Joseph Clemson Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 My daughter is 21 in about ten days time. With my usual planning and foresight I've just now decided it would be nice to give her a photobook of family photos spanning her 21 years (approx one page per year). I don't think I can get the images chosen, scanned and organised in time to use a commercial printer. Added to which, as an old-fashioned Lancashire lad, I will never buy anything if I can make it myself. I don't print many images myself, so I'm limited to an ageing HP Photosmart C7180. I could buy some A4 double-sided inkjet paper and layout the pages myself. The spring loaded self-clamp photobook binders sold by Marrutt http://www.marrutt.com/pro-photobooks.html look useful for a one-off item which doesn't need to be ultra posh. I'm not looking for anything swish or archival standard, just a little fun item for her to keep. My questions: Has anybody any experience of this kind of binder or a similar alternative? If you were doing this kind of project, what kind and weight of paper would you go for - glossy, matte, silk? Any comments on my forward planning and tightness of wallet would not be undeserved, but probably superfluous as I'm only too well aware of both traits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 If you don't do much printing and you are using an aging printer, then you may find you waste a lot of ink and paper (meaning money and time) getting things right and it may not look very polished. I've not seen the Marrutt one but thes self-clamp "books" don't really look very professional in my opinion. You can get a proper professionally-printed photobook at fairly short notice. For example, One Vision have 10 spread (so 20 pages) A4 soft cover photobooks for £21.50 (before VAT and Postage) so less than £30 in total. I reckon you would spend more on ink, paper and the self-clamp book plus lots of time getting your colours right. One VIsion will colour correct for you which can be a big plus if you don't have a fully colour-managed setup. You design the book by simple drag and drop using One Vison Creator software which you download from their website. Production time is up to 5 days so should be in time for the big day. They are one of the major pro labs in the country, very reliable, great customer service and their products tend to be very good in my experience. https://www.onevisionimaging.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ventura Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Joseph, here in the States, we have lots of print-on-demand book makers, I would imagine that there must be quite a few over there, and they are quite reasonable in cost and decent in quality. Congrats on your daughter's 21st birthday! My daughter is also turning 21 this month, on the 20th! I too am making a photo book of her life from 1995 to now. Good luck with the book, I am sure she will love it! Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vpics Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Have you had a look at Photobox yet? I had some books done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Limb Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Have a look at Blurb, I have used them for a number of projects over the years, not the cheapest but always been good service Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Douglas Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Have you had a look at Photobox yet? I had some books done. I've had a few books done at Photobox. The quality has been excellent and the turnaround pretty quick. You need to look out for the "special offers" (although it's a bit like the endless sales at furniture stores). Use 30SAVE30 code to save 30% off orders over £30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Just to say I suggested One Vision because they are fast (as well as good quality etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biel Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 http://jayce-o.blogspot.com/2013/10/beautifully-designed-photo-books-inspiration.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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