Photos FAQs:

• Which file formats are supported for photos?
• Which working color space is supported by the application?
• What is "Automatic Image Optimisation" (formerly AIO)?
• When should "Automatic Image Optimisation" be disabled?
• How do you disable the "Automatic Image Optimisation" in the Bob Designer Pro Software?
• Why was my photo compressed during the ordering process?
• How do I use the Image Effects?
• How do I move photos or change their size?
• How do I create a frame around a photo?
• How do I add a drop shadow to my photos?
• What is the best size for my photos if I want to use them as backgrounds?
• What is the photo editor?
• What do the little stars mean?
• How do I sort my photos in the Photo Explorer?

Answers:

Which file formats are supported for photos? [Back]

The Bob Designer Pro software supports the following file formats for photos/images:

The file formats JPG and PNG are best.

The Bob Designer Pro software will not show image formats that are not supported. If you cannot view your images within the software, first check the file format.

Which working color space is supported by the application? [Back]

A colour space is a combination of all the colours in an image that can actually be shown. The colour spaces differ depending on the image processing program and the image and output devices used.
Some Nikon cameras, for example, take photos in a special "Nikon sRGB" format, and Adobe Photoshop often uses its own "Adobe sRGB". Printers even work in a completely different colour space (CMYK), into which images first have to be converted by the printer driver.

The standard and intersecting set of the colour spaces is the simple "sRGB" format (standard RGB). All digital cameras, scanners, monitors and printer drivers support this colour space.

In production, the photos are always processed in "sRGB" colour format, and photos in other RGB formats are converted to "sRGB" format automatically and without any loss of quality. Most digital cameras take photos in sRGB format, so there should not be any problems in this respect.

What is "Automatic Image Optimisation" (formerly AIO)? [Back]

The Automatic Image Optimisation (AIO) tool optimises the image quality of your photos.
It reduces any faulty exposure and colour tinge and also optimally adjusts contrast and colour saturation to the relevant output system. This happens automatically and the level of correction is specified by prior image analysis. The settings are optimised for a large average of all images, so that, as a rule, AIO leads to improved image quality.

We recommend you leave it switched on as default, if you have not already edited the colour, contrast and/or brightness of your images yourself. Do note that AIO should be switched off for artificial images such as computer graphics and drawings.

The examples shown below (left and right with no image optimization) but give an idea of the effect of the automatic image optimisation in use.

The "Automatic Image Optimisation" can be individually set for each photo (with the corresponding button in the toolbar). Under "Options", there is a default setting that applies to all images.

Remember: If you're not working with a precisely calibrated monitor, and your photo editor supports no calibration, then the final printed image will always be slightly different.

When should "Automatic Image Optimisation" be disabled? [Back]

We generally recommend to leave Automatic Image Optimisation on by default.
In some cases, however, it may be advisable to deactivate the function, such as when the inserted files have already been optimised by an image editing program (preferably on a calibrated monitor). It is also recommended that you disable automatic image optimisation for colour critical images for which no other white balance is desired: for example, photos in specific lighting conditions (sunset, candlelight, etc). We also recommend switching optimisation off for graphics and vector-images.

You can toggle Automatic Image Optimisation for individual photos, as well as all photos in a selection.

How do you disable the "Automatic Image Optimisation" in the Bob Designer Pro Software? [Back]

When you insert an image that has already been edited with an external image editing programme, you will be shown al alert about Image Optimisation. You can choose to enable or disable optimisation for all images.

At any time you can specify exactly to your liking the function but also our software settings. Set out for it in the project work on the "Options" (in the title menu bar) in the "Photos".
Here you can choose different options for image optimization in the laboratory:

• You can specify whether you want to determine individually for each processed by an image editing program photo if the image optimization is to engage in the laboratory.
  Or you can switch the image optimization in this case generally on or off.
• You can choose whether the automatic image optimization should be applied to all the new pictures (whether processed or non-processed).
• For existing in the project and not edited photos, you can enable or disable the optimisation.

Why was my photo compressed during the ordering process? [Back]

The application automatically checks the artwork and optimises it for production and shipping. The files are compressed as much as possible to save time during the ordering process, when the image is transferred to our servers.
The quality does not suffer because the resolution of the compressed photos is tailored to their optimum print resolution in production.

How do I use the Image Effects? [Back]

You can use the Photo Editor.

There are many tools for editing photos; for example, the correction of brightness and colour, cropping, flipping, aligning, and stylization and distortion filters for artistic alienation (oil painting, charcoal drawing, etc).

For full details, please see the Help section on "The Photo Editor".

How do I move photos or change their size? [Back]

This is done using the editing frame that appears surrounding the photo.

Move the mouse pointer over the frame until the mouse pointer changes and you can move the picture with the left mouse button.

