The Big DIY Photo Book Debate…

The Big DIY Photo Book Debate…

November 25th, 2009 @ 6:20 pm by Mrs. Ramen

So, I ordered 2 photo guestbooks; one from MyPublisher and one from Blurb. I was able to get a really great deal from Blurb with a 20% off coupon and free shipping code, while I was completely ridiculous and forgot to use the Costco 20% discount for the MyPublisher book. OOPS.

Aside from my slightly costly oversight, I’m here to report back!

To level the playing field, I got the premium paper in both and did the photo dust jackets. There is obviously a discrepancy in size, as well as in price. In the end, I spent about $35/book (I didn’t add any additional pages).

First, we will start with the MyPublisher book.

First of all - the shipping was lightning fast! We got this book so fast! So, I was really happy with their quick turnaround.

You can’t see the quality of the pages that well, but they are actually a tad bit glossier than the Blurb book. Mr. Ramen thinks that this makes the pictures, and hence the book, look nicer. After staring at the two side by side, I ended up agreeing. The paper quality seems to be just a tad thicker, but that could be in my head.

You have the option of making special flaps for your book cover. I only took advantage of it when I made the MyPublisher book. I loved how it turned out (aside from this one stupid typo), and will definitely do so again when I make later books.

z20637703

This is a terrible picture to demonstrate this - but both books were a lot slimmer than I had originally imagined. There were still a good number of pages in them, but they were just thin books. Think ‘kid’s bedtime storybook’ thin.

Another special touch about the MyPublisher book was that the first page was covered with a vellum page! It gave it a more professional look and really enhanced our book!

z20637705

My one gripe was that I was surprised how pixelated some pictures came out. I know - it’s not uber professional, but I guess I expected more after so many raves! And our friends’ cameras are pretty high res so…

A close up of the pixelation.

Here’s one of my fave layouts. I love the picture of Mr. Ramen jumping up in the air without my knowledge. That crazy man.

Next up is the Blurb book!

While I was impressed with the price of these books, I wasn’t as impressed with the quality as I thought I would be. Again, the pages are more matte. And there seemed to be more blurry prints than in the MP book.

This was actually my fave layout in this book - but the gutters aren’t true!!! (I dunno if that’s even the right terminology!). But I totally got cut off in one of those pictures, which makes it look a bit funny.

I did enjoy the ability to make my own layouts and edit existing layouts in Blurb. So that part is pretty neat. However, it was easier to upload photos to use with MP. The Blurb book was smaller than I expected, but was more cost-friendly, mostly because of the coupon. I’d say they are pretty comparable in price, if you can get a good coupon/free shipping code. They are both equally user-friendly in general.

So, what’s the verdict?

The Ramens will be using MyPublisher to make our future wedding photo books. We’re planning on making books for our parents, and probably will make one with any guest photos we receive to supplement our pro album. I would use Blurb again, but only if I wanted a smaller book - so maybe to document past trips, our engagement, etc. For larger scale events, I’m sticking with MP.

What do you think, hive? Do you agree with me on my photo book verdict?

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33 Responses to “The Big DIY Photo Book Debate…”

Member

pren79 (message) 506 posts, Busy bee

Thanks for this post! I have been obsessing over this blurb vs. MP conflict. What size books did you order to compare the two books? What is the reason for you to turn to Blurb for smaller books? Thanks again!

11/25/09 @ 6:33 pm (reply)

Member

redbullfanatic (message) 283 posts, Helper bee

Thank you for posting this! Once we get our engagement pictures we’re doing a book for the parents for xmas and we’ve been obsessing over which site to use. I like the layouts blurb has but now seeing that they cut you off on a page, that kind of worries me.

11/25/09 @ 6:39 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Ramen (message) 291 posts, Helper bee

@pren79: Like I mentioned in my posts, I’d say that the fact that Blurb is CHEAPER and I don’t want a big ole photobook for smaller events - that would be why I’d use Blurb for more everyday documentation.

@redbullfanatic: You know - it may have been me playing with the layouts… but either way, it looked fine in the previews! oh well….

11/25/09 @ 6:48 pm (reply)

Guest

Lisa

I’ve recently been agonizing over all the photobook options out there too. I ended up choosing Adoramapix.com for our parent albums. They print on the same paper that pictures are printed on, so it’s nice and thick and glossy. The site itself is a little buggy so it can be frustrating, but the prices and product are great so it’s been worth the hassle.

11/25/09 @ 7:10 pm (reply)

Member

angey (message) 27 posts, Newbee

Does anyone have any opinions on Somerset Albums?

http://www.somersetalbums.com/index.asp

We met with a photographer on the weekend and looked at 2 of his books and some of the lay outs are exactly the same as the ones shown on their web site so I am thinking he could possibly have books made through them. We loved the albums he had but his prices were out of this world! I am now moving into a different direction, searching for a photographer that will give me digital copies and trying to research what companies are out there that make albums.

