Super Big Calendars

The Inkubook family has expanded again. This time, instead of bringing another book style into the brood, we’ve branched out into calendars. Our new baby is the Super Big Calendar.

As with our books, you can choose to design the Super Big Calendar page-by-page or you can use the Autofill My Calendar tool if you’re not feeling particularly creative. You can go simple and sophisticated with all solid backgrounds or you can go fun and colorful with a variety of patterns.

The Super Big Calendar is not some tiny little thing that won’t get any notice. At 13″ by 19.5″, it will draw the eye to it and get attention no matter where it hangs. (It might even help you camouflage some truly awful dents, scratches, and stains on the wall.) It’s printed on sturdy paper (100 lb. glossy cover stock) and the dates are printed in blocks that are large enough to hold notes about birthdays, anniversaries, and other events that need to be remembered. It’s spiral bound at the top and can easily be hung with the prepunched hole.

Wire-bound with a prepunched hole for your convenience.

Using Inkubook to create a book is wonderful, but what are the chances you’re going to pull that book out every day to admire the pictures you’ve taken? For most of us, it’s not very likely that we’ll flip through our books every day. With a calendar that includes our photos displayed prominently on the wall, though, it’ll be easy to enjoy your photographed memories regularly.

From now until December 31, 2008 when you buy one Super Big Calendar you can get a second copy of it at half price. Just enter code CALBOGOHLF during checkout. Go ahead and get started on yours today so you can have it done before this coupon expires!

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We recently stumbled upon a book idea we hadn’t yet given much consideration: the class reunion souvenir. We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how families and close groups of friends can put Inkubook to good use, but it’s also an excellent tool for those groups of people who only gather once every 5 or 10 years.

Author Mike Johnson with his Inkubook.

Mike Johnson*, a corporate executive turned author, recently used Inkubook to make a book about a reunion with his Stanford University Graduate School of Business class. 30 people from 11 nations were in attendance, and that’s just about the perfect group for a collaborative tool such as Inkubook. Mike was kind enough to tell us a little about his experience.

Q. Why did you decide to create a photo book of your class reunion?

A. As you probably know, at class reunions it’s customary to retain a photographer to take a group picture. He or she then charges $10 or $15 for a print. It makes a nice memento but generally winds up in a box or drawer and is seldom seen again. I thought a photo book would be something that classmates would be more likely to keep visible – perhaps on a coffee table or bookshelf.

Q. How did your classmates react to the idea?

A. They loved it. Of the 30 who attended, 26 ordered a book.

Q. How many pages and pictures are in your book?

A. The book is 24 pages and there are 44 photos. I particularly liked being able to use a bleed photo on the front cover. On the back cover we have two small group photos with this caption: Farewell…and may our paths cross again.

Q. Do you have any suggestions that others might find useful when creating a photo book?

A. Because the layouts accommodate text, I would advise Inkubook users to be thinking about captions as they select and edit photos.

Q. What is your reaction to the completed book?

A. The finished product is truly splendid. Even the packaging was superb as the books were extremely well protected – shrink wrapped inside a second tent-like shrink wrap – inside the box. The book is something we’ll keep on our coffee tables and treasure for years to come.

Of course we at Inkubook are pleased that Mike and his classmates are pleased, and we’re happy to have found a new book idea. The next time you’re getting a group of old friends together, whether it’s classmates, sorority or fraternity groups, or former co-workers, consider memorializing the event with a photo book.

*Mike Johnson is the author of three meticulously researched historical novels set during World War II, the Korean War and the lowering of the Iron Curtain: Warrior Priest, Fate of the Warriors, and God’s Perfect Scar.

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It’s happened again. You told us about a feature you’d like Inkubook to include, and we made it happen. We now have a tool that lets you copy photos from one project to another.

It’s quite simple to use. Any time you go to get photos for a project, whether that happens at the very beginning as you’re creating a project or while you’re in the middle of editing, you’ll be able to choose from three options: upload from your computer, import from Flickr, or transfer from another Inkubook project. This is what the Select Your Photos screen looks like with this new addition:

Click the button next to the Inkubook logo to see a list of the projects you can copy photos from.

The next screen you see will open to show all the photos that are included in the project you worked on most recently. You can use the drop-down menu at the top right of the box to select which project you want to copy photos from. After you’ve selected the project, the thumbnails of those photos will appear. Click the photos you want to include (using the Shift or Ctrl keys to select multiple photos) then click the Import button. Here’s an example of the selection screen:

This is the screen where you select which photos you want to transfer to your project.

That’s all there is to it! Your photos will immediately be copied from one project to another. So whether you decide to make one of the new Inkubook calendars with photos you used in a book or you have to make two separate copies of a book because Aunt Marnie and Cousin Leroy haven’t spoken to each other since 1994 and wouldn’t appreciate a gift that included a picture of the other person, you can now get the photos you need out of one place and into another quite easily.

As for this habit we have of actually following through on making updates and improvements that you suggest, we’re not going to stop that any time soon. We’re just going to keep plugging away, so stay tuned for future updates.

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We’ve heard from lots of people during the past couple months, and one of the things that has become very obvious is that people have been dying for us to release the 11″ x 11″ Great Big Square. OK…maybe “dying” is a little too strong, but there’s definitely been an outpouring of enthusiasm for this bad boy.

The time has finally arrived. The Great Big Square book is here. Like all hardcover Inkubooks, it’s printed on silky 100lb. archival-quality paper and is bound in a durable laminate cover. It’s perfect for collecting scrapbook layouts or honoring a very special person or occasion.

If you’re a scrapbooker who’s been waiting patiently for this size to be released so that you can make a book of your LOs, this link opens a document that gives details about how to size your images appropriately for the pages.

From now until November 30, 2008, when you buy one Great Big Square you can get a second copy of it for FREE! Use code ELEVENBOGO when you check out. (This offer cannot be combined with any other promotions or offers.) You can print this coupon and keep it close to your computer so you have it handy when you need it.

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In case you haven’t been out in any stores recently, and you also haven’t been watching any television, and you also don’t get any mail order catalogs, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. The holiday shopping season is upon us.

We at Inkubook would like to offer an alternative to all the hustle and bustle of regular holiday shopping, and like everyone else we have a little incentive for you.

Consider making a photo book to give as a gift to someone (even if that someone is you). Before you toss this idea aside because it seems too daunting to have to make a book, bear in mind that building a photo book doesn’t have to be a labor-intensive creative process. Sure, you can craft each page from scratch yourself. But if you’re the type who’s looking for a personal gift that doesn’t require a huge investment of time, you can use the Autofill My Book option.

Any order placed between now and December 10, 2008 is eligible for free ground shipping to addresses in the U.S. So you’ll be able to give someone the pleasure of a personal, meaningful gift, and you’ll also be able to save yourself a little money when you’re doing it. In a way, it’s like giving a gift that gives back to you.

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