Scanning and maintaining your images on your hard drive can be a fun and exciting experience. Whether you are sharing your images with the world via the Internet or maintaining a stock database, the real battle is finding organizational software that meets your needs. Searching through software that has the features your usage demands can be an overwhelming task. I decided to look at four software programs designed specifically for photographers that want to keep a database of their images on their hard drives. All four programs exceeded my expectations. They provide different features depending the cost. Only you can determine your needs and select the program that fits them.

Agave SPS
Stock Photography Solution by Rosette Software Price $599.00 with a $5.00 charge for shipping. This software comes with a very nice and complete user's manual. The software is available for purchased at http://www.prenticephoto.com/agaveweb.htm

Rosette Software
P.O. Box 13308
Tucson, AZ 85732
(520) 749-3788 or (520) 743-8493

This program caters to the professional photographer desiring to keep track of submissions, image files, and invoices. While the price tag is higher than other data image programs, this one is certainly worth a look. Do not think this program is one that can be used without some reading of the manual. However, the 225-page manual more than covers any questions and it is well worth the learning curve to get all this program offers.

Backups
Agave does not recommend using floppies due to the large file size, nor do they recommend using CD-R. Zip drives, Jazz or CD-RW do work perfectly. Backups are done outside of Agave software, but are easy to complete. Simply close Agave. From Windows Explorer or my Computer right click on AgaveSPS and select copy from the menu. Then click on the destination drive. Then select right click and paste. I personally found other backups to be more convenient.

Database
The database is built off the label program. First information is posted to the labels program. The database can then be accessed. At that point, by selecting graphics, you can add the thumbnail to the database. Thumbnails should be created in gif format from a stand-alone image-editing program such as Adobe. The image files need to be less than 20K.

The program allows for managing dupe images, sales and submissions. The sales and submission portion of the program will show both original and dupe image submissions and sales assuming the user inputs that information into the program.

Labels
Agave software allows for the printing of labels in multiple colors, sizes and uses both Avery 8167 or Slidescribe labels. There are 18 different styles to make your selection. Some include bar codes along with image information. By pressing the © in the labels program your copyright information along with your name appears on the screen to be printed on the label. There is also the capability to print out customized labels that have the photographers' name, address, and phone number.

The labels program uses either Avery or Slidescribe labels. A nice feature is that adjusting a slider in the program can easily change the alignment of the labels. An added bonus to this program is spell checker. It functions throughout the program.

Business Features
For the business photographer this program includes invoicing, accounts receivable and accounts paid, a 2001 income profile and an expense log.

NSCS Pro 2
The Norton Slide Captioning System (with Thumbnail Imaging)
Price- $189.00 (an upgrade is available for existing users without thumbnail imaging $25.00)
Included with this software is a very nice and complete user's manual. To purchase this software online visit http://www.nscspro.com or contact Boyd Norton at:

NSCS Pro
P.O. Box 2605
Evergreen, Co. 80437
(303) 674-3009

This software contains everything that a professional stock photographer might need. The only feature I found lacking in the entire program was a feature for creating thumbnails. Thumbnails Plus or any image-editing program can create thumbnails so this is not a huge obstacle, but would be more convenient if included in the program.

Backing it all Up
One of my main concerns is backing up the data that is entered into the program. I never want to input all the information again. NSCS Pro 2 has a great backup feature. It works from within the program and writes the information to a floppy, zip disk or CD-rom.

Labels
Labels are a necessity for keeping track of slides. The NSCS label feature works great. It uses Avery labels, which can be purchased at the local office Store. The labels contain the information entered in the data base and are printed with just the click of a mouse.

Search and Sort Feature
Finding a photo on your hard drive can mean the sale of an image or a flaming folder on NPN. Which ever you are striving for, the search feature on NSCS works great. The software gives the user three fields that can be used to search out the image. All three can be used or just one.

The sort feature works with the database by allowing the user to sort by subject, locale, Country or filing code. The thumbnails aid here by allowing the photographer the chance to see the image while they are sorting through the database.

Business Features
Invoices are created easily. The user can keep track of promotional mailings as well as keep a list of recipients. The best feature in my opinion is the photo-pricing guide. There are two pricing scales, one for editorial and one for advertising. This guide is based on usage and circulation. There is also a client list that allows for entering company, type, and contact information. Photo submissions are easily tracked with the software.

PhotoLibrary
version 4.1
By PZK Software
Works with Works with Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, and XP
Price-$49.95. A trial demo can be downloaded at http://www.photolibrarysoftware.com
Contact:

PKZSoftware
2140 NW 17th Street
Corvallis, OR 97330 USA
541-758-2659

This very user-friendly program allows the photographer to begin entering information immediately. To run this program you will need a PC with 15 MB free space on the hard drive. Thumbnail imaging is not available with this program unless you are using Windows ME and 2000 operating systems. Windows Explorer has a "Thumbnail View" mode. If you have either of these Operating Systems, open Windows Explorer, click on the directory, click View | Thumbnails on the menu at the top.

Backup
Backing up the input data to a floppy, zip or CD-rom is easily done within the software program.

Labels
Label printing for 35mm slides is easy. Your labels can contain up to four lines of text and prints address labels. This program uses Avery labels, which can be purchased, at the local office store.

Database
The database can be customized for any category, location or such that you desire. There is also auto numbering of slides. Storage of up to about 1 gigabyte file size, the equivalent of 4 million entries. This software allows you enter multiple subjects for each photo so it is easy to find an image when you use the search feature.

This program keeps tracks of the filename and location of digital images on CDs, Zip Drives and a thumbnail preview of the digital image allows the user to locate the photo you are looking for. Supported image formats are GIF, JPG, BMP, WMF, ICO and CUR.

Proslide II
Image Management and Labeling Software by Ellenco
http://www.proslide.net
Contact:

ELLENCO
P.O. Box 159
Tijeras, NM 87059

Backup
This program allows easy backup of the database using a floppy, zip drive or CD Rom. The backup is done through Windows and you must select the files you wish to backup. My personal preference is to have backup capabilities built into the program. However, Ellenco has posted a web page at http://www.proslide.net/tn-001.htm with instructions making it much easier to do the Windows backup.

Labels
This software allows the user to write text or graphics in color and in horizontal or vertical format. The business logo can be included as well as the copyright notice with the photographers' name. The program allows use of multiple label brands.

Database
The database can be customized to fit the users needs. The search feature allows for searching on any word or word combinations. Thumbnails of your images can be viewed in the database.

Business Features
The program allows the user to create customized invoices and delivery memos.

Overview
Theses programs all provide the basics needed for storing images a CD. Some are more user friendly while others such as Agave are not quite as intuitive to use. I recommend determining what your needs are and visiting the sites listed above before making your purchase. We all have different expectations for image database software. Select yours carefully so that the time and effort that goes into building your database does not leave you frustrated, wishing you had different features.

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