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A Finished Photo Book
5 x 7
Seafoam/Stone color cover
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Hey, all you busy husbands, fathers, children and friends with Moms in your lives! Listen up. If you only have time to go to the card store, browse the Mothers Day card shelves to find a card that comes reasonably close to expressing your feelings, stand in line to pay for it, bring it home and then sign it moments before giving or sending it, this project is for you.
I’d like to show you how to spend that precious time making a Photo Book, instead. Especially if you never take care of the family photos. The element of surprise (shock?) in receiving a custom-made, cloth-covered, archival quality photo book from you, is sure to make this Mothers Day very special.
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A Photo Book Page:
3 digital photos in a free page template
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I will assume you are not yet familiar with HP Photo Book kits and that you don’t think you have time to make one. So, I have streamlined the steps to make maximum use of the free software page templates and to increase your chances of completing a first Photo Book in time for Mothers Day.
note: If you absolutely must do more page customization, go for it. I will only be covering a small fraction of the software’s capabilities, though. |
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Visualize Success - Here is a step-wise preview of what you are going to do: 1. Select digital photos you want to include in the Photo Book2. Place those digital photo files in one file folder3. Get an HP Photo Book Kit4. Load the software onto your PC and open the application5. Browse to the file folder containing your photos and Import6. Create/ Photo Book Pages in as few as 3 steps7. Preview your Photo Book 8. Print your pages9. Insert the pages in the cloth-covered binding10. Feel great about the quality look and feel of your Photo Book. Now, a little background information that might be helpful. |
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What is a Photo Book kit? Where can I get one?
Click here to see a nice description of the HP Photo Book kit. The kit includes 12 sheets of top quality photo paper, a cloth-covered binding and a software CD. There are 2 sizes: 5 x 7 in or 8 ½ x 11 in.
Currently, they can be purchased on-line (click links below) or at two retail stores:
1. On-line hp.com
2. On-line circuitcity.com
3. Office Depot stores
4. Staples stores
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Where are the photos? How many do I need?
There is a good chance that if you check your family camera right now, there are lots of photos to choose from, still on the memory card inside. I speak from experience on this. Alternatively, if you are blessed to know a diligent photo caretaker, you may have access to photo CDs or other photo archives.
Select good photos that capture an event, story or emotion. (See the page examples I’ve included here for inspiration.) Remember that photo selection is not the final goal of this project so you won’t be tempted to while away your limited time on memory lane.
I suggest that the number of photos you need for this project is roughly 2 times the number of book pages you wish to print. For 10 pages, pick about 20 photos. (more on “10 pages” later)
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Why do I need to put the photos in their own file folder?
This is a time-saving tip for finding and adding only the photos you want when you begin creating the Photo Book. I also recommend locating that folder, Photo Book, so it can be browsed to with few clicks. (e.g. C:\Temp\Photo Book\)
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Do I have the latest HP Photo Book software?
A software CD is included in the kit. It took me just 4 minutes to upload it onto my PC. I decided, however, to use the latest, greatest version of this software instead. I downloaded Photosmart Essential 3.0 for free. Click here to download from hp.com.
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How do I get a title to show through the cover window instead of a photo?
For speed, go with a photo for now.
For later, I show an example of a Title page on the right. It is also shown inside a book in the blog introduction. The title was done in PowerPoint, using clip art from the Microsoft collection and a couple added text boxes. I grouped the elements and saved as a picture .jpg file in the same Photo Book folder as my other photos. I moved the title into the page 1 template during the book preview step.
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Example of a Title Page instead of a cover photo
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Photo Book Creation Tips
The Photos
Photos need to be imported into the software application’s “photo library”, and they need to be selected (orange border and checkmark indicate a photo is selected), before clicking on Create/ Photo Book. Click on Import Photos and browse to your handy folder of photos. By default, library photos are displayed by date, so photos from the same event should be conveniently grouped together. Selecting “ALL” applies only to one date. If your photos cover more than one date, be sure to scroll down to select all of them.
Page Design
Click on Create and PhotoBook. Scroll through the page template designs, highlight your choice and click on Choose Design. Most of the Mothers Day pages shown here are from Everyday Modern or Family Modern book designs.
Page Size
Next click on the size of kit you have. I am using 5 x 7 in. since printing is faster than for 8 ½ x 11 in. pages.
Book Preview
You will next see a realistic-looking digital version of your Photo Book. But wait. I skipped the dreaded time-consuming steps of inserting each photo into its template, right? Well, actually, no. The Photo Book software automatically does this for you. In many cases, you can just preview the pages and proceed directly to print. Now that’s fast.
Edits/Changes
Not quite what you wanted yet? Still have time to tweak? You can edit. Add text captions to some pages. Move photos by drag-and-dropping, zoom, rotate or crop. Replace pages with other photo layouts.
“10 pages”
Remember the comment about “10 pages”? If you want this special gift experience to rocket off the charts, consider adding a couple blank photo paper pages in the book, along with a note or coupon offering to show Mom how to make additional pages for the book herself.
Print
Click on Print Photo Book when you are ready to print. Load the correct number of sheets of photo paper in your printer and move the paper tray guides to the paper edges. Select the printer, paper type and which pages to print. Click on Print. Save.
Assemble
Let the pages dry a few minutes. Stack and slip them into the fully opened cover. (Avoid poking your thumb through the vellum leaf paper when bending back the covers, by grasping the solid edges of the cover only.) Sign the inside back cover. Done.
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An Open Finished Photo Book
5 x 7
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Funniest Q and A:
Q: I liked the idea of using our latest family photos, still on my wife’s SD card. But, I couldn’t fit my fingers in the camera slot to pull the card out. My Leatherman tool worked great to pry it out, but some other parts fell out with it. Any suggestions?
A: First, I’m sure your wife will enjoy the new camera you give her along with her Photo Book. Next time, try a light finger push on the edge of the installed SD card to trigger its spring release. Then you can easily remove the card.
Pay It Forward
If you think you know a Mom who would enjoy a photo book gift, drop a hint to her family members and email a link to this blog.
I hope you give HP Photo Books a try and make new designs in your own personal style!
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Useful links:
An HP PS 8750 printer was used to print the pages shown.
Click here to choose photo paper for your printer to make additional book pages.
Click here for more creative printing ideas on the LizzPrints Blog.
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