Designing a Mini Album

The easiest way to create a design for a Mini Album is to use one of our simple design templates. Choose a size and follow the directions on the template.

You can use your own template as long as the image area fits somewhere within the margins shown below.

Note that the files you submit will be for two-page spreads, not individual pages. Your first and last pages become the front and rear covers - they need to be positioned on the right and left sides of two spreads as shown below.

Square, "46" size 2.75" x 2.75" 70mm x 70mm

Tall, "46" size 3.3" x 2.4" 83mm x 62mm

Square, "47" size 3.3" x 3.3" 83mm x 83mm

Wide, "47" size 2.3" x 3.3" 58mm x 58mm

(sizes approximate)

MiniAlbumTemplates.zip

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A common mistake when designing any flush album is placing things too close to the edge. Pay attention to the "red zone" in the template.

Be sure to save your layered .psd file in case you need to revise the design, then save a JPEG version. If you are sending us a CD, you might want to include both versions so we can make minor adjustments for you (add'l fee applies).

Most of your completed files will look like this:

We need the white margins shown above for our process - they will be trimmed away. You can make the margins larger to suit the proportions of your album:

The first and last files become the covers of your album - they must be placed on the right and left sides of a spread as shown below. Your complete set of files should look like this:

Note the file labeling scheme. It is VERY IMPORTANT that your files are labeled so that a computer will sort them into the right order. The leading zero in the digits (for example, MaryBrad-01.jpg) is REQUIRED.

You can send the files to us on CD, or combine your folder of files into a single file (right-click on the folder, look for "zip" or "archive") and send them to us over the internet. One way to do this is to upload them to your own web server and give us the URL on the order form. Another is to use an online file transfer service such as YouSendIt.com, where the free account works fine, and it's very easy to use. Sending big files by email is a bit iffy and not recommended.