Creating ready-to-print photo books with Ruby and TeX
Photo BookEngineering

© Lead Image © Eric Reis, 123RF.com
Instead of composing photo books online, Mike Schilli prefers to use Ruby and TeX to program an application that generates print-ready PDF books.
I thought I had actually already given up printed books. Today, when I buy a paper book, typically used, I immediately send it to the paper cutting guillotine. The individual pages are then fed to my scanner and ultimately end up digitalized on my iPad, where I then read them.
But there is one type of paper book that I still cherish and even find preferable to digital formats: thick hardcover photography tomes that you might find scattered haphazardly on a little table in a hotel lobby or a vacation home. You just plop down in an armchair next to them, lean back, put your feet up, and start leafing through the high quality pages.
These books are known as coffee table books, probably because they are usually found on coffee tables. You can even create such works yourself with your own photos! Various online providers offer browser tools for uploading photos and laying them out across the pages of a virtual paper book. If you then press the send button and pay the bill, after roughly a week, your mailperson will deliver a high-quality book with a hard cover directly to your home (Figure 1).
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Direct Download
Read full article as PDF:
Price $2.95
News
-
Danielle Foré Has an Update for elementary OS 7
Now that Ubuntu 22.04 has been released, the team behind elementary OS is preparing for the upcoming 7.0 release.
-
Linux New Media Launches Open Source JobHub
New job website focuses on connecting technical and non-technical professionals with organizations in open source.
-
Ubuntu Cinnamon 22.04 Now Available
Ubuntu Cinnamon 22.04 has been released with all the additions from upstream as well as other features and improvements.
-
Pop!_OS 22.04 Has Officially Been Released
From the makers of some of the finest Linux-powered desktop and laptop computers on the market comes the latest version of their Ubuntu-based distribution, Pop!_OS 22.04.
-
Star Labs Unveils a New Small Format Linux PC
The Byte Mk I is an AMD-powered mini Linux PC with Coreboot support and plenty of power.
-
MX Linux Verison 21.1 “Wildflower” Now Available
The latest release of the systemd-less MX Linux is now ready for public consumption.
-
Microsoft Expands Their Windows Subsystem for Linux Offerings With AlmaLinux
Anyone who works with Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) will now find a new addition to the available distributions, one that’s become the front-runner replacement for CentOS.
-
Debian 11.3 Released wIth Numerous Bug and Security Fixes
The latest point release for Debian Bullseye is now available with some very important updates.
-
The First Alpha of Asahi Linux is Available
Asahi Linux is the first distribution to fully support Apple Silicon and is now available for testing.
-
Zorin OS 16.1 Released with a New Kernel For Better Hardware Compatibility
The developers of Zorin OS have released the latest version of their beautiful desktop Linux OS.