Apple warns last Photo Print Products orders must go out before Sept. 30

Posted:
in macOS
Apple on Thursday began alerting Photos users on the Mac that it will stop taking orders for its Photo Print Products service after Sept. 30 this year.

Photo Print Products demise


macOS 10.13.6 users working in Photos are seeing a pop-up about the deadline, which also includes a recommendation that people download a third-party app with a Photos Projects extension. This lets developers build a photo printing interface within Photos, though the actual payment and printing is outside of Apple's hands.

Photo Prints Products has been around since 2002, when it was a part of iPhoto. By the time it reached full scale people were able to order albums, books, and calendars, as well as individual prints.

The company has never carried the service over to iOS however, and it appears to be completely absent in betas of macOS Mojave. That OS is due to launch sometime in the fall, and indeed the Sept. 30 deadline may suggest that Mojave will ship sometime in September, which would be in keeping with past macOS rollouts. High Sierra, for instance, went live on Sept. 25 last year.

The service has likely dwindled in importance as Apple's customer base has become increasingly iPhone- and iPad-centric. The demand for physical photos has shrunk too, with many people only caring about having digital copies they can message or post on social networks.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 26
    How sad. Like the Apple’s old Cards app for iOS, the print orders through Photos were beautifully done. Will need to place an order for 2019 calendars earlier this year.
    watto_cobraargonaut
  • Reply 2 of 26
    That sucks. It was an amazing service.
    tokyojimubackstabspinnydwatto_cobraargonautsmudgesmith
  • Reply 3 of 26
    boboliciousbobolicious Posts: 1,143member
    ...like iWeb I really liked the integration of iPhoto project books to in house media and have ordered a number of them for clients, friends and myself... Reliable, high quality and fast. To me all of this seemed heading in an extension of Appleworks which I also used extensively at the time. With the demise of server, is the ecosystem approach being increasingly abandoned and outsourced, like so much of the hardware such as monitors and now Time Capsule...? Is this more of a 'free trade' approach to computing...? Will iMovie be next in favour of YouTube? All ears on any recommendations for 3rd party apps, ideally with import capabilities, and privacy considerations (non-loud based) with many thanks...
    edited July 2018 watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 26
    Eric_in_CTEric_in_CT Posts: 105member
    Am I reading this right that Calendars will soon not be a part of Photos?

    We've made a family calendar every year since our 12 year old was born.  We order a dozen or so for different family members.

    Of course the calendars are pix of the kids, but also family events.

    We didn't realize it at the time, but they're GREAT family heirlooms to review.  Grab "2012" and flip through it, and be nostalgic.

    I wonder if the extensions would provide less functionality, different functionality, or more functionality.

    I'm going to sound like a hater, and I apologize in advance, AND I blame myself for not being able to keep my mind current & flexible:

    1) I *loved* iMovie HD, and made about 50 kid-movies over the years on a iBook G4.  Intuitive, and the app disappeared and it was all my creativity  The redo to iMovie 08 to make it easier was so hard and counter-intuitive I never made another movie again.  And of course I can't burn DVDs anyway.  [I know there's Internet-only methods that are probably "better".  Haven't been able to get my mind there.]

    2) I loved iPhoto, heard that Photos could be opted out when the O/S was updated, but got Photos anyway.  Really don't like the interface for our 55,000 pix, and now our biggest family product, the Calendar, will be gone?

    I know it's a mobile world, but us (mental-)Dionsaurs are REALLY getting left behind.  (Cue the SJ quotes about death being a good part of life to move on.  I'm really living it).

    E.
    edited July 2018 auxiostukespinnydwatto_cobraargonaut
  • Reply 5 of 26
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    That is funny, I just placed an order with iPhoto, not the Photo app and I did not get this warning. I am going to hate to see this go, I know you can do things on shutterfly and similar but their quality was not as good as apple servers. I wonder if Apple is just getting out the middle of this since I would image people are not printing photo as much. If they just getting out of the middle and the same companies they were using will be offering the same quality and service through the new extension that will be fine.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 26
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    It was only a matter of time. I’ve made a few books, and I get why people are upset, but there are a ton of 3rd party services that offer something almost identical, even with photos integration. 

    Anyone who understands Apple can’t honestly be surprised by this. It’s essentially a printing service. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 26
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    maestro64 said:
    That is funny, I just placed an order with iPhoto, not the Photo app and I did not get this warning. I am going to hate to see this go...
    Me too! No warning here. Sent my parents a book of pics from a vacation with all the grandkids in it. The joy my parents will get from this is incalculable. 

    I know, I know... there are tons of other printing services out there.  We used one for the callendar last Christmas—quality was so bad we reordered one through Apple like we had always done in the past. 
    The fact that I could put a book together in one sitting and have no questions about security, payment, or quality...well, it will be missed!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 26
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    I just sent a note via Apple's Feedback page (https://www.apple.com/feedback/) asking them to reconsider. I described our family's experience comparing Apple's book printing to a competing service, how the other service disappointed us while the Apple experience was enjoyable and rewarding. I also mentioned this being part of the value of using Mac over the alternative, and dropping it removes one of the reasons for being on the Mac platform.

    I don't hold out much hope, but maybe Apple will take another look at it if enough people voice their concern.
    arlomediaauxiospinnydroundaboutnowwatto_cobraargonaut
  • Reply 9 of 26
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    Never used it, but it sounds like a really useful service. 

