Photo Books

[pierces]

We had our Christmas newslwetter perfect-bound by www.brainstream.com

 

I did the layout, saved it to a PDF and uploaded it to their site. A few days later, we got a proof in the mail, signed it and within a week, there they were!

 

Here's the cover:

 

Here're all of the images and text in the layout that we used:

http://www.pbase.com/pierce324/pfnl

 

Isn't technology wonderful? :D

 

Dave

[emsnurse]

I have created four books now of various types using Shutterfly.com and have been astounded by the quality AND the great service. In November I was creating a large book of about 35 pages for a family event and when I received it, two of the pages were stuck together at the bottom in a small spot. It wasn't a huge problem - but I did want the book to be perfect as it was a gift. I called and they immediately shipped a new one - no questions asked and no additional charge and told me to keep the one with the bad spot.

 

I had located a website that compared several different companies and Shutterfly came out on top - if I can find it I will post the comparison info.

 

I just finished a hard cover book from my December Hawaii cruise and it is amazing. I may never buy another photo album again! I am addicted now.

[Cruiser Forever]

I have created four books now of various types using Shutterfly.com and have been astounded by the quality AND the great service. In November I was creating a large book of about 35 pages for a family event and when I received it, two of the pages were stuck together at the bottom in a small spot. It wasn't a huge problem - but I did want the book to be perfect as it was a gift. I called and they immediately shipped a new one - no questions asked and no additional charge and told me to keep the one with the bad spot.

 

I had located a website that compared several different companies and Shutterfly came out on top - if I can find it I will post the comparison info.

 

I just finished a hard cover book from my December Hawaii cruise and it is amazing. I may never buy another photo album again! I am addicted now.

 

 

I too am addicted to the photo books from Shutterfly. I have made 2 so far and can't wait for my daughter's college graduation this May so I can make this book. One for her and one for me. This is so much fun. But I still like scrapbooking too and don't know if I could give that hobby up completely.

 

BTW, pierces, thanks for that link I may try them out this Christmas. Nice picture for your newsletter.:)

[kiffrig]

You can also make photobooks through Costco, if you are a member. The books are through MyPublisher and you can design them online at Costco's website and then click on the photo area. Once there, click on the MyPublisher books. FYI, MyPublisher has a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE coupon right now. The code is BABY241, I believe.

 

ENJOY!

[FinelyCruising]

These ideas are so much fun! I am a mac user and just took my tour of Aperture 2 where you can make books through that program among other things.

 

YES, scrapbooking is expensive and we do use the goodies we have, but these books look like they are something else!

 

I'm happy to have found thread!

[kiffrig]

I have made 2 of the MyPublisher books through the Costco website and my mom just made 2 of them, as well. So far, I have been very pleased and my daughter LOVES the book that Grandma (my mom) made for her.

 

Not sure how long the coupon code lasts, but definitely try BABY241 on the Costco/MyPublisher site to get your BUY ONE GET ONE FREE BOOKS!!!!

[Jpod]

Hi,

I just found the Photo discussion forum and I'm thrilled! I love photography (usually have a camera glued to my face).

I have tried 3 publishing companies and each were good it their own way. I was looking for something specific and found it with viovio.

The companies I tried were (in order):

 

Snapfish: I started here since I had an account with them anyways. I really liked the book and it was easy to do.

The main drawbacks that made me look for another company were 1)resolution and 2) lack of control on placing photos. With snapfish it puts your photo into each 'slot' in only one way. You can't change a vertical into a horizontal etc. You also cannot crop or shift it over. I printed a book that was 8 1/2 x 11

 

Blurb: This was the company that I feel has the best balance of ease of use and flexibility of options. I really liked the customer service and the ease of layout with blurb. You download a free program and can create your book on your desktop. You can crop and shift your photos within each 'slot' and there are many different configurations of page templates to work with. Their pricing structure is a bit different in that they group the number of pages ie. 1-40 pages is one price 41-80 pages and so on. So, if you do 40 or 80 pages it's a great deal, if you do 41 it's not as great a deal. They also did a beautiful dust jacket on the book with the photo layout and text on the flaps!

The drawbacks I found with them were: 1) the book was only 8 x 10 which seemed small compared to the snapfish one. 2) the resolution was no better than the snapfish one (yeah yeah, I know, I'm way too picky). and 3) although there was a lot of flexibility, I still wanted at least the option of more control.

