Iphoto vs aperture book quality

I realize that aperture gives much more flexibility, however, is it the same printing service? I use iphoto, but there was a write up on aperture in a photo magazine giving it high marks. How different from a printing service standpoint are the two applications? Anyone know?

Diana Phillips wrote:
Are books from aperture and iphoto printed using the same quality paper,printers,inks etc????
OR is aperture better. I am not referring to the layout options just print quality.
Sadly, it appears that there is a bug in Aperture 2.1, and images printed from books within Aperture, whether by Apple or on your own printer, have serious colour management issues. This only affects images printed +from books+ within Aperture.

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Aperture book quality - worse than before?

Hello everyone,
My photo studio has been using Aperture for 8 months now and we are very happy with it. We love the organization, web output, etc. We also LOVE the book design layouts, but the quality of the book printing has been degrading over that past few months.
The first books we printed with Apple (around Nov/Dec 2006) were great, then about 3 months ago, we noticed the labels on the hardcover books went down in qulaity (almost like they were just using a color laser printer), and today we received five books in the mail and the quality is terrible. Also, two of the books have the "Made on a Mac" page in the back (like iPhoto).
It seemed to me (since I have had books printed by both Aperture & iPhoto) that the older Aperture books were of higher quality than the iPhoto books. Now, it seems as though they are one-in-the-same and our studio cannot have this lower quality book - it is not up to our standards.
I would gladly use another manufacturer, but every other design software out there for each respective company is terrible and takes three times as long for us to design a single book. I LOVE the integration of the books in Aperture and it makes our timeline two weeks shorter with our clients and that is what sets us apart from other studios in this town.
Has anyone else had these problems or noticed the change/degridation in the quality of the books?
Thanks!

C'mon Apple,
There is no way you don't know that the quality of your "sticker" covers is horrible. Maybe when you first launched your book service, but it has now been years. I just received three books, and all three have tacky, peeling front stickers.
Please give us an alternative, even if it costs more, that allows us to show our work with pride. After spending thousands and thousands on computers, software, cameras, lenses, etc., the cover of the books drags that first impression into the ground.
Thanks!

Help to make iPhoto mirror Aperture

I have not used iPhoto recently but after updating Aperture to 3.3 I now would like to use iPhoto again but would like it to mirror Aperture with the same albums, smart albums, etc. Now when I open iPhoto the library is there but no albums. Can iPhoto do this automatically and update automatically from aperture. I'd rather not set up the albums and maintain them manually.

There are some limitations on using the unified Aperture / iPhoto Library:
Aperture books and webpages will not be visible in iPhoto; and images that you have hidden in iPhoto cannot be made visible in Aperture.
Have a look at this KB article: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5043, i.e. the last section: Notes on working with unified libraries in iPhoto and Aperture
Regards
Léonie

Print quality difference between iphoto and aperture...?

when ordering books, is there a print quality difference between using iPhoto and Aperture? or are they sent to the same lab?
it's possible i may have some setting wrong, but when i order a book using iphoto, i never really feel the quality is that great. it's good, i just feel it could be a lot better. the print quality sort of reminds me of newsprint, albeit high quality newsprint. similar sized prints made at home on my basic 3-in-1 printer look better.
thanks...

