Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Photoshop Yearbook!?
- Thread starter oli2140
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Photoshop is an image manipulation program. It's not made for these. You want a layout program like Quark or InDesign. 
I did yearbook for two years. You have to do it on Indesign. It will save you so much trouble.
Who is going to print your books, is it Jostens?
Who is going to print your books, is it Jostens?
Lol. You're warezing InDesign because you don't feel like buying it... when you're working for an educational institution that either already has copies or can get them for pennies... and then you're coming here asking for help when you've never even used it before. Nice.
I feel sorry for you if you have more than one spread and you use photoshop. It will be a headache since photoshop doesnt have any kind of pages like indesign. You would end up with 50 psd files and prob GBs of files. Basically a HUGE/UNNECESSARY headache.
Yes, automatic photo and type insertion is possible with Photoshop. You can find the info in Speed Clinic by Matt Kloskowski. Nevertheless, as others have pointed out, unless this "yearBOOK" is actually published online, you'd be better off using a page-layout application like InDesign. (Frankly, as I think of perfect binding, page creep, chapters, table of contents, database plugins and proofing, it sounds like you are in way over your head.)
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
That's like saying you would rather walk to the nearest city that's 200 miles away instead of taking the train/bus or driving cause you don't have the money or you plan on walking your whole life. Is it doable? Yes. Is it wise to do it? No.
maybe something really simple would be a batch "Contact Sheet2" uner automation or something aroiund there. Name the file the person's name and it will write it underneath.
Solution? No, it is a mere band-aid on a cut off leg.
Bestsolution is InDesign, maybe Quark (ugg) or Pagemaker (old ugg)
Solution? No, it is a mere band-aid on a cut off leg.
Bestsolution is InDesign, maybe Quark (ugg) or Pagemaker (old ugg)
This screams nightmare to me.
I was the computer editor for my HS yearbook for three years and work for a commercial printer as a designer and prepress op. I see what you're trying to do, and all I can say is I hope you know what you're in for.
To second a question asked earlier, who is publishing your book for you? Are you using a publisher that does yearbooks all the time (Jostens, Taylor, etc.) or are you doing this all locally with a Kinko's or local copy place?
You have a good idea letting people basically do their own layout work for you, but you've got to have a more strict guideline with regards to specs. You've got to have a base resolution for printing all these "pages" otherwise you're going to be getting a stack of 72 dpi web photos and clipart that looks terrible in print. Also, you'll have to do a lot more work making sure that no one is doing anything in their pages that could get you in serious trouble (racist remarks, threats, images of illegal activities, etc.). It sounds silly, but it happens. And from a prepress standpoint, you'll either have to limit your submissions to a pre-set series of fonts, or have your submissions rasterized (not editable) before you or anyone else gets them since they'll get replaced or look completely different if someone down the line doesn't have all the same fonts or different versions. Nothing like getting someone screaming in your ear that it looks nothing like they wanted and you've "ruined all their hard work".
Regardless, good luck, it sounds like you're creating a lot more end-work for yourself by letting other people do what you're thinking is the hard work up front.
I was the computer editor for my HS yearbook for three years and work for a commercial printer as a designer and prepress op. I see what you're trying to do, and all I can say is I hope you know what you're in for.
To second a question asked earlier, who is publishing your book for you? Are you using a publisher that does yearbooks all the time (Jostens, Taylor, etc.) or are you doing this all locally with a Kinko's or local copy place?
You have a good idea letting people basically do their own layout work for you, but you've got to have a more strict guideline with regards to specs. You've got to have a base resolution for printing all these "pages" otherwise you're going to be getting a stack of 72 dpi web photos and clipart that looks terrible in print. Also, you'll have to do a lot more work making sure that no one is doing anything in their pages that could get you in serious trouble (racist remarks, threats, images of illegal activities, etc.). It sounds silly, but it happens. And from a prepress standpoint, you'll either have to limit your submissions to a pre-set series of fonts, or have your submissions rasterized (not editable) before you or anyone else gets them since they'll get replaced or look completely different if someone down the line doesn't have all the same fonts or different versions. Nothing like getting someone screaming in your ear that it looks nothing like they wanted and you've "ruined all their hard work".
Regardless, good luck, it sounds like you're creating a lot more end-work for yourself by letting other people do what you're thinking is the hard work up front.
Jostens (and possibly other yearbook vendors) have a web-based equivalent to InDesign that you get access to in order to lay out your project. That would solve a lot of your problems right there.
That being said, I really hope this isn't something you're trying to get produced before August or September.
That being said, I really hope this isn't something you're trying to get produced before August or September.
Are the web-based stuff as good as InDesign? I did it three years ago in high school. It was the year before they had the web version.
Having tinkered with the web-based program a little bit, it surprised me how good it was. No - it doesn't have the power that ID and Quark do, but it's significantly more powerful than Pagemaker or Publisher. For a yearbook, it's got exactly what one would need. Ability to index, let students edit pages, lock/hide pages from students, competent legitimate fonts, color scheme implementation, and template design, just to name a few.
We used Quark Express for layout and Photoshop for photo editing, resizing, etc. If you are using Jostins, you will want to use their yearbook ave thing.
It's really up to how much investment you're willing to put into your book and what kind of product you're looking to get out of it. I'd encourage you to do some research and solicit estimates for what you're interested in. Many online or small printers won't do hardcover book printing without a long and/or expensive process to produce them (most likely through another printer). If you go through a yearbook vendor they will take care of the production for you, you just need to provide them with your files. Jostens was a mess in the days I worked on my HS yearbook, so we went with Taylor Corp (from the US). Jostens typically has really restrictive contracts, so be very careful what you get into with them. They'll want your school to do EVERYTHING with them or pay them more money to only do certain stuff.
Really the best way to get in in the book is either to do it yourself or with a small group of trained people helping you, or to have the artwork ready-to-go from Photoshop and all you will do afterwards is to place them in the pages. I'd recommend the former since you'll get into more hassle trying to make sure all the files are print-ready if everyone else does them themselves. You know exactly what you need, and no matter how good your instructions are, someone will always screw it up.
So based on your layout, you're not really doing a yearbook, but more a contact book. Unless you have spreads for sports/features/clubs/index etc?