|
Frequently Asked Questions
I have questions not answered on this page.
Contact us via email at info@mycustomstory.com or phone at 916.505.6228, our phone hours are listed here. We frequently answer emails after we are closed and return voice mail messages the following business day.
Will you help me resize photos, rotate photos, make a copy of my book, ...?
Yes, we'll help you with whatever you need. Save your book and email or call us to let us know what you need help with and we'll log into your account to help you.
I am receiveing a ! error. How do I fix this?
The ! error is caused when Adobe Flash crashes. Adobe Flash usually crashes because of one of the following:
You need to upgrade to the latest version: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
You have other programs running (or running in the background such as virus scan software) that are using too much memory to load your photos - you can close other applications and try again
Your photos are too big for the memory on your computer - you can resize your photos and upload the resized images. To resize your photos, you can use the free downloadable app Windows Live Photo Gallery or the free online app Ribbet. Or you can email or call us at we will resize your photos for you.
How long do you keep photos in my account?
We keep photos for one year and books are never deleted. If a photos is in a book, it will remain in the book after the album is deleted.
I am receiving a "session expired" error while uploading photos.
This is a bug that affects a small number of users. We believe we have fixed it and will be updating the site after the Christmas rush. The work around is to remove the first photo that you receive the message on, then try to upload the rest of the photos. Repeat for an additional photos that receive the error. Email info@mycustomstory.com with the photos you could not upload and we will add them to your account for you. Update Feb 1, 2012 - we believe we fixed this bug, please contact us if you see it.
Which browsers do you support?
Internet Explorer version 8+, Firefox version 5+, Google Chrome version 8+.
Can I use a Mac?
We are a PC shop. We do not test the website on Macs and do not guarantee it to work via Safari on a Mac. We have successfully used it without issues on Safari on a PC and know many clients who successfully use the website on a Mac. Please note to achieve a right click on a Mac, you use ctrl + click.
What size is the book?
We offer two sizes: 4 x 5 inches and 6 x 6 inches.
How much does a book cost?
The 4 x 5 book costs $27.95 and the 6 x 6 book costs $39.95.
I want to design my own pages. What are the exact sizes of each page?
We have photoshop templates available if you'd like to design everything yourself. Email us at info@mycustomstory.com with photoshop templates in the subject and we will email them to you within 24 hours.
6 x 6 book
Front Cover – 6.236 tall x 6.118 wide inches (crop size 6 inches square - 3mm (.118 inches) on top, bottom, and right outer edge)
Interior Pages – 6.236 tall x 6.118 wide inches (crop size - 3mm (.118 inches) on top, bottom, and outer edge)
Back Cover – 6.236 tall x 5.7 wide (we do not print on the fold in the book) (crop size - 3mm (.118 inches) on top, bottom, and left outer edge) **please note, if you are using our photoshop templates - we do not block off this section of the book, but note if you choose to print on it, there will be a crease for the fold**
4 x 5 book
Front Cover – 4.236 tall x 5.118 wide inches (crop size - 3mm (.118 inches) on top, bottom, and right outer edge)
Interior Pages – 4.236 tall x 5.118 wide inches (crop size - 3mm (.118 inches) on top, bottom, and outer edge)
Back Cover - 4.236 tall x 4.7 wide inches (we do not print on the fold in the book) (crop size - 3mm (.118 inches) on top, bottom, and left outer edge) **please note, if you are using our photoshop templates - we do not block off this section of the book, but note if you choose to print on it, there will be a crease for the fold**
How do I add photos to my account?
You can add photos from the Upload link on the home page or by clicking on My Albums, then Upload. Create a new album or select an existing album, click submit. From the Upload screen, click Add to upload photos from your computer or click the Picasa or Flickr links to upload photos from your sharing site. Tip: Add photos for different books to separate albums. When you create your book, all of your albums will be available to you. When you load an album, we will load all of the photos in that album. If you your album contains 100+ photos, it will take much longer to load than if it contains just the 12 - 20 photos you are likely to use in your book. Photo instructions can be found in this blog entry. If you have very large photos, you may also consider resizing your photos down to 1MB. Our largest size is 6x6 inches, so larger photo files will result in the same print quality.
How do I add photos to my book using the Create option to create a new book?
