• A free bookleteer account

If you haven’t signed up for a free bookleteer account yet, do so here.

• A4 single label paper, suitable for Inkjet or Laserjet printers

Full sheet label paper, available from any decent stationers (Avery code: DSP01).

• Blank StoryCubes

Read about StoryCubes, and order blank packs here.

Firstly, design your StoryCube.

Sign into bookleteer. If you’re a new user, read the help page.

Design your cube using the bookleteer templates, export the file as a PDF, then upload to the Create A StoryCube page, or upload each image individually.

Select Generate StoryCube and download the file, from the top right corner of the screen.

Next, print and make.

Print using the label paper, and cut around around only the faces of the cube, not the tabs – it should look a crucifix (You can also protect your cube by using adhesive cellophane, by affixing a layer on top of the label sheet, then cutting out).

Peel off the backing paper, and stick onto a blank cube.

Fold your StoryCube, and voila!

You can even use this method to make your own A3 size StoryCubes, without even owning an A3 printer.

Simply crop the A3 cube PDF into two documents, so that it can be printed across two sheets of  A4 paper.

Then, cut out the two segments as shown, to form a two-part crucifix shape.

Stick onto to a blank A3 cube and fold…

… and you now have an A3 cube, using a standard home printer.

If any bookleteers discover more clever ways to make StoryCubes, do share!

Short Codes for easier linking

Each bookleteer publication has a unique short code for its bookreader version (e.g. http://bkltr.it/xxxxxx) which make sharing the links easier. The short codes also have QR codes (e.g. http://bkltr.it/xxxxxx.qrcode) for mobiles and other enabled devices to open the link directly:
For instance the eBook, “City As Material : Skylines Ancient Shadows, City Lights” can be found here: http://bkltr.it/iH4ndY and its QR code is http://bkltr.it/iH4ndY.qrcode

The QR code image can be embedded in websites, or downloaded and printed onto stickers, or incorporated into other things (postcards, business cards, other publications etc).

Embedding your eBook in your website or blog

The bookreader also allows you to embed a ‘mini reader’ of your eBook in web pages or blog posts (see below). You can share it in single or double page mode, as well as specifying a specific page to open to:

A link in the mini reader opens up the full screen version.
To see more examples please visit http://diffusion.org.uk/?tag=bookreader where we’ll be adding more embedded eBooks into the post pages over time.

Re-vamped interface for creating/editing eBooks

We’ve also re-vamped the interface for creating and editing eBooks to make choosing the right format easier. Selecting which design (Basic or Custom) you want to use is done by toggling the panes, then selecting the radio button at the bottom of each icon to decide which binding and orientation you want. The drop down menus below allow you to select the Sheet Size (A3 or A4) and the Reading (Left to Right or Right to Left) :

A new section now enables you to add more information to your book such as a short summary, an author bio, the name of the publisher, and copyright statement. This information show up in the bookreader’s information window.

You can add your own personal bio in the “my account’ page then simply click the “add my bio” button to add it to each publication you make rather than fill it in each time:

Acknowledgements & Thanks

The bookreader is open source software from the Open Library, who maintain one of the largest online knowledge resources and are part of the Internet Archive. Huge thanks to them for making this fantastic piece of software available to others to use.

Both eBooks and StoryCubes can now be ordered in multiples of 50 (from 50 to 500, then 750, 1000, 1500, 2000 etc). eBooks are printed as soon as payment is received, turnaround from 5-15 days depending on the shipping destination; StoryCubes are printed in batches of 1,000 – orders will be added to a batch and will go to press as soon as a batch hits 1000 cubes.

We believe that we offer some of the most competitive prices for full colour printing of booklets, coupled with our ground-breaking short run service enabling you to print from just 50 copies. Plus the unique Diffusion eBook & StoryCube formats allowing your publications to be downloaded and handmade by anyone anywhere. It all adds up to a remarkably flexible way to create and share both online and off.

