Bound Albums

[MaryTurner]

When the forums started last week, I read about a company that produces bound albums from your layouts. I've lost the link and can't find in the forum threads. Would you put it up again or direct me on how to find it?
Thanks,
MaryTurner

[seebee]

I think there were several, but one of them was Heritage Makers. I remember that one clearly because I had just been to a Heritage Makers party a few days before I saw that. :)

[Jan]

Hi Mary,
There are several. Here are some links so you can compare upload methods and prices:

www.picaboo.com
www.mypublisher.com
www.shutterfly.com
www.photobookmemories.com

What are some of the others that people have used?

[MaryTurner]

Thanks so much!
Mary ;)

[Wags]

www.viovio.com just started offering square format (8.5"x8.5") photobooks in both soft and hard cover this past weekend. It isn't even listed on there site yet - but is in the ordering options when you place an order.

I have used them to make several of their 9x7 books and have had good results. Great customer service from them too!

I have yet to see anyone beat their prices - softcover base price is $4.99 + .25 a page... so a 20 page book would be $9.99. A 40 page book would be $15.99.

[Wags]

I just recieved notice that Shutterfly is now offering square format books in 8x8 and 12x12 sizes.

12x12 = introductory price is $54.99 for first 20 pages and $1.50 for each addtional page.

8x8 = introductory price is $29.99 for the first 20 pages and $1.00 for each addtional page.

I've never ordered anything from them - so I have no idea on quality.

[videovik]

Does anybody know which company has the best paper weight/print quality. Did a book through MyPublisher -- easy enough to put together, good customer service, but I was disappointed in the weight of the paper and quality of the printing. I think it was just 150 dpi. The reds seemed really saturated, and the quality wasn't as high as I expected. Of course, the price was under $30...I was looking for a really high end "coffee book" ...any ideas? Thanks!

[rhondabwright]

Hi Wags, interesting site. I live in Japan and when I typed www.viovio.com into my computer it popped up as a company in Japan with Japanese/English. Thank you, this may be a site I can have a book made in Japan. I know wedding photographers have been printing bound picture books for people as part of their wedding photography for years here but had not researched where I could get bound books made yet. Thank you, Rhonda

[craftymomtwo]

Bound2Remember is another good one. I don't know the site address but I'm sure you could google it. I know that 3Scrapateers is also selling them in their store too.

[cutty3d]

I did not even know there were companies that did this? Knowing this, it opens up more scrapbooking oppportunities. Thanks for posting, Mary, as it brought light to a new digital scrapbooking tool! I have mostly scrapbooked manually, not digitally. I look forward to learning more!

[beckka]

Videovik, thanks for the tip about not using My publisher. I was planning to use that site for the book I am working on now, but have changed my mind.

I have used ibook - I'm a mac user. It looked very nice. It was for a gift. But it was a book that I used their templates. I don't know if they do layouts????

[Wags]

Does anybody know which company has the best paper weight/print quality. Did a book through MyPublisher -- easy enough to put together, good customer service, but I was disappointed in the weight of the paper and quality of the printing. I think it was just 150 dpi. The reds seemed really saturated, and the quality wasn't as high as I expected. Of course, the price was under $30...I was looking for a really high end "coffee book" ...any ideas? Thanks!


I'm surprised the quality was lacking. I've done several books (at least 12) with MyPublisher and never had a problem. I had to quit using them because they don't support Netscape or the latest version of Explorer. Plus I'm moving into working exclusively with square layouts. I like their software - what you see is what you get, no worries about what might get trimed off.

[tioko]

I did up a book throught Futurephoto that was reasonably priced and turned out quite well. However, I don't think they do the square layouts. It was my first venture into this sort of things, and the pictures I uploaded weren't "scrapped", but now of course I want to do a "real" album!

[Sharpli]

I received an album as a gift that was done by what used to be Ofoto and is now Kodak Photo Gallery. I was very impressed with the quality. Has anyone else done anything with Kodak? I'd certainly give them a try if I wanted to do a bound album.

[lhather]

Does anybody know which company has the best paper weight/print quality. Did a book through MyPublisher -- easy enough to put together, good customer service, but I was disappointed in the weight of the paper and quality of the printing. I think it was just 150 dpi. The reds seemed really saturated, and the quality wasn't as high as I expected. Of course, the price was under $30...I was looking for a really high end "coffee book" ...any ideas? Thanks!
I was reading on the mypublisher site that they did not recommend using them for resolutions above 6 or 7 megapixels. Do you think that would have anything to do with it? The maximum they recommend was 5MP for the best results.

I just ordered the softcover booklet style and was very pleased. I want to use for more than just snapshots - but in order to work well with their software you must have your file size in the 4 to 3 aspect ratio. That means I would need to resize all my layouts in order to print them with their software, etc. Just some things to consider. I was happy with the quality of the printing.

[chiwawagirl]

Try http://www.bound2remember.com They offer a variety of hard covers and 2 different archival paper qualities.

[ADesignGallery]

Does anybody know which company has the best paper weight/print quality. ...I was looking for a really high end "coffee book" ...any ideas? Thanks!

My portrait photographer friend in Texas USA uses Asuka Books - very high end & very expensive. http://asukabook.com/

[mmbbear]

Has anyone used the Story Teller Book from Epson? From what I understand, everything comes in the kit and you print it from your home computer/printer? Just wondering about the quality.

Thanks...

~Michele

[Sharpli]

My daughter used the Storyteller for a scrapbook for her son's teacher - and it was really nice. You get a kit with software, a bound book, glossy paper, etc. You choose from the various templates and layouts offered, add journaling, etc and print on the glossy paper. Then remove the backing from an adhesive strip on the page in the book (right next to the binding). Using the page that's already there as a guide, adhere your printed page to the adhesive at the edge of the page in the book and then (it's perforated) remove the rest of the page.

