School photos, printed in-house.
In-house production means printing and preparing orders in your own studio. KebecPhoto prepares your orders for your production: batches ready to download, XML, CSV or custom-template manifests, packing slips and labels. The Dakis and Timestone formats described here belong to our partner-lab integrations; adapting them to your studio is offered on request, after assessment with our team.
- ✓ XML, CSV or custom-template manifests, per batch or per order
- ✓ Windows and macOS apps for your production computers
- ✓ Packing slips, checklists and 4 x 6 address labels
- ✓ A documented lab API, opened on request, with access limited to your organization
- 1After activation, Windows and macOS: downloaded and verified by itself
- 2Photos first, manifest last
- 3Option: marked shipped with the label
Published October 11, 2026 · 9 min read
1Which formats can you use for in-house production?
Your print software reads a manifest and files. KebecPhoto produces both, in the form you choose.
A session set to self-production (the option is called « Self-Fulfillment » in your settings) goes through no lab: its paid orders that contain items to produce are grouped into batches when they are ready for production, and each batch holds the image files and a manifest. The built-in manifest comes as XML (the ManifesteSelfFulfill structure below) or CSV, one manifest per batch or one per order, combined or split by product type.
If your software expects something else, you paste your own template (Handlebars syntax, 50 KB at most): a global template or one per product type, namely prints, digital, other and sports cards. Each product also carries a free configuration for your software, for example the size, the media and the template, which the manifest template copies as is. In an XML template, a field holding personal information goes through the xmlEscape filter.
The Dakis and Timestone formats described in the table belong to our partner-lab integrations. They are not a choice in the self-production settings: if your studio produces with one of these programs, the adaptation is assessed with our team, on request.
| Program or format | What KebecPhoto produces | Who receives it today | Setup | Known limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in XML | The ManifesteSelfFulfill manifest: batch, studio, orders, school and students for sorting, items with product code, size, quantity, file name, backdrop and crop. | Every self-producing studio. | Self-production settings: XML format, per batch or per order. | A KebecPhoto structure: your software must read it, or you go through a template. |
| Built-in CSV | A table, one row per item. | Every self-producing studio. | Self-production settings: CSV format. | Fixed columns. |
| Your template | The text you define, as XML, key=value or any text form, from the batch, order and item variables. | Every self-producing studio. | Self-production settings: a global template or one per product type, with the variable reference on screen. | 50 KB per template; in an XML template, personal information goes through the xmlEscape filter; production manifests contain the items eligible for that production. |
| Darkroom Pro | A manifest from your template (key=value or XML), and batches copied into a hot folder by the Windows app: photos first, the manifest last. | A self-producing studio, after configuration. | Template in the self-production settings; hot folder in the Windows app. | The template adapts to your configuration. No validation by the software’s publisher. |
| Dakis IPS Order Manager | One folder per order, as the program imports it: order.yml, customer.txt, the prints folder and the completion marker. | A partner lab, through our Lord Photo integration. | On request, after an assessment with our team. | Multi-photo sheets are accepted when already rendered, with a valid lab product code and sheet dimensions. |
| Timestone | A CSV in the V3 schema agreed with the lab, and a detailed XML through the API. | A partner lab, through our Yves Thomas integration. | On request, after an assessment with our team. | Designed for that partner lab’s installation; adaptation to your Timestone installation requires assessment. |
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<ManifesteSelfFulfill version="1.0">
<Lot>
<NumeroLot>lot-exemple-0042</NumeroLot>
<NombreCommandes>42</NombreCommandes>
<NombreArticles>118</NombreArticles>
</Lot>
<Commandes>
<Commande>
<NumeroCommande>KP-2026-00913</NumeroCommande>
<Ecole>
<NomEcole>École des Trois-Lucioles</NomEcole>
<Eleves>
<Eleve>
<Prenom>First name</Prenom>
<NomFamille>Last name</NomFamille>
<Groupe>Grade 2 A</Groupe>
</Eleve>
</Eleves>
</Ecole>
<Articles>
<Article>
<CodeProduit>IMP-5x7</CodeProduit>
<TaillePo>5x7</TaillePo>
<Quantite>2</Quantite>
<FichierImage>KP-2026-00913_001.jpg</FichierImage>
</Article>
</Articles>
</Commande>
</Commandes>
</ManifesteSelfFulfill>Per batch or per order
One manifest for the whole batch, or one manifest per order in the batch. The setting applies when the manifest is next generated; existing files remain unchanged until regenerated.
