| Ordering a book from iPhoto (in pictures) |
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| Written by Philip Roy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, 18 February 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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I ordered a 56 page (double sided) hard-cover photo book. I can't include any images of the book here sorry due to privacy issues (sorry, but I feel I would be obliged to seek permission from everyone in any photo), but here's how the whole thing works.... Once you've made your book within iPhoto (note that this process includes selecting the type of book, style etc) click the "Buy Book" button at the bottom of iPhoto...
You'll be asked to log in with your Apple ID (usually your .Mac account or the one you use with iTunes) or register an Apple ID. Then you'll either be asked to confirm credit card and address details, or you will need to enter them. Note how they let you store multiple addresses for easy delivery...very cool.
Once that is done, you get to select the cover colour and quantity, as well as entering a discount coupon code if you have one (it's not clear how Apple hand these out and when). Please note that the image of the book is a default image and not a representation of the book I made. Note also the fact that I'm being told the book should ship from abroad in 3-4 days!! Wow...that's almost too good to be true...and in fact, is too good to be true (see later for a more accurate timeframe).
Next, iPhoto starts assembling the book in a format that it can send across the net. I suspect that it is compiling the book in a high quality PDF format, but I'm not overly concerned about what format it goes in...
It then connects to the Apple servers and starts transferring the book. Note that 56 pages for my book takes up about 48 Mb. That's not too bad, but people on dial up will find that a struggle.
My upload speed is slower than my download, so I knew it would take a while to go across. I also suspected that it might run into issues when my screen saver and energy saver kicked in (this often doesn't happen with other apps as the computer senses the program is doing something)....so I decided to test it. Sure enough, when the energy saver kicked in, it looks like it affected the broadband uploading....
To avoid this, I'd suggested using a cool free application like Jiggler. In my case, I had to start the upload all over again. Once the upload is complete, iPhoto will confirm the order....
And a short while later, you'll receive an email confirmation that states your book will be delivered from abroad in 10-14 days. Wait...what?!! As you can see, things have changed a little in terms of delivery time :-(
And that's it. I'll post at the end of this article when the book arrives (ordered on Sunday night, February 17) and let you know what I think of the quality of the book.
[Update 1 - March 5] The quality of the book is amazing...absolutely amazing....like something you'd get in a book shop, but of very high quality. By my calculations, the book took exactly 13 business days to arrive...1 day shy of the 10-14 business days Apple suggest. For privacy reasons, I can't show you the book, but when I opened up the standard cardboard packaging, I was very pleasantly surprised to find the book inside Apple-branded packaging...
Open that up and you find an receipt (with no mention of price...which I like...so you can safely have things sent direct to someone) and the book inside a plastic film envelope, which you can open and reseal later.
Technically I see little difference between iPhoto and the final version, although I would say the colours aren't as vivid as in the iPhoto application...but I guess that could be expected. A great purchase...the first of many...and now that mum's caught a whiff of the service, I think she'll be ordering like mad.
[Update 2 - April 3] In preparing the book of my parent's 50th wedding anniversary, I spent a lot of time sitting and using iPhoto...and realised that I had fallen into a trap I wanted to try and avoid...of simply having photos stored electronically and having no printed photos. I realised it had been some time since I had got genuine photos printed off. So, I went through and came up with some photos to get printed....total...158 images...eek! Now, I had no intention of using the Apple service. At 26 cents per photo (plus postage from overseas) they are more expensive than the website I have used in the past, DigitalMax. At 20 cents a photo and free delivery to a local pharmacy, they are much cheaper. Problem is, on the Mac side, they don't have any way to upload 158 photos....other than selecting each one individually. Not a problem...my cool MacBook Pro will let me boot into Windows and use the bulk upload java application for DigitalMax's site....only every time I tried, about half of the images would appear as blank....no preview thumbnail and nothing when editing. After trying three times (and that's a lot of uploading to do!) I gave up and realised that the Apple photo service was the way to go....at least it is far more Mac-compatible. Now the photos are yet to arrive, but I received notification of my order and then last night, received an email saying they were on their way. I'm attaching a drastically reduced image of that email. Why have I drastically reduced the image? Well....because it contained an itemised listing of what I had ordered...."1 4x6" 0.26 unit price 0.26 subtotal"....listed 158 times!! Thank goodness I didn't print it out.
