iPhoto '11 gets a lot of coverage for its online output services, but if you have an inkjet printer, you might be impressed with what it can do at home too. The trick is to first open the regular print dialog box (File > Print), then click on the "Customize" button. Go to Full Screen Mode, and you've got an entire print center at your fingertips.

Click the "Custom" button in the iPhoto '11 print dialog box to reveal a whole new world. Notice the Adjust panel controls just for that print job. Click on image for larger version.

You have a variety of themes, backgrounds, and borders to choose from. If you want to print multiple photos at one, you can also select from a handful of layouts. But my favorite feature is the Adjust panel of controls that only affect the print job, not the photo in your library.

To enable this, click on the photo itself (in the custom print work area), then click on the Adjust button. You have an entire set of image adjustment sliders, plus 3 presets. This allows you to fine tune the photo for the print job without worrying about changing the image that resides in the iPhoto library.

If you want to make a more permanent adjustment, double-click on the image, and you get iPhoto's 3-tabbed adjustment panel. Now the edits you make will affect the library version too.

One last tip while working in the custom print dialog box. Click on the photo and you'll see a zoom slider appear. You can zoom in on parts of the photo, then drag it to reposition it in the frame. Very handy for last minute composition adjustments.

If you want to save a digital version of the image you've customized, click Print, then click the PDF button and choose the option you want. Using that control, you can even return a Jpeg version of your creation to the iPhoto library. Nifty!

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