Combined or split by type
The items eligible for this production are combined in one manifest, or separated by product type present, each rendered with its template.
JPEG sRGB, 300 DPI
Ordinary photos are re-encoded as sRGB JPEGs, orientation applied, a valid saved crop applied, with 300 DPI resolution metadata; their longest edge is capped at 3000 pixels, without upscaling. Previously rendered sheets, cards and other compositions keep their rendered dimensions and resolution. Files carry the names given in the manifest. No colour profile or resolution specific to a studio.
Where to find it: Settings → Lab → Self-production
2When are your orders grouped into batches?
A batch gathers the paid orders of one session. You choose the moment, and you can pause everything.
Batches are formed per studio, per production mode and per session; two sessions never mix. For school delivery, orders accumulate and the batch leaves according to the session’s setting: every night (the consolidation runs at 12:15 a.m. Eastern) or after the session’s deadline, at the next consolidation. A home-delivery order may form its own batch.
A batch moves through statuses: Created, Packaged, Ready for Download, Downloaded, Fulfilled, and Error when someone must step in; a replaced batch appears as Superseded. Automatic splitting of large batches does not apply to self-production. You can pause sending for a session; a studio-wide pause is requested through our team. Batches still awaiting submission remain held. When order review is enabled for your studio, an order can be sent back to review before its batch is picked up.
- KebecPhoto acts automatically
- An action or configuration by the studio
One batch per session
A session’s orders accumulate, then leave together, every night or after the deadline. The batch packing slip sorts them by order.
One order, one parcel
A home-delivered order may form its own batch; its address label and its tracking are prepared separately.
Batches wait
Pause sending for a session, or ask us for a studio-wide pause. Batches still awaiting submission remain held until you resume.
Where to find it: Lab → Print batches
3How do you retrieve your files on Windows and Mac?
Native apps for your production computers, and an online console to follow every batch.
After activation for your studio, the KebecPhoto Labo app automatically downloads your batches and your orders on Windows and macOS while the app is running and connected. It polls KebecPhoto at the interval you set, downloads each file into a temporary file, verifies its SHA-256 hash during the transfer and, by default, reads it back after writing, then drops it into your folder in one move. You can also download a single order, pause the synchronization and resume it.
The KebecPhoto Desktop app for Windows lists your ready batches, filtered by school and by delivery mode, and downloads a batch on one click, sorted by order. Its hot folder copies a finished batch for Darkroom Pro: the photos first, the manifest last. The KebecPhoto app for macOS uploads your sessions; both apps upload.
Online, the production console, opened on request, shows your self-production batches and orders with their amounts, and lets you mark a batch printed or shipped (per batch, only the status changes), and an order shipped with an optional carrier and tracking number; parent notification is optional and limited to home deliveries with a complete address and a recipient e-mail. The admin keeps the list of every batch, with the retry of a batch in error and the reset of a downloaded batch to waiting.
KebecPhoto Labo
After activation for your studio: automatic download of batches and orders, SHA-256 verification of every file, pause and resume, a tray or menu-bar icon, signed updates.
KebecPhoto Desktop
One click per batch, sorted by order, and the hot folder for Darkroom Pro. Also uploads your sessions. Windows 10 or 11.
Production console
Your batches and orders, their statuses and amounts. Per order: mark shipped, with optional tracking and optional parent notification for home delivery with a complete address and a recipient e-mail. Per batch: status changes only. Opened on request.
Where to find it: Settings → Lab → Self-production → Desktop app
4Which packing slips, labels and exports can you prepare?
The paper that travels with the prints: in your image, in French and in English.
The packing slip is set for the whole studio: twelve elements to show or hide, including the photo, the product photo, the child, the school, the group, the product, the order number, the quantity, the date, the logo, the package contents and the file name; the page size in inches, centimetres, millimetres or points; the thumbnail width; a header and a footer in French and in English. It is generated for one order, for a selection of orders (200 at most) or for a whole self-production batch.
