How the booklet will be printed is decided by the Flipbook Output page: on which paper, how many cards on one page, how many frames in total, with or without a cover. The page is under White Labeling in the left menu, and the settings belong to the event. This article describes every section of the page from top to bottom and shows how the number of pages is calculated.
- Total frames is the number of leaves of the booklet; Cards per sheet tells how many leaves fit on one sheet. The number of pages to be printed comes from these two.
- A new event has 36 frames and 2 × 2 cards: a 9-page print.
- If you upload a video to the Output preview section, you see the pages to be printed exactly as they will really come out.
- Index strip prints a sequence number on every card; it is needed so you can stack the cards in the right order after cutting.
- Print index order chooses the order in which the cards are laid out on the pages; choose it according to your cutting method.
Preview
Upload a short video with Choose a video. The app produces the pages with the same code that runs at the event and shows them as thumbnails; these are not samples, they are the real print pages. Nothing is saved and nothing goes to the printer.
- When you touch a page it gets larger; you move between pages with Previous and Next, and leave with Close.
- The summary line below states how many pages came out of how many frames, the layout per page and the paper. If the cover is on, Cover page included. is added. If the last page is not filled, it also states how many cells will stay empty.
- When you change a setting below, the preview refreshes by itself; during this it reads Settings changed — rebuilding….
- Choose another video refreshes the preview with another video.
Uploading a video you shot with your real camera before the event gives the most accurate result.
Cover
If you upload an image to the Cover image field and turn the switch on, the first page of every booklet is this cover; the video frames start after it. If the switch is off, the cover is not printed even if an image is uploaded.
The cover takes the place of one card and carries no number. With the cover on, the number of cards laid out is one more than the number of frames: 36 frames and a cover make 37 cards; in a 2 × 2 layout this means 10 pages, with 3 cells empty on the last page. If you do not want empty cells, make the number of frames 35.
Paper and cutting
| Setting | Options | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Print paper | 6 x 4 in, 4 x 6 in, 6 x 8 in, 8 x 6 in, A5 landscape, A5 portrait, A4 landscape, A4 portrait | 6 x 4 in |
| 2 inch cut | On / Off; the printer cuts the paper into 2-inch strips | Off |
2 inch cut only appears when 6 x 4 or 4 x 6 paper is selected. The printer must support this cut; for details see the printing articles in the article Which Photo Booth Articles Apply to Flipbook?. The paper size is chosen here, the printer itself on the Print page.
Layout of the cards
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Cards per sheet | How many cards are laid out Across and Down on one sheet | 2 × 2 |
| Total frames | The number of frames taken from the video; it is the number of leaves of the booklet | 36 |
| Print index order | In which order the numbered cards are laid out on the pages | Down each column (guillotine strips) |
| Index strip | The width of the grey strip on the left edge of each card that carries the sequence number | 7.5% of the card width |
The number of pages is calculated like this: the total number of frames is divided by the number of cards per page and rounded up. The line under the Total frames field writes the result: for example, 36 frames and a 2 × 2 layout make 9 pages. If the division does not come out even, empty cells remain on the last page and the line says so too; to avoid empty cells, choose a number of frames that is a multiple of the number of cards.
The frames are taken at equal intervals from the start to the end of the video. Increasing the number of frames makes the motion smoother, but it also increases the print pages and the number of cards to cut. Each frame is placed so that it fills its own cell; if its ratio does not fit the cell, it is cropped at the edges. Black lines are printed between the cards for cutting.
The Index strip slider adjusts the width of the strip; it can be at most half of the card width. If you pull it to zero, no strip is drawn and no number is printed; the warning Off — no strip and no numbers will be printed. appears on the page. Without numbers it is hard to stack dozens of very similar cards in the right order; do not turn the strip off.
The options of Print index order and which cutting method each suits: the article How to Print, Cut and Bind a Flipbook?.
Printing
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Print automatically | When on, the pages are sent to the printer as soon as they are ready, without waiting for the operator | Off |
| Copies per session | How many booklets are printed for each guest | 1 |
Each copy is a separate print job; this way you know how many booklets you have to cut and bind. When Print automatically is off, printing is started by the Print Flipbook button on the sharing screen.
Frame size
Before the frames are laid out on the page, they are reduced to the Max width (px) and Max height (px) values; the default is 1080 × 1920. This limit is not for print quality but to protect the device's memory with long, high-resolution videos. The default is enough for small cards; a very low value looks pixelated in print.
Not choosing a number of frames that is a multiple of the number of cards: empty cells remain on the last page and paper is wasted.
Turning off Index strip: the cards are printed without numbers, and after cutting you cannot find the order.
Uploading the cover image but not turning the switch on: the cover is not printed.
Changing the paper here but not the paper in the printer: the page layout is prepared for the paper you chose; if there is another paper in the printer, the cards shift or are cut off.
Changing the settings and going live without looking at the preview: the card order and the empty cells are only visible in the preview.
