Photo Books Part 4 – Ordering Your Photo Book

In my first post on photo book printing, I discussed the importance of choosing the photos you want to include and completing post-processing before starting layout. My second post dealt with what I called ‘advanced’ layout options, tools such as Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements that allow you to develop your creation starting with a blank sheet of paper. And in my last post on this topic, I described digital scrapbooking tools such as FotoFusion, a software application that provides just the right amount of handholding for the time-constrained or design-inhibited. In this post, I’ll list several vendors who can create your book for you now that you’re ready to print your pages. Bear with me – this is going to be a long one.

The vendor you choose will depend on the strategy you’ve taken toward design and layout. If you’ve laid out your pages using one of the approaches I discussed in an earlier post – such as creating a page from scratch in Photoshop Elements or using a template in FotoFusion – you’re pretty much free to choose any vendor you like. Just choose the 'one image, full bleed' option in whatever layout software you happen to be using and have at it. For best results, make sure your uploaded image is already sized appropriately for the book form factor you've selected. If this is not the case, pay close attention to how the image will be cropped (if it's too large) or scaled (if it's too small or uses an aspect ratio that is not compatible with the form factor you've selected).

If you haven’t laid out your pages on your own, you’ll want to consider the strength of each vendor’s design and layout tools when making your decision. I’ve found that it is much easier to do my layout offline – that is, using a piece of software running on my local computer – rather than attempting to do layout using a web-based piece of software. Your results may vary – that’s just my preference.

While an in-depth review of each vendor is beyond the scope of this post (there are more providers than you can imagine – just Google ‘photo book printing’), here are several vendors you may want to check out:

• MyPublisher – One of the granddaddies of photo book printing, their Bookmaker design software runs locally on Mac or PC. Check out their super-sized 15"x11.5" book if you really want to impress ($59.80 for 20 pages, Linen hardcover). MyPublisher also allows you to add a book cover for an additional fee. If you’re a Costco member, you can get a 20% discount if you download the Bookmaker software from the Costco Web site. It’s been a while since I purchased a book from MyPublisher; as I recall, print quality was decent, but I was not overly impressed with the cheapish plastic window in the front cover. I’d suggest that you definitely pony up the few extra bucks for the dust jacket they now make available.
• Shutterfly – Although Shutterfly’s book layout software is Web-based only (you must be online while using it), the fact that they offer books in the 12"x12" and 8"x8" form factors is an important distinction for the digital scrapbooker. Price for the 12"x12" is $54.99 for 20 pages; add additional pages for $1.50 (each printed side) up to 100. The layout software is decent, allowing you to apply different themes and layouts to your book on the fly. I’ve not seen a book from Shutterfly, but they seem to be rated highly on a consistent basis by those in the know.
• Lulu – Lulu is famous as a pioneer in micro-publishing; not only can you print a photo book (or novel, for that matter) at Lulu, you can also sell that book to the general public once you’ve created it. Lulu’s new Lulu Studio design software is Web-based and sports a nice Web 2.0-type interface. Like Shutterfly, you can choose from a handful of themes and page layout options, switching them on the fly to determine the best look for your book as you flesh it out. I had a few hiccups using Lulu Studio under Firefox; I had much better results when I switched to Internet Explorer 7. I haven’t personally created a Lulu photo book yet, though my understanding is that they’ve made a special effort to improve their photo book printing as of late. If there’s a possibility that you’ll market your book to the general public, it makes sense to check out Lulu.
• Blurb – Blurb is first on my personal list of book publishing sites to check out next. Like Lulu, Blurb allows you to create your book and then sell it to the general public. An option is available to include your custom logo on your books, and Blurb makes ‘Blurb Badges’ you can use to link from your Web site or blog directly to your Blurb books that are for sale. You can download their helpful “How to Make a Book” ebook for an idea of what Blurb is all about. I also like their community forums and helpful blog. You’ll download their free Booksmart software (versions exist for both Mac and PC) and run it locally – a major plus in my book. Prices are competitive with the other book printing sites mentioned above.

This list just barely scratches the surface – you should also check out:

• SharedInk (and the premium, member-based SharedInk for Photographers) – SharedInk targets those more concerned about quality and value than strictly price. Reviews and comments I’ve read have been very complimentary of the workmanship and customer support coming out of this shop in the Pacific Northwest. Check out Mark Hobson’s article on photo book printing; it has an in-depth review of the SharedInk for Photographers service.
• Bound2Remember – A favorite among scrapbookers, Bound2Remember offers an impressive array of available book sizes, including an enormous 12”x18” behemoth. Like SharedInk, reviews and forum entries have been consistently strong for this publisher.
• VioVio – Though the site is a bit out of the ordinary when compared to its competitors (it’s a wiki), VioVio offers a compelling range of products at great prices. If you have access to Adobe Acrobat, you can layout your book in whatever design tool you choose, and then rip a PDF file that you will upload to VioVio for printing. Don’t have Acrobat? No problem – just use their online VioVio Bookmaker software. You must upload your files to a VioVio gallery before you can layout your book using their design software. You’ll also be able to sell your creation when you’re finished, although you must pay an annual membership fee for the privilege. In spite of the sometimes confusing interface, VioVio is #2 on my list of must-dos after Blurb.
• Picaboo – Another strong Web 2.0 contender, Picaboo keeps their list of available book formats simple (8.5" x 11" or 8" x 6"). You must download and install their Picaboo 2.0 design software locally – a rather lengthy process due to the need to install themes the first time you launch the application. After that, you’ll run in hybrid mode if you’re connected to the Internet. Book prices are a bit higher than most, but reviews have been positive. Worth checking out for the tech-savvy who like the Web 2.0 look-and-feel.

Finally, here are a few links to articles/Web sites you may find useful as you research the best book printing options for you:

• http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/20/technology/20basics.html - Peter Wayner’s article covers on-demand printing and features SharedInk and Blurb, among others.
• http://www.slate.com/id/2143039 - Ulrich Boser writes of his experiences with several mainstream photo book vendors, including Wal-Mart, Snapfish, Sony ImageStation (now defunct), Kodak EasyShare (formerly Ofoto and the option available if you create a book directly from Photoshop Elements), Photoworks, and Shutterfly (his favorite).
• http://www.photobookstory.com/index.html#Publisher – On this web site dedicated to discussing photo book issues, webmaster Darcy provides brief reviews of some of her favorite vendors and a nice matrix that compares the offerings from Shutterfly, Kodak EasyShare, Picaboo, and MyPublisher.
• http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=38968 - Here's a great forum thread at Digital Grin that covers a lot of ground and gives photographers' experiences with various printers I've described above (and some that I haven't). Highly recommended.

I hope you’ve found this series useful and informative. If you have a favorite book publisher I haven’t included (I’ve intentionally trimmed the list to keep it manageable; it is by no means exhaustive), please leave a comment. I intend to write future posts that deal with a few other gems I uncovered in my research (such as a company in Minneapolis that offers white-glove publishing services, up to and including on-site scanning of the non-digital photos you’d like to include in your book). I also plan to discuss issues with color matching when printing photo books (hint: buy a sample copy before you order a hundred). Until later…