I am wondering if anyone has any experience with printing books?
I'm putting together a bunch of images for a country club where I've shot a couple weddings and only know of these two companies.
LuLu Blurb
I don't know much about either of them except that with blurb their logo is apparently all over it and of course I want MINE all over it! :0)
I can't spend a fortune but I want a quality product. I'm hoping for an in between...
So if you have any other ideas or any experience with Lulu or Blurb I'd really appreciate your thoughts.
another couple of options are //www.mypublisher.com or //www.asuka.com Asuka are very high end and don't sell direct to the public (typically work with pros for wedding book creation)
I had my first experience with Blurb this holiday....I gave a book of my favorite cat pictures (I have 6 cats!)to someone special for Christmas...it turned out great and was the favorite present received. Overall, I was pretty pleased with the quality and speed of arrival. Only wish the cover had the printing directly on it instead of on a book sleeve/jacket.
I had my first experience with Blurb this holiday....I gave a book of my favorite cat pictures (I have 6 cats!)to someone special for Christmas...it turned out great and was the favorite present received. Overall, I was pretty pleased with the quality and speed of arrival. Only wish the cover had the printing directly on it instead of on a book sleeve/jacket.
I actually like the idea of being able to have a proper dust jacket on the book. I just wish they'd do something other than 8x10/10x8. I want do to one in a more traditional coffee table book size.
that's one I forgot about- mypublisher.
although I'd hate to have to learn a new software just to publish a few books for vendors...
James, if you're interested in the azuka prices PM me, I'll send you what I have. They're more than I wanted to spend this time around but great for coffee table books for brides & grooms. (great because they're the ones paying!)
It's tough trying to find a happy medium. Of course I want the high end brides but I couldn't even afford myself! I guess I could have when I had no kids! :0P
I had my first experience with Blurb this holiday....I gave a book of my favorite cat pictures (I have 6 cats!)to someone special for Christmas...it turned out great and was the favorite present received. Overall, I was pretty pleased with the quality and speed of arrival. Only wish the cover had the printing directly on it instead of on a book sleeve/jacket.
Did the blurb log appear all over the book? How was the print quality? Is there anything at all printed on the hardcover itself?
If your working on a Mac, you may try the book function in iphoto or Apeture, I've had great results from both. I have used Cornerstone and Asuka for my Wedding work and I like them quite a bit also, but they are quite a bit more expensive.
I've recently used MyPublisher and did their largest size which allows a 8x10 in landscape and almost an 8x10 in portrait. The quality was good enough for a coffee table, but I would say it was far from being maximal quality.
I'm not disappointed with the paper or binding though.
I've recently used MyPublisher and did their largest size which allows a 8x10 in landscape and almost an 8x10 in portrait. The quality was good enough for a coffee table, but I would say it was far from being maximal quality.
I'm not disappointed with the paper or binding though.
I am wondering if anyone has any experience with printing books?
I'm putting together a bunch of images for a country club where I've shot a couple weddings and only know of these two companies.
LuLu Blurb
I don't know much about either of them except that with blurb their logo is apparently all over it and of course I want MINE all over it! :
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Their logo is ONLY on the last page. I found it very unobtrusive to be honest. Most people that saw the book Never even noticed it.
Over all I like the Blurb results. My only complaint is the cost. I've ordered a book from Lulu, but I haven't received it yet. Of the two, Blurb's layout options are better, but the price is 1/3.
MyPublisher.com (40 page book, crappy layout software, $50 + shipping)
Blurb (40 page book, decent layout software, $30 + shipping)
Lulu (56 pages, unable to do book landscape format, online layout, $12.63 + shipping)
To be honest if I do another book, I'll do the layout in Photofusion and use those results as full-bleed pages. None of the layouts really suited what I wanted to do with the images. Blurb was the closest IMO.
I've recently used MyPublisher and did their largest size which allows a 8x10 in landscape and almost an 8x10 in portrait. The quality was good enough for a coffee table, but I would say it was far from being maximal quality.
I'm not disappointed with the paper or binding though.
MyPublisher.com has a deluxe book which is 15" x 11.5". I have created two "family year books" with them (using pics from 2004 & 2005). Really great coffee table book quality. Full bleed pages actually produce the best results. I have used them when they offered the 50% off deals, so got 100 pages for $150. Not bad for creating a family heirloom - which all the relatives have been drooling over for the past few days!
...their logo is apparently all over it and of course I want MINE all over it! :0)
I was looking at blurb... can you be more specific on where their logos appear?
In the lower middle of the last page, which is blank, is the logo which is less than 1 inch square. No other logo any where.
The hardcover has no printing on it, but comes with a printed dust jacket. My cover has taken a bit of a beating since I've been carrying it around EVERYWHERE for the last 4-5 weeks. I should take a damp cloth and shine it up a bit.
Oh and the quality is pretty good. I did it using 50 images. I ordered 8x10s through MPIX at the same time and ended up finding 5-6 with oversharpening halos -- my fault. The images in the book are slightly smaller and I'd have to stare hard to notice the same halos. Colors are the same, sharpness is similar.
I've used lulu for a calendar before. Print quality and paper weight was terrible. Used mypublisher and was happy with the results. Thinking of trying out blurb next, or sharedink
Unless mypublisher has done a serious upgrade in the last 6 months on their product, it's only worth what they charge. It's cheap for a reason.
On the softcover books the bindings will breakdown and the pages can and do fall out.
On the hardcover, keep them in a very dry environment. My studio is in my basement, a dry basement with a de-humidifier. All my other albums and prints are fine - but the hard cover part of the hardcover book as warped, and the pages are a bit wrinkled.
Apollo's Illuma books are a LOT better quality, better color too, and more options with out their name on it. The hardcovers are a lot nicer inside, more finished, and hold up better. The softcovers are really nice, and you can fill the cover with photos so it gets lots of attention from brides and others.
