where have you guys printed out photo book from, i'm not talking about high end wedding books, just something inexpensive yet nice for a friend to make one for her grandmother??
i've done a number of books at mypublisher (that link will get you a buy-one-get-one-free deal) and they've been pretty decent. reasonable price, quick turnaround. i'm prepping one now that i'm going to use blurb to print; they have nice prices, and get decent reviews.
I am have my first one done at Blackriver //www.blackriverimaging.com/imaging now, should have it i a day or two. I have seen books other people had printed there and they look good to me. I have most of my printing done there and have been happy with them so i thought i would try one of there books also
i've done a number of books at mypublisher (that link will get you a buy-one-get-one-free deal) and they've been pretty decent. reasonable price, quick turnaround. i'm prepping one now that i'm going to use blurb to print; they have nice prices, and get decent reviews.
wow their prices are really nice, what does the quality compare to?
I'm just in the process of downloading the software to check it out. Between MyPublisher and Blurb, I'm preferring Blurb, just because of the interface. I haven't printed with either so have no input on that end.
Blurb prints are pretty good. I had this printed, and it turned out pretty nicely.
I've also used the Apple printing service via iPhoto a couple of times, and I've been very impressed with that. I printed a book of crappy iPhone photos of me and Alex going about our lives, and it turned out great! I was extremely impressed. I did it with the intention to merely test the service, and I was pretty much blown away. It was a surprise present for him, and he thought it was awesome too. I then printed a book of my photos for my Mom's birthday, and it was equally impressive.
Blurb prints are pretty good. I had this printed, and it turned out pretty nicely.
I've also used the Apple printing service via iPhoto a couple of times, and I've been very impressed with that. I printed a book of crappy iPhone photos of me and Alex going about our lives, and it turned out great! I was extremely impressed. I did it with the intention to merely test the service, and I was pretty much blown away. It was a surprise present for him, and he thought it was awesome too. I then printed a book of my photos for my Mom's birthday, and it was equally impressive.
The second since the Blurb software does not have functionality for this.
The software for Pikto does, however I don't know how the print process deals with the gutter between pages so don't know if that's a plus or a minus. I'm still investigating which source to use.
Blurb prints are pretty good. I had this printed, and it turned out pretty nicely.
I've also used the Apple printing service via iPhoto a couple of times, and I've been very impressed with that. I printed a book of crappy iPhone photos of me and Alex going about our lives, and it turned out great! I was extremely impressed. I did it with the intention to merely test the service, and I was pretty much blown away. It was a surprise present for him, and he thought it was awesome too. I then printed a book of my photos for my Mom's birthday, and it was equally impressive.
Awesome! How much did it cost?
The Blurb book was expensive to buy, about $75. The Apple books were much cheaper, about $30 to $40.
I think im just going to end up making a slide show.. on DVD with music.. after going through all the photos finally he old ones of great grandprents are so faded I don't think it will look decent once in the book.. although it will show how times changed through the 5 generations.. i can't get passed the difference between pics from the 50-60's to all the fresh digital now.. in one book.. i'm tossed between what to do .. I figure if i did a dvd slide show with musici can find the wedding song from my great grandparents, grandparents, parents, my husband and I and the, use a childs song for the kids.. i dunno.. i have no clue what to do now.. lol although the friend i did family pics for is using one of the sites yall suggested so thanks!
Just an update on Blackriverimaging....I just got my second "gift" for setting up an account, and it was the greeting cards with special coatings.
They would have been very expensive ($47.95 for 25 cards), and I would have never ordered any at that price (and probably still would not, unless it was for a customer).
But I have to say, they looked great, and had INCREDIBLE quality. Maybe too good to use as greeting cards.
Anyway, I posted in this thread because the third gift is an 8x8 20 page hard cover press printed photo book! Apparently a $75 value)(Well actually it's confusing...says 20 pages/sides. So I guess that's 10 sides?
As far as Blurb is concerned--I'll mention--the soft-cover books I've ordered so far--with 120 pages--have been great. These are just 7x7 though.
Louis, your book looks great on the Blurb Preview site. I like the way you added text--but since I think they count all pages the same, doesn't that make it pretty expensive? What do other people think about using the backs of pages this way...isn't that unconventional for a photo book? (I'm very curious too, because I like how little text Louis added--it suits me because I wouldn't know what to write for mine!
I've seen quite a few printed books, but I have never seen one that does a better job than Blurb. I just had one of their largest ones made with the high end paper that I use to show clients my portfolio, and I can't believe what an amazing job they did. I also just got my copy of Cory's 8x10 book of his Afghanistan photos and stories and it too is just amazing.
since my original post, i've since used mypublisher as well.
2 books -- one from mp, the other from blurb. I liked the size of the mypublisher better, and how the cover "felt." however, there is noticeable "warping" on the front cover. The book basically doesn't not lay flat. It may have just been a one time thing, I don't know, but in this last book I did, I went with blurb. . . .
I just got two 7x7 softcover books from Blurb - I got one each with their two different premium papers and can't tell the difference at all - wondering if I really got two different papers! But the quality is excellent. Here's hoping Mom and the ladies like the book! (They will be gifts.)
I have done a few through blurb.com and they always have come out good, I even did a wedding book for my niece's wedding and had the front and back covers printed, when I ordered the printed covers I was not sure if that was a good idea or not but when they came I was impressed and they loved them. Never tried any of the others but blurb has been good so I will likely use them again.
I just got two 7x7 softcover books from Blurb - I got one each with their two different premium papers and can't tell the difference at all - wondering if I really got two different papers! But the quality is excellent. Here's hoping Mom and the ladies like the book! (They will be gifts.)
They may have made a mistake. You should definitely notice a difference. I ordered one of each on one of my first books--the premium paper was definitely thicker as was the 120 page book.
Neil - both I ordered are premium paper - they have one that is matte, and one that is "lustre". But yeah, you definitely want to go with premium paper!
I'm putting together a book on Blurb for a garden walk I photographed. Many of the books by other people already on Blurb have one photo per page. Is it considered not artistic to have more per page? Does it look cluttered? I want to include as many photos as I can since it was 5 gardens yet want to keep the pages/cost down so club members can purchase the book. I do want it to look modern and fresh, not cluttered. Any thoughts?
I'm putting together a book on Blurb for a garden walk I photographed. Many of the books by other people already on Blurb have one photo per page. Is it considered not artistic to have more per page? Does it look cluttered? I want to include as many photos as I can since it was 5 gardens yet want to keep the pages/cost down so club members can purchase the book. I do want it to look modern and fresh, not cluttered. Any thoughts?
I guess I don't care if people think it "cluttered" or not -- everything else in my life is anyway ... ;-)
Depends on the page size, but for a "coffee table" type book I would do a combination of photo layouts, maybe 3-5 styles altogether:
- single photo, caption overprinting or opposite
-two photos with captions between
-3 photos, 2 small and one larger, with captions
-two-page spread (tricky to print and have it match up!)
Besides the regular layouts, you can add insets -- e.g. a wide shot of some rose bushes with an inset of a macro of the the best bloom.
