Software - - Flip Album

KevinBE · #1 01-13-2003, 11:19 PM

Is anyone using this program? I like what I have seen in the short time I have played with the demo. Just wondered if there were any quirks with the software. The demo has a few issues.

No hurry in the reply. I'm going to bed soon.

dcarr · #2 01-14-2003, 03:39 PM

I just got the program Kevin. On intial lookover, it appears to be useful for my purposes. But I haven't had time for a thorough going over. What problems did you encounter on the demo? I'll duplicate it on the full and see what happens.
Debbie

Sanda · #3 01-14-2003, 03:46 PM

I use the program and offer it on cd to my customers.( I have purchased the business edition)

KevinBE · #4 01-14-2003, 05:27 PM

Hi Debbie and Sanda. I think I am going to buy the Pro version also. It is a great idea to be able offer a true digital Album. I think even those low-tech individuals could relate to this format.

The problem I had Debbie was a couple of crashes I had at one point. It hasn't done it again yet but I'll keep an eye on it. Also once the album I created had terminated it wouldn't let go of the CDROM drive. It may have been because I had tested it in my CD/R drive. I'll test it in a regular CD drive tonight.

Everyone I have showed this "digital album" to has really loved it. Maybe I will have time to learn to create some custom themes. But, it just another program I will have to learn.

dcarr · #5 01-14-2003, 07:18 PM

One thing I will advise Kevin. It tends to leave flip book files in a lot of different places on your drive. when I'm done, I run find to find the files and sometimes there are 4 or so. There's nothing in them, just folders.
Debbie

Sanda · #6 01-14-2003, 07:51 PM

Kevin the only problem I've encountered with the flip albums is people with older, slower computers sometimes have trouble with the auto page turning and the cd slideshow runs slowly. Unfortunately you can't control what speed the computer it's run on so I explain to my customers that it may run slower on an older computer and I've never had one decide not to go ahead after I made my explanation. If the customer tells me they have an older computer I usually advise against having the background music, I'm not sure if it makes a difference or not though. I have never had a customer have anything but praise for the albums.

KevinBE · #7 01-14-2003, 08:13 PM

Thanks guys for your comments. I guess that there is no reason not to buy it. I think I am going to redo the Christmas Party CD and use Flip Album. This will give me input from a dozen users there.

Sanda do you print CD labels for the ones you sell? I've seen some high prices on glossy CD labels. I have some plain paper, sort of like matt paper, labels but wonder how long they would last. It would be catistrophic for a label to come loose while the CD was in the drive.

Sanda · #8 01-14-2003, 08:45 PM

Yes I do print CD labels and I do the inserts for the cases as well both front and back. I usually use high gloss full faced labels as they give me more space and in my opinion look better. I know they are expensive but they look good. I've been using CD lables for a couple of years for both computer CD and audio and have never had one even lift on the edges. I know some people have said that the glue used damages the CD, but I think that was more relevant in the early days of the labels. I think the label manufacturers have addressed that and they seem to be fine now, although I could be wrong on that.

KevinBE · #9 01-14-2003, 09:24 PM

Thanks Sanda. I'll look into getting some high quality labels for use with this project. If I 'm going to do it I should do it right.

bubba · #10 01-17-2003, 09:31 AM

I have used flip Album 4.0 for about a year and like it. Yes, it can be a problem with older and slower computers. Also, I have found that you need to be careful about the resolution that you use for the images. I have had some albums that I create not load or have problems. I think this is partly due to resolution and partly to problems with the computer.

The larger the images that you use the slower it is in changing 'pages'. I use a Sony CD1000 digital camera and take my pictures at the highest resolution. This makes Flip Album slower to run from the CD but the images are great and will print just fine. the person that get the CE can also copy the information to their hard drive and run it from there - runs much faster.

I prefer the matte labels for looks but that is just me. I use the Imation Sonix labels because I can print them one at a time. Only problem is that the program tends to lock up after a labeler two - probably loading up resources and not releasing them.

I have created Flip Albums with several hundred pictures (I took them at our church's 100th anniversary) and it works just fine.

Just remember that all of the frames and other images from the design libraries you get with the professional version are not yours to use for commercial purposes. They do not make this very clear.

Over all - I recommend it and enjoy working with it.

KevinBE · #11 01-17-2003, 10:46 AM

Hi Bubba, thanks for the information on Flip Album. That is one thing I will need to consider when I am making albums is the speed of the PC's that will be viewing the albums.

I glad you mentioned about the design images not being copyright free for commercial use. I wonder why they would include them with the commercial version of the software? Oh well, just more learning curve to figure out how to make my own designs.