Photo Finale announces Lab 50 and Print 50 required updates

GaryPageau

Photo Finale announced the following for users:

Important! Required Update for Lab 50 & Print 50 to properly render new orders

Lab 50/Print 50 9.5.1 is now available for download from myLab. We have a new line-height adjustment feature on Photo Finale sites, as well as some improvements to the text rendering engine, and to handle new orders, you will need this update to Lab 50/Print 50 in order to correctly render the products. This version also allows you to fulfill the new Image USB product, recently released as part of APM 10. If you had a beta version of Lab 50/Print 50 9.5 installed, you still need to install this release version.

Onto the Fun Stuff! PF 12.5 is Live!

Priced attributes, better text control, type the print quantity

There is nothing you need to do to get this update, but you will want to log into myLab and make some adjustments! The big feature for this release is that Product Personalization feature that allows operators to configure folio and merchandise products with a customer-selectable attribute or text entry field has been enhanced with several of the most-requested upgrades:

  • Priced attributes. Each personalization option can have a price adjustment configured so that the option raises or lowers the product’s base price. You could use it for offering upgrades to fancy paper types, asking customers if they want to add a box or gift wrap to the order, upgrading book page paper…
  • Fulfillment ID Overrides. Each option can be assigned a Fulfillment ID Override which alters the Product ID used for printing and fulfillment to allow for production routing.
  • Multi-Line Text. Text Input personalizations now allow for multiple lines of text entry.

We’ve also added two big features (plus lots of small ones) we know your customers will appreciate.

  • Better text. Line height control for text boxes so users can fine-tune how their message looks (plus a new system behind-the-scenes to better ensure that text rendering in projects is the best possible match to what the customer saw as they designed in their browser).
  • Text entry for print quantity. An order of 50 prints no longer requires 50 clicks…user can now just type in the quantity.
  • More. As usual, we have a ton of smaller features, improvements and fixes in this version, too. Please read the full release notes for all the details.

Have You Updated? APM Kiosk v10 with mobile transfer, Image USB, rush fee and HEIF support

APM v10 is now available for download from myLab. We encourage everyone to install version 10 so that you can handle HEIF format photos and use the new phone-to-kiosk universal mobile uploader.

  • HEIF support: APM v10 handles Apple’s new HEIF format, as will the most recent release (4.1) of your iPhone ordering app. For more details on how HEIF is handled on each of the Photo Finale platform products, read this entry on our Wiki.
  • Universal mobile uploader: Upload photos from Apple or Android devices into the kiosk, then order prints and products from those photos! You do not need a license, cable or special app (although your iPhone/iPad ordering app v4.1 has a new button to facilitate uploads). Setup instructions and a demo are available here.
  • Save to USB: Sell users an Image USB containing their images! You configure the USB size, price and other options. A new Lab 50 feature enables easy USB delivery. More info here.
  • Rush fee: The rush fee allows users to opt to pay extra for speedier service. It works as it does for the website – you set the name of the service, description and amount. If you have not tried this online, set it up this holiday season there, too! We had a number of dealers do very well with it last year, with fees ranging from $2.99 to $20.
  • Graphical improvements: Lots of tweaks and fixes throughout make the kiosk faster and easier to use than ever. Upgrades include larger thumbnails, a more modern image selector and rotating sidebar banners.

Much more! Read the details here.

Upgrade Your App to offer creative and support HEIF

Most dealers have already upgraded their apps to version 4, which includes creative ordering, print product editing, support for HEIF, and all the rest of the 4.x releases to come. If you have not upgraded to 4 yet, you can order directly through myLab (under Store Mgmt > Component Licensing, click Purchase, then Pocket Pics 4.0 upgrade) or contact your sales rep. If you do not upgrade to 4, your app will not be able to handle photos taken in iOS 11. It’s the perfect time to get creative ordering in your app, too. Read the full feature list here. The upgrade is US$199, and can be live on the App Store in a few days.