    Unfortunately if the kids don’t it then neither does Apple. 
  • Reply 10 of 26
    arlomediaarlomedia Posts: 271member
    Bummer. I made a "year in review" book for my family last year, and it took some wrestling with the interface to get it done. But everyone liked the result, so I did it again this year and managed to figure out all the quirks and it went more smoothly. Now I'll have to start over with another company's interface next year.
    watto_cobraargonaut
  • Reply 11 of 26
    xbitxbit Posts: 390member
    This is really sad. Do the third-party plugins use the standard Photos design templates or do they have their own? I have a whole bunch of albums on a book shelf and it would be a shame if the next one doesn’t match the design of the older ones.
    watto_cobraargonaut
  • Reply 12 of 26
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,721member

    We've made a family calendar every year since our 12 year old was born.  We order a dozen or so for different family members.

    Of course the calendars are pix of the kids, but also family events.

    We didn't realize it at the time, but they're GREAT family heirlooms to review.
    Exactly the same for my family.  The quality of the calendars is truly outstanding.  I know the functionality can be replaced, but I hope the paper and printing quality can be equalled as well.

    watto_cobraargonaut
  • Reply 13 of 26
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,862member
    ...like iWeb I really liked the integration of iPhoto project books to in house media and have ordered a number of them for clients, friends and myself... Reliable, high quality and fast. To me all of this seemed heading in an extension of Appleworks which I also used extensively at the time. With the demise of server, is the ecosystem approach being increasingly abandoned and outsourced, like so much of the hardware such as monitors and now Time Capsule...? Is this more of a 'free trade' approach to computing...? Will iMovie be next in favour of YouTube? All ears on any recommendations for 3rd party apps, ideally with import capabilities, and privacy considerations (non-loud based) with many thanks...
    More slippery slopes. 

    Apple already said theyre working on monitors. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 26
    JWSCJWSC Posts: 1,203member
    I’ve used it for Christmas cards over the last few years.  Always meant to create some photo books from travel and special events.  Never got around to it.  So, not surprised Apple is closing shop here.  Just not compelling enough to keep the service viable.
  • Reply 15 of 26
    stukestuke Posts: 122member

    I know it's a mobile world, but us (mental-)Dionsaurs are REALLY getting left behind.  (Cue the SJ quotes about death being a good part of life to move on.  I'm really living it).
    I'm right with ya!  The mobile, selfie, cloud world is depressingly subscription draining when the price of hard drives is 4TB for $99 at the moment.  I'm fine with having backups, managing those backups, and using desktop software to create and be creative.  Doing it on a 5" screen will never appeal to me.  Thanks Apple.
  • Reply 16 of 26
    I have been creating books each year since 2004. Basically a year in photos for all the grandparents and ourselves too. Plus it was a great way to truly manage the photos for backups (when the old computer spaced was filled up).
    watto_cobraargonautsmudgesmith
  • Reply 17 of 26
    boboliciousbobolicious Posts: 1,143member
    ...like iWeb I really liked the integration of iPhoto project books to in house media and have ordered a number of them for clients, friends and myself... Reliable, high quality and fast. To me all of this seemed heading in an extension of Appleworks which I also used extensively at the time. With the demise of server, is the ecosystem approach being increasingly abandoned and outsourced, like so much of the hardware such as monitors and now Time Capsule...? Is this more of a 'free trade' approach to computing...? Will iMovie be next in favour of YouTube? All ears on any recommendations for 3rd party apps, ideally with import capabilities, and privacy considerations (non-cloud based) with many thanks...
    More slippery slopes.
    Apple already said theyre working on monitors. 
      Not sure how 'working on' helps those in need in the interim... That said it's Apple's business. I guess we'll see, who knows when?
    edited July 2018
  • Reply 18 of 26
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,862member
    ...like iWeb I really liked the integration of iPhoto project books to in house media and have ordered a number of them for clients, friends and myself... Reliable, high quality and fast. To me all of this seemed heading in an extension of Appleworks which I also used extensively at the time. With the demise of server, is the ecosystem approach being increasingly abandoned and outsourced, like so much of the hardware such as monitors and now Time Capsule...? Is this more of a 'free trade' approach to computing...? Will iMovie be next in favour of YouTube? All ears on any recommendations for 3rd party apps, ideally with import capabilities, and privacy considerations (non-cloud based) with many thanks...
    More slippery slopes.
    Apple already said theyre working on monitors. 
      Not sure how 'working on' helps those in need in the interim... That said it's Apple's business. I guess we'll see, who knows when?
    Because you claimed that Apple "abandoned" monitors, when Apple said specifically they're working on them. "Working on" != "abandoned". 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 26
    bellsbells Posts: 140member
    ...like iWeb I really liked the integration of iPhoto project books to in house media and have ordered a number of them for clients, friends and myself... Reliable, high quality and fast. To me all of this seemed heading in an extension of Appleworks which I also used extensively at the time. With the demise of server, is the ecosystem approach being increasingly abandoned and outsourced, like so much of the hardware such as monitors and now Time Capsule...? Is this more of a 'free trade' approach to computing...? Will iMovie be next in favour of YouTube? All ears on any recommendations for 3rd party apps, ideally with import capabilities, and privacy considerations (non-loud based) with many thanks...


    I miss iCards as well. Apple should have further developed its iWeb services.
  • Reply 20 of 26
    LOL 

    the dinosaurs are out in full force!

    Yes the integration is fantastic but there are so many high quality services out there with more options on styles, etc. My goto service is ZNO Books. Super good! 


    🧛🏻‍♂️


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