Have you ever submitted a ROES order to JD, and the images didn’t come back cropped or rotated correctly?

We see this problem once or twice a month, so we know how frustrating it can be. Fortunately, we can recreate the problem at the lab, so we can tell you how to avoid it. Here’s what happens:

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We occasionally see images coming off the digital printing presses with cropping problems. If you grew up using film, you remember that everything was printed out to the edge.

However, images printed on digital presses (photo books, holiday cards, etc) are different. Friction rollers have to grab a bit of the edge of each piece of paper to pull it through the machine. To keep the rollers from gumming up, the edges don’t get printed. This means that every piece of paper that goes through the printer has a bit of white border on all four edges. To create a full-bleed print, we trim off these edges.

To account for trimming, here are three tips you should know:

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Have you ever sent an order to the lab, then changed your mind?

ROES users can now cancel orders that have not been printed.

In your order confirmation email you will see a new link to cancel your order. Click the link, enter your customer ID, and click the “Cancel Order” button. The lab print system will check the order status. If the order has not yet been printed, it will be canceled. If it has already been printed, it will let you know.

Depending on time of day and order volumes, some orders are printed minutes after they are received at the lab. However, the cancel option will always work if you send in an order after hours and cancel it before the next business day.

A couple of times a year a customer will call and say “my computer died. I installed ROES/LabPrints on my new PC, but how do I get my work back?”

There are actually three answers to this question: how to backup ROES, how to backup LabPrints, and how to backup your images.

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Accordion Mini Books are a great new way for your clients to show off their images.

• Each order includes 3 identical books so your clients can share with their family and friends.
• The magnetic cover on the mini book makes it easy to carry in a pocket or purse.
• Accordion Mini Books have up to 10 wallet-size customizable panels.
• Standard Leather covers in black or blue or custom photo covers are also available.

To order Accordion Mini Books, in ROES select the Press Printed catalog and click the Multi-Folded Cards tab.

MyDigitalProductsOnline.com is an “unbranded” website hosted by JD that displays all the press-printed graphic layouts available in ROES. Use it to quickly view all our card styles on a single page:

• Graduations, Weddings, Holidays, Baby Announcements
• Dozens of horizontal and vertical Slimline card styles
• Folding cards with optional sentiments
• Always adding more

Since JD is never mentioned anywhere on the site, you can show the website to your customers at your studio when selecting card styles. You could even call a client and have them pick a card style while you’re talking on the phone!

If you use ROES, bookmark MyDigitalProductsOnline.com and check back often. New card designs are constantly being added.

Links to the ROES, LabPrints, and ImageQuix training videos are now available on the training center page on our website.

These 3-5 minutes videos teach you all the basics you need to know to get up and running with the software.

Over the next few months, we will be releasing additional videos recorded from our training classes that will teach more in-depth topics.

Drop shadows are one of the easiest to use and most powerful ways to make text stand out on a page. They are especially useful when you need to set dark text on a dark image. Just add a light drop shadow, and your text will immediately pop.

However, used improperly, drop shadows can also cause problems with your layouts. The biggest problem we see at the lab is drop shadows that extend off the edge of an image, which result in a hard edge when printed.

Look at the first two examples on the right.

1. In the first example, the tight drop shadow will print properly, but because it is dark it tends to make the text look muddy.
2. In the second example, the drop shadow is much more attractive, but when it is printed, the right edge of the shadow will have a hard edge, ruining the drop shadow effect.

How to solve the problem?

1. Make your drop shadow small and tight to the text by minimizing the spread, size and distance (in Photoshop), and instead lower the opacity to make the shadow appear softer. See JD Photo #3 as an example.
2. If you need a large drop shadow, move the text away from the image edges as shown by JD Photo #4. The easiest way is to drop down 1-2 font sizes, for example, from 24 point to 22 or even 20 point text. If the text looks too small, raise it back up, use a smaller drop shadow, and lower the opacity.

Customers ask why we have minimum page requirements for photo books in ROES. We require an even number of pages, the minimum number is 6 pages (12 sides) in soft cover books, and the minimum number is 10 pages (20 sides) in hard cover books. Here’s why:

• Book pages have two sides. If you don’t submit an image for both sides, we cannot be sure whether you ran out of images, or if you forgot to finish the order before you sent your order in. Either way, you’ll get a call from customer service that may hold up your order.
• Bound books with less pages than the minimum aren’t aesthetically pleasing. They just look wrong. Instead of building a book you might not be proud to show, we’d rather give you a minimum page number.

Note that if you run out of pages to finish a book, you have three options:

1. Re-design your pages so that you meet both the minimum number and end up with an even number of pages.
2. Submit blank light-colored or white pages at the end of the book. For example, on a student photo book you could put a text node at the top of the final page that said “Memories” or “Autographs”.
3. In your order notes, explain that you know the book is short pages, and tell us to make up to the minimum with blank white sheets. Since we don’t have to print them, we won’t charge you for them.

We’re doing some user account housekeeping over the next several days. We will be updating your billing and shipping information based on the information in your ROES Customer Information window.

1. Make sure your Customer information is correct. The address here will be your new shipping address. Note that we have added a new field called “Contact Name”. Be sure to fill this (and every) field in when the Customer Information screen prompts you.
2. New Billing Options. When completing an order, you will see the New billing options “Use Existing” or “New Credit Card”. Most customers should select “Use Existing” for us to bill using your current account information we have on file. Select “New Credit Card” only if you need to update your payment information. Once you select this option, all future orders will be billed to the new credit card.

If your current shipping information doesn’t match the Customer Information screen, it may result in delayed orders.

This information will be used as your default shipping address and on all your shipments starting the first week of August.