Stamping Screensavers

[kranu]

Hi Guys!

I've been lurking around here using the hacks, so I decided I should try and contribute something, even if it is small. Basically, I have a bunch of Kindle formatted screensavers that I downloaded from the internet, but I wanted to make them look more authentic, so I decided to stamp each one with a "Slide and release the power switch to wake" message to each one.



However, doing this manually would be a tedious task, so I created an action in Photoshop to do so. To start, download the Kindle Stamp.zip file in the attachments section of this post. Once you extract it, you will find two files: stamp.png (self-explanatory file name) and Kindle Stamp.atn (A Photoshop Action File). Open Photoshop and open the Actions window if it is not already open (Window -> Actions). Then, in the top right corner of the Actions Window, click the menu icon to open a menu. Click the Load Actions option and navigate to the Kindle Stamp.atn file that you extracted.

Now that you've loaded the actions file, you need to load the stamp. First, open the stamp.png file in Photoshop. Then, select all (Ctrl+A) and copy it (Ctrl+C). Once you do that, you are ready to batch stamp your screensavers.

I'm using Photoshop CS5, so it might be different on your computer, but when you open the Batch Processor (File -> Automate -> Batch), select the action you should have just imported and the folder containing all of the screensavers. Then, choose a folder where you want to save the stamped screensavers, and if all goes well, you should have a nice set of authentic looking images.



I know, that is probably a lot of work for something so petty, but it's a nice thing to do if you have a little time. Let me know if you guys have any problems. If you don't have Photoshop, I wouldn't mind stamping some of your guys's screenshots if you upload them in a zip too.

[veezh]

Thanks, kranu. Works like a charm!

[FF2]

I probably should try this. Even though I've had my own screensavers for two weeks or more, I still occasionally forget that I need to SLIDE THE POWER BUTTON to get my password prompt or to do anything. And since I really need to tweak my photos and chose ones with more contrast, this might be the opportunity to add the STAMP.

[cc200]

It really works, thanks for sharing.
Actually, the stamp file also works under XnView which looks easier to use.

[Paulinafrica]

Originally Posted by cc200

It really works, thanks for sharing.
Actually, the stamp file also works under XnView which looks easier to use.

Hello cc200, I have taken your advice and downloaded XnView to apply the stamp, is there a way that XnView can use the .atn command natively?

At the moment I am opening an image - Filter - PhotoMasque - select stamp.png - OK
It works fine, but somewhat tedious if there are a number of screensavers that you want to apply the stamp to.
Cheers
Paul

[cc200]

@Paulinafrica:

Goto Tools->Batch Processing, you will get what you want.

BTW, the feature "add watermark" is more straight forward than the photoMasque for this purpose.

[jeromedevine]

/deleted by author

[kranu]

Originally Posted by jeromedevine

Does not work anymore. Uploader update it.

Could you please explain how this does not work?

[jeromedevine]

/deleted by author

[janvanmaar]

Thanks jeromedevine for bringing this thread on top - it would have missed it otherwise.

Thanks kranu for sharing your useful tricks!

A note for people on Linux - just copy kranu's stamp.png file to a directory with your screensavers and run the following command in that directory:

ls *.png *.jpg *.gif | xargs -Ifile convert -coalesce file stamp.png file

Your screensavers should be stamped now (backup the content of the directory before doing that just in case)

[NiLuJe]

for file in *.{jpg,gif,png} ; do [[ "${file}" != "stamp.png" ]] && convert "${file}" stamp.png -flatten "${file}" ; done

xargs is eeeeviiiiill! ^^

[janvanmaar]

xargs is eeeeviiiiill! ^^

...perhaps that's why I like it so much?
Anyway, your command is cleaner indeed (even excludes stamp.png itself).

[Tarr]

Don't know why but having the authentic part on totally custom papers make it feel even better! Thanks for the stamp and more importantly the great idea!

[chal61]

@javanmaar: When I frst read Kranu's way to do it, I figured out there would be a smart and cheap way to do it in Linux. You anticipated me.
Thanks both for idea and the bash way, the power of bash and ImageMagick together is truly awesome.

[FF2]

You can also "stamp" using irfanview. Create a SelectionBox. Add TEXT to it, now copy that box. Moving to the next picture, create a selectionbox and paste again, etc through your photos.