If you haven’t already got an account, sign up and get bookleteering.

the minimum total order for StoryCubes will be just 50 cubes (the minimum per cube design). We will print orders as soon as we have received enough for a print run (1000 cubes)

eBooks will be available to order in multiples of 50 (the minimum per title) up to 500 copies, then 750, 1000 and custom orders for over 1000

StoryCubes will also be available to order in multiples of 50 up to 500 cubes, then 750, 1000 and custom orders for over 1000

the website and app will have an estimate calculator for all variables of eBooks and StoryCubes including prices for shipping to the UK, European Union, North America (USA/Canada) and Rest of the World.

the ordering system will support both online payment via Paypal (including credit cards) and pro-forma invoicing for institutions and for larger orders where electronic bank transfers are preferred.

We are keeping in general to 2010 prices, although since we are changing our shipping methods there may be some small variances in total cost compared to last year. Members overseas will now be able to estimate prices for their location and order direct.

The key difference is that members will be able to order just 50 StoryCubes at a time – much more affordable than our previous minimum of 250 cubes per order. We hope this enables lots more people to experiment with making and using StoryCubes in their own projects and work.

We’re aiming to have the new system in place within the next week or two – meanwhile the 10% discount offer is open until Friday February 4th.

Realising Tangible Souvenirs
This has been a long-cherished ambition for us – harking back to plans we made for linking the earlier Diffusion Generator to our Urban Tapestries public authoring and mapping platform in 2004 – where we imagined people being able to select or collate material on Urban Tapestries by theme or around a geographic place and outputting it in different paper formats (Diffusion eBooks, postcards and posters). This was the origin of our concept for creating tangible souvenirs from digital experiences – bridging different media (online/offline, digital/analogue) with the different capabilities that people have. Our experiences of working with local communities in social housing and other contexts showed us how important it is not just to be able to share things in many ways, but to tailor a range of modes of interaction to the capabilities and capacities of the people who had the knowledge and experience to share, but not necessarily the familiarity with web and mobile technologies to be engaged by the opportunities we saw them offering.

We’ve continued to develop our tangible souvenir concept through other projects – such as the Sensory Threads prototype – but the bookleteer API now represents a crucial milestone for us in building the links between our earlier work on public authoring and media scavenging and the current ecosystem of web technologies and public/open data initiatives. We hope to see lots of exciting ideas building on the first experiments – bookcubes – we commissioned from James Bridle last spring. Look out too for some forthcoming experiments by Simon Pope & Gordon Joly.

Accessing the API
Access to the API is limited for the time being to Alpha Club members and guest testers whilst we put it through its paces and explore how it can be used (our resources are rather limited for supporting it). We’re hoping to organise some events in 2011 where people can come along and explore what they might do with the API. In the meantime, if you’re taking part in Culture Hack Day this weekend (January 15th & 16th) then you can ask to test it out using the special account we’ve created for participants (ask the organisers for access details on the day).

If you do have an exciting idea for mashing up the bookleteer API with your own web service or public data please do get in touch, we’d love to hear from you and see how we can help.

First Time eBook & StoryCube Generation
We’ve streamlined the process of generating eBooks and StoryCubes by making the initial button on the Create pages into ‘Upload & Generate PDFs’.

eBook & StoryCube PDF Thumbnails
This week we’ve implemented a change to replace the generic PDF icon with actual thumbnails of each PDF’s first sheet. This is designed to make it easier to distinguish different publications when shown in lists (such as the Inspirations or My Publications pages) and to give a quick preview once your eBooks and StoryCubes have been generated.

My Publications Page

Inspirations Page

Adding Images, PDFs & My Gallery
We have completely changed the way images and PDFs are added to eBooks and StoryCubes – there are now three ways to add an image :

Create eBook Upload image from computer	Create eBook Page Insert Image from URL	Create eBook Page Add image from gallery
Create StoryCube Upload image from computer	Create StoryCube Page Insert image from URL	Create StoryCube Page Insert image from gallery

PDFs can also be chosen by either uploading a new file from your computer or selecting from a previously uploaded file in your gallery.

