I also got

"Error code 14001.
This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem."

Do meet the listed system requirements. Uninstalled, re download and reinstall also gave the error

It intalls, goes into start menu
But WONT RUN

I have to vent my anger :(
As I like graphical software, especially when it is fast and down-to-earth, I was glad to find one today as GOTD. But what a disappointment:
The product Plato presents here - or should I say: dares to present - is completely unacceptable.
There are too many bugs to list them here, lots are already specified by other users; and I'm quite sure that I would find several more if I got the chance to use this programme longer then some minutes until it crashes again.
Besides the malfunctions, the design elements seem to be picked up somewhere in the net, some have even watermarks.(Does Disney know that Plato is selling their images?)
The Help link and the FAQ are misleading. There is only the website with the blurb of this tool and reference to Plato's converter software.
Plato is not new in the international software business, but they still don't have the ability to create a half-decent, understandable and informative website.

The idea for this programme is not bad (and not new). It could be a cute toy for kids and their childish grandma. There are several useful features - if they would work.
This product is in an early development stage. Trying to sell it... well if I had paid for it, I'd call it a rip-off.
graylox

I would suggest this free online photo framer from Loonapix instead, easy to use, real cool frames, text insertion, email to friends option and no loss of quality. The small save link is somewhere at middle-bottom. Enjoy it !

http://www.loonapix.com/framer

Not very impressed with this software. I love to make my own cutesy images and holiday cards or images, but the first wintery attempt came out blurry, which my image was not. I saved it as a jpg. Seems a bit too childish for my needs; the frames are too cartoony for my taste. I did have trouble unzipping after downloading (kept getting no files found), but by the 4th download it finally worked, on XP SP3. Pretty much is user friendly, I especially didn't like the McAfee Security Scan software that was installed without warning. Uninstalling...

#1 Thanks for the free alternative, a very nice program, also offers additional features such as making a calendar, collage, and greeting cards. A little bit of directions to follow, but I did it and you end up with a fully registered full version and your info is stored on the ashampoo site.

Thanks for the effort GAOTD, I usually like most of the give aways offered here, but today's just doesn't have the features or capabilities, especially for the price.

#9, you can add a photo using the "add single photo" button on the main screen, but that just adds to your point about the program being less than intuitive.

Plato Portrait Maker has a lot of nice options and effects, but it is too hard to work with and the interface is, as noted, unintuitive, as well as just plain ugly and too small. The "add decoration" page is pretty useless, since the decoration always is inserted on the lower left corner of the picture with no way to move it. I didn't even bother trying to print anything and saw no way to save the end result as anything useable. However, you can use any photo editing program to import the frame and effect graphics that come with this program.

Bottom line, great idea, poor execution, needs a LOT more work before Plato can ask for a purchase price.

Plato Portrait Maker is really not very useful at all to me. The output shown in their own screen shot demonstrates the poor quality, just look at the white jaggies in the anti-aliasing inside the frame.

If you let it down-size a large photo to use in a project, be prepared for a blurry photo in the final output. I do not understand why it outputs two pages, numbered page 1 of 0, and page 2 of 0, for one project in either landscape or portrait mode when either way it will fit on one page.

The software has "Shotting-delaying" as an option. Software developer, Shooting Delay is probably a better description for that option. If you are presenting software to an English audience, try hiring someone that reads and writes English AND has decent spelling skills to proof read your web site and your software interface. I'm not saying I'm correct all the time, but then again I'm not trying to sell anything.

The images used to create a project are sized ok for ipod or small email attachments but print output is awful. At small sticker size, details in the photo, frames or background is lost. Printing those small size images used to create the project any larger is so blurry it is awful.

What you get with the software:
88 "BackGround" image files, all 320x240 pixels, includes hearts and flowers, lightning, landscapes & buildings, animals, and a lot of cartoons or childish themes.

