Digital Darkroom

#2. This directory dialog box shows all the stuff you've got on your computer. Navigate through it to find the CD that you want to create a cover for, then click on the CD icon to highlight it. Next, at the bottom of the dialog box, click Choose (Mac) or OK (Win).

Making Contact
First, put the disc you want to label in your computer's CD/DVD drive and open your image-editing software. In Elements, choose File>Print Layouts>Contact Sheet. In Photoshop, select File>Automate>Contact Sheet (in Versions 6 and 7, Contact Sheet II). In the Contact Sheet dialog box that appears (#1), under Source Folder at the top, click on the Choose button if you're using a Mac. In Windows, click the Browse button.

This brings up a directory dialog box, #2, which shows all the stuff you've got on your computer. Navigate through it to find the CD or DVD that you want to create a cover for, and then click on the CD icon to highlight it. Next, at the bottom of the dialog box, click Choose (Mac) or OK (Win).

#3. Once you've selected the number of thumbnails you want per page and the type size, Contact Sheet will automatically generate your CD cover in less than a minute. Then just print it, trim it, and slide it into the disc's plastic case. Here, I made a cover with 16 thumbnails per page of shots from the Florida Keys.

Size It
Now you're back to the Contact Sheet dialog, #1, again. Here's where you decide just how you want the CD cover to look. At the third line from the top, click the "Include All Subfolders" check box to include everything that is on your disc. Next, set the size to 4.75" for both width and height, so the printout will slide easily into the plastic CD case. I set the resolution to 200 ppi. You can experiment with lower resolutions to see if they still give you enough detail. If you have extremely large files, or an older computer, lower resolution can make the process faster. Leave the Mode set to RGB color, and check the Flatten All Layers box. There's no point in keeping layers for these thumbnail pages, which you'll only print once.

Now, move down in the Contact Sheet dialog box to the Thumbnails section. Here's where you decide how many images will be on each page, and how large or small you want them to be. Select the "Place: across first" option to position the thumbnails in standard order, from left to right across the page. Now look at the small box in the middle of the right-hand side of the Contact Sheet dialog. It's a graphic preview of what your finished page will look like.

If you select 4 columns and 4 rows, as shown here, you'll see 16 small gray blocks representing your thumbnail pictures (4x4 =16). If you choose 5x5 rows, there will be 25 thumbnails per page, but they'll be smaller. You need to experiment and print out a few different configurations to decide which will work best for you. Furthermore, the size of each image will vary depending on the font you choose, as described next.

#4. When you make the thumbnails larger, such as the 9 per page shown here, even long file names are printed completely with 6 point type.

Choose Your Font
Finally, at the bottom of the Contact Sheet dialog box, check the "Use Filename As Caption" box. Then select a font style from the "Font:" drop-down menu, here I choose Helvetica. For Font Size, try 6 or 8 point, the smallest you can comfortably read, in order to see all of any long file names--like those applied by your digital camera--and to keep the thumbnails as large as possible. If you choose too large a font size, the last part of long file names will probably be cut off, and the pictures will be smaller.

Now it's time to let the software do the hard work. Once you've finalized your selections, click the OK button at the upper right. Photoshop or Elements will process all the information and save a copy of your disc's pictures in a file labeled Contact Sheet I, II, and so on. How many pages will depend on how many photos you have on the disc and how big you want each thumbnail to appear. This takes less than a minute for one or two thumbnail pages from average size files from consumer digital cameras.

#5. To make it easy to cut out the exact size print to fit the CD jewel case, I use Edit>Stroke to put a black line around the edges.

With Contact Sheet set for 16 thumbnails per page, #3, part of some of the longer file names are cut off, even at the smallest 6 point font size. Configured for 9 images per sheet, #4, complete file names are printed with 6 point type.

Edge It
To make it easy to cut out the exact size print to fit the CD jewel case, I use Elements or Photoshop to put a black line around the edges. With the newly Created Contact Sheet open, choose Select>All. You'll see the "marching ants" dotted selection line running around the border of the CD cover. Next, choose, Edit>Stroke to bring up the Stroke dialog box shown in #5. Choose 2 pixels for the width of the stroke, and whatever color you like--I use black. Set the Location to inside, and the Blending mode to normal, opacity to 100 percent. Click OK and the software will stroke (draw a line along) the selection. Now, you have a thin black line around the edges of your CD cover, making it easy to trim it to the right size with a pair of scissors or a paper cutter.

#6. To save paper when I have more than one Contact Sheet page, I create a new 8.5x11" blank document and, using the Move tool, drag two 4.75x4.75" Contact Sheets onto one 8.5x11" page, so I can print 2 covers at a time.

Pack It
With multiple pages, you can slide one page under the other inside the cover of the jewel box case. To save paper when I have more than one Contact Sheet page, I create a new 8.5x11 blank document and, using the Move tool, drag two 4.75x4.75" Contact Sheets (made following the steps mentioned) onto one 8.5x11" page, #6.

Here's another option, especially if you have discs with lots of photos on them. Use the Contact Sheet function to print thumbnails on standard 8.5x11" sheets and keep these in a 3-ring binder, keyed with a number and/or title to each CD. When you have lots of photos on one CD, this is an easier way to see everything at once. But you have to be organized. On the other hand, with multiple pages that fit inside the CD case, as shown here, it's harder to misplace an index print.

So, now when you have a request from Aunt Maud for that picture you took at the picnic two summers ago, you'll be able to find it in a flash. Plus, you'll sleep much better knowing that you have taken control of your digital photo files.