| Re: Wedding page layout software
I have the current version of Page Gallery (PG) but use You Select It instead for all my albums for several key reasons. First the apertures and size ratios cannot be altered with the Yervant templates. If you have a layout where you want a large horizontal image and 3 smaller vertical images of the bride getting ready you may have only one template provided and then the horizontal image may be a 3x9 size and the cropping destroys the image you wish to use. With You Select It (YSI) you can add apertures or resize apertures or change their position on the page layout at will and then save it as a custom layout to use again.
With PG you can easily take your finished album and create a Quicktime movie for your clients but if they want anything changed it is hard for them to identify the specific image to change. With YSI a PDF file is produced that shows the page layout and give a small diagram that references each image as to A, B, C, etc. and provides the filenames for each picture on the layout. This is also great for when you send the prints to the album company for binding as they have a reference guide as well. This is a real time saver.
With YSI you can make changes to opacity, colors used in the templates, cropping by enlarging an image, all within YSI. With PG you have to let the application run the Photoshop actions and produce the PSD files and then make any changes manually in Photoshop. And with PG and their actions based approach you cannont change masks or change image sizes without a great deal of work basically rebuilding the spread.
The last album I did with PG once completed I redid in its entirety in YSI to get the look I wanted for my images. If all you want is a fast way to make an album and ignore the quality of the presentation of your individual images and the workflow aspects in dealing with your clients and the album companies, then PG is not a bad choice. If you do care about your images and their presentation and how you will communicate with your clients and the album company then YSI is a much better choice.
PhotoJunction is also nearing completion of their new application PJ Remix and this company is the only one of the three with anything resembling customer support. It can take months to hear back from Yervant or Schembri at PG and YSI respectively. They both run their businesses like a hobby providing supplemental income.
cheers  | 
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