful as Marti and Cruiser have been!

Cheers,
Annie

[Marti]

Hey guys, no apologies needed! My comment was only to caution people who might have thought I was an expert in MP or PP. I don't mind answering questions, but will direct people to the forum search if the answer has already been given in another post. A special thanks to Cruise and CapeMaui, both of whom have been very helpful to me and others.