janisj

my3sonsandapug is topping all these old threads to link that website. Looks suspiciously like advertising . . . .

TravelinGert

I want to thank you for posting this here, rather than the Lounge, even if it is a miss post. I had not heard of this service before and your post comes just before a family trip we have saved and looked forward to for such a long time, and just after the shower for my first grand child. I will be taking advantage of these books, sound wonderful!

pavot

I missed this thread the first time around, and I'm so happy to see it now.

Thanks to all who contributed their tips and ideas -- very inspirational. I begin to see a way forward throgh all those JPEGs from all those trips...!

And Julia, your books and photos are gorgeous. Thanks so much for the links.

julia1

pavot, thank you. Because this has come to the top again, I'll post a few comments to update earlier remarks. First of all, Blurb has come a long way in the past 18 months or so. They have introduced a premium-quality paper, which I used to create a large-format book of my black & white images from Iran and it is just beautiful. Here's a link" http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/767620 The print quality on this paper is excellent and the pages have a heavier and more satin-finish feel.

Blurb has also added a large square format, which has interesting possiblilities - I am planning to experiment with it for my next book, photos from Kerala. And they have switched the presses used for printing the small square books to the same as used for the larger books. I tried the small 7x7-inch for a recent book with images from Eastern Europe, using the premium paper also, and was very pleased with the quality. Here's a link, if you're interested: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/935512

I also used Blurb recently to create a photo book following the conclusion of a garden tour I led to the south of Italy last spring. Many of the participants requested one as a memento of the trip. Here's a link: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/905025 Almost everyone ordered a copy after seeing it at our tour reunion. One thing I had to fiddle with for this book was the brightness of the images, because of the extreme sunniness of the days and therefore the high contrast images, with resulting deep shadows. I found if I increased brightness about 20% or upped exposure 1/2 to 2/3 stops in post-processing, I got the best results.

Nikki

Julia, your comments about the shadows on the Blurb prints is interesting to me. I have printed photo books using Kodakgallery and then made books with photos and trip reports on Blurb, using the same photos. To my eye, the prints from Kodak are more vibrant, and the ones on Blurb tend to run dark. They are darker than the images on my monitor and darker than the prints from Kodak.

I like to underexpose some shots for better color saturation, and these just don't come out as well in the Blurb books as in the Kodak books.

julia1

Nikki - I think the reason for this is that Blurb, unlike other POD book publishers, print the image files exactly as submitted. Other printers use auto-adjust settings to optimize levels of lt/drk. You can argue it either way, whether they should adjust or not, and probably find just as many people against it as those who are happy with the adjusted results. I personally prefer to make my own adjustments rather than take pot-luck with someone else's idea of how my images should look. But if printing with Blurb, it's important to pay attention to their instructions about calibrating your monitor and soft-proofing your book before submission - otherwise, you may be unhappily surprised by what you get.

Nikki

I am not sure that the Blurb prints are coming out dark because the files are printed exactly as submitted, since the image on the monitor matches the prints I get from Kodak. Are you saying that if I calibrate my monitor according to Blurb's instructions, the monitor will show me the images the way Blurb will print them? As opposed to the way they look naturally? I suppose that would be helpful, but it doesn't solve my problem of not being able to print the pictures that I underexpose intentionally.

I took a look at My Publisher, and I may give it a try experimentally, but there are far fewer options for layout than there are on Blurb, and far less ability to customize the layout and design. Unless I am missing something, which is altogether possible, especially as I am just looking at it for the first time.

flygirl

I think the calibration isn't blurb specific - it's meant to be "true color" whatever that means.

I've never calibrated my monitor and I really should. Apparently the tool isn't all that expensive, either.

Julia, I am very impressed with your website and your books. You have a great eye and a unique viewpoint. I'm also intrigued by your guided photo tours with your garden society - that is a cool idea and I'd like to do something like that too. How did you get started with photography, and the tours you do?

monicapileggi

I just read through this thread. I've done a few books using Snapfish and Tabblo in the past. I'm getting ready to do one for my China trip (long overdue!!) using Shutterfly. Julia, how do you like Blurb now compared to Shutterfly?

Also, I enjoyed going through some of your books, especially the one on Venice - my favorite place!

Thanks!

Monica