Once you’ve completed the yearbook design, you’ll likely want to print or send out proofs for final checks and edits, then submit the files to the publisher for printing. The two programs provide similar proofing and printing options, with LumaPix offering slightly more in the way of format support (i.e. layered PSD file) and versatility (direct e-mail integration). However, the final phase of the yearbook creation process belongs to Pelican. This is an area where Pelican Software’s Yearbooks! Desktop 2010 is clearly ahead of its counterpart. Since Pelican focuses on smaller scope publishers, the application directs its attention away from total compatibility and instead constructs sequences on wizards that help guide users through the checks and assembly needed to complete their yearbook.

The wizards in Yearbooks! Desktop 2010 take users through the final checks (scanning through for incomplete records or duplicates) and edits, into the creation of a PDF proof, and then finally, into an export or print wizard. Pelican Software hits a home run for usability here, offering just the essentials in an intuitive and effortless implementation.

Pelican Software's simplified Final Checks Wizard in action

LumaPix provides users with a means to upload the album directly to a web site, gallery, or to send it directly to a printing company. However, the purest illustration of Pelican’s understanding of straight yearbook design is the inclusion in Yearbooks! Desktop 2010 of a module to print out a structured Print Cover Sheet and checklist that some particular yearbook publishers require with the submission of an album.