MyPublisher.com (http://www.mypublisher.com/)

Testing Information:

Computer/ Operating System: PC computer with XP Professional
Browser: Internet Explorer, Version 7
MyPublisher Version: MyPublisher BookMaker 2.2

If you are like me, you probably have a bunch of photos either on CDs, in a shoebox or perhaps even still on your camera. MyPublisher provides a great way to display those forgotten photos and you don’t have to worry about printing or scrap booking. Just drag and drop your photos into the layout templates and in no time you will have a beautiful high quality book to show off your latest trip, your personal portfolio, or your Wedding. The possibilities are endless! They also make great gifts. I created one of photos of my niece for her grandparents and just recently created one of my trip to Ireland.

MyPublisher has really updated their look and options. I had a wonderful time designing my book. The software is easy to follow and offers a wide variety of styles and options to choose from. You can choose styles based on themes such as Wedding, Travel, Baby Girl, Baby Boy, Vintage, and Collage. Or choose from styles based on more general themes such as Best Seller, Just Photos, Storyteller and Modern. Your book can be a collection of photos or a mix of text and photos. It’s up to you what you create!

Conclusion: Overall I was very please with the ease of the program and the final results. In fact, I plan on making another book. The help section is very thorough and can answer most of your questions. If not, MyPublisher also provides customer service. Disappointingly, this is by email contact only. They do not offer phone support. I asked a few questions and in general received quick responses, although I never did get an answer back about losing my book jacket information after they told me to reinstall the program.

Pros:

Easy to follow software
Nice interface
Able to work offline then upload the final project
Wide variety of customized layout options. I especially like the full-page photo option.
Strong help section
Overall, quick email responses from customer service
Warning features (typos, resolution too low)
Excellent print quality and high quality paper
Shipped in a well protected box


Cons:

Does not offer phone support
No tab options to better align your text
Can’t change the color of your font
Have to enter credit card information even if you have a coupon covering the full amount
Pay Pal is not an option
Advance Jacket option was a little buggy. I had to redo my font choices a couple of times since they kept reverted back to the default font. Also lost all the jacket information when the program was reloaded.
It appears that the margins for the enhance photo area and the book layout area do not match up.

The first step is to download the BookMaker software.

The program is quick to download and mine, as advertised, downloaded in less than a minute. Once the program is installed you are on your way to creating your masterpiece. The downloaded program provides you with the freedom to work on your book offline and then upload it once everything is ready for printing. The program provides easy to follow on-screen instructions and has a strong help section (http://www.mypublisher.com/help.php) to answer questions.

One thing that they really don’t address up front unless you go to the help section is the file resolution (http://www.mypublisher.com/help20/help_chapter6.php). I had created my entire book at a higher than recommended resolution and had to go back and recreate it.

All your files and photos must be saved as JPEG files at a recommended resolution of 180 dpi to 200 dpi.

Images saved at a lower resolution than 180 dpi will not print as sharply as it appears on your monitor (most monitors display images at 72 dpi).

We do not recommend using images saved at a higher resolution than 200 dpi (unless you are scanning wallet-sized images). Increasing the resolution will not produce a better quality print.

When you are ready to put your book together, the steps are simple to follow.

Step 1: Select your book size:
PocketBook 7.75” w, 5.75” h
Classic Hardcover 11.25” w , 8.75 h
Deluxe Hardcover 15” w, 11.5 h

Step 2: Select you book style:
Choose from: Wedding, Travel, Baby Girl, Baby Boy, Vintage, and Collage, Best Seller, Just Photos, Storyteller or Modern.

Step 3: Get Photos:
Browse to you images on your computer and drag and drop into the BookMaker display. You can drag and drop multiple photos at one time.

Step 4: Organize:
Place your photos in the order you wish to use them. You can change the order later, but organizing them in the approximate order now will make the bookmaking process a little easier. As I worked on my book, I ended up adding additional photos throughout the process without any trouble.

Step 4: Make Book
You chose from a variety of layout templates by selecting how many photos you want displayed on the page. The templates provide various ways to organize your photos. It's easy to alter your layouts at any point in the process such as adding captions or changing the number of photos on a page. You can also choose from templates with or without captions.

One feature I really liked is that your collection of photos is shown at the top of the layout area. As you drag and drop photos into your book they are removed from the holding area so you can easily tell what photos you have not used yet. If you remove a photo from the layout template, it will pop back up in the holding area so you can use it again.

Step 5: Preview:
This step allows you to proof you final product. You can choose to view it in one page or two page layout or as a slideshow. You can also zoom in and zoom out to really check the detail.

MyPublisher has some nice checking features:

Misspelled words will be highlighted in red.
Photos that are lower than the recommend quality will have a red outline around them in the book layout window.
If you have a blank page or a template with a missing photo, the program will remind you that you have missing images and ask if you still want to proceed.


Step 6: Purchase
After previewing you book and making any last minute changes it is time to upload and order your finished product. MyPublisher does run a quick check and let you know if there may be any problems such as low quality photos that may not print well. If the program finds possible problems it will ask you if you are sure you are ready to print or if you would like to check your book again. Once you approve the upload, your book is sent to MyPublisher.com where you will fill out your ordering and shipping information.

Enhance Photo Options:
The BookMaker software provides basic enhancement options such as rotate, flip, black and white, auto adjust, crop, auto fit, zoom in, zoom out, move and red eye.

I did have one concern using the enhance photo area. I noticed that the subject of one of my photos was too close to the edge. I went into the enhance photo area and used the move tool to move the image more to the left of the photo borders, but when I returned to the book layout area, the image was closer to the photo border than what had shown in the enhance photo section. As a result I had to go back into the enhance photo section and move the photo over more than what I wanted in order to get the correct results in the main layout area. It appears that the margins for the enhance photo area and the book layout area do not match up. I did express my concern to MyPublisher and they suggested that I download the program again. I was informed that the book file in my current software would be transferred to the new version so I would not lose the information I had already entered. The book file did transfer without a glitch, but the information and photos I had entered in the advanced jacket section were deleted and I had to recreate that information again. I sent an email explaining what had happened, but never heard back from customer support.