The batch PDF opens with a checklist using the enabled fields (checkbox, order, children, group, line count, delivery, and the total of orders and items), continues with one slip per order and, when items are present, ends with their recap and its « Total to produce ».
The shipping label is an address label, 4 x 6 in by default and adjustable, for home-delivered orders with a complete address: logo, sender address, return line, order number, date, recipient phone, and the paying parent’s name or the one typed at checkout. It carries no postage. When its download or print flow starts, you can mark the order shipped, with the carrier and the tracking number, and notify the parent by e-mail.
For your spreadsheets, the orders CSV contains one row per order, including its number, dates, status, session, customer information and item count. There is no production report dedicated to in-house production; the batch PDF’s recap stands in for it.
Where to find it: Settings → Packing slip · Settings → Shipping label
5Who can use KebecPhoto’s lab API?
A documented API through which a program retrieves batches, manifests and files, and confirms what it received.
The lab API (/api/lab/v1) serves our eligible partner labs today. A program connects with a bearer token that KebecPhoto stores hashed, polls the batch list (we recommend every five minutes), reads a batch’s detail, downloads its manifests and its files, then confirms receipt by returning a report: the number of verified files, the total bytes and the number of SHA-256 mismatches; an inconsistent report is refused, and some integration keys may confirm without a report. It also exposes orders, documents (deposited packing slips, with acknowledgement), a summary of pending work and the device sign-in.
There is no outgoing call to your software: it polls. The currently enforced limits are 120 list reads per minute, 600 files per minute and 16 parallel transfers; batch splitting uses a limit of 500 image lines, with manifests and some additional files added separately. The public documentation describes the endpoints and the recommended cadence.
For a studio that produces with its own software, the API is opened on request, with access limited to your organization. Describe your software to us so we can prepare the activation.
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer kplab_prod_..." \
"https://kebecphoto.com/api/lab/v1/batches?status=UPLOADED"List, read, download
The batch list by status and date, a batch’s detail, its manifests and its files, one by one.
A proof of receipt
The program returns the number of verified files, the total bytes and the mismatch count; the server compares with its inventory and refuses an inconsistent report.
Stored hashed
One bearer token per device, stored as a hash; a device signs in and out through the API.
6How can you assess your production setup?
Four lab formats built to their specifications, a template engine, and an assessment with our team when your flow leaves the frame.
We have built four production outputs to partner labs’ specifications: a CSV in the Timestone schema and a detailed XML through the API, an XML deposited by SFTP with its packing slip PDFs, the Dakis IPS Order Manager folder, and a flat CSV. Each is covered by tests that compare the output to a reference file. That experience is what we bring to a studio whose software or flow differs.
Describe your workflow to us so we can assess the settings, the tests and the adaptations needed: one manifest per batch or per order, one template per product type, a free configuration per product. Beyond that, the adaptation goes through an assessment with our team, then a written proposal before any development. Manifests downloaded to your computers may contain student and parent information: plan how to protect those local copies.
Describe your flow
The print software, the products, and a sample of a file it imports today.
- Name and version of the print software
- A manifest or an order folder it accepts
- Your list of products and sizes
Configure, then test
The manifest template and the per-product configuration, validated on a test batch of your studio.
- The template, global or per product type
- Each product’s free configuration
- A test batch downloaded and printed at your studio
Produce
Batches land on your computers; the console and the admin follow every batch and every order.
7Questions to ask your platform
Compare written answers on the same points. Here are ours, as of October 11, 2026.
