Let’s go over a few important points that will have your photo images looking sharp and ready for printing.

Image Resolution:   Measured in Dots per Inch

You want the photos in your yearbook to look as good as conventional photographs (made from film) – and so do we.   To accomplish that, the photo’s resolution must be at least 240 dots per square inch (“dpi”).   In some cases, such as if you are printing on glossy paper with a high resolution printer, we recommend you go as high as 300 dpi. The resolution of your images can easily be determined in Adobe Photoshop or  any other photo editing software.

Pixels Matter Greatly

Pixels are small squares of colored digital information that make up a digital image.  The number of pixels will vary depending on the image’s resolution.   As an example,  let’s do the math to see how many pixels you’d need to print a 5 x 7″ picture.  Let’s assume 240 dpi is fine for our needs.  This means that for each inch, both vertically and horizontally, there are 240 distinct pixels. So:     

7″ x 240 = 1,680 pixels

5″ x 240 = 1200 pixels

Total Pixels = 2,016,000 pixels (1,200 x 1,680)

Final Considerations

CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black.   When you are sending a PDF,  please be sure that he color mode is set to CMYK.

Last, as you prepare your documents for printing, please make sure Adobe is set so that the document is single-sided.   We’ll print a double-sided yearbook for you (as long as that’s what you want), but the presses need to read the file with the setting at “single-sided.”

Feel free to let us know what your questions are.  We’re here to help.

1. Know your timeline – Before you can successfully produce a yearbook, you will need to find out when the printer needs the files and work backwards from there. Make sure you leave in some wiggle room in case you need a couple rounds of proofs or in case production doesn’t go as easily as planned.
2. Remember teamwork is everything – A well-run yearbook committee is one that has mapped out their duties and agreed to take them on and collaborate consistently. The majority of the work should not fall on only a couple people.
3. Know your specifications as early as possible – There are many specifications that can drastically change the production run of yearbooks, so be sure you get your final specifications as early as possible. That way, your printing company can provide accurate pricing quotes and timelines. You’ll need to know book size, number of pages, number of copies, color placement, photography schedules, cover design and end sheet design, to name a few.
4. Determine your budget – You need to be sure you know what you are aiming for so that you can design your yearbook for what you can afford. If you spend months designing a full color yearbook, for example, but you can only afford half of the yearbook to be in color, you will have wasted a lot of time.

Most personalization is done by adding a student’s (or participant’s) name to the front cover of their yearbook. On soft cover yearbooks, the name is typically printed in full color on the front cover. It is sometimes free and can be done in almost any style, color and font. On hard cover yearbooks, the personalization is usually foil stamped on the front, and is more limited in style, color and font.

All that is required is a list of names to be sent to the printing company, from which they will merge the list with their software to create the personalized books. Most companies prefer this list to be supplied as an Excel file.

Many schools and organizations are embracing this personalization technology to add another element of fun and uniqueness to their yearbooks. What can you envision for your school or organization?

Here are theme ideas that have proven to be successful for many schools:

• Relevant world topics – By choosing a theme based on a current event or topic that is happening in the world today, you bring more meaning into every page. Themes might include, sustainability, speaking out or creating change in the world.

• School colors or mascot – Using your school colors helps create a consistent look for your yearbook and using your mascot shows school spirit. Get creative with it – for example, if your mascot is an eagle, you could use the theme “Soaring With the Eagles.”
• Technological advances – If this were the theme for your parents’ yearbook and the theme for your yearbook, each book would be dramatically different. Using technology as a theme helps to express an era like nothing else.
• Art – With a plethora of art pieces being created each year from students in your school, you will never run out of graphics to use for this theme. Plus, you can take an artistic approach to each design element in your yearbook.

Having a theme makes working on a project more fun and engaging, and it will make the final result more cohesive and intriguing.

Many platoons these days are creating cruisebooks as memorabilia, and the reasons are vast. By creating this type of book, which is basically a yearbook for the military, each platoon can record their moments in history. Records like this have often been scarce in the past, and by creating these books, they can be archived in libraries for students and interested researchers to discover.

Personally, these cruisebooks serve to capture those moments that matter most to you so you can remember them vividly. They act as a record of the years you spend fighting for your country – the hardships, the friendships, and the celebrations.

Serving time away from family is part of what makes your job so difficult and commendable, and it can often be near impossible to explain what it’s like to your family members. They will cherish your cruisebooks because by viewing them, they will be able to become more a part of what you do. Just as you enjoy looking at photos of them so you can better understand what they have been up to, they will feel the same way.

Capture those moments by creating a cruisebook that will be cherished by you, your platoon, your family and your country alike.

By knowing ahead of time what events you want photographed, how you want them photographed and what you want to capture about those events, you’ll be able to capture what matters most. Create a list of ideas for all of your photographers to work from so they know what to look for. Your Idea List might include things like:

Capture the following at Football Games:

• Facial expressions of the players during important plays.
• Funny moments that are happening on the sidelines.
• Close-ups of the crowd cheering and showing team spirit.
• Turn the “boring” into interesting by capturing the following in the Library:
• Students hard at work or searching intently for a specific book.
• Moments when students are working in teams discussing a project.

Bring out the excitement at Dances and Proms by capturing:

• Funny and/or exceptional dance moves in action.
• Facial expressions of friends enjoying the night together.
• Students exiting their limos in anticipation of the night.

By being creative and planning ahead, you can create yearbooks that bring to life every moment at your school. Make your Photo Idea List today!