Parker Franklin Schools Photography ProofStation Software


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	"Just done the first shoot with ProofStation. Have to say it was a dream. Mike Franklin came down and held my hand hrough the entire process and offered to come down to the next job just in case (Not needed). Steve Parker was a real gem, open to changes and my dilemas right into the evening, no probs. Initially it looked way too complicated for me, but bit the bullet. Two hours later and i am hooked. Shot 200 kids, four pose multiproof-card, edit, crop, print and pack. 165 mins. Well chuffed, and we will get faster" RN, Glenrothes

ProofStation

ProofStation is the main program used by our client photographers. Essentially it captures and displays the images as they are taken, creating a Photo Capture (PHC) database. It is fully configurable allowing it to easily handle individual portrait jobs, group (class or sport) jobs, combined jobs and SIMS.

It will generate proof order forms as the images are taken, using layouts set up by ProofLayout and packs and prices setup by PackCoder. Alternatively, if preferred, the proof order forms can be printed later.

Note that there is a quick start guide to ProofStation here.

	View Complete ProofStation User Manual
	The complete ProofStation user manual has been loaded up onto the site and can be viewed here.

	Features
	Creates a database containing all the images and all information associated with the images, a copy of which is sent to Parker Franklin for processing. Prints proof order forms on the day or later. Supports "Proof Plan" - instead of proofing on the day proof cards can be printed on photographic paper back at the Parker Franklin lab. Lays the proof order forms out to any layout defined by you using ProofLayout. Import images as they are taken (through your camera's capture software) or drop the images in from a memory card later. Specify your preferred crop proportions for the display of the images. Do cropping of the images without actually changing the image file (crop will be applied when orders are printed). Auto-rotate images as they are taken. Detects any anomalous changes to your camera settings. Import SIMS or other school database information for student names etc. Export sets of smaller images for the school - compatible with SIMS. Associate groups (classes) with each image as it is taken. Allows captioning and sorting orders out into classes making it easier for the school to distribute if they are doing so. Associate names with group photos (class, sports teams etc.) allowing the photo to be easily printed with names underneath (see the Photo Styles page for examples). When taking groups with names (see previous point) prints a verification sheet with all the names printed for the teacher to verify spelling and position. Add guidelines to assist in getting consistent cropping (see previous point). Excellent for year books, composite images (see CompositeLayout) and SIMS images. Load selected image into your preferred image editing software (eg. Photoshop) with a single button click. Program interface kept as simple as possible by auto configuration and context sensitive controls.

	Group Photos with Names and/or Captions
	ProofStation can easily be used to generate group photos such as class or sports teams, with captions like year, name of the school, class, team etc. and also with names of all the students in each group photograph. For captions, you specify the captions you want to appear on each group photograph when it is ordered. The school logo can be included as well. For the student/team member names you obtain the name data from the school prior to the event (generally as a spreadsheet) and that data is imported into ProofStation. A list of all the names with a barcode for each is printed on a normal ink jet printer and these barcodes are scanned after the group photo has been taken. One problem that can frequently occur with this style of photograph is mistakes in the spelling of the names and their position on the photo not being discovered until the final orders have been printed and distributed. ProofStation solves this problem by printing a "Verification Sheet" immediately after the names have been scanned and this is checked and signed off by the teacher on the day, with any corrections noted down to be dealt with later.

	Keeping the Program Interface Simple
	When you are busy on the day taking your photographs, the last thing you need is a complex interface with all sorts of features that you will never need for the particular type of job you are doing. Therefore the program interface has been kept as simple as possible by auto-configuration and context sensitivity. When you book a new job (on-line) and get your event code for that job you will specify what type of job it will be; portrait, group combined portrait and group, names, SIMS etc. This information is encoded into the event code which will then set ProofStation into the appropriate mode for that type of job; redundant controls are not displayed. The controls displayed at any time by ProofStation are context sensitive. So, for example, when you are not browsing images the browsing buttons are not displayed etc. Rarely used controls are all tucked away out of site and only accessed by using the More button. ProofStation will always try and present you with the controls you need and no more.

	Proof Order Forms or Proof Cards
	Proof order forms can be printed on the day or later. They can be printed to just about any kind of printer that can be connected to Windows; usually ink jet or dye sublimation. However if preferred proof cards can be printed by Parker Franklin back at the lab on photographic paper. See the ProofLayout pages for more details. Whichever you choose for your schools, both the proof order forms and the proof cards can be enhanced and customised using information gathered by ProofStation on a per job basis. For example the school name and, if available, the student name and class can be printed, also any other relevant text, such as an order before date. The design of the order forms or proof cards is entirely in your hands, so you are completely free to brand these in any way you choose. For more information on how this is achieved see the ProofLayout pages.

	Cropping and Guidelines
	ProofStation allows you to specify what proportions the captured images are displayed to, using the set crop feature. Note that this does not affect the physical image file, it is only used to control the displayed image and can be changed at any time. ProofStation allows you to do what we call a "virtual crop"; you can perform the crop on the image and it will be displayed but the original image remains unchanged (so the crop can easily be undone later). The crop is only applied to the image data in memory for display and printing purposes, it is never applied to the actual image file. Guidelines can be added to the image to make consistent cropping easy. This can be particularly useful when producing composite images (see CompositeLayout), when consistent cropping makes the final product look much tidier. Also when doing SIMS jobs, it is likely that the school will appreciate having their database images consistently cropped (it is easy to regenerate the SIMS images after the cropping has been done).

	Auto-Rotation of Images
	Images can be auto-rotated as they come in, to conform with your own preferred way of handling the camera. This rotation is not applied when running in group mode (groups are invariably taken in landscape format and no rotation should be needed). This feature can also be turned off by selecting "none", particularly useful if your camera already does an auto-rotation for you..