Previews are what you view on your display. When you import a photo into Aperture (and I'm pretty sure iPhoto as well), your computer automatically generates a preview for quick viewing. The original images are stored in your library, but it is the preview that you see.
In Aperture, you are able to set the size and quality of these previews. When sharing photos between Aperture and iPhoto, the process is as follows:
Let's say that your images are stored in Aperture, but you also want to be able to view them in iPhoto without taking up too much room on your hard drive. Essentially, if you were to import the originals into iPhoto as well, you would be storing two exact, yet separate copies of the same image on your hard drive. As you are aware, with large images (whether JPEG's, and especially RAW) this would put quite a tax on your storage capacity after not too long.
So, you have your images in one or the other (in this case Aperture), but you want to play around with them in iPhoto. What you can do, is open iPhoto, go to the File menu and then select, Show Aperture Library. This will open a window with all of the contents of your Aperture Library. You can then drag any images you want into iPhoto . The only thing is, you are not dragging the original JPEG's, but rather, the previews of those images. If you have those previews set to a lower quality (again for capacity concerns), you will only have lower quality and lower detailed images in iPhoto. These images might not be ideal, or even suitable for printing high quality prints. The previews that you generate in Aperture though can be adjusted to be extremely high quality with no size limits.
My thinking was that since you mentioned Aperture, it sounded like you had experience with working with it and with ordering a photo book through Aperture. I guess you were saying that you ordered via iPhoto, weren't happy with the quality and were wondering if Aperture created books were better.
Anyway, if this is the case, I cannot answer that for you. I have never ordered a book through Aperture. If the quality of your images is good, you should be able to get a decent product no matter where you order it from. There is not doubt that the materials used and the print shop that does the work makes a difference, but if your images are good, you should still get a decent product through iPhoto. Perhaps iPhoto isn't the way to go though if you have had poor experiences with them.
If you haven't used Aperture yet, I would highly recommend it though aside from the photo book aspect of this thread. It is a stellar product.
I hope this helps.
Message was edited by: macorin

IPhoto vs Aperture Photo Books

How does the quality of photo books produced in Aperture compare to those produced in iPhoto? Is there more freedom in layout? Can you adjust text box sizes on a page? What other things make Aperture books better (or worse) than iPhoto?

Hello,
on my experience Aperture´s books could be absolutly customized, so that´s more freedom in layouts.
You can adjust / change text boxes, fonts, sizes, color, and so...
You can create your personal book´s theme, or just only one or more pages within choosed theme, then you can print your book via on-line service, or print as PDF, PDF-X, TIFF (every composed page) or JPEG (same as tiff) to your computer...
but if you choose a theme and/or size, style (hardcover or softcover) but you want to change it for a different order, for example for parents, with another size or hardwork style, you must start creating another book ;<.
Ignacio
pd. excuse me my poor english cause i´m writing you from spain and it´s hard enough to me to do it in another different languge of mine and maybe i wouldn't explain so weel.

HT3412 I recently moved all my photos from iphoto to Aperture. I had several iphoto books and cards in my project file. When everything was moved to Aperture I can't find any of the books or card projects. Are they gone or can they be restored?

I recently moved all my photos from iphoto to Aperture. I had several iphoto books and cards in my project file. When everything was moved to Aperture I can't find any of the books or card projects. Are they gone or can they be restored?

1 - without specifics I have no idea how to help
2 - the question was "are you trying to use them in iPhoto? " - it sounds like you are - to do so you will have to export them from Aperature and import into iPhoto
3 - for information on how to use them in Aperature then you need to ask about how to use Aperature in the Aperature forum as it does not involve iPhoto
LN

Can you transfer book created in iPhoto to Aperture?

Can I transfer or move books I have created in iPhoto to Aperture?

If you open the Library in Aperture you'll be able to edit the book.
Are you sure, TD?
When I open a library I created in iPhoto 9.6 in Aperture 3.6, the Photo Books will give me this warning:
"iPhoto Print Projects" cannot be edited in Aperture."
It is also mentioned in Aperture 3: Using a unified photo library with iPhoto and Aperture - Apple Support
Print Products
Books, calendars and cards you create in iPhoto are visible in the Source list in Aperture, but cannot be edited. Books, web pages, and web journals you create in Aperture are not visible in iPhoto.

Exporting iphoto book quality

What is the quality of the photos exported to PDF from iphoto? I'm having a professional lab print up my photo book but I would like to select them from iphoto and give them a general idea of layout using the photo book in iphoto. However, I'm concerned about giving them the highest quality photos. It would be much easier to select the photos in iphoto book and burn to disc than finding and exporting.

