Layout & Files

Free Training!

If you want help using InDesign or Lightroom, feel free to check out Kevin's training videos:

Layout Help!

•  Layout Help File Download this PDF! It's super-cool and it may be helpful in preventing common mistakes. It also includes export settings for PDFs (updated 2010-06-03)
•  JPEG Download this layout guide! No matter what size book you're ordering, simply design it as a 10x10 using this guide! How easy is that!? (updated 2010-02-03) Note! Don't include this guide in your layout, if you do, it will print!
• InDesign Template (updated 2009-09-02)
• Aperture Template (updated 2009-09-19) Thanks to the great KISSer, Jason Aten!

What are the file specifications?

• Design your spreads using the guide listed above..
• Keep important information (text, faces, etc.) in from the edges—we will trim off .25" (for a 10x10, the amount will change proportionately for other size books). See the guide and help files, above.
• If you want an image to bleed off the edge, you need to bring it all the way to the edge of the page—don't just bring it slightly past the trim line.
• If you want space around the ourter edge of your image AFTER the trim, keep your images/boxes/etc. in at least .5" from the edge.
• Save your album in 2-page spreads as 300dpi, sRGB JPEGs
• Use high JPEG quality (e.g.10 in Photoshop), not maximum! Typical spreads are 2-5 MB when prepared properly. Files larger than 9mb will not be accepted.
• Filenaming is irrelevant, as you will be able to review, adjust, and approve your spread sequence when you upload.
  

Do different book sizes require different files?
No. Design everything as a 10x10. Our system is set up to work with the 10x10 template. We proportionally adjust the trim sizes for other size books to make sure the layout looks right no matter what size you order. The KISSup! loader will reject anything other than a 20x10 layout.

If I'm ordering a 10x10, won't my final spread size be 20x10?
The files you send to KISS will be, but, after we print them, we will trim them down .25" on every edge so the final dimension will be 19.5x9.5. The cover of your book will measure 10x10, so for us to fit the block of the book inside the cover, it needs to be slightly smaller. Please see the Layout Help files, above, for more detail about where we trim your pages. This is a common misunderstanding. Please read the Layout Help files, above!

Do I need to do anything special to my images before uploading?
Like with any photographic print, you should know that album spreads will reproduce slightly darker than what you are seeing on a well calibrated monitor. If your monitor is out of calibration, the print may be even darker still. When designing your album, look for ways to keep things bright; adjust levels (especially mid-ranges), dodge faces, etc. We also recommend editing in sRGB, which will be much more faithful to print than Adobe RGB. For more information about sRGB vs Adobe RGB, click here. If you know how to use color profiles, click here to download the .icc for our printer.

What software can I use to design?
Anything that exports a 300 DPI sRGB JPEG. KISS recommends Adobe InDesign, Photojunction, and Album DS

Do you provide design?
Yes! Click here for more details.

Pages? Spreads? Sides?
We‘re not sure who started screwing this up, but we aim to put it straight. A page is a page is a page. Just like a book, um... because it's a book. A spread is 2 pages, as seen in this image. KISS deals in spreads (because we don't print single pages). If you tell a kid to go to page 17 in a book, he doesn't look at you and go, "what side?"

Do you print on the first page?
No. Every printed page in our albums is a 2-page spread. If you want the ”first-page feeling,“ you can design the left half of your spread as white (or another solid color). On the Leather KISS, the inside covers and first/last pages are covered in a black, textured paper. Click the thumbnail at left for a larger illustration. For the Linen KISS, the book opens straight to the first spread, no inside cover or textured paper, we glue the spread right to the inside cover.

Ordering

Why can't I see pricing?
When you sign up at the store for an account, there may be a slight delay as we verify that you are, indeed, a pro photographer. We only sell to photographers, so the pricing is hidden from consumers. If you are thorough in your signup (address, email, business name, etc.) there shouldn't be any delay in your seeing pricing. Try waiting a few hours and logging back in to the store again to see if pricing has been opened up to you. When you sign up, be sure to give us a business name and an email address attached to that business.

What is your standard and RUSH turn-around time?
It takes roughly 45 seconds to order online. Your order will ship from our facility 15 working-days from when we receive your files. If files are uploaded before 10:00am Mountain, that day counts as a working day. If files are found to have problems, we'll alert you by email and work with you to correct them. The 15-day counter starts again when the repaired files are received.

On the last page of the checkout process, there is an option to RUSH your job. It will add a 40% fee to your order and we will move your book up to the front of the line. This typically means the book will ship from our facility within 7 working days of ordering. You should probably upgrade your shipping, too!

Do you check my files?
KISS has designed and built, in partnership with AlbumExposure, the KISSup! Loader, which will review the technical specifications of your files including resolution, dimension, colorspace, and JPEG compression (filesize). KISSup! will also show you the sequence the spreads will appear in your album and what it will look like after the trim. The photographer is responsible for all the content on the pages. Please look for low-res photos, images that don't fill frames, empty frames, duplicate photos, duplicate spreads, etc. KISS is not responsible if you miss these issues in your final book. If our production staff happen to see something that doesn't look right when they're printing and binding, they will email you for further clarification—but we don't garauantee we will catch your mistakes. If reprints are required, the photographer will need to pay for them. Please, take an extra five minutes before uploading and review your JPEG spreads, at 100% resolution, in Photoshop.