 

VioVio: This is my favorite. Although it took the most 'fiddling' with to get my pages done, it was worth it for the end product. You do have to know what you're doing to use them, so if you're a beginner, try somewhere else first to get the hang of it. But, the resolution is noticeably better. They print at 600 x 600 dpi (except in rare circumstances) where the other companies use a standard of 300 dpi. This probably won't bother most people, but I took a long time switching over to digital due to it seeming so 'grainy' compared to what I was used to getting from film, so it makes a difference to my satisfaction of the finished product.

I was able to do up my pages in Photoshop and have complete control of every aspect of each page. I then uploaded it to their ftp site (with help from them). you can also save as a pdf file and upload it that way.

The drawbacks are: 1) as mentioned, very little customer support (although they are very friendly) 2) no user friendly software so you have to have your own or use their confusing web one.

 

I haven't tried any others yet, but I'm happy to try if anyone knows of any other companies that print better than 300 dpi.

 

Juli

[dolfansam]

I just received my Photo Book from Shutterfly and it is so beautiful. I love it and now can't wait to make more of future vacations and special occasions. I give it 2 thumbs up. It was easy to use and fun too. This is a must for vacation pictures.:D

 

These books are addicting. I have made 10 of them. I made 6 of them from the cruise pictures I have taken. I also made them to commemorate the 1st anniversary of the opening of our Emergency Center. The book was such at hit that now we make them for people when the leave. I leave the page blank other than the name of the person in the picture so people can write a message to the person the book was made for. We also made a calendar of the pictures (both cruise and work pictures),

[Cruiser Forever]

Shutterfly now has a community/gallery where you can post your photo books and also see other peoples books. They have everything from travel, new baby and weddings, to year in review and just about anything you take pictures of. It is a cool addition to Shutterfly. You should give it a try. There are some amazing travel books posted there. Really nice.

[Wags374]

I'm a fan of Viovio! I've done books with several other places but the quality and price at Viovio is hard to beat. I've done at least a dozen books with them and have always gotten first rate customer service. They just recently changed the software a bit, so it should be easier to navigate. There is also a section for digital scrapbookers that has tips on optimizing your design layouts for publishing.

 

Here are pictures of the book I did after our last cruise. This 40 page softcover only cost $14.99 and I love the wrap around cover!! :)

 

[photodoodle]

Jkob & Wags, thank you very much for your detailed information on Viovio. I'm kind of picky about things too, especially resolution. I appreciate the information that you both shared.

[Cruiser Forever]

Wags374, thanks for the 411 about viovio. I'll have to check it out. Can a Mac user make books on this site? I have used both Snapfish and Shutterfly and it's been good. But I do want to try viovio and see for myself. What I do like about shutterfly is that there is a gallery when you can post your book and share with other customers. I love to view and see the different styles they make for their books. It is a very nice feature. Has anyone tried it yet?

[vowsatsea]

I just finished making my first photobook. I didn't even know this existed until this thread. I haven't ordered it yet, but I was wondering if the resolution is better on a 12x12 or an 8x8...which one would you all recommend?

 

http://community.shutterfly.com/gallery/post/start.sfly?postId=/gallery/1/post/GMGDJgwcuWTli4YA8-pcfS

[Wags374]

You can share your gallery at Viovio with any one you want - or make it public for everyone to see. And unlike some places, you don't have to make a purchase every so many months in order to keep your gallery. (Of course I'm sure they would prefer you make purchases... :))

 

You can either upload individual pictures or your custom designed pages. If you are uploading your custom pages you can do that either as a pdf or as a jpeg. I have always used the jpeg option to upload my digiscrap pages. I've never heard of any problems for MAC users.

 

If your book is really large - say over 50 pages customer service will even set up and FTP account for you to make the process easier.

[jff50]

Another recommendation for mypublisher.com -- I've been using them for years, and love the quality of their books.

If you belong to Costco, and go through their website, they provide a very significant discount for photobooks through mypublisher.com. I ordered 3 copies of a book with photos from a China Viking River Cruise (highly recommended) that I took with 2 of my daughters. The price through Costco was a 40% discount from mypublisher's regular price.

[Cruiser Forever]

I just finished making my first photobook. I didn't even know this existed until this thread. I haven't ordered it yet, but I was wondering if the resolution is better on a 12x12 or an 8x8...which one would you all recommend?

 

http://community.shutterfly.com/gallery/post/start.sfly?postId=/gallery/1/post/GMGDJgwcuWTli4YA8-pcfS

 

Nice job on your photo book. Shutterfly is so addictive and I love viewing their gallery. People are so talented and make amazing photo book. I can't wait to make my next one.

