The craft of making photo books can be overwhelming, but it’s worth doing. My kids love flipping through the books and talking about the fun they had. I found the best way to go about making a photo book is to focus on a certain event so it’s not overwhelming – a family vacation, a child’s birthday, pictures from a photo shoot, etc.
Here’s my thoughts on a few publishers:
Photoworks – I got my Photoworks book for free with a code a little before Christmas. I was amazed that they offered a hardbound book for free! Their quality is first-class. The layout software was alright – easy to use, no downloading needed.
Blurb – I got my Blurb book for half-off,plus free shipping. I used it to make my baby a book with pictures from his first year. You have to downlad their software, but they were my favorite in layout because I didn’t have to stick with the templates provided – I could arrange the page how I wanted, drag picture boxes to just the right size, etc. I liked the freedom I had in design, but for a novice it might be a little harder to work with than other programs.
HotPrints – this comes more like a magazine than a book, but does it matter – it’s FREE every month – free book, free shipping! There is an advertisement in the middle, but it pulls right out. It was fun to make a book of pictures of the kids in the snow – I normally wouldn’t have made a book from these non-monumental photos, but for free, why not. This month I plan on taking pictures of all the ships my son has built out of legos and making that into a book for him.
Picaboo – never tried them, but I will because if you use the code AFFLGB before March 31st you get a free book.
Blog2Print – I’ve never used them either, but have a friend who likes them. The thing here is that you type in your blog address and it turns it into a book for you – seems easy. But I must blog too much – I tried doing 2009 from my family blog, and it was $95.
Are there any PhotoBook Publishers that you love? Feel free to share them with us in the comments section. Now go make a book!
Opinions are my own -these sites don’t even know I exist or that I’m talking about their products
Thanks for checking out this post from www.SugarBeeCrafts.com – – click on over to read it in its entirety – you’ll love it!
I like Shutterfly…. They are always running specials (20-50% off books / free shipping over $30 and even free books from time to time). I enjoy the quality of the books and do a “Year in Review” each year with them. They have great customer service as well. I had a book arrived damaged (from the shipping company) and they sent me out a replacement ASAP!
By the way – Thanks for the tip on HotPrints…. I am working on a book right now for my little ones (since the “Year in Review” books are not for “play”).
Liked your post. Someday I hope to write a book where the royalties will pay for the copies I give away.
🙂
Nikki
I have also used Shutterfly– they often have specials, and occasionally send you coupons for a free book. Their quality is great, and the software is easy to use (you can follow templates or do your own thing, so it’s flexible!) Thanks for the other ideas– love your blog!
I’ve gotten free books from Shutterfly, Snapfish & Photoworks. Shutterfly & Snapfish have great offers on their products throughout the year. You get free prints for signing up. You can make your own “share site”/website with Shutterfly. It’s great for sharing family events, pics, music, whatever. I saw the Picaboo offer on another website and have been working on my book. Hope it gets done by the 31st. Thanks for the other leads.
I have also used American greetings. It turned out nice. My publisher is another GREAT one. (can you tell I am a huge scrapbooker. I have made my way through many of these companies!) My top 3 companies are Blurb, My publisher, and Photoworks. I personally haven’t ordered from Shutterfly, but I have seen them and they look nice. I have used Winkflash for most of my books b/c of price. But their quality isn’t the best, so I am using them less, but I have very high standards of quality so to some they might not even notice. I will tell you that Art cow also has great deals, but they are the worst quality I have found. I was very disappointed. I was also very disappointed in Clark Color Lab.