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Frequently Asked Questions
Here we answer the most frequently asked questions about ePixel Photo Lab Products and Services. For answers to questions not listed here, please feel free to contact us |
 How do I get started with ePixel Photo Lab?
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The first step toward becoming a ePixel Photo customer is to fill out our New Customer Account Request form. This form provides us with necessary information to help us serve you better. Once you have filled out the form, you will receive an email with your new account number and other information.
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Which of ePixel Photo's Digital Solutions should I start with? |
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We highly recommend ePixel ROES to any digital or film photographer who wants to increase the efficiency of their workflow, as well as sales. ePixel ROES makes it easy to quickly order prints and proofs of all sizes, or to assemble elegant albums.
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Important Information About Starting ROES |
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Java may take several seconds to start up and initially retrieve the resources it needs to run. If a link is clicked repeatedly, this delay will only increase, as several instances of the application will start up. If you visit the ePixel Photo ROES Launch page and your hard drive starts running, then Java is starting up.
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How do I get a ePixel Photo Account Number to use with ROES? |
Can I place an order in ROES without an Account Number? |
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ePixel ROES is available to anyone who wants to order quality prints online. To place an order in ePixel ROES without an Account Number, enter NEWUSER in the Account Number field.
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Important Details About Entering Customer Information |
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It is very important that you do not use special characters when filling out the Customer Information form in ROES. Special characters include the following:
~ ` ^ : & * ( ) | ' " , ? © [ ] < >
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What is a node? |
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Node is a term for a layout box that is created on a template, and can be defined to contain text or an image. A node can also be empty, and used to display a stroke, fill, or other layout element. If some nodes in a product are left empty, the ADD TO ORDER button will be grayed out. Hold down the ALT key (Windows) or OPTION key (Mac) to ADD WITH EMPTY.
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ROES Alt/Option Key Functions |
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In ROES, pressing the ALT key (Windows) or OPTION key (Mac) changes the base functions of the buttons in the IMAGE EDITING AREA and CONTROL PANEL.
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ROES Image File Guidelines |
Important Information About File Names |
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It is very important that you do not use special characters when naming image files that will be used with ePixel ROES. Special characters include the following:
~ ` ^ : & * ( ) | ' " , ? © [ ] < >
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File Preparation Guidelines |
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If you use any of our ordering software, we urge you not to resize your files. Simply send them as they are. We will color correct and resize your files as needed. If you would like to color correct your own files, please see our color management guidelines.
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What image file formats can I use with ePixel ROES? |
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ePixel ROES currently only accepts jpegs. For further information, please see our File Preparation Guidelines.
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What file size will give me the best prints? |
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Digital Cameras measure their resolution in pixels. These pixels are NOT measured per inch, but are a total count of how many pixels were used to capture the entire image. If you take a digital photo at 1600x1200 pixels, the total pixel count of the captured image will be 1,920,000 pixels. Whether you print this 1600x1200 image as a 8”x10” photo or an 16”x20” photo, it will still have 1,920,000 pixels.
Photos intended for print should be taken at the highest [pixel] resolution possible for the best print quality. Printing at different sizes does not change how many pixels are in the original image. Lower resolution photos printed at larger sizes stretch the pixels beyond the point where they look clear and sharp. The best printer can not make a low resolution photo look better than its original quality… but it sure can make beautiful prints when given a high resolution photo to work with!
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What is an image histogram? |
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A histogram is a very powerful measuring tool that graphically represents the data within an image file. Having an understanding of a histogram will enhance your camera's exposure which determines the pixel values of your image. Having properly exposed images is the #1 thing to improve color management.
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What color space should my files be saved in? |
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We can now accept files in any colorspace.
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Why do some of my images look like color negatives when added to nodes in ROES? |
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Some image editing programs (Breeze Browser, etc.) can cause this when they are used to rotate images or perform some other functions. The images are sent to ePixel Photo properly, and will print without problems. To fix the way the images appear in ROES, open the images in Photoshop and do a "Save As" to save a new copy of the file. A Photoshop Batch Action can be used to automate this process. We recommend checking that the problem exists in ROES before re-saving the files as the problem is not necessarily consistent.
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Using ePixel ROES Products and Templates |
Can I create my own template designs in ROES? |
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ePixel Photo customers now have more control than ever over their template designs with the addition of ROES Pager. Pager is a ROES feature that allows the user to easily edit existing photo template, or create their own unique designs.
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Can I create my own packages in ROES? |
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Yes, custom packages can be created in ROES using the Packager. The Packager is an add-on option that allows photographers to group ePixel Photo's single node products into packages and groups of their own choosing.
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How can I add my studio logo to a product? |
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Studio logos can be added to select products in ROES automatically once the studio logo has been placed on file with ePixel Photo Lab. To be sure that the logo prints properly, we ask that you follow our logo submission guidelines.
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Why don't some fonts display correctly in ROES? |
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ROES uses the fonts on your local system, so if the exact font is not installed on your computer, you will not see a correct representation of the text in ROES. The font will print correctly when sent to ePixel Photo Lab, however. |
Why aren't some images held when I move between templates? |
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Each node has its own identifying number, and though the node numbers may appear to be the same from template to template, this is not always the case. One template may have nodes 1, 2, and 3, while another very similar template has nodes 10001, 10002, and 10003. If two nodes have different node numbers, ROES does not recognize them as being the same node, and will not hold the images from template to template.