How do I upload?
After you've placed your order, you will receive a confirmation and be given a link to the KISSup! Tool, which will allow you to upload and preview your layouts. If you need to upload at a later time, simply log into your account and you will see, at the top right, that you have uploads pending.

How do I upload a replacement page or images for a design?
Contact support and we'll get you hooked up.

What if I'm having trouble uploading?
First, try clearing your cache or switching browsers (FireFox, Safari, and Chrome are recommended). If you try that and you still are having problems, contact support and we'll get you hooked up.

Can I order if I'm not a wedding photographer?
Yes! Our only restriction is that you are a professional photographer who will charge sales tax on your final books. Since we're a wholesale company, we depend on you to collect proper sales tax for your state.

Do you ship internationally? What are the rates?
Yes! We ship all over the world. Once you have an account, you can put a book in your shopping cart and start the checkout process to show shipping calculations.

Can I make changes to an order after I've placed it?
Once you submit a job via the KISSup! Loader, we can not accept any changes to your order. Some of you may have noticed that your books are shipping earlier and earlier. Our process is speeding up, and changes requested after we've moved to 'OK to Print' cause train wrecks. For most of you, this isn't an issue; but we're encouraging you all to think very carefully about your order before submitting it. If you accidentally order too many or to few spreads, or you want to add a 4x4, or you want to change the leather color--you can still do it, as long as it's before you've approved your job preview via the KISSup! tool. We really appreciate your understanding on this issue!

What is your Christmas Deadline?
See how KISS stacks up against the competition by clicking here.

What is your return policy?
Click HERE for our shipping and returns policy..

Books

Do you have photos I can use in my marketing?
We do! You can download them by clicking on this link. There's a shot of the swatches, too.

Are there discounts for studio samples?
Absolutely! 20%! KISS loses a small amount of money with each sample. We're happy to invest in relationships with our clients, but we want to make clear that sample albums are just that: samples. They're not to be sold to your clients, but to show your clients what their book will be like when they order. We brand our lips logo into the leather on a back corner. The brand is about 2" wide, embossed into the leather (see, for all of you complaining about KISS not doing embossing—we do!). We will also add a spread (like the inset to the right) to the end of your book that has the word "sample" on it. Sadly, we've found that some people were selling our samples as client books. We can't survive that way!

Little KISSes (the 4x4) are not able to be discounted as our profit margin is slight to begin with and they're too small to stamp.

Do you discount duplicate albums (clones)?
No. We guess if a client asked you to design two entirely different books from 2 sets of photos, you would‘t likely offer a discount because you‘re doing the same amount of work twice. Clone discounts are typically beneficial when the design time is a factor. For us, the amount of work and materials are identical no matter what the content is that we‘re printing. However, if you're ordering design, you only have to pay for it once—the design can be used on as many copies as you like.

How many spreads/pages will you bind?
Books are priced at a 10-spread (20-page) minimum. We'll bind up to 40 spreads (80 pages).

Do you cut your pages?
We don't. Every spread is a full 2-page print.

Do your seams get blue or pink or otherwise wear over time?
All our books contain photographic prints. If you bend a photograph, you will have some damage. However, we have perfected our creasing and folding technology to ensure that the least amount of damage possible shows on our prints. The seams do not have the typical blue or pink hue in the center, and the image degredation is very slight. We feel it is significantly better looking than a cut spread. At right, you can see an unretouched photo of the seam of a 2-year old KISS Book.

What paper do you print on?
We do true, RA-4 photographic printing (much nicer than "press prints"!) on Fuji Crystal Archival paper. Super-durable, with a nice, soft finish. We found, after much testing, that the Fuji paper showed less discoloration and deterioration across the book seam.

How thick are your pages?
Our Leather KISS pages are juuuussst right! 2mm, including the substrate and print mounted on both sides. The Linen KISS is two pieces of photographic paper mounted back to back.

What is your guarantee?
We guarantee you'll love the whole KISS experience! Go ahead, throw some stuff in your cart, it‘s too fun! Oh, and our products are guaranteed for life from any defects in manufacturing or materials.

What are "Little KISSes?"
Litlte KISSes are just a nickname for the 4" KISS Book. They can be either Leather or Linen, and you can find out more details by Clicking here. They're so cute! Little KISSes, due to their size, are sold in sets of 2.

Can I provide my own prints?
Nope!  We used to offer this, however, the process is actually more difficult for our book-makers and any slight damage to a print required reordering, waiting, shipping, etc.—as opposed to turning around and reprinting immediately. That, coupled with the fact that different papers bind better or worse than others means we can no longer offer this service to our customers. We hope you understand!