scubanut:
Are you going to provide the layout to the printer in the form of a pdf of the book?
From what I've gathered iPhoto uses 300 dpi for it's books. If you look at the iPhoto preference file with Pref Setter and search for dpi you can see the settings for the various sizes of books.
There are several good threads on Apple's book quality, materials, etc. I asked Apple about book quality back when iPhoto 6 was the latest version and here's their response to me:
I contacted Apple and asked for information that I could pass on. Here's the reply I received from Apple:
"Thank you for contacting the Apple Print Products Customer Service.
I understand that you would like to know the printing process that is used and the color mode the files should be in, so you can better advise users in the iPhoto forum.
iPhoto version 4 or later, allows you to import and print files through the Apple Print Product service as RGB, grayscale, or CMYK color space. JPEG files with RGB color space are recommended for best results.
While iPhoto 2 can import files of various formats, including RGB color, grayscale, and CMYK, this version requires JPEG files with RGB color space when printing photos and books.
For more information regarding iPhoto 2, please visit the following article:
iPhoto: Color, Black and White Prints Appear Garbled or Distorted
For more information regarding iPhoto 5, please visit the following article:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=165501
Here are some of the technical specifications for the books, cards, and calendars. I hope this gives you an idea about their quality and form.
BOOKS
All iPhoto books are printed using acid-free paper for long-lasting image quality. The photos are printed at a high resolution (300DPI if you use iPhoto 6). There is no external modification--such as sharpening or contrast adjustment--of the photos; what you see in the application is what is printed in the book.
Hardcovers Books
The cover is hard-bound and covered in linen. You select the linen color during the book-ordering process. The hardcover books have a solid, stiff binding that is glued and crimped. The internal pages, measuring 8.5 x 11 inches, are printed on McCoy 100# Text Gloss paper stock.
Softcover Books
The softcover books come in three sizes:
- Large 8.5 x 11 inches
- Medium 6 x 8 inches
- Small 2.6 x 3.5 inches
All of the softcover books have internal pages that are printed on McCoy 100# Text Gloss paper stock. The large softcover book has a white cover (Kromekoteplus Folding Cover, 16 point) with a cutout on the front that reveals the cover-page photo in the book. The covers for the medium and small softcover books have the cover image and title printed directly on the cover. All of the softcover books have a glued binding and feature a thick cover of McCoy 100# Cover Gloss paper stock.
CARDS
All cards are printed on McCoy 120# Silk Cover paper stock. The postcards measure 4 x 6 inches, and the greeting cards measure 5 x 7inches.
CALENDARS
All calendars measure 8 x 10 inches and are printed on McCoy 100# Silk Cover paper stock.
To ensure the best print quality, we have chosen to use Kodak NexPress technology. The press uses a dry toner, which is fused to the surface of the paper. Please see NexPress' site for more information:
KODAK NEXPRESS 2500 Digital Production Color Press
I hope you find this information helpful in answering questions on the iPhoto forum."
Also, see Dusky's response in this thread. He's a ditigal press operator and gives some insight on how the books are printed. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3751865&#3751865.
Happy Holidays
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 08 libraries and Leopard. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Unify aperture and iphoto libraries: the book (tricky) issue

I had been in the process of migrating from iPhoto to Aperture for a while now.
I imported iPhoto library in Aperture few monthes ago and am now using only Aperture.
Everything is fine for two things:
- I could not import the books (format is not compatible), so i had to keep the iPhoto library
- I didn't want to duplicate the orignals , so they are still in iPhoto library
With Aperture 3.3, the library could be unified with iPhoto
I would like to move all originals to Aperture library and still be able to open from iPhoto (so far, easy) but also keep the iPhoto books (which as far as i know are still incompatible with aperture books formats)
In other words, i want one aperture library, including masters, and I want to be able to open it from iPhoto, and still keep the old books (that were built from the initial iPhoto library) in iPhoto
Any clue ?

