packaging jpegs to clients for print opps and possible TV viewing

lisarhinehart

I would like my clients to have access to j pegs to create their own prints as well as a way to show the slideshow of my photography on their TV. I would like it to be packaged so that it does look like it is from a professional.

I'm sure there is a better way to do this, but I have been using light scribe dvd-rs and software and then packaging them in nice DVD cases and customizing a cover with their names, my website and two pictures on it. I'm curious to see what others are doing. Do any of you use light scribe for anything similar?

Can I somehow design what I want to print on the disc in photo shop and have light scribe imprint it on the disc for me if I want to make something more involved in lieu of buying their software? I assume I could also design the cover on photoshop. ( I recently bought it and have to figure out how to use it).

I purchased a pack of light scribe discs and tried them in my bluray player that basically plays everything, even tiny discs of home movies, and it wouldn't play. I haven't told my clients that it would play on their TV, so they have no expectations, but I would like to be able to say that in the future.

Well thanks for reading such a long message

--Lisa

The Curious Camel

Hi Lisa, I am not a professional but my husband and I do make our own labels for Cd's and DVDs.
When you purchase the labels you can get the software with it. The glossy labels look more
professional in my opinion and you can design anything you like. Hope that helps.

Peace, gail

ssimmonsphoto

I use lightscribe and design my labels using PS. The key is to make a square image and then insert it in to you lightscribe burning software as a background. I use Nero to burn mine, but it's just ok. Not sure there is anything better, but it's all I had already.

In terms of playing in a DVD player, that is entirely based on the format in which you burn it. Burning images on to it so that they can print them is pretty much not going to be able to be played in a DVD player unless their player would allow JPG discs. If you want it to work in a DVD player, you'd have to use a movie authoring tool (like iMovie on a Mac) to create the "show" and then you'd need to burn it using DVD authoring software (like iDVD on a Mac). Make more sense?

Scott_Quier

For labels, I also use LightScribe. I developed a background image in PS. Then I import this image into the Nero disc label righting application (that's my choice cause that's what I've got, but there are other solutions), add words, etc and print that to the label side of the disk.

As for delivering images/slide shows .... I deliver two disks.

• The first is the JPGs and is viewable on most computers. But, this disk is usually not viewable on DVD/BlueRay players.
• The second, the slide show, I develop using Memories On TV by CodeJam. You can mix the slide show with music (be sure to do it right, don't violate anyone's copyright ) to make a quite emotional product. Memories on TV then produces an ISO image of a quite nice product. I then can either continue to use Memories on TV to burn the disk or save the ISO and use any tool of choice to burn multiple copies. Nero works for this. On a PC, Windows 7 actually has a quite reliable and reasonably fast ISO burning application.

mmmatt

Although most dvd players wont play a dvd full of jpgs, most WILL play a cd full of jpgs without any special authoring.

Matt

Crystal-Pixel

I use Lightscribe (scribe there flowers onto it) and I bought a 100 pack CD slim case from Ebay (all pink - same color). I color print the front label with a picture of there flowers/rings and a label of there Names and wedding date. I give them the cds wrapped in a light green ribbon. That usually does the trick

Anybody having issues with the lightscribe? Some of my brides can't seem to read the discs... this has happened twice already..
I check the discs on 3 computers and they work fine - but they take it home and it wont work...

I am contemplating giving them a USB drive....

Scott_Quier

Crystal-Pixel wrote:

I use Lightscribe (scribe there flowers onto it) and I bought a 100 pack CD slim case from Ebay (all pink - same color). I color print the front label with a picture of there flowers/rings and a label of there Names and wedding date. I give them the cds wrapped in a light green ribbon. That usually does the trick

Anybody having issues with the lightscribe? Some of my brides can't seem to read the discs... this has happened twice already..
I check the discs on 3 computers and they work fine - but they take it home and it wont work...

I am contemplating giving them a USB drive....

If you are giving them a DVD of the photos, then there is a chance they are running with an older DVD drive. Some older drives can not read both of the DVD formats available. In this case, you could make an argument that you are partly to blame - you delivered the product on a format they couldn't read.

However, if you are actually giving them CD discs, then they really have the issue - a bad CD drive.

Art Scott

not being able to read a disk on a computer has to do with the finalization of the disk......some software doesnot automatically finalize the disk to be read / played / used on ANY computer / player.......there is usually a choice of what to do with the disk just before telling itto being the burn......I do not know Nero.....I have my experience with Roxio Easy Media Creator and Sony Soundforge+ Architect (professional red lable recording software just like the big companies use, what we used at Wichita State and we had to make sure that the little box .....finalize for all plyers was ticked or it would only play on our burner............
Make sure are making it a read only disk and not a disk you can add info to later on............

I use Lightscribe and have been for over 6yrs and have had no probs with disks being read on others computers.......for slide shows for tv viewing I used to use acrobat....Now I use FLIP ALBUM (comes in both PC and Mac versions).....it acts liike your reading a book.....the pages actually flip right to left just like reading...