11/25/09 @ 7:12 pm (reply)

Member

amanda.lynn (message) 4,068 posts, Honey bee

Thanks for this post - I’ve been thinking about what we’ll end up doing for the photo book we plan to use as a guestbook, so this helped alot!

11/25/09 @ 7:20 pm (reply)

Member

sf_carrie (message) 313 posts, Helper bee

thanks for posting — very helpful!!

11/25/09 @ 7:41 pm (reply)

Member

tea (message) 4,381 posts, Honey bee

thanks for posting about your experience. i’m still going back and forth but i’m thinking of putting a photo book together of some pictures the boy and i will be taking next year so i’ll give it a shot.

@Miss Ramen: if the layout looked fine in the previews, maybe you can request blurb reprint it? i had the same issue with a mixbook i made and they noted that it was fine in their system and sent me a new book for free. it’s worth a shot

11/25/09 @ 7:51 pm (reply)

Hostess

Lillindy (message) 4,992 posts, Honey bee

I’ve only used Blurb and had a pleasant experience with them! From what I hear if you tell them how you got cut off in that picture and it looked fine on screen they’ll reprint it for you!

11/25/09 @ 8:37 pm (reply)

10.

Bee

Mrs. Penguin (message) 2,345 posts, Buzzing bee

I am SO glad you did this… I always meant to do this but was wayyyy too lazy I used Blurb and was fine with them but now I’m def. ready to try out MyPublisher!

11/25/09 @ 8:48 pm (reply)

11.

Member

Future Mrs. Martin (message) 2,739 posts, Sugar bee

Thanks for posting this - it is great to see reviews before we make any decisions ourselves!

11/25/09 @ 9:00 pm (reply)

12.

Member

Soon2BMrsSmith (message) 7 posts, Newbee

Hey, quick question for you that I know a lot of us brides probably haven’t considered…

Are those pages glued in?? The reason I ask is because my mom is a consultant for Heritage Makers (they do 8×8 and 12×12 photo books) & I am getting married in April. I would strongly suggest going with Heritage Makers or a company with similar quality standards. Heritage Makers’ books are SEWED through the binding, not glue, and therefore last MUCH longer!! Brides have a tendency to be so over-focused on budget that the go after the cheapest price when they should be going after quality. You don’t want to be showing this book to your kids or grandkids one day and be like “well some of the pages fell out…”

Heritage Makers may be slightly more expensive, but to me, the quality factor is worth it– it’s who I will be making my Guest Book and Wedding Book with.

If you guys want to see her website you can go to…

http://www.storybooksbypamandshannon.com

My contact info is on there as well since I have experience in making projects via the site and I offered to help her with her business. I’m happy to help any future brides out there make a guest book or a wedding book that they can be confident will last through the years!! Go to the site and email storybooksbypamandshannon@yahoo.com if you are interested and I can help get you started.

11/25/09 @ 9:37 pm (reply)

13.

Guest

golden8214

Your photos are absolutely gorgeous. I used mixbooks. I found the quality to be very good and got a buy one get one free coupon. I didnt have the pixelation issue like you did in my publisher and found it easier to format than i did other books. It is thin as the mypublisher books, but its what you get with photobooks i guess.

11/25/09 @ 9:46 pm (reply)

14.

Guest

jina of jac

Wow Ms. Ramen! I’ve been debating back & forth about which to use! This post totally made my day! Thanks!!!

11/26/09 @ 12:50 am (reply)

15.

Guest

W Fenn

There are a lot of albums out there and they are great idea for the DIY couple. With many photographers providing high resolution files to the couple, this is the best way to make up books for family and friends but not necessarily suitable for the bridal album which should be of higher quality. Get a sample before you decide.

11/26/09 @ 8:33 am (reply)

16.

Member

krissycake (message) 3,549 posts, Sugar bee

Great post! Thanks for the in-depth review =D

11/26/09 @ 8:46 am (reply)

17.

Member

jingle96 (message) 2,098 posts, Buzzing bee

Thanks for the post!! The Fi just finished our layout yesterday on Blurb, but hadn’t ordered it yet, so your post came at a perfect time. I’ll look into MyPublisher, we’re actually Costco members too!! Thanks Ms. Ramen!

11/26/09 @ 8:54 am (reply)

18.

Member

missmandi (message) 52 posts, Worker bee

This is a great post for sure!
I used Blurb and just got word that it’s in at the post office… now I’m nervous.
I have to say though, if things are cut off I will be complaining.
Maybe next time I’ll us MP.

11/26/09 @ 1:06 pm (reply)

19.

Bee

Miss Poodle (message) 3,278 posts, Sugar bee

Thank you for sharing this info!!

11/26/09 @ 4:18 pm (reply)

20.

Member

angelicduckie (message) 69 posts, Worker bee

Thank you for sharing the comparison of books. Will definitely help me decide who I want to go with for the guest book.

11/26/09 @ 9:27 pm (reply)

21.