Create eBook Page Upload PDF	Create eBook Insert PDF from gallery
Create StoryCube Upload PDF from computer	Create StoryCube Insert PDF from gallery

Members can use the My Gallery page to review (and delete if necessary) any image files or PDFs in their account.

My Gallery Page

Facebook Integration
Lastly, for those of you who use facebook, we’ve integrated bookleteer’s login so that you can automatically login to bookleteer when you are also logged in to facebook.

*** Update 18.30 : its taking us longer than anticipated mainly due to the production team working across several different timezones (UK, Australia, California!), but we hope be back in service around midnight BST.

*** Update 22.35 : we’re back – we hope you enjoy the new gallery feature and ability to add images to eBooks and StoryCube from URLs, new uploads and images already uploaded. We’re also introducing Facebook integration as the first stage of making bookleteer work better with other platforms.

Forthcoming Updates & Tweaks
In the next couple of weeks we’ll be deploying an update that will provide an image and file gallery to allow users to better manage their images and source PDF files. Images used frequently on different publications (such as logos or Creative Commons graphics) will only need be uploaded once. It will also allow users to link directly to images on their own websites or services such as Flickr (via a URL). We think this will streamline how images are used and make using bookleteer more intuitive and personal at the same time.

Users will have noticed some smaller changes recently : links on the dashboard to our Facebook page and activity there; a gallery of images tagged with “bookleteer” on Flickr and a feed of the latest free-to-download eBooks & StoryCubes to be posted on diffusion.org.uk. We’re hoping more users will use the facebook page to share their experiences and use the “bookleteer” tag to post photos of their own eBooks and StoryCubes.

Public Beta
This will be a major upgrade to bookleteer and enable some very exciting new ways for users to create eBooks & StoryCubes, both individually and collaboratively. We’re planning to introduce a premium paid-for account with some exclusive services :
– creating groups of other bookleteers and sharing collaborative editing privileges for eBooks & StoryCubes
– access to a bookleteer API to allow eBooks & StoryCubes to be generated from their own applications and stored in their user accounts
– a ‘scrapbook’ app for mobiles (iPhone/iPad/Android) allowing users to send bookleteer text and images from their mobile devices to generate eBooks & StoryCubes

Free users will continue to be able to create eBooks & StoryCubes of their own (though limited to a smaller number of ‘active’ publications and server space than premium users) and to order PPOD versions.

We’re also looking into other features and greater integration with social media platforms like Facebook & Flickr, as well as improving the interface design (whilst striving to keep it simple and elegant).

Alpha Club PPOD Discounts
Lastly we’ve added some new discounts on PPOD orders for Alpha Club Members – we’d like to sign up more members to help us fund the development of bookleteer as we are way off our fundraising target : if you like using bookleteer, please contribute if you can.

What are the page dimension for the different sizes?
– A4/US Letter eBook Portrait : 88mm by 133mm
– A4/US Letter eBook Landscape : 133mm by 88mm
– A4 StoryCube : 55mm by 55mm
*
– A3/Ledger eBook Portrait : 130mm by 193mm
– A3/Ledger eBook Landscape : 193mm by 130mm
– A3 StoryCube : 82mm by 82mm

Where can I download the content templates?
Proboscis have created some simple empty page templates for MS Word, OpenOffice and Adobe InDesign which can be downloaded here.