You can modify the size of the photo using the handles that appear.
With the handles in the corners (and the left mouse button held down), drag to change the size (width and height) in proportion. The aspect ratio is maintained.
Move the handles on the sides (using the left mouse button) to only change the width or height of the photo.
You can also rotate the image by dragging the photo around its center.

How do I create a frame around a photo? [Back]

To emphasise photos or make them stand out better against the background, you can place a coloured border or frame around them, which is then also printed or developed. You can specify the frame width (line thickness) and a colour in the frame properties.

With the left mouse button, select the photo, which has already been inserted in the photobook. Now select the "Edit image frame and shadow..." function in the toolbar. Left-click this function and a window opens. Here you can now set the properties of the frame.

You can adjust the width of the frame in 1/10 mm steps. That means if you enter "3", you will produce a frame with a width of 0.3 mm, not 3 mm.

You can select the colour as a basic colour or click in the colour table and set your own custom colour. This selected colour can now be fine-tuned using the narrow right-hand bar. Confirm your chosen colour by clicking "OK" in the open window.

You can apply the window properties to the active (selected) image, to all images on this page or to all images in the product.

TIP: A coloured border distinguishes the photo from other photos and from the background (e.g. a white border around the photo against a black page background) and makes it more effective.

How do I add a drop shadow to my photos? [Back]

Click the "Edit image frame and shadow..." function in tools to edit the photos. A window opens. Now you can set the properties of the shadow. Activate the shadow function by checking the check box.

Here you can specify the shadow properties.
The "distance" is set in mm and determines how far the shadow stands out below the photo.
This simulates whether the light source is directly above the centre of the photo or outside.

The intensity determines how transparent and how dark the shadow will be.
0% would be completely transparent (lowest value therefore 1%) and 100% would be opaque black. (The higher the photo floats against the page background, the less the intensity through scattered light from the pages).

The "direction" is set using a mouse-operated control and determines the position of the light casting the shadow, and thus the direction of the shading.
See the preview at the bottom of the open window.
Exception: If the distance = 0mm, then the direction does not matter.

The "blur" is the softness of the shaded border.
"0 px" creates a hard shaded border, and the higher the fuzziness value, the softer the shaded border.
Caution: this is very CPU-intensive and can take a long time if you have lots of photos with soft shading.

The "overhang" is the size of the shading (to simulate the distance of the light source).
If the light source casting the shadow is the sun, then the rays of light will run parallel to each other and the shadow will be as big as the photo, i.e. the overhang will be 0mm.
If however the light source is small and closer to the photo (e.g. a ceiling light), then the rays of light will be conical (divergent) and the shadow will be larger than the photo.
The closer the light source to the photo (e.g. a desk lamp), the larger the shadow (see right).
Exception: If the overhang is greater than the distance, then the shading will overhang on all sides of the photo.

In combination with this parameter, you can create the effect that the photo is floating very close to the background (low distance and overhang, hard shadow edge, high intensity), or that it is floating high above it (larger distance and overhang, soft shadow edge, lower intensity).
Observe what really happens with shadows with different light sources and distances to the background (e.g. table surface).

What is the best size for my photos if I want to use them as backgrounds? [Back]

The optimum size in pixels when using your own photos as a background of a photobook page varies depending on the format and size of the photobook.

It is no problem if the picture size is smaller. The main point is that the quality indicator must be green. Photos with smaller dimensions will remain unchanged. But photos which exceed the required pixel size will have no recognisable effect on the print quality. They will be scaled down to the optimum size to keep the data file as small as possible. This will speed up the transmission and storage of the pictures at the time of ordering.

The software may cut the picture size further to the actual required size and the photos may be scaled down to the necessary resolution at the time of ordering.

What is the Photo Editor? [Back]

The Photo Editor is the central program module used to edit your photos.

You can use it to improve a photo, e.g. to correct over- or underexposure, weak contrast, colour tinges or red-eye. You can apply artistic effects to your photo, e.g. turn it into a black-and-white picture, age it with a sepia effect or make it look like an oil painting or a drawing. You can distort, reflect and turn a photo, and much more besides.

And you can manage your photos using the photo editor, rating your photos and adding titles and comments and filtering them according to these and other meta data (in order to show only certain pictures).

The Photo Editor can also be opened as a standalone program (own icon on the desktop, pop-up menu for photos in Explorer).

What do the little stars mean? [Back]

To find photos more easily in the selection area or to use them for different products, it is possible to rate a photo. When photos are rated they are awarded a number of stars, which are displayed in the selection area. This rating can be an additional way of sorting your photos.

In the selection area, right-click a photo and a pop-up menu will open. In this pop-up menu you can sort photos by date taken, file name or rating. This means you can quickly find your best photos in the selection area.

The rating is also an effective way to pre-sort your pictures in the photobook Assistant. Just click the minimum number of stars your photos must have in order to be selected by the Assistant.

How do I sort my photos in the Photo Explorer? [Back]

In the selection toolbar below the photo Explorer is the icon "view".
There you will find the following commands: