INSTALLING THE SOFTWAREClose all open applications and insert the PixelMixer CD in your computer's CD-ROM drive.The PixelMixer Installation Wizard appears automatically. If the Installation Wizard does not start automatically, choose RUN from the Start Menu, navigate to your CD-ROM drive and choose the installer executable. Follow the steps in the Installation Wizard.
CREATING DESIGNSIMPORTANT: Each time you create a design, no other image file can be open. Photoshop's slate must be clean!To begin creating designs, choose Open Photoshop from the PixelMixer's FILE menu. Company Info Before you start creating designs, you'll want to change the default Company Info to reflect your Company's details. You'll need to do this step for DVD Case Inserts and again for Disc Labels, and unless your Company Info changes, you shouldn't have to do this step again. Choose DVD Case Inserts from the Product column and then choose Extras/Add-ons from the Design column. Now select Change Company Info from the Style column and then click the Create button. The PixelMixer will bring up the Company Info for editing. Each line of Company information resides on it's own layer in Photoshop. Double-click on the  icon for any text layer
to edit that text.
Company Logo To add your own company logo, just open your logo file and drag the logo image out of it's window and into the Company Info window. If your logo is not on a transparent background, you'll want to delete your logo's current background before you create a design. You may also want to resize it. (example) When you're finished editing the Company Info select Save from Photoshop's File menu and you're ready to start creating labels. CREATING DVD CASE INSERTSChoose Open Photoshop from the PixelMixer's FILE menu.Select the DVD Case Insert option from the Product column, then choose a Design from the second column, and a Style from the third column. Click Create. Designs - Horizontal Stripes/Triple Stripes These designs create standard DVD case inserts using your image(s) as both the overall background and as a separate smaller version on the front cover. The PixelMixer also allows you to use two different images in your designs - one for the background and a different image for the front cover. See the topic Add New Background later in this document for how to do this.
Choose the appropriate style option from the 3rd column and then click the CREATE button. The PixelMixer will now automate the design process in Photoshop and prompt you for the image file you wish to use. When you click continue, you will be presented with the standard File Open dialog box. Simply navigate to the folder containing your image, select it and then click Open. (see example) The PixelMixer now processes your image and integrates it into the design. After a few seconds, your design is finished. You may now modify your design any way you wish. To change the default text simply click on the icon
for that layer. You can also change the font and blending options for that layer to suit your taste.
(see example)
Add Photos to Back Cover You also have the option of adding additional photos, up to 4 at a time, to the back cover of your DVD Case Insert design. Regardless of the number of images you choose to add, the process is the same. The options allow you to choose from a horizontally or vertically oriented image. Additionally, for each photo (or set of photos) you choose to add, you have the option to add them with rounded corners, or square corners with a white photo border. After your initial design has been created, switch back to the PixelMixer and choose Add Photos to Back from the Design column. Next, choose the style and number of photos you wish to add from the Style column and click the Create button. The PixelMixer will begin the process and prompt you for the filename of the image(s) you wish to use. At each prompt, simply navigate to the folder containing your image(s), select the file and click Open. Your image will be integrated into the back cover and if you chose to add more than one image, you will be prompted for each additional file. (see example) Add New Background This option is handy if you don't want to use the same image for both the background and the front cover image on your design. Use this option only after you have created your initial design. Select Extras/Add-ons from the Design column, choose Add New Background from the Style column and then click the Create button. The PixelMixer asks you to choose an image. Click continue, select the image you wish to use and then click Open. (see example) The PixelMixer will integrate your image into the background, but will stop near the end of the process to allow you to set the amount of blur you want applied to the background. Once you have set your desired blur level, click OK and PixelMixer will add your new background. Note: PixelMixer retains your old background from the initial design by turning this layer off. Should you change your mind about the background, you can always turn this layer (blur-old) back on. (see example) Low Ink Mask The Low Ink Mask feature is designed to greatly reduce the amount of ink used by your printer when printing your designs. With these options, your overall design remains exactly the same, but the amount of visible background is reduced. This is helpful if you had a situation where you needed to print an order of 100 DVD's. There are 3 possibilities with the Low Ink option:
CREATING DISC LABELSDesigning Disc Labels is very similar to Case Inserts.Choose DVD/CD Disc Labels from the Product column and then select the Disc Stripes design from the Design column. As with the Case Inserts, you have the option of using either a horizontally oriented or a vertically oriented image to be used in your design. Both types of images offer two different styles - borderless, rounded corners or square corners with a white photo border (see previous example). Once you have decided which image treatment is best for your design, click the Create button. The PixelMixer begins to create the design and then prompts you to select an image. Click continue and then navigate to the folder containing your image, select your image and then click Open. (see example) design using the image you have chosen. NOTE: When the initial Disc Design is first completed it contains a semi-transparent disc shape to aid you in understanding how the label will look. To achieve the best printout, you'll want to turn this layer (and the layer named 'safe area') off before printing. To change the default text simply click on the icon
for that layer. You can also change the font and blending options for that layer to suit your taste.
