Most of Simple Booth's layouts are not rectangular in shape, but when printing we are confined to the rectangular dimensions of your photo paper.
This means you'll need to consider how to format your print in order for it to look good on your photo paper.
This article includes what you need to know in order to get a professional looking final result!
Background Information
Settings for your layout type, margins, and crop (or iPad orientation) will all affect how the images are printed from Simple Booth apps. Your chosen graphics will also affect things.
Different printer models are going to handle the placement of the print just slightly uniquely, so you may need to make adjustments when using a new printer.
Flexibility is key! Many print formatting problems can be resolved by changing the graphic type (for example using an overlay instead of a logo) or the the crop type.
Steps
1. Set Your Paper Size
Using 4x6 or 5x7 should work in most circumstances.
Some printers do come with paper that is not exactly 4x6 or 5x7. If you are still having trouble with your layout after working through this guide, consider grabbing a ruler, measuring your paper, and making any necessary adjustments to your settings.
We recommend starting with your Padding at 0 and with Force Fit disabled.
2. Consider Changes To Your Layout
Consider what your layout looks like without further edits. If there are any big gaps of space it may be necessary to make an adjustment to your layout.
Turning your logo into an overlay* (or vice versa) can help. Adjusting the crop can also go a long way depending on your layout.
You may need to go through some trial and error in order to find the best option based on your priorities for what the final result looks like.
*Overlays are only available on the HALO app, and a print-specific overlay must be added when using the Force Fit tool. Learn more in Step 3.
3. Fine Tuning
At this point, you should have a layout that is close to the print size, but may still have some uneven margins.
There are two ways to make your final improvements: print padding and Force Fit.
Print Padding
The padding settings in the print panel allow you to make small, incremental adjustments to your margins.
Adding positive numbers to any side will increase the margins, and adding negative numbers to any side will decrease the white space or margins.
Force Fit
Force Fit crops each picture in the layout and alters the dimensions just enough so that the photos fill the space with even margins on all sides. We automatically detect faces in the photos and uses their positions to try to keep everyone in the frame.
Because of how these adjustments work, Force Fit works best when your layout is already close in size to the paper size you have selected. Fewer automated adjustments is always better.
Force Fit automatically disables digital backgrounds and overlays added to the design panel in order to prevent distortion. This is because those graphics have to be designed to fit the dimensions of your digital layout or GIF, and those dimensions change when Force Fit is applied.
You can instead design a print-specific overlay and/or background if you want to print with Force Fit.
4. Test Prints
Once your print preview looks good, use your in-settings test print button (or launch the booth to take some test shots) to see what the final result will look like.
After seeing the results, you can make further adjustments if necessary.