Hi k-blank2004,
I have found several programs for you, and all are inexpensive and
seemingly simple to use.
ACD Foto Slate
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ACD Foto Slate 3.0, $39.99 USD , Free trial download
?Paper Saver - Save money on expensive printer paper. Use the smart
paper saver wizard to fit as many pictures as possible on one page
automatically. Just specify how many prints of each size you want and
FotoSlate gives you the best fit in seconds.?
http://www.acdsystems.com/English/Products/FotoSlate/feature3.asp?
?ACD FotoSlate: the easy-to-use digital photo printing software for
home users and professionals. Print photos in popular sizes including
4x6 and 5x7. Make print sheets, albums, calendars, simple brochures
and contact sheets. Use pre-made pages or create your own. Print
grainy pictures more clearly. Save time and money with wizards.
"Couldn't be easier," says Popular Photography magazine.?
?FotoSlate offers two easy ways to place your photos into layouts: use
the wizards, or just choose a page layout and then drag and drop your
pictures into them. For even faster prints, select a number of images
and FotoSlate will automatically place them in the pages for you. Set
your pictures to automatically fill image boxes on the pages for a
tidy look, or specify that images should automatically resize
themselves in order to display all picture detail.?
http://www.acdsystems.com/English/Products/FotoSlate/index.htm
Arc Soft
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This site lists multiple photo printing programs, some of which may
work for you. One seemed to be exactly what you are seeking: Arc Soft
PhotoPrinter. ?ArcSoft's PhotoPrinter lets you lay out your images in
multiple sizes on a single sheet of paper. PhotoPrinter templates
offer a wide selection of printing dimensions, including Kodak Digital
Science? Inkjet Photo Paper Templates and Avery-brand paper products.
The application includes image-editing tools for enhancing photos
before printing. You can also add frames, edges and other backgrounds
to each image in the template. The downloadable demo expires in one
month.?
http://www.shortcourses.com/how/printingsoftware/printingsoftware.htm
Arc Soft Photo Printer Software, $39.99 USD, Free trial
http://www.arcsoft.com/en/products/photoprinter/
Paint Shop Photo Album
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JASC Paint Shop Photo Album
One program I am very familiar with is JASC Paint Shop Photo Album.
Although it is probably not as flexible with photo layouts as the
other programs in this answer, it is a wonderful program, full of
features, and intuitive to use. You asked for a ?Good? picture file
manager, and I highly recommend JASC Paint Shop Photo Album, any
version. I have used this program extensively, and recommended it to
numerous people. Everyone has been pleased with the software, and
learned quickly how to use it.
The newer version may allow you to designate exact sizes for each
layout page, much like ACD FotoSlate.
You can connect your camera or memory card reader to the computer and
use this program to download photos directly into albums, or you can
?pull in? photos and/or graphics already stored on your computer. You
can easily rename albums and add or remove additional photos by simply
dragging them into or out of albums.
One of my favorite features is the ?Batch? feature. Once photos are
selected, by highlighting all you want, clicking on ?Batch? will allow
you to resize the photos in a batch, with a few clicks. You no longer
have to resize one by one. You can also batch re-name, rotate, and
fix, among others.
As far as printing different sizes, this program is supreme! (I have
an older version, so some of the buttons/steps may be somewhat
different on the newest version) Under ?Print Layout? you are given
numerous selections for sizes. The ?Combination? choices have
different sizes on one sheet. Sometimes the photo is not properly
centered when there are various sizes. This is easily remedied by
clicking the ?Adjustment? button, and selecting the hand ?Pan? tool.
This will allow you to click on the photo and move it around to center
a photo.
Under the Adjustment tab, you can click Rotate Image, or Mix Portrait
and Landscape to get the optimum arrangements. You can set margins
and alignments and zoom in or out. This is a very versatile program,
full of useful features.
JASC Paint Shop Photo Album 5, $45 USD, downloaded, $49 USD, boxed.
You may download a free trial version on this page too.
http://www.jasc.com/products/photoalbum/ppafeature1.asp
The Digital Photography Review web site says about PSP Album 5 ?With
its innovative PhotoSafe(TM) Archiving System, Photo Album ensures
users will never lose another photo. According to InfoTrends, there
are more than 25 billion photos taken every year, and 78 percent of
digital camera owners have no plans for storing these photos. That
leaves almost 20 billion photos vulnerable to computer crashes or
viruses like the Love Letter virus that destroys photo files. The
PhotoSafe Archiving System takes the worry and planning out of keeping
digital photos secure by tracking which photos have already been
backed-up to CD, which have been added to the photo collection since
then, and alerting users when its time to back-up again.?
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0405/04051401jascphotalbumv5.asp
You can save a little money if the newest features are not important
to you, by ordering Pain Shop Photo Album 4. Amazon has the previous
edition, for $30.99 USD, free shipping.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00008ZPGR/ref=pd_luc_mri/104-5758728-4845545?v=glance&s=software&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER&st=*
Read a review of Paint Shop Photo Album 4 here:
http://www.unleash.com/kurt/jascpaintshopphotoalbum4/index.asp
http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/Jasc_Paint_Shop_Photo_Album_4_0/4505-3635_16-20827835-2.html?tag=subnav
Finally, if you or anyone you know has an HP Photosmart printer, you
may like the proprietary software that comes with the printer. It is
excellent at printing different sizes, even allowing you to customize
layouts. Mine is called HP Photo Smart Photo Printing Software. Not a
snazzy name, and not really a snazzy program, except it does exactly
what you want in photo layouts. It does not have photo management
features, however.
Hope this helps you save photo paper and print the sizes you actually
want printed. If any part of my answer is unclear, please request an
Answer Clarification, before rating. This will allow me to assist you
further, if possible.
Regards,
crabcakes
Search Terms
Photo layout software
JASC |