Hi Leonie,
You're really full of resources (not sure if this french expression translates well in english, but you get the idea) !
I finally found a way, not the most elegant one, but it's working:
0. Open each book in iPhoto. Delete in the book non-used photos of the book (in project list, choose book, then choose photos in the toolbar in the bottom, display non placed photos, delete). Now books projects only contain photos actually used in the book. (this step may not be necessary, but it speeds the process)
0. bis: Backup your Aperture library. don't forget to stop also any automatic backup process (like time machine)
1. Open the iPhoto library with Aperture (remember i had already migrated to Aperture 3,3 & iPhoto 9, which makes the libraries compatibles)
2. Export each of your books as a phototheque (right click on the book in the inspector navigator/ choose export impression project as a phototheque). Give specific name, for example "project x"
3. Open first created book phototheque in aperture
4. Tag photos of the phototheque with a specific keyword, for example "book x"
5. Close phototheque for "book x" and resume on step 3 for other phototheques
6. Open default aperture Library
7. Import first phototheque, merge with Aperture Library
8. Normally you get duplicates, especially if you have added metadata or edited the photos in aperture since you created the books in iPhoto. At least that's what happened to me
9. You can now grab the recent metadata on the one that was already in Aperture and apply it to the imported one. To do that, create a smart album with the keyword "project x"; then move all new imported events from iPhoto to the event where they belong in aperture. Then in the smart album, for a specific picture when you choose "display in the project" (i have defined a shortcut) you are in the event where the duplicate photo also sits. Choose cmd shift C on the photo with metadata, cmd shift V on the photo with the tag "project x" to transfer the metadata. You can delete the first one, except if you had edited the original differently in the book and in aperture and want to keep both. You still have to re-enter the faces on the imported one
10. You can erase the tag "project x"
11. Go back to step 7 for other books
12. Check you can see your books in iphoto when opening aperture library with iphoto. You can now consolidate the aperture library and migrate all referenced iPhoto pics inside the aperture library
13. you can erase iPhoto Library and other books phototheques created in step 2
You now have one unified library, that you can use in aperture and iPhoto, with your old iPhoto books in it.
(you also have lost a few hours...)

I need to print my Aperture book locally or myself - How do I do it?

I ordered a book directly from Aperture; however, it will not be shipped in time for my client. So I'm desperate!
Can I go to a local printer/photo developing place/Kinkos/National Camera - I don't care where...
and have them print front & back pages with the same/look quality as the book that I ordered from Apple?
I would even try printing myself, but I'm not sure what paper to buy...how to imitate the look of the pages...
Either option...will they print full-bleed?
Has anyone done this? I could buy a printable book set from Best Buy or something (I know Epson makes some, but I would really like a 11x8.5...just like Apple's so I don't have to re-size)...Any ideas?
Or can I just buy acid free 100# premium matte paper & have a local printer or photo place print it front & back & then I can put it in a cover?
But how would they do that? Do I hook up my Mac & upload it to them? Do I save as a PDF & if so, will my quality deteriorate?

Oh dear. Only advice I can offer is to get on the phone, ring the Aperture print service and offer $$ for urgent delivery.
I've never done an Aperture book, but remember being able to get a .pdf of a book layout from iPhoto, so you may be able to do the same. You can try taking that .pdf to a local printer, but my .pdf's have all been rgb files, when they need to be cmyk to print "properly". try it though, and let us know what happens?

When will Aperture books truly be "custom"

I have already designed a book in Aperture, and do like the creative possibilities.
However, when will we be able to change the page sizes, so that we can have PDFs printed elsewhere?
I would love to be able to go with 12 x 12, 8 x 8, portrait orientation, etc.
Any thoughts?

I totally agree with this thread, and I hope Apple realize that their current offer for books is good only for the iPhoto user (family, fun, amateur...) not for the Aperture users that need profesionally printed and good looking books.
As is now the only use I can give to the Aperture books are for giving a proof book to the bride/mother. For profesional looking books I have to take the pain of exporting and assembling a book externally and send it to Asukabook or Graphicstudio.
Apple needs to solve this matter as soon as possible, offering more sizes, more covers (quality ones), more page finishes (varnished, glossy...) AND more freedom for the templates.
I know all the above could take time to develop, but if they just allow us to freely choose the size of the pages, at least you can print a PDF and send to your prefered printing service.
Aperture is excellent, in my opinion better than Lightroom, and also will be much better in the future, but the book part needs a lot of improvement. If Lightroom (or another new tools) adds a really good book development and printing module, then Aperture will loose customers quickly (I will).
Regards,

