Creative Memories All About Images Blog

More on StoryBook Creator for the Macintosh

I would like to thank everyone who replied or emailed in response to my original blog posting. I received almost 200 comments and emails and am unfortunately not able to reply to everyone individually.The posting was intended be a general indication of our plans for StoryBook Creator, not an official announcement, which is why it did not include any specifics on the exact date when StoryBook Creator Macintosh would be available. Here are some of the more common questions:

1. Which Macintosh computers will be supported? We are planning to support Mac OS 10.5 Leopard and above. Apple made certain changes to their operating system with version 10.5 that make this the right version to support. If you are not using OS 10.5 or latter, you will need to upgrade your system.

2. Will Memory manager also be available for the Macintosh? At this time, we are planning to integrate StoryBook Creator Macintosh with iPhoto. iPhoto is a free application that provides is an effective, basic package for organizing photos, although it does not include all of the features that are available in Memory Manager.

3. How do I become a beta tester? We plan to fully test StoryBook Creator Mac prior to release and will identify beta testers next year. Beta testers will be selected to provide specific feedback. We may not be able to select all volunteers. If you have volunteered, we will keep your name and email address on file.

Photo Book Preservation

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[The following posting is based on "Critical Factors for Photo Book Preservation," which was presented at the 63rd I3A Annual Conference, Monterey, CA, November 10, 2009]

The lifetime of photographic prints is typically dependent on four factors: light, air pollution, heat, and humidity. Any attempt to define how long a print may last must take these four factors into account. For example, saying that a print will last 20 years when exposed to light is meaningless, if air pollution destroys the print in six months. Many of the early lifetime estimates for digital prints were very misleading because the estimates failed to take all four factors into account.

For photo books, light and air pollution are not generally significant factors. Photo books are typically kept closed and on a shelf. Under these conditions, light and air pollution have only a very small effect. Instead, photo books are vulnerable to damage from handling, including failure of the binding system and abrasion of the printed image. Photo book stability is then dependent on these four factors: durability, abrasion resistance, heat, and humidity.

Other factors that affect photo book stability are either less critical or can be controlled in other ways. These factors include light, air pollution, water, spill resistance, mold/insect resistance, and folding/tear resistance.

Creative Memories addresses each factor during the product development process. We use a stitched binding to ensure that hard-cover books are durable, unlike other manufacturers that may omit this step. For soft cover books we use an adhesive that is significantly more stable than the hot melt adhesives that used elsewhere, which may fail over time (see photo below).

Abrasion resistance is also critical. We use paper and ink that resist abrasion. The difference in between three papers can be significant (see below). Finally, we laminate hard-cover StoryBooks to ensure that they will last as long as possible.

The length of time that a photo will last if it is properly store in the dark is determined by its stability to heat. For Creative Memories photo books, the main change is yellowing of the paper over time; consequently, our photo books will last an extremely long period of time in the dark, from 100-300 years.

Humidity is also important, as we cannot control the environment where our photo books may be stored, particularly in tropical climates. Humidity may result in book warp, ink movement, or pages sticking together. We test all photo books at 20% and 80% RH to ensure that changes in humidity will not damage our photo books.

Durability, abrasion resistance, and heat and humidity resistance are the factors that determine photo book stability. Permanence also depends on materials and the production process. Consequently, environmental and physical tests are the only way to ensure permanence and make photo books a preservation solution for the future.

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

The following information is from Alexis Gerard, Founder and President, Future Image at the 63rd Annual I3A Conference on Imaging Innovation. Personally, I think a picture is actually worth 10,000 words. What are your thoughts?