 

I bet this will help the "post cruise blues". roudy1, you got that right. Without a doubt making a photo book will help you relive your cruise experience.

[Cruiser Forever]

Here is a link to my shutterfly book. Hope you link. Any comments are welcome. Thanks.

 

http://community.shutterfly.com/gallery/post/start.sfly?postId=/gallery/1/post/GMGDFg3bOW7Vy1YgQWYF4E

[Cruiser Forever]

Here is one I made of my Europe cruise.

 

Travel Europe | 12x12 Memory Book

 

 

Link to photo book in the Shutterfly Gallery:

http://community.shutterfly.com/gallery/post/start.sfly?postId=/gallery/1/post/GMGDFg3bOW7Vy1YgMwrAiM

[brzymom]

Through the years since digital cameras I have made a few photo books for special occasions--my son's swim team winning championships, my niece's wedding, and my dd's prom/mother-daughter luncheon-graduation-party combo!! Everyone loved them! I also did a photo calendar for my Mom a few years back--featuring her grandchildren--it was awesome!!

 

When I got home from my cruise--which was a group of 20--10 Moms, 10 daughters who celebrated, or were about to celeberate their Sweet 16's--I got an email from shutterfly offering me a free 20 page photobook!! WOOO-HOOOO!!! I made my younger DD a picture book to commemurate our very special cruise!! They also sent me an email offering me notecards for free!! I used a lovely picture of Roatan for the notecards!! (all I paid was S&H and it was less than $10 for both!!) My dd's friends just came over and were all very impressed with the book.

 

It does take a bit of time, but I really loved the flexibility of shutterfly being able to move the pages around once I had done it, so I could be sure to include a few pics I just didn't want to leave out!! (a towel animal, the lunar eclipse, their birthday cake)

 

If you sign up with the various photo sites, they send you specials--from kodakgallery.com, we got 150 prints for $15, shutterfly--the book, and I missed one from snapfish for a collage at a great price--which would have been lovely to make up for all the girls who were on the cruise--I'll keep looking out!! I watch closely near the holidays and have used Shutterfly and Costco for our holiday photo card!!

[Cruiser Forever]

I too have used Shutterfly and Snapfish for Christmas cards, brag books and calendars. I just love the photo books especially for big events like graduations, weddings, Cruises and new baby. It is awesome and I am hooked. can't wait for my next cruise God willing next summer so I can make a real nice photo book keepsake.:D

[photodoodle]

I too have used Shutterfly and Snapfish for Christmas cards, brag books and calendars. I just love the photo books especially for big events like graduations, weddings, Cruises and new baby. It is awesome and I am hooked. can't wait for my next cruise God willing next summer so I can make a real nice photo book keepsake.:D

Are there any differences in quality between Shutterfly and Snapfish?

[Cruiser Forever]

Are there any differences in quality between Shutterfly and Snapfish?

 

 

 

No I don't see any major differences between the two. Although, I have used Shutterfly more for books than Snapfish. I don't know why.:confused:

 

I am pleased with the styles and sizes they offer and Ilike that ever so often they have discounts on the books you buy. Every little helps. You should try for yourself and let me know what you think.

[vowsatsea]

I received my photobook in the mail and WOW! It's even better quality than I had expected. I plan on making one for my dad's retirement this June, and my cruise in May, and cruise wedding in May 2009! These are great!

[Cruiser Forever]

I received my photobook in the mail and WOW! It's even better quality than I had expected. I plan on making one for my dad's retirement this June, and my cruise in May, and cruise wedding in May 2009! These are great!

 

 

I agree these books are so addictive and this May my daughter will graduation from college {that's a big deal} so I want to make a book for her and me. The quality is very good and it is easy to make which I like. I'd love to see your cruise book when you make it. If you can post a link, once you put together your May cruise book I'd love to take a look. Thanks.

[Minn.cruisers]

It sounds like these photobooks are getting more popular than scrapbooking....or the NEW scrapbooking.

The basic pages look very nice, showcasing the photos. Are there any embellishments that can be added to the shutterfly or Snapfish books? I was thinking of tags where you can journal a note. Or just embellishments in general to drag and drop here and there on the pages.

Just wondering.

Very interested in doing a book, I have received so many email ads to join several of the ones mentioned here, even started a few but never finished them !!! I just have so many photos of each thing I wanted to do, it was hard to chose just several to include, so I just gave up on them.

I scrapbook now, just started to do a few of cruises, new grandchildren, weddings...I have objects I like to include, I spose I could take photos of these items and add as a photo to these books.

Thanks for inspiration.