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Why is the ADD TO ORDER button grayed out? |
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In ROES, pressing the ALT key (Windows) or OPTION key (Mac) changes the base functions of the buttons in the IMAGE EDITING AREA and CONTROL PANEL.
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How do I float the SIZES PALETTE in ROES? |
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The Sizes Palette displays thumbnails of each available product, and makes selecting products easy. To open the Sizes Palette, click on the SIZES button, then select "Show Sizes Palette" at the bottom of the menu, or press the ALT key (Windows) or OPTION key (Mac) and click on the SIZES button.
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How do I float the OPTIONS PALETTE in ROES? |
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The Options Palette provides an easy way to select product options. To open the Options Palette, click on the OPTIONS button, then select "Show Options Palette" at the bottom of the menu. If there are a large number of options, click on the arrows to the left of the option titles to collapse them until "Show Options Palette" is visible. You can also float the Options Palette by pressing the ALT key (Windows) or OPTION key (Mac) and clicking on the OPTIONS button.
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Queuing, Sending, or Saving Orders in ROES |
How does ROES queue my orders for sending to ePixel Photo Lab? |
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ROES orders are processed through the Queue Manager. Using the Queue Manager, orders can be sent right away, or saved to be sent at a later time. The Queue Manager also allows for automatic retries, which is very helpful when working with less reliable internet connections.
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Can I save my orders for sending later? |
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Yes, to schedule an order to be sent later, use the Settings in the Queue Manager.
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Is there a file size limit for ROES orders? |
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Yes, individual ROES orders can be no larger than 4 gigabytes.
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Why did my order stop sending partially through the transmission? |
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Sometimes a computer's power save (or sleep mode) settings can interfere with sending orders in ROES. When power save kicks in, the hard drive stops, and the transmission fails. To solve this, turn off power save on your computer.
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Why does ROES say "Some information is incomplete" when I try to send an order? |
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If you have another language installed on your computer, ROES may not recogize some information even though you have entered it in the My Information window. You will need to email us your customer.xml file so that we can edit it for you so that ROES will allow your order to send.
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Troubleshooting ePixel ROES |
Clearing Your Cache |
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Most web-based issues can be resolved with a simple clearing of your Java and browser caches. It is very important to know how to perform these procedures.
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Running ROES with a Firewall Installed |
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Firewall's may prevent ROES from retrieving the files from the internet that it needs to run. Firewall's may need to be disabled. If Java is completely installed and a dialog appears stating that print sizes or other items can't be found, a firewall may be interfering.
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Updating Java Manually |
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Occasionally problems can be solved by updating the version of Java running on your computer.
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How do I find the .roescache folder? |
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The .roescache folder contains your custom ROES settings, and may need to be accessed when troubleshooting ROES. The .roescache folder can be found in the following location on your hard drive:
Windows:
C:\Documents and Settings\Username\.roescache or >Start>Search>.roescache
Mac:
/Users/Username/.roescache. This file can also be found by performing a search on your home folder. On Macs, folders beginning with a dot are invisible by default. Use one of the following procedures to find the .roescache folder:
Finder>Go>Go To Folder...type:~/.roescache or simultaneously press Command-Shift-G & type the path in the text field. e.g.:
~/.roescache
~/.roescache
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ROES won't Launch. What should I do? |
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If ROES won't launch, first try to launch it from the ePixel Photo ROES Launch page, instead of the desktop link. The Java Web Start cache may have become corrupted or out of date, and when this happens the desktop link can behave unexpectedly. If you still have trouble or appear to be launching an old version, you can empty the Java Web Start cache and download the application again from the ePixel Photo ROES Launch page.
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I tried everything you suggested, and ROES still won't launch. What should I do now? |
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On rare occasions, PC users will continue to experience problems launching ROES even after emptying the caches as described above. A complete uninstall and re-launch of Java is necessary to restore your Java settings.
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Why does Photoshop CS open when I attempt to launch ROES? |
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Sometimes Photoshop CS thinks that the ROES application is actually an image file. To fix this, locate the "launch.jnlp" file (it is usually on the desktop), then select the icon and hold down the Apple key and "i". Click on the "Open With" arrow, then click below that where it tells you what application it's using. Change the application to "Java Web Start" instead of "Photoshop CS". Where it says "Use this application to open all documents like this." select "Change All..."
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What do I do if I encounter an unexpected error or behavior while using ROES? |
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If you encounter other unexpected errors or behavior, an error file called "roeslog.log" is saved on your computer. Please email this file to us so we can analyze it to determine what happened.
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Problems Running ROES on Mac OSX |
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Some ROES users will experience a drop in performance or other problems while running the application on Mac OSX.
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Why does ROES freeze when loading images or adding multiple order items (Mac OSX)? |
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Apple's version of Java uses more RAM per image than Sun's (Microsoft), and this can sometimes cause ROES to freeze or crash when working with large numbers of images. To get around this issue, we have made a version of ROES available which allots a higher amount of RAM to the Java application. We recommend using this version of ROES only if you are experiencing issues working with images.
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"Image cannot be found..." Error When Opening a Saved ROES Order on Mac OSX |
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When renaming or saving image files, it is important to keep in mind that Mac OSX is case sensitive and case preserving. If you alter an image in Photoshop with a name like "IMG001.JPG" that is used in a saved ROES order, then save it as "IMG001.jpg", ROES will not recognize the image and you will receive a message that the image cannot be found when you attempt to re-open the order.
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What is Java? |
Keyboard Shortcuts |
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Learning common keyboard shortcuts can help to speed up routine computer actions and make your workflow more efficient. |
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