Crystal-Pixel

Yeah I'm giving them DVDs because all the files are almost 4Gigs total. I think CDs would be overkill. It seems that they only work for brides that have newer computers. Could it be that they just dont have a drive that reads DVDs? or maybe its because I burn them off a Vista PC? I'm not sure... But it reads on all my systems that have DVD drives. What do you guys do if you have alot of photos to give the bride and there computer can't read it?

Crystal-Pixel

Art Scott wrote:

I use Lightscribe and have been for over 6yrs and have had no probs with disks being read on others computers.......for slide shows for tv viewing I used to use acrobat....Now I use FLIP ALBUM (comes in both PC and Mac versions).....it acts liike your reading a book.....the pages actually flip right to left just like reading...

The Flip book looks interesting. Do the brides get access to the files to print them or use them online?

Art Scott

Crystal-Pixel wrote:

The Flip book looks interesting. Do the brides get access to the files to print them or use them online?

All disks I make use small file that will print upto 4x6" prints.....they have to come to me for anything larger....all disk have a printed copyright notice on the disk label, a text file with copyright notice inside, a jpg copyright notice with the other jpgs......flip album first page is copyright notice and last page has same notice........startied doing this when i found local mini lab disregarded the light scribed copyright on the disk label, it was a tst run with a friends senior photos.....and they printed large posters for her with no questions.....I give them one chance in writing to stop and desist or I would sue the next time.
Haven't had a problem since and I did not hear back from them in answer to my letter either...........

to answer your ?.......no files for printing....but the small files can be put online as long as I get a credit line.......which is automatic from the signature on the lower part of the images............

mmmatt

Crystal-Pixel wrote:

Yeah I'm giving them DVDs because all the files are almost 4Gigs total. I think CDs would be overkill. It seems that they only work for brides that have newer computers. Could it be that they just dont have a drive that reads DVDs? or maybe its because I burn them off a Vista PC? I'm not sure... But it reads on all my systems that have DVD drives. What do you guys do if you have alot of photos to give the bride and there computer can't read it?

You are "finalizing" your discs right?

Matt

Crystal-Pixel

mmmatt wrote:

You are "finalizing" your discs right?

Matt

Yes sir I am. I even test them on other computers. I'm wondering if maybe I should just let the brides order prints off of my Smugmug (So I get commission) and just put the lower res on cds for them to show on the computer. This way I dont use up the DVDs. That flipbook looks like a good idea to. Does everyone here give the highres photos? Am I doing this right? lol...

What I do is give the bride and groom the highres and webres photos on dvds.. but I also put them online so they can send the gallery to friends and family and purchase them too.. But most of the time, nobody buys from my smugmug gallery. So I just make the money on the shoot... what does everyone else do?

Scott_Quier

Crystal-Pixel wrote:

Yeah I'm giving them DVDs because all the files are almost 4Gigs total. I think CDs would be overkill. It seems that they only work for brides that have newer computers. Could it be that they just dont have a drive that reads DVDs? or maybe its because I burn them off a Vista PC? I'm not sure... But it reads on all my systems that have DVD drives. What do you guys do if you have alot of photos to give the bride and there computer can't read it?

Re-read my post. It's the newer computers that don't have problems with both DVD formats One format is +R, the other is -R and they are different.

It has nothing to do with what kind of computer you are using or the O/S you are using.

I've taken to asking my clients about the age of their computer(s). If they don't have one that is less than a couple or three years I warn them that the DVD that I deliver may not work on their computer and that if it doesn't that I'll re-burn the images to as many CDs as necessary to get the job done.

Crystal-Pixel

Scott_Quier wrote:

Re-read my post. It's the newer computers that don't have problems with both DVD formats One format is +R, the other is -R and they are different.

It has nothing to do with what kind of computer you are using or the O/S you are using.

I've taken to asking my clients about the age of their computer(s). If they don't have one that is less than a couple or three years I warn them that the DVD that I deliver may not work on their computer and that if it doesn't that I'll re-burn the images to as many CDs as necessary to get the job done.

Ahh got it. Alrighty I will just have do the same Thanks Scott!

BradfordBenn

I get lots of calls at work about DVDs that aren't accessible for people, and well the root cause is the age of the machine, believe it or not there are people out there still with just CD drives in their machines. My understanding of the DVD+R vs DVD-R is that once they are finalized DVDs, any DVD reader will read it. My unscientific test at home, I grabbed some DVD-R and DVD+R discs and put them both into my old Windows machine that I know doesn't burn DVD-R it read it fine.

In terms of labeling DVDs one of the tricks that I have seen done (and we have done it at work) is order lots of blanks with the labels already printed on them, but then they are not personalized. However one can get more complex prints on the disc.

lisarhinehart

read only finalized
Thanks for all your responces

So as long as I'm making sure it is "read only" "finalized" everything should be fine on computer and dvd player (given that they have a DVD drive, which would be any machine in the last 3 years). Just want to make sure I get it.