Loading a print overlay into Darkroom Booth

Ten steps. About 15 minutes plus one test print.

Before you start

You need two things from the job folder:

• The print file. It ends in .png. Not the file ending in _PREVIEW.jpg.
• The window numbers from the README (x, y, width, height for each photo).

Check the file: put the PNG on a dark desktop. The three photo areas must show the dark background through them, like the right side of the picture. If they stay white, the file is wrong. Stop and text Andrew.

Step 1: Copy an event

1. Look at the Events list on the left side of the screen.
2. Right-click an event from a past job that used the same kind of print (a 2x6 strip, or a 4x6). Choose Duplicate.
3. A copy appears. Rename it: client name, then the date as 4 digits. Example: Rey 0905.
4. Click the new event so it is highlighted. Everything below happens inside it.

Done when: the new event name is highlighted in the list.

Step 2: Settings > Main

The numbers below match the red numbers in the picture.

1. Click Settings at the top, then Main.
2. How many photos per session (1): type 3.
3. How is the camera turned (2): Horizontal.
4. Tick Print Photo (4). The button next to it must say 2x6 (or 4x6 for a 4x6 job). Copies (3): 2.
5. Template: click Custom, then Choose... (20).

Done when: a window full of template thumbnails opens.

Step 3: Pick a template with the same layout

1. Look at the thumbnails. Count the numbered grey squares in each one.
2. Click a template with the same shape (tall strip or wide 4x6) and the same number of squares (3) as the new design.
3. Click Edit. Do not click New.

Done when: the template opens in the editor with a list called Template Items on the right.

Step 4: Delete the old design, keep the squares

1. In Template Items (right side), click any item that starts with Graphic or Text. Press Delete on the keyboard. If nothing happens, right-click it and choose Delete.
2. Repeat until only items starting with Photo are left.
3. Do not delete a Photo item. Those are the squares.

Done when: the page shows only numbered grey squares on a blank background.

Step 5: Add the PNG

1. Click Add Artwork (bottom toolbar, boxed in red). A window called Graphic Object opens.
2. Click Browse.... Find the job folder, open out, click the .png file, click Open.
3. Under Transparency, click the fourth option: Use image alpha channel (32-bit targa or png).
4. Click OK.

Do not drag or resize the design after it appears. It is already the exact size of the page.

Done when: the design fills the page and the grey squares show through its photo holes. If you see white boxes instead of grey squares, you missed item 3. Double-click the design and fix it.

Step 6: Fit the squares to the holes

Each grey square must cover its hole exactly. Two ways. Pick one.

A. With the mouse

1. Click a square. Drag it into its hole.
2. Drag the corner handles until the square covers the hole with no gap.
3. Scroll wheel zooms in. Arrow keys nudge. Hold Shift for tiny steps, Ctrl for big ones.

B. With numbers (exact)

1. Double-click a square. Click the Position and Size tab.
2. Set Units to Pixels.
3. Type X Position, Y Position, Width, Height from the README row for that hole.
4. Click OK.

Do the same for every square. The squares are already numbered in photo order: square 1 is the first photo taken. Leave the numbers alone.

Done when: every hole is filled by a grey square, edge to edge, with no gap.

Step 7: Put the design on top

1. Look at Template Items. The item for your PNG starts with Graphic.
2. Drag it below all the Photo items in the list. Lower in the list means drawn on top.

Done when: the design covers the page and the grey squares are visible only through the holes. If a grey square sits on top of the design, the order is wrong.

Step 8: Save As

1. Click Save As (top left, boxed in red). Not Save.
2. Name it the event name plus the print size. Example: rey 0905 2x6. Click Save.
3. Back in the template window, click your new template, then click choose.

Save As makes a new file and leaves the template you started from untouched. Save would overwrite it.

Done when: the Settings > Main screen shows your design in the preview.

Step 9: Match the Screen

1. In the event settings, find the Screen setting.
2. Pick a screen made for 3 photos.

The screen is what guests see during the session. If its photo count is wrong, the booth takes an extra photo that never prints, or leaves a square empty.

Step 10: Test print

Run one full session and print it on the event paper. Check every line:

• Photos appear in the holes. No white boxes, no grey checkerboard.
• Faces are not cropped.
• No text is cut off at any edge.
• Colors look like the preview. Dark reds and navies print darker. That is normal.
• Both strips on the sheet are identical.

White line on an edge? Follow the White line on a print SOP.

Keep the test print in the event bag.

If something looks wrong

Notes

Button names come from Darkroom Software's Help Center tutorial videos; most screenshots are frames from them. Templates save as .xbdr files.