16 "BaseMap" image files, all 1024 x768 pixels, to use behind your project include landscape, foliage and floral subjects. I don't know why it shows the tiny "BackGround" images to choose from by default instead of the larger BaseMap images when you choose to save your "portrait" as an image.

43 "Emotion" clipart type files, all 64 pixels square.

266 Frame files of various designs including holidays, all 320x240 pixels.

35 Mask files, all 320x 240 pixels.

16 Portrait files, all 320x240 sample images of actors, singers and so on.

If you change the path to a new folder via the configuration option or seek an image to use in a folder outside the default folders, it gets lost on where to get the files it normally uses. I was constantly having to drill back down to the software folder to get to these pre-configured locations for frames or backgrounds etc. It failed to show me subfolders in the Windows standard "My Pictures" folder - showing only thumbnails in the root of this folder without any navigation buttons. Really awful file handling.

I've spent too much time on this poorly written software already.

Ashampoo photo editor 6 outdoes this piec of junk by miles.Anybody who has ASH6, and downloaded this will know exately what i am talking about.ASH6 isfar more professional, its just all round far better value in all respects.

Has anyone figured out how to get this to print? Or is there anyone that has been able to print? I got the same error that Ashraf did. Thanks for the great reviews Ashraf.

this really looks like something developped in a former eastblock country like Roumania, Bulgary or so, seen those backward templates they offer...

What this program needs is a Tutorial. I give it a 2 out of 5.

Very useful software. Installed without problem. Remember to configure software to "select picture" from where your photos are, or else, you will be presented with sample pictures. They must have added "browse" function for selecting photos. You can easily try different templates on the same picture by clicking the "right" or "left" arrow on the right side of screen. Then, click OK, the selected picture is moved to the right side, where you can edit it by double clicking it. And what I like in the editing is the "edge". It creates a cartoon, sketch-like picture of the photograph, something like a caricature drawn by an artist, exciting laughter when my family saw it. I printed it, and there is no problem printing it. But there is no choice for better resolution, although good enough resolution for 4"x6" size photo paper. You can also use adhesive paper to print your photos to be used as stickers. There are also enough templates to choose from for your photos. A keeper for me.

Basic functions of the program::
01. Click on the "Configure" button to view the file paths used by the program.
02. Click on "Select photo" to select a default portrait.
03. Click "Capture mode" to see an image from your webcam.
04. Click on "Add single photo", browse to your photo folder and click, then select a photo.
05. Click on "Select frame" to select a frame then click ok.
06. Click the big green ok button to display your work in the thumbnail viewer on the right.
07. Right-click the mouse button to display a context-menu with addtional commands.
08. Double-click on the thumbnail to select a photo effect.
09. Click the big green ok again to display an additonal copy of your thumbnail.
10. The up/down arrows cycle through portaits; the left/right arrows cycle through frames.

This downloaded fine . It does work and has alot of frames . You can add your own pics , just click on Add Single photo . It just takes a little time to read , and figure out how to use it . It is nice for people who do not know how to make their own frames or have a psp or photoshop program .
Thanks

If you want to introduce your images like frame models it is need to have this characteristic:format bmp,225 ko,320x240.

For #10.Try another model from select frame like this example,or make your model and introduce in folder:
http://my.jetscreenshot.com/demo/20091129-h9xk-128kb

http://my.jetscreenshot.com/demo/20091129-dtc5-65kb
to see if they let me to put two photos in one day,if not appear it mean that is not possible to make this with jetscreenshot and sorry.

First image: http://my.jetscreenshot.com/demo/20091129-myok-107kb Second image:http://my.jetscreenshot.com/demo/20091129-dtc5-65kb
First:1.select frame and next click OK;
2.add single photo or select photo and next click OK;
3.next clico on the OK(big OK,right)from the middle of triangles;
4.double click on the image from right,select what do you want and at finish click:Save.

