Now you have your digital darkroom set up. If you read my previous columns, you should have exactly what you need to produce great results. Too often, however, the first thing that many photographers produce with their new computer is great frustration! Most imaging software is just too complicated for novices. Let me show you how to use a simple program to make something really neat. It's also tax deductible as a business expense!

There are many free or cheap programs that are easy to learn, but they produce amateur results. Calendar Creator Plus, however, published by Softkey, costs less than $100, is simple to learn, and produces really great results. In less than an hour, you can produce a custom photo-calendar similar to the ones you may have made in your old chemical darkroom using Kodalith masks for the calendar portion.

This is the easiest way for you to learn how to use your new equipment. Even if you aren't into calendars, try it anyway as a homework assignment. If you are a professional photographer, why not send customized calendars to some of your clients? You can write it off as a marketing expense, as long as you don't tell the IRS that you had fun doing it.

I use the Gold Edition, Version 2.0, for Windows. There is probably a newer version by now. There is also a Mac version available. Don't be fooled by the thick manual. These guys just like to write. Read the intro, then follow the Quick Start instructions. You'll have your first calendar in minutes. Now that you know it works, let's get serious.

HERE WE GO!

Select Layout from the menu bar. Select Layout Options from the drop-down menu list. Now you see a big dialog box. Select Month in the Layout section. This will produce a calendar with one month per page. Click on the Appearance button. In the Layout on 1 page box, select Big picture on top. In the Border box, select Medium, square.

Next, click on the Titles & Pictures button. In the Item section, select Title. The & section should say &title. The Month and Year should be shown in the next box, e.g., October 1997. Click the Fonts button. Select Times New Roman, Regular style, Size 17, Center alignment. Click OK.

Now select Sub-Title in the Item section. Enter your business name, e.g., Crimson Star Software. Click on the Fonts button. Select Times New Roman, Italic style, Size 11, Center alignment. Click OK.

Select Day-of-Month in the Item section. Enter a number, e.g., 19. Click on the Fonts button. Select Times New Roman, Italic style, Size 11, Left alignment. Click OK.

In the Pictures box, select Big: Single picture for all periods. Click the Pictures button. Select Same picture for all time periods. Click the Select file button. Use the dialog box to identify the graphic file that you want printed on this calendar. Click OK. Enter the title in the Big picture title area. Click on the Fonts button. Select Times New Roman, Regular style, Size 11, Center alignment. Click OK. In the Big pictures scaling area select Don't scale. Click OK.

Next, click on the Page setup button. Select 8.5 x 11 letter stock, portrait orientation, 0.55 inch top margin, 0.60 left margin, 0.55 right margin, and 0.60 bottom margin. Click OK.

You're now back at the work area. Just on top of it, there is a window showing the Month and Year. You can change it by clicking either arrow next to it. The Month/Year that shows will be printed on your calendar. There should be a preview of the calendar in the work area. What does it look like? Well, all of those settings you just set duplicate the ones I use. There is an area on the upper half of the page with room for a photo, while the calendar section is on the lower half of the page. In the middle, between the photo and calendar, are the photo title, month/year, and your business name, each on their own line.

Print it out and see what happens. How did the photo turn out? Was it smaller than you expected? You could enlarge it by allowing the program to scale the image, using several options. None of them will give you professional results. This program is designed for beginners, and scaling is strictly for beginners. Play around with the options but don't expect too much. Next month, I will show you how to get professional photo quality from Calendar Creator Plus by scanning your original image to the correct final print size. We will make use of the secret formula that I revealed in my previous articles.

Until then, experiment and go wild! You won't hurt anything, and your non-photographer friends will think your test calendars look great.