Best online photo book
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 739
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Best online photo book
Has anyone had any experience with making one of the online photo books? I would like to try one with the pictures from our last vacation, but am wondering which company might be best - Shutterfly, Snapfish,My Publisher or ? Are some easier to use than others? What would you suggest?
#2
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 7,342
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I just emailed my sister about this very subject!
I haven't made one, but a friend did make one with Shutterfly and it was very nice - beautiful actually, very good quality. I have also seen their cards which are very nice.
I haven't made one, but a friend did make one with Shutterfly and it was very nice - beautiful actually, very good quality. I have also seen their cards which are very nice.
#3
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 7,840
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
www.blurb.com is the company I'm using for my parent's anniversary book. A friend brought several different books of hers and I really liked the paper and book quality.
sundowner had a nice one from mypublisher.com (I believe).
If you have a mac, iPhoto's is easy as well.
sundowner had a nice one from mypublisher.com (I believe).
If you have a mac, iPhoto's is easy as well.
#5
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 685
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have seen books made with
blurb.com
mypublisher.com
picaboo.com
photoworks.com
All were similar, all were very professional.
Each company offers essentially the same thing, with different interfaces, different layouts, etc., giving each company something a little different to offer for slightly different types of customers.
Check them out and see what "style" works for you.
I personally like picaboo.
blurb.com
mypublisher.com
picaboo.com
photoworks.com
All were similar, all were very professional.
Each company offers essentially the same thing, with different interfaces, different layouts, etc., giving each company something a little different to offer for slightly different types of customers.
Check them out and see what "style" works for you.
I personally like picaboo.
#7
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 722
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
i've used blurb for two different books. i think they were the best value.
with the first book i was 80% happy with the result. the photos had jumped up in contrast and looked like they had a gray haze over them.
the next book, i changed my monitor settings so what i was looking at more closely matched the printed copy. i was extremely happy with the results.
if you look on the blurb forums, people have posted a lot of tips on how to make your pictures look the best. people have also done comparisons of the same book published with different companies and posted their opinions.
with the first book i was 80% happy with the result. the photos had jumped up in contrast and looked like they had a gray haze over them.
the next book, i changed my monitor settings so what i was looking at more closely matched the printed copy. i was extremely happy with the results.
if you look on the blurb forums, people have posted a lot of tips on how to make your pictures look the best. people have also done comparisons of the same book published with different companies and posted their opinions.
#9
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,125
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
i've been very happy with products from shutterfly. I think they do an excellent job with prints of all sorts.
I did make a photobook with iphoto and ordered from Apple. It was the easiest if you have a mac. I'm not sure the print quality was as nice as shutterfly though.
I did make a photobook with iphoto and ordered from Apple. It was the easiest if you have a mac. I'm not sure the print quality was as nice as shutterfly though.
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 739
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks everyone for taking the time to share your experiences. I think right now I am leaning towards Shutterfly - though Picaboo sure seems to have a lot of options for backgrounds etc. Maybe I'll try a small photo book on each of their sites - and then I can compare results for future use.
#12
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 347
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I made one of wedding pictures from my son's wedding. I used Walgreen's. It turned out great. I only spent $35 on it. I was afraid that it might turn out cheesy so I didn't want to spend a lot on it. What a wonderful surprise when I received it. Almost as nice as the $400 one I purchased from the photographer at my daughter's wedding. Live and learn...
#15
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I recommend visiting Smilebooks - http://www.smilebooks.com
Not only do they have very easy to use in-browser software, you can also download their software if you prefer. The quality of their finished product is incredible, and they are quite affordable. Im not sure if it is still active, but when I made my photobook, I used the code ZA30 for another 30% off the already great price. Let me know what you think!
Not only do they have very easy to use in-browser software, you can also download their software if you prefer. The quality of their finished product is incredible, and they are quite affordable. Im not sure if it is still active, but when I made my photobook, I used the code ZA30 for another 30% off the already great price. Let me know what you think!
#17
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,558
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have often gotten free books, or used a buy one get one free promotion. One offer was from Oprah I believe, on Shutterfly. Get on their mailing list and watch for those free offers. Right now they have one for 35% off until Dec.15th. There are frequently offers for free shipping as well. I use Shutterfly more often than the rest, and I have done many, many photo books. You do need to make sure the resolution of your photos is high enough if you want anything larger than a 4x6 in the books.
#19
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 124
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
bigtyke
The trick to getting the exact mix of photos on the page that you want (along with whatever captions, etc) is to make a "digital scrapbook". Essentially, you choose the picture layout that is one picture that fills the entire page, but that picture is a "collage" of your pictures and captions. It is somewhat advanced, you need something like Photoshop Elements, but once you learn, you won't want to go back to the templates.
Google digital scrapbook and you will find lots of how-to's.
The trick to getting the exact mix of photos on the page that you want (along with whatever captions, etc) is to make a "digital scrapbook". Essentially, you choose the picture layout that is one picture that fills the entire page, but that picture is a "collage" of your pictures and captions. It is somewhat advanced, you need something like Photoshop Elements, but once you learn, you won't want to go back to the templates.
Google digital scrapbook and you will find lots of how-to's.
#20
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I've made loads of photobooks and here's what I found.
Snapfish and shutterfly make good books, but it's kind of hard to make books on their sites.
I agree that the quality is pretty much the same wherever you make the book.
Sometimes travel businesses have their own photo book sites, like www.morrismurdock.ziblio.com. I like that idea, but I guess it depends on what kind of book you're making. Their book making process was pretty easy to use if you ask me.
Blurb is nice too, but you have to download software, which I hate doing.
Snapfish and shutterfly make good books, but it's kind of hard to make books on their sites.
I agree that the quality is pretty much the same wherever you make the book.
Sometimes travel businesses have their own photo book sites, like www.morrismurdock.ziblio.com. I like that idea, but I guess it depends on what kind of book you're making. Their book making process was pretty easy to use if you ask me.
Blurb is nice too, but you have to download software, which I hate doing.