Page001L.jpg

Q: I’m confused and don’t know how to start the book layout.

A: Well, that’s not a question but rather a normal first reaction. Here are some useful advice:

1. •Group your pictures according to “chapters” of your book. For instance, if you are doing a wedding book you can benefit from having all your finished images in separate folders called e.g. Getting-Ready, Portraits, Ceremony, Congratulations, and Party.
   

2. •The first page spread is special because the left page isn’t used.
   

3. •The last page spread is special because the right page isn’t used.
   

4. •I like to work from both ends and meet in the chapter which I think will be the largest, e.g., the Ceremony section. Leaving the largest chapter until last gives me an opportunity to expand it so that my total page count is a multiple of eight. Otherwise I might be too cramped at the end and must either sacrifice a few photos or spill over and have excess blank pages.
   

5. •In Bridge, I also like to color mark my images so that I can see which one’s I have used.
   

6. 
   

7. Here is the full layout for a 24-page Hardcover book. While PBD will generate Page001L.jpg and Page014R.jpg, I simply removed them before I imported my images into pixGEN.
   

8. You can flip through the finished book but notice that I replaced Page001L.jpg and Page014R.jpg with suitably neutral “dummy” pages so that the web presentation looks more consistent.
   

Q: What is Fogra 27?

A: This is a CMYK color space, officially called Europe ISO Coated FOGRA27. There is strong evidence that submitting JPEG-files with the Fogra 27 color space will produce better prints from Pixopolis. I would initially suggest designing your book in the sRGB colorspace in case you need the images for online presentations etc.

With PBD 2.0 you can now use the CMYKify command to mass-convert a folder of pages to Fogra 27. If you want more control and only convert certain pages, the method outlined below is for you.

To batch-convert selected pages, copy all the JPEG files into a separate folder and batch convert the color space conversion to Fogra 27 in Photoshop:

1. •File > Automate > Batch...
   

2. •Choose the action FOGRA 27 from your PBD action set.
   

3. •Choose the input folder and let Destination be “Save and Close”.
   

4. •Press OK.
   

Never, ever do this on your original PSD-files as they will be flattened!

Page001L.jpg

Page001R.jpg

Page002L.jpg

Page002R.jpg

Page003L.jpg

Page003R.jpg

Page004L.jpg

Page004R.jpg

Page005L.jpg

Page005R.jpg

Page006L.jpg

Page006R.jpg

Page007L.jpg

Page007R.jpg

Page008L.jpg

Page008R.jpg

Page009L.jpg

Page009R.jpg

Page010L.jpg

Page011R.jpg

Page012L.jpg

Page012R.jpg

Page013L.jpg

Page013R.jpg

Page014L.jpg

Page014R.jpg

Cover.jpg

In recent tests, Fogra 27 has provided better color separation than sRGB. If your screen is calibrated, you should be able to see all the different shades of grey below.

Below you can see how the above image was printed in two different books, one submitted in a sRGB color space, the other with the Fogra 27. If your screen is calibrated you should be able to see for yourself that Fogra 27 provides much better color separation - notice the first two rectangles, they are indistinguishable in sRGB, but can be told apart in Fogra 27.

Q: How do I pay?

A: You can pay either with PayPal or (for Swedish citizens) by transferring money to my Bankgiro 5280-8417. Always make sure your name appears in the statement so I can verify that you have paid.

Q: Will PBD work in Photoshop Elements?

A: No, there is no scripting support in Photoshop Elements.  PBD only works with Photoshop CS3/CS4/CS5.

Q: Will PBD work in Photoshop CS and CS2?

A: No, Photoshop CS does not support scripts enough for PBD.  Support of CS2 has been dropped: you need at least CS3.

Q: Will PBD work with Lightroom?

A: No, while Lightroom offers scripting capabilities, it is currently too limited.

Q: Will PBD work with Windows Vista and Win7?

A: Yes, the install program now works in Vista and Win7 as well. You have to temporarily change the privileges of the Photoshop program, but only during the installation of PBD. This is described in the installation notes of the manual.

Q: Why do I have to activate PBD on different machines, or

Q: Why doesn’t my action file work on my other machine?

A: An action file is what defines the buttons in your action palette. Some PBD actions call javascript files and these have to reside in your Photoshop scripts folder. For reasons unknown to me, Adobe software installs itself in different folders depending on your operating system language. For instance, while it may be .../Presets/Scripts in an English Windows XP, it will be .../Förinställningar/Skript in a Swedish Windows XP. So with the two different Photoshop versions, Mac and PC differences, and language settings, the number of different action files begin to grow.

Q: Can I use my activation code to install PBD on another machine?

A: You can use PBD on another machine, but you need to request a new activation code - just send me an email, it’s free!

Q: When I run the installation script, I get an error message.

A: Contact me and I will assist you. 

Q: Can I use soft proofing with the Fogra 27 profile?

A: Yes, if you are serious about color reproduction, have a look at the tutorial on soft proofing.

Soft proofing is actually not related to PBD: you should soft proof and adjust your (RGB) images before they are incorporated into a book. However, PBD includes the FOGRA 27 action (see above) so I decided to write a tutorial on how to soft proof your images so that the final batch conversion doesn’t lead to any surprises.