If you own the My Digital Studio software or may get it in the future, please read all the way to the bottom of this article as I've included some helpful tips farther down. In fact you may want to print and file this somewhere so you can refer to it later.
And if you already own the My Digital Studio software you'll want to download and install the 1st update to it, which is available now. Here's how to get there:
- Open your My Digital Studio software and close out any window that may open automatically that prompts you to select a file to work on.
- Click on the "Help" option along the upper row, then select the following commands: Check for updates – Choose your country – Updates (found in the left-hand column) - Download for PC or MAC
And then from that point on just follow the normal procedure for installing software onto your computer.
This update fixes a few minor problems and adds a few other minor features. Probably the most notable change, however, is that there are now two different bleed area guides to use if you're working on an album with a photo cover: one for the photo covers (front and back), and one for the actual pages. Please be sure to turn on the appropriate guides when designing your projects, as these bleed areas are subject to being trimmed off during the printing process - whether through Stampin' Up!'s print service or maybe even when using your own home printer, too.
When looking at the bleed areas of album pages you'll probably notice that the guide areas have been significantly increased on both the right and left sides. This is to accomodate for the fact that more space gets used up in the stitching/binding process on the side of the page. So please be especially careful to follow those guide areas on the side of the page that will be stitched during the binding process and don't put anything really important in those areas. For instance, if you have a left-hand page you'll need to honor that right-hand bleed area completely and not put anything of importance within that area at all. But there MIGHT not be as much trimmed off on the left-hand side of your page, so you might get away with being a *little* more daring over there. (And vice-versa for a right-hand page, of course.) But of course for BEST results, it's probably wisest to stay out of those bleed areas altogether with important elements of your design.
When I had my album printed I moved all the content of left-hand pages just a touch towards the left, and right-hand page content got pushed a little bit towards the right. And the end result after printing was perfect; things landed centered on the page just as I'd hoped. But if you wish to try that trick yourself, you'll need to know EXACTLY which page will print as a left-hand page and which will be on the right. And then be sure to check, check, and double-check before uploading for printing!
And one more tip for today: because an opaque, black & white scanner bar label will automatically print towards the bottom, right section of the back cover of your book, please be careful to not put anything of importance in that lower right-area. In other words, do not place any text or important photos in that lower, righthand area of the back cover or it may get obscured by that scanner label that will automatically print there.