So.....
[Update 3 - April 8] This update relates to the issue I describe in Update 1 about font and text issues. I can reveal now that the book was a retirement gift for a very respected colleague (and my boss!) at Massey. The book looks stunning. The text display issue really swamped me and I sent an email to Apple and had a little bit of communication with them, then nothing. The solution was one that I discovered, not that they offered up to me. Weeks later, I've had a very nice email from them today apologising profusely for the fact that my response to them appeared to get trapped in their spam filter. The email asked me how I got on and if I solved the issue. I responded that I had, but by changing from the default font to a different one and that perhaps they might like to investigate it further in case others run into the same issue. The response to this was fast and great....a comment to say they were pleased I had resolved the issue (for my book)...and a 20% refund of the costs of the books. Now, that's great service, but I don need to clarify that I pointed Apple to this page to see what I had said about the font issue. Are they refunding 20% because I own this site and wrote this article? I hope...and think, not. So good on Apple. Let's hope they resolve the font issue for those that don't check their books before ordering...but well done to them any way, for great customer follow-up. [Update 4 - April 8] Something tells me that Apple staff have been told they must reply to all emails. I sent one (thinking it was the end of the conversation after I had been told of the 20% credit refund) that simply said "Thanks, Phil". Whilst the reply I got was nice....it was....maybe too nice...and probably not needed....
[Update 5 - April 8] Last update to this story I promise. The photos mentioned in Update 2 arrived...all 158 of them and they are superb!
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Comments (17)
Graeme M
said:
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5 updates - Over the weekend I completed the preparation of a book within iPhoto '08 to have printed using the newly announced iPhoto printing service. As this was a first for me, I thought I would provide users with an idea of the process in images. As with the development of the books themselves, the process is incredibly easy. The only thing you need to be aware of is the size of the data that is sent through to Apple and the time that this process might take.
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I think I am a few days ahead of Philip having ordered a book on 10 February and then received an order confirmation the next day. On 13 February I got confirmation that the order had shipped and here we are on Monday 18 February waiting with anticipation. As part of the despatch confirmation the following note is included: "Here's when you can expect to receive your order as of today. Prints will be delivered in 1-6 business days (some regions excepted). Books, cards, and calendars will be delivered from abroad in 7-10 business days (some regions excepted). Business days exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays. If you have not received your order after 10 business days, please contact us. " I am keenly interested in the quality of the book and will add an additional note when the book arrives. |
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SteelBlades
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Thanks for the demonstration of this. I feel more confident myself now. |
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woody
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I ordered a small softcover book on the 12th. Said it shipped on the 15th. I'll also post when it arrives. I'm quite excited about this service - we've ordered a whole lot of prints at different sizes and ordered a small book in order to test the quality. I've found the quality of prints in Wellington to be really variable - this is even with prints done at the same place at different times. So I'm really hoping it is good quality. I did have a problem with ordering - it wouldn't accept my account, which I'd used to order from Apple previously. I then set up a new account with another of my email addresses and that worked fine. |
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Philip Roy
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I use digitalmax for photos (http://www.digitalmax.co.nz/) and it's great as you save money getting them sent to a local chemist....although they always look like they get nothing out of it when you turn up for a package that is already paid for. If anyone gets iPhoto prints/books etc and has used DigitalMax for similar, a comparison would be great to read. I'm also aware of these guys who advertised here once (http://www.shutterbook.co.nz) so any comparisons there would be great also. |
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Kiwirip
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Phil, thanks for outlining the process. I now feel better about doing it myself. The screen shots are great, thanks! I look forward to hearing what you think of the quality of the book. Cheers!  |
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Philip Roy
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OK, just got my confirmation also and same time period suggested. Suddenly, maths thoughts kicked in....iPhoto said usually ship in 3-4 days. Confirmation email said "Books, cards, and calendars will be delivered from abroad in 10-14 business" and shopping confirmation says..."Books, cards, and calendars will be delivered from abroad in 7-10 business days" So...am I being generous at letting Apple off the hook? Why?.... Usually ships dates delivered dates on printing = delivery dates on purchase in email 3-4 days 7-10 days = 10-14 days.....or is that just a coincidence? |