Thanks again GOATD for a useful program stuffed with lots of images. 'Plato Portrait Maker' on itself is cleverly made with lots of options. it might however not be easy to handle for the beginner pc user. PPM installed easy on XP3, registred fine, feel could be more smooth. The images inside the program can be used for '1000s' of other image programs, cardmakers, etc as they are all BMP and JPG. Just click yourself a way through it ... For me a thumbs UP !!

Save photo need to be improved(lose quality).Ideea is good but is need to be more profesional.

To 5
OK I downloaded it, can somebody tell me how to get rid of the aliasing error ?
see screenshot: http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/7613/capture833.gif
The backgrounds are not my taste, they are all in toddler style, nothing advanced or fashion. I am currenty residing in an Asian country and you be amazed when you see what crazy things you can make with those stickermachines.
On their website:
‘People can change the photo style as they want by just selecting different frames from thousands of choises’

Where ? I could find only 318 choices.

I have the same error, and It have not the choices on there site, why?

Hi,

Installed fine on XP pro sp3.

I clicked on 'select an image', I was presented with their portraits. I thought I would be selecting one of my images, there is no browse for images as one would expect when clicking 'select an image'.

Undeterred I clicked the 'add single photo' button, The selection window states 'select an output path'. There was no default window for selecting anything.

I tried to drag and drop a photo to load something, drag and drop is not supported even though it is a very simple function to implement in software. In trying drag and drop I accidently dragged the existing 'hard coded image' and to my surprise it moved from it's frame and placed itself under the buttons. Difficult to describe so I've included a screen shot here.
http://my.jetscreenshot.com/demo/20091129-ecpt-87kb

I tried to fathom how to load an image and clicked the 'configure button'. You can see the default locations for Frame, Backgrounds, Mask etc yet when you click any of the browse buttons it says 'select frame folder'. But clicking on the portrait button gave me the option to import images, I did that and clicked apply. Then, going back to the 'select photo' I still get the default images supplied with the program, none of my images were imported.

To get one of my photos visible I had to copy my images to the hard coded folder 'C:\Program Files\Plato Portrait Maker\Image\Portrait' and only then could I select one of my own.

At this point I realised that this software is very poorly written, it is highly unintuitive and as for being offered at nearly $40
! that has to be a joke.

Uninstalled, it's appalling at best.

hi i am getting the error while trying to start the application;

Create Process Failed; code 14001.

I would like to mention that I was some what wrong about the offer yesterday. After further use I discovered it will do much more than what was obvious in the begining. Sure does help to actually read and understand. Still not great but it is a good program.

This is a toy to have fun with so you can make all kinds of either realyly good stuff or just plain silly bad stuff.

Good for holiday use as well as birthdays and so much more. Make your won it is real cards.

OK I downloaded it, can somebody tell me how to get rid of the aliasing error ?

see screenshot: http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/7613/capture833.gif

The backgrounds are not my taste, they are all in toddler style, nothing advanced or fashion. I am currenty residing in an Asian country and you be amazed when you see what crazy things you can make with those stickermachines.

On their website:

'People can change the photo style as they want by just selecting different frames from thousands of choises'

Where ? I could find only 318 choices.

Confused....is this some kind of webcam software or is it an image editing program?

The broken English on thier site make it hard to understand just what this is/does.

A portion from the website:

"....It is like a self adhesive sticker machine that you can take photo by yourself at home only if you have computer camera...." ??????????

Thanks, I'll need this for Christmas!

Looks good! Portrait editor.....

The Good
* Can add frames, "decorations", and effects to images.
* Comes with many frames, "decorations", and effects to pick from.
* Has ability to take pictures directly from webcam (if applicable).
* Has an auto-timer for the webcam feature.
* Can print or export the projects as images.

The Bad
* The purpose of the program is not very clear. Supposed to be a "portrait maker" but has no ability to print out/save single images.
* The interface needs improvements in terms of aesthetics and user friendliness.
* Doesn't properly take photo from webcam.
* Error when trying to print.
* Pretty bad output quality.

Free Alternatives
Ashampoo Photo Commander 6

For final verdict, recommendations, and full review please click here.