Click Create to create a new book or My Projects to edit an existing book. For each page, you can select a template from the Layouts tab beneath the book, drag and drop the desired layout to the desired page, then click the My Albums tab and drag and drop photos into the photo slots of the layout.
Or click the My Albums tab and drag and drop your photos directly onto the page to create your own layout. You can find more detailed instructions on how to create your own layouts by dragging and dropping photos onto the page in this entry on our blog.
How do I add photos to my book using the Storylines option to create a new book?
The Storylines option will automatically add the text for each page to the desired page. To add photos, click on the My Albums tab, drag and drop the photos onto the desired page.
If you add a template from the Layouts tab, it overwrite the text. If you prefer to use a template, just copy the text, drag and drop the template onto the page, then paste the text into the text box for that template. More details on how to use storylines to create a book can be found in this blog entry: http://mycustomstory.blogspot.com/2011/06/creating-book-using-storyline.html
How do I add text to my book?
If you are using a layout from the Layouts tab, just type directly into the layout's text box. Thumbnails of the layouts appear on the Layout tab to help you remember where the text box is for your selected layout.
If you are dragging and dropping photos to create your own layout, click on the Text tab to add text. Drag and drop the T onto the page. Type your text into the box. Click in the middle of the text box on the green square to pick up yout text box and drag and drop it to the desired location.
How do I make my photo smaller or larger?
Click and drag your photo until you can see one of the corners. In the corners and on each side there are two black frames, the inner frame crops the image, the other frame makes the photo larger or smaller. To make the photo smaller, click on the corner's outer frame and drag the image smaller. To make the photo larger, click the corner's outer frame and drag the image larger. Note: There is an image stop at 3 x's the actual size of your image. This prevents photos from being enlarged past the point where they will print well. Photo instructions can be found in this blog entry.
How do I crop my photo?
Click and drag your photo until you can see one of the corners. In the corners and on each side, there are two black frames, the inner frame crops the image. Click and hold the inner frame and drag the image to the desired drop. If you crop too much, you can undo the crop by dragging the image back out.
I have photos from a professional photographer, can I include those in the book?
Photos from professional photographers are copyrighted. We cannot use photos from a professional photographer unless you send a signed consent to reproduce form to us. Find a professional photographer that offers our books on our photographer page.
How do I remove a layout?
Removing a layout will remove everything from the pages (text and photos). To remove a layout, right click on the page and select "remove current layout". If you are using a mac, control + click and select "remove current layout".
How do I remove a background?
To remove a background, right click on the pages and select "remove current background". If you are using a mac, control + click and select "remove current background".
How do I remove a photo?
To remove a photo, right click on the photo and select "remove current photo". If you are using a mac, control + click and select "remove current photo".
How many pages does the book have? Can it have more or less pages?
The book has 10 interior pages, a front cover, and a back cover totaling 12 pages. It cannot have more or less pages
How long will it take to receive my book?
It takes approximately two -three weeks to receive books shipped to the US, books shipped to other countries take an additional 7 - 10 days.
Do you ship outside the US?
Yes, we ship our custom board books all over the world.
I want to self-publish a custom board book, do you offer discounts on large orders?
Yes we do, contact us with the size of your book, number of pages, and quantity for a quote. We offer our two standard sizes in any quantity and custom sizes starting at 200 copies. We also have a new Gallery feature where you can sell your book from our website, email us for details.
How can I make my photos load faster?
Speed is primarily limited to the speed of your computer and internet connection. However there are two thigns you can do to speed up the photo loading. 1. Pick your photos before you upload them to an album. If you upload 100 photos and only use 20, all 100 will load every time you open your book. Limiting your album to just the photos you plan to use will speed things up. 2. If you have very large photos, you may also consider resizing your photos down to 1MB. Our largest size is 6x6 inches, so larger photo files will result in the same print quality.
Does the website accept non-English languages?
Yes, inside the book itself, the website accepts English, French, Spanish and other Roman alphabet languages. If you would like to use a non-Roman alphabet language such as Arabic, Amharic, Chinese, etc., contact us. We have successfully created many non-English language books offline. We create the book, send a pdf proof for your review and you tell us what to change, we make the changes and send a final proof before printing.
|
