Do you have a computer full of special family photos, holiday snaps, baby photos, school plays (and the list goes on) that you have not found the time to print yet?
Until recently I struggled to find the time to prepare a photo book or even print photos, but over the last few months I finally put together not one, but FOUR books documenting the last four years of our family’s life. The kids love going through them over and over again!
I thought I would share my experience (very briefly) of the four companies I used. I have included a short summary of elements I liked as well as things that I didn’t like, with the hope that it helps those who want to start their book but are overwhelmed with the many choices available.
Also to help you get started, there is a 20% discount offer for you from one of the companies I used!
Note: whited out section in the photo above was added for privacy reasons only
Ok, lets get started.
Each photo book company offers different book options but I will only go through the actual books I produced.
The four companies I used:
- Moleskine + Milk
- Nushots (Australian company)
- Artifact Uprising
- Blurb
General Information
- With all books, I chose to limit wording as I prefer a clean and simple look.
- While all companies offer ‘auto-fill’ where the program automatically fills out the book for you, I selected a format I wanted for each page.
- All companies allow you to import photos from your computer, Flickr, Picasa, Facebook and Instagram.
- You get warnings if a photo’s quality isn’t appropriate for the size you’ve chosen on the page. You can then correct the photo size.
- All companies allow you to save your project so that you can add to it or complete it when you are ready.
Specs for my book: Milk Photo Book, Medium landscape, hard cover, 9.25 x 7.4” (23.5 x 18.8cm)
This book was relatively easy to put together, although the main page that you work from was a little busy. Sometimes it was difficult to see if you had duplicated a photo (I had a few hundred photos to add to the book).
Note: whited out section in the photo above was added for privacy reasons only
Things I Like
- It is a beautiful looking book
- I love the binding
- It looks professional
Things I Don’t Like
- The cover photo sits on top of the hard cover front page. I think in ten or so years with many people handling the book, it may start to peel off the front.
- Every page (bar the large landscape template option) has a section for words. If you choose not to add words, your page will still show up with the dots under the photo where words would have been. It’s not a major issue but I prefer my books clean and simple.
- The fabric I chose was light grey and while looks nice, with lots of handling may look dirty in years to come (choosing a darker colour may be better in the long term).
- Whilst the matt paper feels nice, it does lack a little depth when compared to the Nushots and Blurb books.
- I love adding double page spreads for great impact but this option isn’t available with this book.
- There also isn’t an option to completely fill a page with a photo which I often like doing.
2. Nushots
Specs for my book: Paramout Book, A4 hardcover
Note: whited out section in the photo above was added for privacy reasons only
Nushots is an Australian owned company and all books are printed in Bayside (Victoria, Australia). They offer a range of products and sizes.
Things I Like
- A beautiful looking book.
- Paper is matt and has a smooth sheen with photos looking vibrant and rich.
- Easy to navigate and add photos.
- Is Australian made.
Things I Don’t Like
- The only thing I could think of as a negative is that it is more expensive than the other 3 books to produce (approximately $40 over the Blurb book).
Specs for my book: Soft cover 8.5 x8.5’
Artifact Uprising is a relatively new company based in Colorado, USA. They use 100% recycled paper for the inside pages of their books.
After working out how to import photos and projects into their program I was able to complete the book relatively quickly.
I’ve decided that this will be my annual creative black and white book, for my favourite photos.
Things I Like
- A nice creative looking book.
- Cheaper to produce due to the soft cover.
Things I Don’t Like
- Not as intuitive for a first timer – A little more confusing to set up the book but once photos are loaded into the program it is straight forward.
- The recycled nature of the paper results in photos not being as rich as the Nushots and Blurb books. I have not printed a colour book with this company but expect that the results would be the same.
Hint for this book: Create a gallery (under the ‘My Gallery’ tab). You can then see all the photos on the bottom of your screen as well as flick through the page layouts and change them if needed.
4.Blurb
Specs for my book: Standard Landscape – 10×8′, Hard Cover Image Wrap, Premium Lustre paper
Special Note: whited out section in the photo above was added for privacy reasons only
Blurb has joined forces with Adobe and has made producing a photo book so easy with Adobe Lightroom (a photo storage and editing program). I was able to go to my ‘book’ tab in Lightroom, select the book I wanted and simply drag and drop the photos straight into the book in Blurb.
Producing a book with Blurb is easy even without Lightroom. You simply download the program for the book type you want, and go from there.
For me, this was the easiest book to prepare and my favourite overall.
Things I Like
- Matt paper looks great with photos rich and vibrant
- The double page spread option looks fantastic
- I love that I can put the book together through Adobe Lightroom and not need to upload photos to another program (as mentioned above though, I am told that downloading the Blurb program is quick and easy).
Things I Don’t Like
- Whilst the binding looks professional, I think it could be improved especially for books over 100 pages
Do you want a photo book of your memories and experiences?
Blurb have generously offered a 20% discount for all readers.
Add the promotional code JULY20PERCENT at check out to receive your 20% discount. This code is only valid for July (2013) and can be used once per reader.
CHANGE TO ORIGINAL POST: The original promotional code has been changed by Blurb. The new one as noted above is JULY20PERCENT and now active. It is only valid for July and not till December like the previous code. Blurb informs me that they regularly have promotions so if you have a book to print after July, just subscribe to their emails and you’ll be notified when their next promotion is on. My apologies for any confusion.
What a great way to help get you started on your photo book.
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Also, feel free to share this link with family and friends so they also can take advantage of Blurbs generous discount offer.
Have Fun!
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