Print and Book Problems and Solutions


A few common problems have cropped up when working with prints and books.

Can't Enable 1-Click Ordering

A number of people have reported problems with enabling 1-Click ordering within iPhoto, even though they have a 1-Click account with Apple that works on Apple's Web sites. A lot of the early problems seemed to happen to people who had joined the Apple Developer Connection (ADC), and it's unclear if that particular issue has been completely addressed. To fix the problem, try one of these solutions:

  • Connect to http://store.apple.com/, click the Sign In link, and log in to your Apple Store account. Click the "Change Apple ID or Password" link, sign in again, and then change your password (changing other data wouldn't hurt either). The goal here is to force the Apple database to update so you can connect to it via iPhoto. (If changing your account on the Apple Store doesn't have the desired effect, try running through the same procedure at http://myinfo.apple.com/.)

  • Follow the above procedure, but instead of clicking "Change Apple ID or Password," click "Change 1-Click Settings." Again, make some changes and toggle 1-Click via the Web to see if that enables iPhoto to connect.

  • If you can set up a new email address easily, create it and then add a new Apple ID that uses the new email address. This generally seems to work, but isn't an ideal solution, since then you have to keep track of an extra email address.

Errors during Ordering

You may encounter a few problems during the process of ordering items from Apple:

  • If you see an error dialog complaining that a network connection could not be established, verify that your Internet connection is working by loading a page in a Web browser or by checking your email.

  • You may see a confusing error message that says, "The changes to your account information could not be saved." Ignore the message, and enter your credit card information again, making sure the card hasn't expired. If that doesn't work, try a different credit card.

  • If you see an alert that your password is invalid, but it works fine in the Apple Store, change your password to be less than 30 characters. The Apple Store allows 32-character 1-Click passwords, whereas iPhoto allows only 30-character 1-Click passwords.

  • Different aspects of iPhoto may request access to your password keychain during ordering. That's totally fine.

  • If you have a firewall that blocks port 80, try turning your firewall off, or allowing data to pass through on port 80, to solve upload errors.

Photos Don't Upload

Some people have had trouble uploading photos to Apple's servers to have them printed or turned into a book or other item. Here are a few things to try:

  • Try again later. Many Internet problems come and go, so a second try an hour or a day later may succeed.

  • If possible, see if the problem occurs when uploading to .Mac Slides as well. If not, the problem may be limited to the specific servers used for prints or other printed items.

  • If possible, verify that you can upload a large file using a different program. If that fails, the problem is likely with your Internet connection. If it works, the problem is probably in iPhoto.

  • If iPhoto complains about an error while accessing your account information, make sure the date and time on your computer are set properly in the Date & Time preference pane. It's a good idea to select "Set Date & Time Automatically" in that preference pane to eliminate the problem in the short term. If your Mac is several years old and loses track of the date and time regularly, you need to buy it a new clock battery.

  • Contact Apple via the Web forms available from www.apple.com/support/iphoto/customerservice/.

Apple Has Trouble Processing Your Book or Photos

There are several problems that can prevent Apple from printing photos you've uploaded, the two most common of which are damaged files and files that contain a question mark in the filename. You should receive email telling you about the problem, but a few common issues include:

  • If a photo has a ? in the filename, it won't print. Export the photo, change the filename, reimport, and delete the original.

  • Damaged photos may not print. To identify damaged photos, connect to Apple's Web site at www.apple.com/internetservices/yourorderstatus/, where you can look for missing or partial thumbnails for the order in question. Once you've identified the damaged files, try exporting them, opening them in another application, saving a copy of each, and re-importing the copies to eliminate the corruption.

  • If you order a print of an image that indicates it may be subject to another person's copyright, Apple puts your order on hold pending verification that you have the right to make a copy of the photo. You must complete and submit an iPhoto Print Consent form; Apple will tell you how to do this when you're contacted.

  • Using certain Type 1 PostScript fonts can cause your book order to be cancelled. For more information, see http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300964.

  • If over half of the page numbers in a book are hidden by photos, Apple may cancel your order. It's easiest to deselect the Show Page Numbers checkbox in the Settings dialog before placing the order, although you could also change the theme or page design to one in which photos don't cover the page numbers.

  • If you receive email from Apple saying your order can't be processed, you can wait for Apple to contact you with details, or you can try to figure out what went wrong, cancel the order, and then resubmit it. Apple gives you up to 90 minutes to cancel the order yourself; do this by logging in with your Apple ID to www.apple.com/internetservices/yourorderstatus/ and clicking the Cancel Order link.

Prints or Books Aren't What You Expect

It's highly frustrating to order (and pay for) prints or books that aren't of the quality you expect. Follow these tips to avoid common problems:

  • Prints ordered via iPhoto often come back darker than is ideal. This may be because Mac and PC monitors have different color contrast settings, something called gamma. Macs usually use a gamma of 1.8, whereas PCs use a darker gamma of 2.2. The belief is that Kodak serves more PC customers and has thus tweaked its equipment so PC users don't think their prints look washed out.

    You can adjust your monitor to use PC gamma settings when working with photos. In the Color pane of the Displays preference pane, click the Calibrate button to run the Display Calibrator Assistant. Then work through the Display Calibrator Assistant, picking 2.2 Television Gamma in the third screen. When you're done, save the profile you created, and select it in the Color pane of the Displays preference pane.

  • Prints use a three-color process whereas books use a four-color process. Because black is added to photos in books, they can appear slightly darker in books than when ordered as prints.

  • If prints in your order from Apple are garbled, the problem may be that the photos were modified in another application (like Photoshop) to use CMYK or grayscale format. To fix the photos, use another application to change the color space to RGB, which Apple requires for ordered prints and books.

Order Doesn't Arrive or Is Damaged

There are several ways to learn more about your orders and to contact Apple if you experience problems with your order:

  • Check the status of your order at www.apple.com/internetservices/yourorderstatus. You need your Apple ID and password to sign in.

  • Contact Apple via the Web forms available from www.apple.com/support/iphoto/customerservice/. Be sure to include the text of the confirmation message Apple sent you so they have your order details.




iPhoto 6 for Mac OS X. Visual QuickStart Guide
iPhoto 6 for Mac OS X
ISBN: 0321423313
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 225
Authors: Adam Engst

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