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poddster
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I'm looking forward to getting my book too, and by the looks of this thread I've been waiting the longest, as I got my order confirmation on 9 Feb and shipping confirmation on 12 Feb. Here I am on 26 Feb still waiting... I emailed Apple Support to find out where it was coming from (to work out how long it might take), and was told the books are made in the US (which was a bit of a surprise in these days of globalisation). I was encouraged to email Apple if I hadn't received anything by 25 Feb, so I'll flick them an email now and see how I go. |
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Philip Roy
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An update to my update re the font issue. Apple has been in touch (just over 48 hours which I think is good for such a big company) and their suggestion was to change the font (and check I had all software updates). OK as a solution, but the issue arose with the default font style for a book...which is kinda worrying. I've emailed them back and pointed them to this page so they can see the "profile" example....but it obviously could lead to heartache if you don't pre-check your book in detail. Make a preview PDF before buying! What you see is what you will get, so check it thoroughly. |
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lowededwookie
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This is good to know and it is such a beautiful looking piece with so much attention to everything including packaging. My Wellington project now has more incentive. Do you know if there is a way to add or remove pages? I have one album that I would like to make a book but it falls short of the template amount and I can't seem to remove any. I guess it's a matter of altering the boxes on each page I guess. Has anyone done this using Aperture yet? I'm looking at getting Aperture and was just curious if this supports the New Zealand shop. |
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Philip Roy
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Not quite sure what you mean, but there is an "Add pages" button when working with iPhoto books and there is a "Remove page" option in one of the menus. Phil PS...I seemto be unable to post comments here with Safari and am having to use Firefox...sorry if others are affected. |
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lowededwookie
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I didn't think to look in the menu. Will look at tonight thanks. I had the same problem last night. It kept asking me to login despite being logged in. |
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woody
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I received mine on the 26th, 14 days after ordering. We were amazed at the quality of the book. We ordered a soft-cover, medium sized book and the quality is amazing. We've decided we'll never do special photo albums ourselves again and will just do iphoto books. I highly recommend it. |
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lowededwookie
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I've been working on my book and found that you can't delete template pages but any page you add can be removed. I just made the photos single paged instead of multiple photos per page and it all worked out. Looking at ordering soon once I've got the text how I want it. |
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parosser
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Hi all, I order a medium wirebound 20 page book just to try it out. I thought $16.98 was great value. Anyway, I had an email on the 13th Feb telling me it was shipped and then it arrived exactly 10 business days later - which is what their email said it could take. I think it was sent from the States as the parcel had a US customs declaration, but the address label had an Australian address. Anyway, quality was excellent. I was only dissapointed by two things. 1, the book was thin! But this was my fault as that's what I imagined it....but really, 10 sheets of paper is never going to be thick! 2, the made on a mac printing on the back page was quite blurred. Next time I will un-tick this option. On the whole I'm very impressed and will start work on another book and this time add more pages. Hope this helps anyone wondering if they should try it out. Philip. |
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corbytas
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Hi Philip I just completed my photo book and clicked on the Buy Book button. The system has then popped up with a window stating supported countries for photo book and NZ is not listed (nor Australia). I attempted to create an account anyway, but when it came to entering Country again NZ was not an option. I am using iphoto 6 version - could this be the reason? Cheers Corbytas |
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Philip Roy
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Go to your Apple menu and choose "Software updates"...install all and as many updates as you can...especially the iPhoto ones. Then check links from this story.... http://www.nzmac.com/news/appl...users.html From what I read, the option to order should be there, but make sure you have registered on the Apple site (ie, create an account) so it know where you are...but most of all, run any updates |
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corbytas
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Hi Philip I contacted Apple and they have informed me I need to be on version 7.1.2 or higher. If you have iLife 08 then you can upgrade to version 7.1.2. Oh well looks like I need to upgrade my software. Cheers Corbytas |
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