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Blurb Widget Makes Online Book Previews Easy


Blurb’s new book preview Widget lets you preview as much or as little of your Blurb book as you like online. You can embed it on any blog or webpage.
Visitors can view your book as a virtual page turning book or as thumbnails.
They can check Full Screen for a larger preview.
They can click the Share button and help you spread the word.
They can click the Comment button and give you instant feedback.
Or, they can click the Purchase button and get a copy of your book.
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This HTML code generates the widget.
<object classid=”clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000? width=”425? height=”300? codebase=”http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0?><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true” /><param name=”allowScriptAccess” value=”always” /><param name=”src” value=”http://www.blurb.com/assets/embed.swf?book_id=1244722? /><param name=”allowfullscreen” value=”true” /><embed type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” width=”425? height=”300? src=”http://www.blurb.com/assets/embed.swf?book_id=1244722? allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true”></embed></object>
You can scale the display by changing the dimension numbers.
It’s easy to implement and use.
Here’s more on how to install the widget.
Find out more about how to Share, Promote, Sell your Blurb books here.
Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

How To Make a Gorgeous Photo Book – Blurb


Blurb recently released a great overview of all the issues you need to consider to produce a great photo book – from concept to execution and promotion. Read it and make all your books better.
“Beautiful photo books don’t happen by accident. Talented people invest time and intent using proven design tenets, and the results can be spectacular. To help you up your bookmaking game, we’ve tapped our network of photographers and book designers and collected their best advice on everything from sequencing and layouts to typography and cover design. How to Make a Gorgeous Photo Book includes plenty of tips, tricks, and information to push your creative edge and help you design beautiful books that showcase your best work.”
Find my Blurb book Antarctica here.
Check out these other great design books I recommend.
Stay tuned for dates on my upcoming Blurb seminars and workshop.

Blurb's Photography Book Now Contest Is Open

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Blurb’s 2010 Photography Book Now contest is open through July 15, 2010.
Now it’s in its third year, this international competition celebrates the most creative, most innovative, finest print on demand photography books – and the people behind them.
Showcase your work to a jury of internationally-renowned judges – editors, publishers, photographers, and gallery owners.
Enter your books in one or more of three categories – Fine Art, Editorial, and Portfolio.
The grand prize is $25,000.
Find out more here.
See the 2009 winners here.

How Long Will Blurb Books Last ?

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How long will your Blurb books last?
100 years in dark storage, 45 years in average display conditions, before visible fading occurs.
Blurb books are printed with HP Indigo presses. HP shares Henry Wilhelm’s permanence data. “The study gives pages printed with HP Indigo presses a Wilhelm Digital Imaging Research (WIR) Display Permanence Rating of approximately 45 years, which is longer than the best-rated silver-halide photo paper, Fuji Crystal Archive. The HP Indigo rating is also more than twice as long as the WIR Display Permanence Rating for prints on Kodak silver-halide photo paper. The study also shows that HP Indigo photo book prints received a WIR Album/Dark Storage Rating of greater than 100 years.”
Stay tuned for announcements on my upcoming New York and Toronto Blurb seminars.
Find my Blurb book Antarctica here.
Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

NAPP's Lightroom 3 Learning Center

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Lightroom 3 (now in public beta) offers a lot of great improvements.
As an upgrade, it’ll be a must.
Want to get ready for the next version of Lightroom? NAPP offers 9 online video training sessions on the new Lightroom 3 Beta.
The New Import
Web Publishing
Watermarking
Improved Vignettes
Improved Noise
New Grain Effect
Develop Enhancements
Slideshow Improvements
Custom Printing
Plus there’s an interview with Lightroom Sr Product manager Tom Hogarty.
View them here.
Download Lightroom 3 Beta here at Adobe Labs.