You two carried me through that war. Now I need you to carry me just a little bit further. If you can.

Tracy ,'The Message'


Buffistechnology 2: You Made Her So She Growls?  

Got a question about technology? Ask it here. Discussion of hardware, software, TiVos, multi-region DVDs, Windows, Macs, LINUX, hand-helds, iPods, anything tech related. Better than any helpdesk!


Steph L. - Aug 18, 2005 10:49:52 am PDT #4082 of 10003
I look more rad than Lutheranism

So what tricks are those, Teppy? Do tell.

First of all, you have to go into the iPhoto preference file (not the preference menu item within iPhoto, but the preference file in the preferences folder) and change the dpi of the PDF that gets output from the book files. For some reason, the dpi setting for the smallest book is 300, which is fine, but the dpi for the medium and large books is 150, which is....not so fine. So that's Tip #1 -- change the dpi in the preferences file.

The other thing is to manipulate the photos a wee bit -- generally, they're going to need to be lightened a smidge, the colors may need to be adjusted, and they're going to need to be sharpened. Of all those, sharpening is key, because as the ink is spread onto the page (it's slick paper, but it isn't photo paper), the paper will absorb a tiny amount of the ink, which ends up softening the pictures.


meara - Aug 18, 2005 10:53:44 am PDT #4083 of 10003

How do you sharpen them??


Steph L. - Aug 18, 2005 10:56:04 am PDT #4084 of 10003
I look more rad than Lutheranism

How do you sharpen them??

Either in photo software like Photoshop, or you can sharpen them (I'm pretty sure) within iPhoto.


meara - Aug 18, 2005 11:23:42 am PDT #4085 of 10003

Hmm. I see "enhance" and "retouch", but "sharpen"? NSM.


DXMachina - Aug 18, 2005 11:34:58 am PDT #4086 of 10003
You always do this. We get tipsy, and you take advantage of my love of the scientific method.

"Sharpen" is under the "Filters" menu in Photoshop.


Ginger - Aug 18, 2005 11:52:40 am PDT #4087 of 10003
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda

"Sharpen" is under the "Filters" menu in Photoshop.

Under Filters, "Unsharp Mask" actually does a better job of "sharpening."


DXMachina - Aug 18, 2005 11:54:23 am PDT #4088 of 10003
You always do this. We get tipsy, and you take advantage of my love of the scientific method.

And the award for least intuitive operation name of all time goes to...


Ginger - Aug 18, 2005 11:56:10 am PDT #4089 of 10003
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda

Yeah, no one one ever pick that one on purpose. I learned it from another graphics person.


meara - Aug 18, 2005 12:02:19 pm PDT #4090 of 10003

Hmm. So I'd need to get Photoshop, eh? Sigh.

I've been wanting to make a "book" of my trip pictures (at least, the highlights), but definitely want them to look nice!!


DXMachina - Aug 18, 2005 12:08:29 pm PDT #4091 of 10003
You always do this. We get tipsy, and you take advantage of my love of the scientific method.

Nah, most image editing software has some form of sharpen function. It may take some digging to find it.