What dimensions should my cover image be?
Images should be saved as JPGs or PNGs at a minimum resolution of 72dpi at exact size or greater. For best results 150dpi is recommended.
Basic Design
– A4/US Letter eBook Portrait : 65mm by 90mm
– A4/US Letter eBook Landscape : 90mm by 65mm
– A3/Ledger eBook Portrait : 90mm by 135mm
– A3/Ledger eBook Landscape : 135mm by 90mm
Custom Cover Designs
– A4/US Letter eBook Portrait : 88mm by 133mm
– A4/US Letter eBook Landscape : 133mm by 88mm
– A3/Ledger eBook Portrait : 130mm by 193mm
– A3/Ledger eBook Landscape : 193mm by 130mm

What can I use the Logo images for?
The ‘Logo’ spaces allow users to add one or more logos to the covers of their eBooks. The Main Logo could, for instance, be the logo of the ‘publisher’ or author and the Secondary Logo might be used for credits, such as acknowledging sponsors/funders or for placing a Creative Commons-type image. However, they can also be used just as spaces for images on the front/back covers.

What happens when I order some POD eBooks or StoryCubes?
When you confirm your order an email is sent to Proboscis where one of us will calculate the cost and send you an invoice via Paypal. Once we receive payment we will send your item(s) to press and aim to have the finished products in your hands within 7 working days. StoryCubes will be printed on a regular basis – check here or on twitter for details of the next printing deadline.
The ordering system is very hands-on whilst we’re still developing the alpha version of bookleteer – please bear with us and forgive its manual shortcomings!

We’re very excited by what’s in store, it’s a big step forward in both the usefulness and ease of use of bookleter :

• new sizes : A3 & Ledger sizes will allow users to create larger eBooks and StoryCubes

• new designs : the new ‘Custom Cover’ design allows users to create their own customised cover design and upload as an image

• PPOD ordering system now integrated – users can order A6 or A5 eBooks, and StoryCubes from A4 or A3 sheets

• new user dashboard showing most recent publications and orders

More details once everything’s up and running.

How to make: Book Landscape Diffusion eBook from Proboscis on Vimeo.

How to make: Book Portrait Diffusion eBook from Proboscis on Vimeo.

How to make: Classic Landscape Diffusion eBook from Proboscis on Vimeo.

How to make: Classic Portrait Diffusion eBook from Proboscis on Vimeo.

We’re also announcing our initial prices for the POD service (see below) which we hope will meet with approval. There are two POD options for eBooks, with a minimum print run of 50 copies :
Option A – for eBooks between 12 – 24 pages and,
Option B – for eBooks between 28 – 40 pages.

Option A prices start from around £3 per copy and go down to £1.61 per copy.
Option B prices start from around £4 per copy and go down to £2.29 per copy.
All prices include shipping within the UK. Please contact us for enquiries about larger quantities and overseas shipping. Turnaround time is expected to be 5-7 working days.

The StoryCube POD service has a minimum print run of 200 full colour cubes (single or double-sided), which can made up up of one or more StoryCube designs. Prices include VAT and shipping within the UK. Please contact us for enquiries about larger quantities and overseas shipping. Turnaround time is 5-7 working days.

Get in touch if you’d like to know more – we aim to start accepting POD orders after Easter.

Test it out and let us know your feedback!

Next week, we should be pushing through some more fixes and improvements and testing the back end for a new print on demand capability for eBooks (similar to that which we currently offer for StoryCubes) which we’ve been working on for the past few months. Lastly, we’ll be working on new templates for making A3/Ledger sized eBooks, which will fold down to make A5/half-US Letter booklets.

Principally we’ve added some diagrams to show the different options for eBooks (Classic and Book formats, Portrait and Landscape orientation) as well as StoryCubes (improving on the previous diagram added last week). We’ve also re-named some of the buttons to make the process of uploading content and then generating the PDFs clearer.

We’re looking into fixing some of the intermittent bugs and errors that have been reported over the next few weeks. A niggling issue with the HTML content editor where fonts and image were not flowing through into the eBook PDF at the correct sizes has now been isolated and will be fixed in the next week or so. At the same time we will fix the ‘preview HTML content’ functions to show how content added in the HTML editor will flow into actual eBook pages.

The exact dimensions of each StoryCube face are 55mm by 55mm and we recommend making images at no less than exact size at 72dpi (or 150dpi optimum).