Bee

Mrs. Labrador (message) 1,464 posts, Bumble bee

Thank you so much for this post! It’s great to see such an honest review of two DIY photo books side by side and will definitely help when making my decision!

11/26/09 @ 10:35 pm (reply)

22.

Bee

Miss Snapdragon (message) 530 posts, Busy bee

How helpful! I just made a Blurb book and now I am nervous… I used high -res shots and was careful to pay attention to when the alert came up about blowing my photos up too large in the layout… so did you have pixelated photos in the Blurb book, even when you were not alerted to the problem?

11/27/09 @ 1:07 am (reply)

23.

Member

arobb81 (message) 292 posts, Helper bee

If the page is glossier, its probably not your imagination that the paper seems thicker. The extra coating adds to the page weight. Two things to keep in mind with glossy finishes:

1. Finger prints show up more on glossy finishes

2. Colors are more satured, so make sure not to over-saturate the images before printing.

If the image is actually pixelated, that is a problem on the camera end, or user end if you did not submit large enough images. If the problem is caused by the printing process, its probably dot gain, depending on paper and printing type. The image doesn’t look pixelated to me- instead it looks out of focus (understandable considering you are moving) combined with dot gain. However its hard to judge based on your photo of the photo. You should email the companies and ask, because if this is an issue caused by printing then they should either fix it or offer a discount on future orders. They should also be able to identify if the image is pixelated. Dot gain is to be expected in this lower cost printing solution. Album companies that print on photo paper may be a better solution, but it will cost more.

11/27/09 @ 6:47 am (reply)

24.

Member

pvaulter718 (message) 1,948 posts, Buzzing bee

We are currently working on our layout in MyPublisher, so thank you so much for your honest review. We will be getting a pro album, but we won’t have it until the end of January and I know if I show up empty handed at the holidays there will be hell to pay!

11/27/09 @ 10:26 am (reply)

25.

Member

MrsSl82be (message) 1,825 posts, Buzzing bee

I haven’t tried them out yet, but for flushmount I plan on going with photographyalbums.net. They seem to be the best price for the quality, so if someone has ordered from them please PM to let me know how they are.

There are also websites like seehere.com, snapfish.com that you can get these smaller books from. I’m going to be making my parent albums for xmas soon

11/27/09 @ 11:21 am (reply)

26.

Bee

Miss Ramen (message) 291 posts, Helper bee

@Miss Snapdragon: I would say some images just weren’t as crisp as I expected, but overall it was still pretty good. I was really good about fixing all of those “alerts” so… eh. For what I paid, I felt they were worth it! And again, I wasn’t looking for something super professional, just nice documentation!

11/27/09 @ 12:41 pm (reply)

27.

Bee

Mrs. Moonbeam (message) 1,470 posts, Bumble bee

I used MP too and loved the results.

11/28/09 @ 2:26 am (reply)

28.

Guest

kbok

thx for this post!! i had worried and researched over which company to go with for my DIY parent albums as well. i initially heard more positive reviews with blurb so i attempted to make an album with them but the software took forever to load on my slow laptop, so i ended going with MP. thankfully, the process itself was fine and i ended up making 2 separate parent albums for each set of parents. the quality was similar to what you said- vivid, colorful images on somewhat thin paper, and occasionally blurry but overall pretty good. our parents were generally satisfied so that’s all that matters.

i of course prefer our album that was professionally done, but for our parent albums and for future albums, such as travel albums or albums where i want to feature large prints, i think i’m confident in going with MP again.

11/28/09 @ 2:36 am (reply)

29.

Guest

Kirsten

I ordered my wedding album from Blurb, my photo editor hubby designed it, and we were completely happy with it. They give you lots of control over layout and pages, etc. We had a pro shoot our wedding photos and there were no alerts and no pixels in any of the photos. I agree with your recommendation for premium paper. I ordered on for my parents with the regular pages and it wasn’t as snazzy looking. We also went with the photo on the cover instead of a dust jacket and it looks really sharp.

11/28/09 @ 5:19 pm (reply)

30.

Member

RecessionistaBride (message) 4,232 posts, Honey bee

I made a photobook for a friend on kodakgallery.com & it turned out wonderful! I was impressed with the high quality of the images… I will totally use them for a photobook in the future!

11/28/09 @ 8:42 pm (reply)

31.

Bee

Mrs. Mouse (message) 5,160 posts, Bee Keeper

Thanks for the review! I’m still trying to decide who to use to make guest books for our parents. This helps a lot!

11/28/09 @ 9:10 pm (reply)

32.

Member

kmattso2 (message) 1,044 posts, Bumble bee

Thanks for the review…this will probably come in handy for me in the future!

11/30/09 @ 3:26 pm (reply)

33.

Guest

Elena

Have you ever used FamilyMemories before? I did my wedding book with them, I am very pleased with the software (I move photos any way I want), the quality (paper looks thicker than MP) and the speed (4 days).

12/10/09 @ 3:13 pm (reply)