(see example)
Add Photos to Disc If you desire more than one image on the label, you can easily add as many as you wish with this option. Once your initial design has been created switch back to the PixelMixer window (ALT-tab) and choose Add Photos to Disc from the Design column. Specify the style (Photo Border or Rounded Corners) and orientation (Horizontal or Vertical) of the image you wish to add and then click the Create button. You will be prompted to supply the name and location of your image. Click continue and then navigate to the folder containing your image, select the file and then click the Create button. You should now have an additional image in your design. The layered composition of these designs allows for easy repositioning after the initial design has been completed. Simply select the move tool, highlight the layer you wish to move, and then drag your mouse on the canvas to reposition the selected image (see example). Add New Background This option is handy if you don't want to use the same image for both the background and the front cover image on your design. Use this option only after you have created your initial design. Select Extras/Add-ons from the Design column, choose Add New Background from the Style column and then click the Create button. The PixelMixer asks you to choose an image. Click continue, select the image you wish to use and then click Open. (see example) The PixelMixer will integrate your image into the background, but will stop near the end of the process to allow you to set the amount of blur you want applied to the background. Once you have set your desired blur level, click OK and PixelMixer will add your new background. Note: PixelMixer retains your old background from the initial design by turning this layer off. Should you change your mind about the background, you can always turn this layer (blur-old) back on (see example). Low Ink Mask The Low Ink Mask feature is designed to greatly reduce the amount of ink used by your printer when printing your designs. (static example) With these options your overall design remains exactly the same, but the amount of visible background is reduced. There are 2 possibilities with the Low Ink option:
SAVE YOUR DESIGN Once you have finalized your design, you'll be ready to print but you should save your design first. We recommend saving your design first as a Photoshop file (.psd). This method provides the greatest degree of flexibility. You'll be able to edit this same design in the future and still have all the features that a fully-layered Photoshop file offers. Once you've saved your master design, you'll want to flatten it (Layer/Flatten Image) and save it in the best format for your label program/printing needs - usually .jpg, .gif or .bmp. PRINTING DESIGNSPRINTING CASE INSERTSThe PixelMixer's Case Inserts can accommodate several printing scenarios. You will print your case insert designs directly from Photoshop by choosing Print from the File menu.Perforated DVD Stock The PixelMixer works great with perforated case insert stock from manufacturers such as Meritline and NEATO. If you'll be using this type of perforated label stock, you will want to turn off/hide the mask layer in your design before you print. Note: If you do not turn this label off prior to printing you'll wind up with unnecessary crop marks on your final output. (see example) IMPORTANT: Be sure to choose A4 as your paper size and Landscape as your orientation in Page Setup before printing.(see example)You may also receive a message that states "The image is larger than the paper's printable area; some clipping will occur" - this is expected behavior and you should continue by clicking the "Proceed" button. Legal Stock If you're using legal-sized paper for final output, you'll want to keep the mask layer visible as it provides helpful crop lines that will aid you in trimming your case insert. IMPORTANT: Be sure to choose Legal 8.5" X 14" as your paper size and Landscape as your orientation in Page Setup before printing.(see example)PRINTING DISC LABELSRegardless of the label maker software you use, the PixelMixer's Disc designs can easily be imported into most labeling software programs. After you've completely finalized your label design, flatten your design and save it (File/Save As) in a format that your label maker software can recognize. (usually .jpg, .gif or .bmp) Now, import your flattened design into your label maker program by specifying that it should be used as either a background or a picture depending on your labeling software. See the following links for examples of how to import and print your disc design in 2 of the more popular labeling programs. Importing and printing disc designs with NEATO Media Face II Importing and printing disc designs with Sure Thing/CD Stomper TROUBLESHOOTINGYou can only work on one design at a time. Make sure there are no other files open in Photoshop at the time you Create your design. Adding Additional Images Extra images on back cover can only be added once the initial design has been created. Layers The Background and Blur layers *must* remain as the bottom two layers in the layers palette. Do not move, rename or delete these layers - doing so will cause the Extras/Add-ons menu not to work. If you don't want either of these layers, simply turn them off by clicking the "eye" icon beside each layer. Saving Designs DO NOT save your design until you are completely finished adding any Extras/Add-ons. If you still need to add extra images to the back cover....??? Printing Designs When printing, you may see a message stating "Some clipping may occur". This is totally normal and you may click proceed and continue printing. Changing Company Info The PixelMixer adds the revised Company Info to your existing design on a layer named New Company Information. You'll need to delete/turn off the old Company Info layer (see example) or you'll have two versions of info at the same time. | ||||||||||||||||
The MID number and the Site Code number are located on the PixelMixer's License Window.
This window is displayed when you attempt to create a design before you have registered the
program.
Simply copy and paste these numbers into the registration form.