I don't feel like I'm explaining this well (very tired today - slept with sick child last night) but it's efficient and simple. You could certainly do your own layout and simply use their book, paper, etc. It's an easy and efficient way to get a very nice product.

[mmbbear]

Thanks Linda for your reply. I may look into this more. Sorry to hear about your sick little one. Hope all gets better soon!

~Michele

[ConnieK]

My daughter used the Storyteller for a scrapbook for her son's teacher - and it was really nice. You get a kit with software, a bound book, glossy paper, etc. You choose from the various templates and layouts offered, add journaling, etc and print on the glossy paper. Then remove the backing from an adhesive strip on the page in the book (right next to the binding). Using the page that's already there as a guide, adhere your printed page to the adhesive at the edge of the page in the book and then (it's perforated) remove the rest of the page.

I don't feel like I'm explaining this well (very tired today - slept with sick child last night) but it's efficient and simple. You could certainly do your own layout and simply use their book, paper, etc. It's an easy and efficient way to get a very nice product.


I like the idea of doing a book myself. I didn't know you could. (Boy I'm learning tons here!) Thank you for the suggestion and your explanation. No worries about your explanation not being easy to understand. I followed it easily. I hope your little one gets well soon.

[Betty]

I tried to order a book from Ofoto/Kodak but could not yet pay for it. So I have to wait for their instructions. Do all the companies deliver world wide or only in USA? I'm living in the Netherlands and it's not interesting if you have to pay a lot for shipping.
Betty

[lhather]

www.viovio.com just started offering square format (8.5"x8.5") photobooks in both soft and hard cover this past weekend. It isn't even listed on there site yet - but is in the ordering options when you place an order.

I have used them to make several of their 9x7 books and have had good results. Great customer service from them too!

I have yet to see anyone beat their prices - softcover base price is $4.99 + .25 a page... so a 20 page book would be $9.99. A 40 page book would be $15.99.

I went to this site because I'm trying to determine the best deal for some xmas shopping I'm doing. There seems to be a lot of questions about submitting custom work and I'm wondering when you send PDF formats if you need to submit actual size they offer or if you need to account for the trim that occurs? There is so much information about that - I get overwhelmed and can't focus on getting the information I need. If I want to create an 8.5 x 8.5 book and have full bleed what size would I make my layouts before converting to PDF format? I'm just asking the question here be because I figure if anyone here has used it with good results, then you guys know what I'm trying to accomplish.

[patfauquet]

I have used ibook - I'm a mac user. It looked very nice. It was for a gift. But it was a book that I used their templates. I don't know if they do layouts????

Apple's iPhoto books are just beautiful! While they do have templates, several of those allow you to fill a page. Themes that have full page options include Picture Book, Modern Lines, and Contemporary.

You will want to use layouts that are 8.5 x 11, in landscape mode.

Pat

[ebears]

here are two Australian sites that offer bound albums;

Momento (http://www.momento.com.au/)

MY REFLECTIONS (www.myreflections.com.au)

[cats4jan]

Has anyone used the Story Teller Book from Epson? From what I understand, everything comes in the kit and you print it from your home computer/printer? Just wondering about the quality.


I purchased one of those kits and thought it was very expensive for what you get. I decided to accomplish the same result at home with a very nice photo album I purchased at WalMart (yes, at Walmart.) I used 8x10 instead of 12x12 because my printer won't do 12x12.

Epson sells that same double sided paper - alone. But I didn't buy the double sided paper - I merely printed on high end one sided photo paper and had two sheets in each sleeve. I made collages of our family vacation/cruise to Europe - one for each son and us. Using the kits would've cost me well over $30 a book (I wanted more than 20 sides.) I managed to do my scrapbook/photo albums for way less than $20 each. And I feel the quality I achieved at home rivaled the Shutterfly album I saw at my sister-in-law's house.

For those who do 12x12 - check out the prices of the photo paper - and the cost of printing at home - maybe the cost of sending out for it isn't that dramatically different.

[drs75]

I like Blurb.com.Click Here (http://www.blurb.com) for link.

Pricing: Click here (http://www.blurb.com/create/book/pricing) for pricing. Their prices are the cheapest by far that I have found. A 440-page 8x10" book is under $100.

Sizes: They just updated their products and besides the 8"x10" books (Portrait or landscape), you can print a 7"x7" book, or a 13"x11" book.

Printing Quality: I absolutely LOVE the printing quality of this company. The printing looks just like my layouts on my computer. None of my photos looked "pixelly." If you use this company (or any other company that does full-bleed on the edges (printing out to the edges), make sure you leave a little room on the edges so the subject matter of your page doesn't get cut off. The books have a dustcover jacket (that you can customize).

Putting the book together: They have a program you download to your computer (for free--PC & Mac compatible); You plug your pictures or layouts where you want them, and when you are ready, you upload it to their website, and in about a week, you have your book. It takes a LONG time to upload, so I usually do it right before I go to bed. My 160-page book took about 5 hours to upload (they were pretty big files). They keep the book on their website for one year after a purchase, and so you can email the site to your friends and family, and they can order, too. If you wanted to sell your books to make a profit, you could also do that.


Binding: Books that are 116 pages or less are side stitched, and anything over that is perfect bound. They have really good customer service, too. I know--I've had lots of questions.

Before I discovered Blurb, I made several 12x12. I just pushed the "fit to page" icon to fit it into the book. The margins to the sides were rather large, but it didn't bother me. You can make adjments and fit your layouts exactly where you want them.

[beachin2]

Try www.pagesofalifetime.com

They offer all different kinds of sizes, and there isn't a problem with uploading high resolution pages.