Ver 2.2 Spine and Jacket Cover Fonts

[44enviro]

How do i change the font color on the spine and more importantly the jacket cover?

Please tell me this was not omitted. when I choose a full page photo for the jacket cover it becomes imperative to choose an alternate color than black. As the black font melds into the color variations of the photo. In my case white would work, or another color.

Also when I choose a black spine, I would love the option for colors there as well. Yellow in my case.. or again.. the freedom to choose.

I don't understand whey there is such a creative restraint with this software. Why cant I choose to have my jacket be one full photo. I think in some instances it provides a classier look. I mean if you were to look at the jacket spread out, I would prefer the freedom to have it one continuous picture. If I can do a full picture on the front, then why not on the back.. and why not from front to back, across the spine; like many book jackets these days. Why can't my hard cover also be my design? Why am I limited to a fixed cutout and your colors, albeit there might be some hard limitations here, but I do know of another company out there that allows just that. So I know it can be done... Grrrrr...

Ahh the frustration.. in this world of such diverse software.. It has the same feel like we are just coming out of windows 3.1 and into the "almighty windows 95".. Oh the promises.. oh the limitations as we look back. This is the same with bookmaker 2.2.

Why are there such restraints? Do tell.

I don't mean to be a troublemaker, but I have been holding this in for sometime. The only reason you haven't heard from me sooner is that I choose to create my full pages in photoshop and import them into bookmaker as a single full page photo. Nobody the wiser, it looks like magic in bookmaker. But now you release "advanced Jacket control". Advanced jacket control?.. That's like telling a prisoner that they get to pick the color of their handcuffs. What kind of control is that?.. He is still shackled! I have also tried other book software and integrated book websites where the creative freedom is up to par with the technology released today.

C'mon guys... There must be someone there who is in the creative field employed by you and looks at your product and says.. "what the heck is this!?.. I cant change the color of the font.. how basic is that?"

OK.. so.. maybe you will shut me up with your reply by telling me I missed some virtual switch to turn on controls.. and I am stupid for not looking deeper. I can only hope it's that easy.

With hope for creativity,

James DeLucia

[mypublisher]

Hello -

Unfortunately we do not have choice for font colors. While you make it sound like it would be so easy, technically and software speaking it is not. We will definitely be coming our with a page layout other than black text for the full bleed, as we see that as a limitation as well.

Please understand what while you are clearly a designer, most of our customers are not, and they appreciate the direction our software gives them. We don't want to overhwhelm those who are not as comfortable designing. It's a tradeoff.

I hope this clarfies things a little bit. I will pass your suggestions along, especially the one for the 1 image wrap around book jacket.

Sincerely,
MyPublisher

[coachtfp]

I agree with you about the font colors. It seems to me that MP should investigate using la separate layer for text. And even if there were no colors available per se, simple inversion would not only give an option but would allow(if it were a true layer) superimposing text anywhere on the page. especially if you could make the layer transparent. This is how I currently prepare full bleed images. Unfortunately, when the image is converted to a jpeg file, the text quality is seriously degraded.

Is anyone else aware of the fact that MP is a BOOK publisher? Why is it so difficult(read that as usually impossible) to get sufficient text on a page with a graphic? For how many years has Microsoft been wrapping text about images with multiple variations. There needs to be some kind of solution to this very frustrating limitation.