Why A Picture is Worth 1000 Words

Whenever communication calls for description of people, places, objects, or processes, IMAGES (Still or Motion) have the following advantages:

• More Efficient (less time used at either end)
• More Appealing (you "get to it" faster)
• Capture information with greater completeness/integrity
• Avoid language-based problems (global economy)
• Avoid need for specialized vocabulary
• Have greater power of conviction

 

StoryBook Creator for the Macintosh

We have received many comments and emails requesting StoryBook Creator for the Macintosh and would like to let everyone know that we have heard you. We are now actively working with Macintosh developers and hope to have StoryBook Creator developed specifically for the Macintosh available in the fall of 2010, assuming everything goes as planned. Our goal is to develop a version that incorporates the capabilities available in the Windows version, along with the unique features of the Macintosh operating system.  We expect the Macintosh version to be fully compatible with files created under Windows and to use the same content as the Windows version. I have just finished reading Inside Steve’s Brain by Leander Kahney and have a Macintosh at my desk so I hope we can fully capture the spirit of the Macintosh as we proceed with this project.

iPhone Camera Captures the Moment

I am now using an iPhone 3GS. I have fallen for the latest trend in consumer marketing. This camera is easy to use and provides an ideal way to capture many of life's moments. I have a digital SLR but I don't always like to carry it with me. While the iPhone camera does not replace a high quality camera, it provides more than adequate photos, suitable for many projects.

I shot a series of photos at a Kindergarten field trip, which is one of the occasions I don't like to carry a large camera. It is simply too difficult to manage the camera and help the children on the field trip.

The image quality of the iPhone camera was similar to my first digital camera, which was purchased seven years ago. It has a 3 megapixel camera and produces acceptable quality photos. Transferring the photos to my computer and bringing the photos into Memory Manager and StoryBook Creator was easy with the included USB cable.

The iPhone camera has some difficulty reproducing highlights. The detail was completely lost in the brightest areas of some photos. In addition, the iPhone camera has difficulty with low light levels and really needs a flash to handle those situations. The lack of an optical zoom means that careful framing the photo and moving closer to the subject is more critical than ever. My final concern is that without a lens cap, the camera lens may get scratched or dirty over time. I have no information on how image quality changes over time but it is a concern.

Overall, I am pleased with my new camera and recommend it. By the way, this camera also works as a cell phone, but that is outside the scope of this blog. 

Calendars Preserve Photos

I take a lot of photos, including many that never wind up in StoryBooks. In fact, until Creative Memories added the calendar feature to StoryBook Creator 3.0, I had no idea what I was going to do with all those photos.

I used 438 photos to create my calendar, and the advantage of the new calendar is that when the year is done I can tear off the calendar grid and I will have 438 photos on album pages. I can then place these pages in either a Picfolio Max or traditional album

Now I know that I will not lose these photos, even if something happens to my computer and the external hard drive that I use to backup my photos.

To create these pages, I used the SBC 3.0 2010 Plus Basic Calendar Pages  and the Insert Empty Frame feature of StoryBook Creator Plus. I resized the first frame and placed it in the upper right hand corner of my page. I then replicated this frame to create the first row. Next, I grouped all frames in the first row and then replicated this row to create an entire page of empty frames. Finally, I ungrouped the frames in each row and filled them with photos that I had taken throughout the year.

I selected 12 sets of photographs (one for each month) and then determined approximately how many frames I would need for each set. I also determined if the photographs were primarily vertical, horizontal, or a mix of both and designed the page accordingly.

Once I had all my photos in, I added holidays, birthdays, my anniversary, etc, along with a few photos on special days. Now my calendar is ready to print.

Get your calendars completed now and have them ready for ordering, which begins November 1. I have included two pages of my calendar in this posting. More information about calendars is available at Give the Perfect Calendar, and my complete calendar is on Facebook.

Give the Perfect Calendar

The 12 x 18 Calendar, available Nov. 1 at $20.99, is the perfect holiday gift. Start creating this 12-month calendar beginning Oct. 1, with either StoryBook Creator 3.0 or StoryBook Creator Plus 3.0. The 12 x 18 size is perfect for including your favorite page designs from StoryBooks and Page Prints.

The calendar includes 12 printed 12 x 12 pages. The pages are uncoated so they’re compatible with Creative Memories high-quality pens.