| The question | KebecPhoto | Your current platform |
|---|---|---|
| A built-in XML or CSV manifest? | Yes, per batch or per order, combined or split by product type. | |
| A manifest template of your own? | Yes, in Handlebars, global or per product type, 50 KB per template, with the variable reference on screen. | |
| A per-product configuration for your software? | Yes, a free text per product, per variant and per sheet, copied by the template. | |
| Darkroom Pro? | A configured flow: your manifest template adapted to Darkroom Pro, saved in the self-production settings, and the hot folder in KebecPhoto Desktop for Windows, which copies photos first and the manifest last. | |
| Dakis IPS Order Manager? | The per-order folder is produced for a partner lab; adapting it to your studio is assessed on request. | |
| Timestone? | The V3-schema CSV is produced for a partner lab; adapting it to your studio is assessed on request. | |
| Do batches and orders download by themselves, on Windows and macOS? | Yes, with the KebecPhoto Labo app, after activation for your studio, while it is running and connected. | |
| A single order, without the whole batch? | Yes, in KebecPhoto Labo after activation for your studio; KebecPhoto Desktop for Windows downloads per batch. | |
| Are the files verified? | Yes, in KebecPhoto Labo: a SHA-256 hash during the transfer and, by default, a read-back after writing. | |
| Packing slips in your image? | Yes, twelve elements, page size, logo, French and English texts; per order, per selection or per batch. | |
| A checklist and a recap per batch? | Yes, in the PDF of a self-production batch, with the total to produce. | |
| Shipping labels? | Yes, an adjustable 4 x 6 address label, for home delivery, without postage. | |
| Mark shipped with the carrier and notify the parent? | Yes, per order, with an optional carrier and tracking number; parent notification is optional and limited to home deliveries with a complete address and an e-mail. Per batch, only the status changes. | |
| An export of the orders? | Yes, the orders CSV: one row per order, with its number, dates, status, session, customer information and item count. | |
| An API for your software? | Yes, the documented lab API, opened to your studio on request, with access limited to your organization. | |
| In what state do the files arrive? | Ordinary photos as sRGB JPEGs, orientation applied, 300 DPI metadata, longest edge capped at 3000 pixels without upscaling; rendered compositions keep their render; names as in the manifest. | |
| Not offered yet | Postage and carrier labels. A production report as CSV or spreadsheet. A colour profile or a resolution specific to your studio. | |
8In-house production FAQ
Can we print our school photo orders in-house with KebecPhoto?
Yes. A session set to self-fulfillment groups the paid orders that contain items to produce into batches, each with its image files and its manifest, which you download to your computers and print with your own software.
Can KebecPhoto prepare orders for Dakis IPS Order Manager?
KebecPhoto produces the per-order folder that this program imports (order.yml, customer.txt, the prints folder and the completion marker) for a partner lab. For a studio that produces with Dakis, the adaptation is assessed with our team, on request.
What format does KebecPhoto provide for Timestone?
A CSV in the V3 schema agreed with a partner lab that produces with Timestone, and a detailed XML through the API. For your installation, the adaptation is assessed with our team, on request.
How can we use KebecPhoto with Darkroom Pro?
A configured flow: your manifest template adapted to Darkroom Pro, saved in the self-production settings, and the hot folder in KebecPhoto Desktop for Windows, which copies each finished batch by dropping the photos first and the manifest last.
Do batches download automatically on Windows and Mac?
Yes, with the KebecPhoto Labo app, after activation for your studio: it polls KebecPhoto at the chosen interval and downloads batches and orders while it is running and connected. The KebecPhoto Desktop app for Windows downloads a batch on one click.
Can we download one order instead of an entire batch?
Yes, in KebecPhoto Labo after activation for your studio, or through the lab API opened on request with access limited to your organization. KebecPhoto Desktop for Windows downloads per batch, sorted by order.
Can we customize packing slips with school, class and photo details?
Yes. The packing slip shows or hides twelve elements, including the school, the group, the child, the photo and the product photo, in the page size and with the texts you set, in French and in English.
Does KebecPhoto create address labels, or also purchase postage?
Address labels, 4 x 6 in by default, for home-delivered orders. Postage and carrier labels are not offered; the carrier and the tracking number are typed at shipping.
Can we connect our own production software through an API?
Yes, on request: the documented lab API, which serves our partner labs today, is opened to your studio with access limited to your organization. Your software polls the batches, downloads the files and confirms receipt.
What files, resolutions and colour profiles does our production receive?
Ordinary photos arrive as sRGB JPEGs, orientation applied, with 300 DPI resolution metadata, the longest edge capped at 3000 pixels without upscaling; previously rendered sheets, cards and compositions keep their rendered dimensions. There is no colour profile or resolution specific to a studio.
Tell us about your production
Describe your print software, your products and your volumes. We will tell you what fits in the settings, what needs an assessment, and what is not offered. KebecPhoto is operated by Fk7 Photographie Inc., a Québec company.