Very disappointed with photo book quality

I created and ordered a photo book using Aperture and am extremely disappointed with the quality. The opening page has a spot of red ink on it with vertical red banding through the center of the image. Many other pages also have the banding.
Most of the images are also very grainy. I know the source images are not at fault, they are very smooth and look nice on my monitor and when I print them. In fact I ordered a few prints through Aperture and they came out really nice. The grain pattern is the same for both full page prints and those that are sized down to about 2x3.
On top of that, the paper quality seems worse than previous books I have created using iPhoto. I was always happy with those books, and I assumed Aperture would be the same if not better.
The books I created with iPhoto were with jpeg images from the same camera, a rebel xt. The only difference this time was most of the images were shot as raw. There was also a small handful jpegs shot with a point and shoot and these have the same grainy pattern as the the raw images.
I sent an email to Apple support, but are others still having book quality issues with the latest version of Aperture 2? This is unacceptable, especially for the amount that is charged. Would it have been better if I exported the images as jpegs, imported them into iPhoto and created the book there?

Hi guys,
I got a real trouble with aperture book printing.
The cover is Ugly it looks like it's scratched over some miles. It's Mate. And it looks printed with a poor inkjet printer.
Inside the book the photos looks almost correct but in the skies we can see some vertical line. I'm fully unsatisfied I got better result with iphoto books !
Please Apple do something. I ordered this book from France. Ans I saw on different forums that they can get better quality than this outside France.
The paper looks very light.
I'm considering ordering books from blurb. And I feel sorry cause aperture tool to create a book is awsome.
Did any french photograph experienced this ?
Regards every one.
Bye.
PS : I printed the pdf and checked at 100% the photos looks great.

Aperture book copyright question!

Hey...I was wondering if it would be allowed to make Aperture books and resell them....obviously if I do not own the copyright then I a cannot...but let's say I take a bunch of pics of my hometown and make a book and ask Apple for copies of this book...would I be allowed to sell it then?

Your images, your work, your creation -> your copyright. Aperture is just a tool and the printing service is just a service. If you write a novel using Microsoft Word, you still own the copyright and Microsoft has no rights over your work, no matter how many fancy fonts and formatting features you use. Aperture is no different.
I'm sure Apple would love you to sell as many copies as you can - especially if you are using their printing service. At worst, they sell more printing services to you as you buy more books. At best, your customers are so impressed that they use Aperture or iPhoto to print books themselves, and Apple sells lots more books.

Can I get the Dust Jacket and the Great Cover Look of iPhoto in Aperture?

Hello,
I am a huge fan of iPhoto (and most of the other Apple products.) I am using Aperture 2 and I recently created and ordered a book using it. I was blown away by the page layout options, however, I was greatly disappointed when I received my book and way the cover! It looked like someone just used some sort of "sticky" as the label/cover. It is already starting to peel off! Our client wasn't very happy with it at all.
Can someone tell my how I can get the great features and flexibility of the pages that are offered in Aperture along with the great cover and dust jacked of iPhoto? That would really be great!!
Thanks in advance for your help!

One option could be to save the Aperture book layouts as JPEGs and then add them to an iPhoto book as full-bleed images. Then order the book via iPhoto.

IPhoto 09/Aperture 2 versus iPhoto 09/Adobe Lightroom 2

Does any one have any recommendations on which combination works best?

Lightroom has no awareness of the existence of iPhoto. There is no way that it can recognise the iPhoto Library or any of the work you have done in it - albums, keywords etc. To move files or photos between the two you will need to export from one and import to the other.
Aperture recognises the iPhoto Library and there is a command there to facilitate migration from iPhoto to Aperture. This process captures your Events, Albums, keywords and so forth.
Also, with the Aperture -> Show iPhoto Library command you can import individual photos over to Aperture.
From iPhoto the Show Aperture Library command means you can access the Previews in your Aperture Library.
At heart, these three applications do the same job. Aperture and Lightroom are firmly focussed on the Pro user shooting high volumes of RAW. They both offer distinct advantages over iPhoto in processing RAW, no matter what the volume.
What iPhoto can offer both of these are - very simple books, calendars and so on and much better slideshows options.
Regards
TD

Iphoto vs aperture book quality

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