The calendar also features a metal spiral binding and hanger. The spiral binding keeps the calendar pages together, unlike staples that may fail over time. The hanger is durable and designed to eliminate the need for a nail hole in the calendar.

When the month or the year is over, simply remove the perforated calendar grid and place the calendar page in a traditional album using the Side-Loading Sleeves, a PicFolio® Max Album or on an Everyday Display. Like Page Prints, these calendar pages have an expected lifetime of more than 100 years when stored in an album.

The calendar is the ideal way to enjoy and preserve your memories. For another gift option, don’t forget about the Personalized Softcover StoryBooks introduced in October 2009. The 7 x 5 and 8 x 8 sizes are conveniently priced and fun for all occasions.

The complete November/December Tech Notes is available - Download Tech Notes_200911&12.

Digital Photos Up-Close

The appearance of a digital print depends on how we look at it. All prints are designed for a specific viewing distance and will contain artifacts when viewed at closer distances. For digital prints, this distance is typically 1.5 times the diagonal of the print or 17" for an 8x8" print and 25" for a 12x12" print. Similarly, books are designed to be viewed at a minimum distance of 10-12".

When prints or books are viewed closer than these distances the dot patterns that make up the digital prints become readily apparent. The dot patterns come from the way digital prints use different size dots to create the illusion of continuous tone. The image to the right is of an eye enlarged to show the dot structure.

Traditional photographs do not generally show the same dot pattern. Instead, these prints show a noticable lack of sharpness when enlarged. The photo to the right is of an eye printed on traditional photographic paper.

The loss of sharpness with traditional photographic printing becomes particularly apparent with text and other high-contrast items that may be present in a digital image. The images below illustrate the difference in text reproduction with both methods.

Which print is better? The answer is that neither print is inherently better. They are different, and in fact, both systems are capable of producing high-quality digital prints.

Innovation Award Goes to First Digital Camera Developer

This year's Economist Innovation Award in Consumer Products went to Kodak's Steve Sasson who took advantage of digital sensors to develop the first functioning digital camera in 1975. (See Nobel Prize in Physics.) It's hard to believe that digital cameras have been around 34 years. In their announcement the Economist states:

Steve Sasson, a Kodak electrical engineer, built the world’s first digital camera in 1975, though it was many years before this type of camera made it to market and became the huge consumer hit that it is today. Texas Instruments designed a filmless analog camera three years earlier, but Sasson was the first to create a filmless digital camera.

Sasson’s original prototype weighed eight pounds, recorded black and white images to a cassette tape, had a resolution of 0.01 megapixel and took 23 seconds to capture its first image. The prototype camera was a technical exercise, not intended for production. In 1978, Sasson was issued a U.S. patent for the digital camera.

Nobel Prize in Physics Goes to Digital Camera Inventors

This year's Nobel Prize in Physics went to the inventors of the technology behind digital cameras. Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith of Bell Laboratories were awarded the prize for their invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit - the CCD sensor. Actually, the Nobel prize was shared with the Charles K. Kao who was behind another technology breakthrough, fiber optics, but it is still a significant announcement.

The Nobel press release includes the following details:

In 1969 Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smithinvented the first successful imaging technology using a digital sensor, a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device). The CCD technology makes use of the photoelectric effect, as theorized by Albert Einstein and for which he was awarded the 1921 year's Nobel Prize. By this effect, light is transformed into electric signals. The challenge when designing an image sensor was to gather and read out the signals in a large number of image points, pixels, in a short time.

The CCD is the digital camera's electronic eye. It revolutionized photography, as light could now be captured electronically instead of on film. The digital form facilitates the processing and distribution of these images. CCD technology is also used in many medical applications, e.g. imaging the inside of the human body, both for diagnostics and for microsurgery.

Digital photography has become an irreplaceable tool in many fields of research. The CCD has provided new possibilities to visualize the previously unseen. It has given us crystal clear images of distant places in our universe as well as the depths of the oceans.