Making Albums - SW & Tools

[amccomis]

Currently, I'm doing albums (squares 10x10 seem most popular), using Photoshop CS3, and my process is to lay them out as 6000x3000 (20x10 @ 300dpi), set my guides at 1/8" all the way around the outside, a guide in the middle (vertical at 3000, horizontal at 1500) and design from there. I use the Gary Fong album designer actions to quickly do standard things (borders, opaque image, preset tilts, etc)

But, running CS3, and doing 6000x3000 PSD files in and out, my machine sometimes gets a little sluggish.

I have a P4 3.0 (yes, it's a couple years old now), with 1.5GB ram, plenty o' disk space on two drives (the scratch disk is a 10krpm sata).

It still takes me about 30 minutes per 2-page spread. That's color correcting, selecting images, and getting it the way I want it. Opening and saving images are sometimes 2-3 seconds (opening JPGs) and opening and saving PSD files are 15-30 seconds sometimes.

Is anyone else using something that tops this? Do I need to upgrade my hardware, get a different toolset (software), or is this just the way it is?

Thanks in advance for all replies.

[figmented]

try insdesign.. lets u do some photoshop for backgrounds, and layout for the images.. and it uses 'preview' images for layout, so it doesnt use the full rez pics while u are editing (so that the machine runs super fast. (there is always a high quality view if you really need to see the detail)

i can make a 20 spread album in less then an hour.


forgot to say.. that i use lightroom, and color correct/cull/adjust all my pics before i go into designing.. that way i can just flop the pics in, and if they need a lil love, u can right click edit inphotoshop, make adjustments and boom, its updated in indesign..

indesign is really the future of album designing, THAT is what it was made for.. page layout.. i laugh all the time when i see people spend more then 4 hours on an album.. oh well.



i also really hate advertising this, http://www.newschoolphoto.com/blogme/software-video-series-indesign/
because it's really easy to figure out on your own without paying 35$.. but for people that'd have never used indesign, they say it helped greatly.

[GotDesign01]

Yes, InDesign is the shizzle. Much better for laying out your albums. If you're still having problems with your system speed, try reinstalling Windows and your software. I know it's a hassle, but it's worth it for increased performance.

[tim]

Wow, 30 minutes per spread, you'll never make money doing it that way. I can prepare images for a 20 page album in a couple of hours (color correct etc), then design an album in 2-3 hours. I use PhotoJunction, but the other program you should look at is Lumapix FotoFusion.

[amccomis]

I even have Indesign as part of my CS3 bundle. I'll check it out!!

Muchas gracias for the tips, all.

[amccomis]

Yes, InDesign is the shizzle. Much better for laying out your albums. If you're still having problems with your system speed, try reinstalling Windows and your software. I know it's a hassle, but it's worth it for increased performance.

As others indicate, I'm just suffering from the penalties of working with everything at full res all the time...

Thanks for the input!

[figmented]

well with indesign, it uses 'low rez' files for laying out.. so the comp isnt working hardcore trying to render 40 pages of high rez pics.. its really great man.. learn it, and then come back with your findings! :)

[tim]

In my opinion the only reason to use InDesign is because you already own it. Album design programs are made just to design albums, and they make it much easier.