The original FlipBook Printer could be used to turn avi movies into printable flipbooks, which you could create for presents, projects or fun. Flipsuite expands the concept with a newly added video recording feature. It is now possible to use webcams to record video which then can be used to create the flipbook.

The main program interface launches in Live Camera Mode, users without a webcam can switch to the Media File Viewer to load a directory from the computer instead. FlipSuite supports many different media formats, including video and picture formats. It is for instance possible to load photos taken with your digital camera, or to load movies and capture screenshots with the built-in-tools.

You can furthermore draw a rectangle on individual screenshots to crop the image. Another, more elegant option is to use the Tools > Flipbook Printer – Just load movie option to let the program do all the dirty work. The flipbook software will process the selected video file automatically based on your preferences. This way it is possible to create a flipbook in less than a minute.

Flipbook Printer is an option lover’s heaven. The printing options alone displays preferences on eight different tabs, from designing a front and back cover to selecting specific still images at the start and end of the book to special effects, card templates and extensive printing options.

Then you have got the program options which are accessible via the View menu in the main interface.

Do not get me wrong here though: The program is not complicated to use. If you just want to create a flipbook you can do so in less than a minute provided that you have images or video files on your local computer. The options and preferences can be used to customize the result in every imaginable way.

Flipbook Printer Suite has a few quirks, the folder selection for instance is not really that comfortable. I also have not found a way to create multiple manual screenshots of a movie in rapid succession.

These are however only minor issues. If you want to create flipbooks then Flipbook Suite 2 is the program to do just that. You find more information about the software program and downloads over at the Donation Coder website.

I’m going to write about three computer programs / scripts that are going to help you create a great Christmas gift. I think that those methods work best for presents for people that you really care about: close relatives, partners and children for example. All you need besides those programs is some time, a printer and a picture or video of something that the recipient likes. Let us start..

• Create a Poster from an Image

You only need a picture that would make a great poster. Download PosteRazor and run it. Select the picture on your computer, specify the output size and a pdf file will be created that contains a number of pages that are the poster. Print those pages and you have a great personal gift. Use large images for best results. Available for Windows, Mac and as source code.

• Create huge rasterized images from any picture

PosteRazor is cute but has limitations. If you want huge, and I mean huge, outputs that can decorate a wall in complete width you need to use the online script Rasterbator. The output looks really incredible, please note that it is up to you if you want to define borders in the final picture. You may also download an offline version which does not have the size and resolution limitations of the online script.

• Create a Flipbook

Flipbooks are great gifts especially for children (and women). All you need is Flipbook Printer created by my friend mouser from donationcoder. You obviously need a movie for this to work. Just load the movie, define start and end and let the program do the rest. All that is left to do is to print the results and join the results together.

I would love to hear about your ideas and other programs or scripts that do something similar. So, if you know something please let me know.

After installing the small file a step by step guide pops up which explains the complete process. It gives you information how to prepare the movie, set the start and end of the movie and to write covers and backs. The program interface looks crowded but with the help of the step by step guide you should be able to create a flipbook quickly and without much troubles.

Flipbook Printer offers a great (and cheap) way of creating a special gift for someone that you like. I would say that not only kids but also women would love this kind of present.