AN EXCLAMATION mark will appear on any photo that iPhoto thinks will not print well.
Such low-resolution photos - taken by, say, older digital cameras or mobile phones - might be blurred or pixelated when printed out.
Solution: Either use another image, or set the page layout to accept more photos (up to six).
When you squeeze more photos on one page, there is a chance that your low-res image can still pass muster.
A rough guide is to use images that are at least 2 megapixels (or 1,600 x 1,200 pixels) in resolution.
APPLE'S iPhoto '08 does more than just manage your growing library of digital photos.
The Macintosh-only software also lets you design creative projects, like a glossy photo book or a customised calendar - with your photographs pasted all over.
Not only that, Apple has finally opened up the iPhoto Print service to customers in Singapore.
The Apple iPhoto Print service has been available in the United States since 2002. It was subsequently extended to Canada, Japan and a few European countries like Britain. This February, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand were added to the list.
On the six-year wait, Apple said in a statement:
"We have been continuously upgrading iPhoto Print products with new features and rolling it out in new countries."
With iPhoto, it is like having an online version of your neighbourhood photo store nestled within the application - no need to launch a Web browser.
You can send not only photos, but also calendars, greeting cards and photo books for high-quality printing and even book-binding - all done the Apple way from end-to-end.
Here is my personal experience in using the iPhoto Print service.
Step One: Start your book
I opted to create a large hardcover photo book featuring the best photos of my kids.
On the album of pre-selected photos, I clicked on the "Book" icon at the bottom of the screen.
There are 13 thematic photo book templates - with names like Picture Book or Crayon - offering pre-arranged layouts with boxes in which you can drag and drop photos. Incidentally, I chose the "Crayon" theme.
Those who are familiar with Microsoft Power-Point or Apple Keynote should find making a photo book child's play compared to designing a presentation.
Step Two: Drag and drop
The next task: Drag and drop photos into the book's on-screen layout. Getting the layout done can take minutes or hours, depending on how fussy you are.
Impatient folks can prompt iPhoto to automatically place all unplaced photos into the book using the "Autoflow" icon - presto! an instant photo book.
Image editing involves clicking on the image to launch iPhoto's set of editing tools to enhance the photo.
There are some layout options to play with too. For instance, you can set a page to support four smaller photos instead of one large portrait, or change the page colour to your liking.
After slotting in the photos, I filled in all the necessary caption boxes, including an introduction to the book. (Problem images get an exclamation mark on them - see below)
Step Three: Click to print
Time to go online. (If you have ever bought anything online from Apple before, skip this step. Simply use your existing ID and password.)
After my masterpiece had been previewed to satisfaction, the "Buy Book" button was the next step.
First-timers who have never transacted online with Apple before need to set up an account by going through a three-step process.
This entitles you to use Apple's 1-Click service, using a given ID and designated password.
As a first-timer, I went through the three-step sign-up screens and filled in the necessary information.
Step Four: Order book
Finally, I got to the Order Book window - the final hurdle to cross.
The total cost: $60.66 (including shipping charges of $10.90) for a hardcover book with the default 20 pages of photographs. (You pay more for additional pages.)
A final click on the "Buy Book" option, and iPhoto went into the long process of assembling or finalising the book.
It took about five minutes to assemble my photo book, followed by another 10 minutes to upload the file (about 24.3MB). And that was it.
Step Five: Wait
An order confirmation will be sent via e-mail by Apple.
As the photo books are printed specially in the US - for quality reasons, says Apple - and couriered here, it took 14 days from order to delivery.
But the wait was worth it.
The freshly minted hardcover photo book resembled a premium coffee-table publication found in Borders or Kinokuniya bookstore.
Verdict: My wife was absolutely delighted (which meant the photo book passed the quality test). And my kids now have a personal photo book as a childhood memento.
This story was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life on 15 April 2008.
