Arranging images on a page

A method of arranging a plurality of digital images on a page for printing, comprising:

• defining a current packing area on the page;
• identifying a largest size image of available images that will fit within the current packing area;
• defining a first arrangement of the identified largest size image in the current packing area;
• determining a first amount of useable leftover space on the page for the first arrangement;
• defining a second arrangement of the identified largest size in the current packing area;
• determining a second amount of useable leftover space on the page for the second arrangement;
• comparing the first arrangement to the second arrangement;
• and
• selecting one of the arrangements based on the comparison.

A method of arranging a plurality of digital images on a page for printing, comprising:

• defining a current packing area on the page;
• identifying a largest size image of available images that will fit within the current packing area;
• defining a first arrangement of the identified largest size image in the current packing area;
• defining a second arrangement of the identified largest size in the current packing area;
• comparing the first arrangement to the second arrangement;
• selecting one of the arrangements based on the comparison;
• and
• after selecting one of the arrangements, defining a new current packing area on the page, the new current packing area being defined by an area of useable leftover space not occupied by an image.

A method of arranging a plurality of images for printing, comprising:

• defining a packing area on a current page;
• identifying a largest size of the plurality of images that may be correlated with the packing area;
• defining a first arrangement by correlating at least one image of the identified largest size with the packing area;
• defining a second arrangement by correlating at least one image of the identified largest size with the packing area;
• selecting an image arrangement from the first arrangement and the second arrangement;
• defining a new packing area on the current page as an area on the page not yet correlated with an image;
• and
• repeating the acts of identifying, defining, defining, selecting and defining for successive new packing areas until either no more images may be correlated with a packing area, or until all images have been correlated with a packing area.

A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions being executable to:

• define a current packing area on the page;
• identify a largest size image of available images that will fit within the current packing area;
• define a first arrangement of the identified largest size image in the current packing area;
• define a second arrangement of the identified largest size in the current packing area;
• compare the first arrangement to the second arrangement;
• and
• select one of the arrangements based on the comparison.

A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions being executable to:

• define a current packing area on the page;
• identify a largest size image of available images that will fit within the current packing area;
• define a first arrangement of the identified largest size image in the current packing area;
• determine a first amount of useable leftover space on the page for the first arrangement;
• define a second arrangement of the identified largest size in the current packing area;
• determine a second amount of useable leftover space on the page for the second arrangement;
• compare the first arrangement to the second arrangement;
• and
• select one of the arrangements based on the comparison.

A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions being executable to:

• define a current packing area on the page;
• identify a largest size image of available images that will fit within the current packing area;
• define a first arrangement of the identified largest size image in the current packing area;
• define a second arrangement of the identified largest size in the current packing area;
• compare the first arrangement to the second arrangement;
• select one of the arrangements based on the comparison;
• and
• after selection of one of the arrangements, to define a new current packing area on the page, the new current packing area being defined by an area of useable leftover space not occupied by an image.

A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions being executable to:

• define a packing area on a current page;
• identify a largest size of the plurality of images that may be correlated with the packing area;
• define a first arrangement by correlating at least one image of the identified largest size with the packing area;
• define a second arrangement by correlating at least one image of the identified largest size with the packing area;
• selecting an image arrangement from the first arrangement and the second arrangement;
• define a new packing area on the current page as an area on the page not yet correlated with an image;
• and
• repeat the instructions executable to identify, define, define, select and define for successive new packing areas until either no more images may be correlated with a packing area, or until all images have been correlated with a packing area.

Apparatus for directing printing of digital images on a printing device, the apparatus comprising:

• a user interface configured to receive size selections for images to be printed, such received size selections defining a set of available images;
• and
• a processor in selected communication with the printing device, the processor being configured to:
• define a packing area on a page,
• identify a largest image size that will fit within the packing area, such largest image size being selected from the received size selections of the set of available images;
• define a first arrangement with one or more images of the identified largest image size in the packing area, each in a first orientation;
• define a second arrangement with one or more images of the identified largest image size in the packing area, each in a second orientation different from the first orientation;
• select an image arrangement by comparing the first arrangement to the second arrangement using preselected criteria;
• and
• communicate the selected image arrangement to the printing device for printing.

A method of arranging a plurality of digital images on a page for printing, comprising:

• defining a current packing area on the page;
• identifying a largest size of available images that will fit within the current packing area;
• and
• selecting an image arrangement for printing by comparing a first test image arrangement to a second test image arrangement using preselected criteria, the first test image arrangement including a selected image of the identified largest size in the current packing area in a first orientation and the second test image arrangement including a selected image of the identified largest size in the current packing area in a second orientation different from the first orientation.