To Print or Not to Print… a Photobook?
Update:
After writing this “definitely not a blog” I went to check out what’s new on the Mixbook and SAAL Digital websites. Based on this, a couple of updates.
Mixbook now offers two types of paper — matte and lustre. I believe that lustre is the one I was previously using. They also offer a choice of “signature” vs “premium” for both paper types. Based on the description, it looks like the “premium” type might be similar to the old pages (thicker and stiffer), while the “signature” is the newer page type (not as thick and stiff, though still pretty good).
SAAL Digital added a third paper type (in addition to their glossy and matte, which was actually lustre). They call it portrait/silk photo paper, and describe it as good for natural looking skin tones, being highly scratch resistant, and as having a unique feel (not sure what that means as I' haven’t tried the paper).
I did not realize previously that the standard albums have slightly different size from the professional line on SAAL. The difference is not big, and I don’t think it makes much of a difference, but it helps explain the difference in price in addition to the luxury cover types.
Pricing has changed somewhat since I last used both Mixbook and SAAL. I now think that SAAL offers a better price, even with a 50% discount applied to Mixbook pricing, though the difference is not big.
End of Update
Recently I got a coupon for a photo album from Shutterfly. The coupon came after I purchased something from Best Buy, and I decided to check it out. Shutterfly is one of the oldest digital printing companies out there. They offer all kinds of photo products, and I figured, how bad can they be? Well… they turned out to be pretty bad.
Over the years I’ve printed photo products for myself with different companies. I even tried Walmart and Walgreens. Printing your work is important for a photographer, and there really is nothing like having a beautiful photobook to do that. Given this latest experience, I decided to put together a short review of the different companies I’ve printed with. There are so many of them out there. Maybe this can help others to make a decision.
This list is not supposed to be exhaustive as there are many other companies. In addition to the companies described here, I’ve also worked with Lulu to print my calendars. They are an excellent company (one of the first self-publishing companies out there). Their printing quality was good (though not as good as some on this list) and they are affordable. However, they are not really a photobook company, and don’t have a dedicated editor. They are an option if you want to print large number of copies of a book/calendar or whatnot. For this reason, I did not include a review of their products here.
Without further ado…
Shutterfly
I will start with Shutterfly as it prompted this “definitely not a blog”.
The Good The Bad
Inexpensive Print quality is poor
Ok editor Construction quality is poor
Ok template selection Slow service and no communication
The editor for Shutterfly is ok to work with, but nothing special. It is relatively easy to work with, though selecting a specific layout and modifying it could be easier. The big advantage is that you don’t need to upload your full resolution images immediately. This is actually very helpful for a person like me, since I generally have more images than I end up including in the album, and it is easier to work with as the interface is not slowing down.
They have a bunch of templates you can use. I poked around the website for a short while, but couldn’t figure out how to use the templates if I wanted to modify them, and ended up building the album from scratch.
Pricing-wise, it was not expensive, but also somewhat more expensive than I expected. I would still put them into the “budget” category.
That’s where the somewhat positive things I have to say about them end. I upgraded my album to a more premium paper and to lay-flat pages (these are supposed to eliminate the gutter and allow you to print on the entire spread). I was not expecting top notch quality for the price, but given how long they have been around, I was expecting a reasonable one. I was, sadly, very disappointed.
The printing came out to be not very color accurate and lacked contrast. There were some weird smudges on a couple of pages, and a few pages came in scratched. The construction was extremely poor (see image above). Despite the album being with “lay-flat” pages, there was still a gutter. What’s more, in a few cases where I printed an image across the spread, the two parts on the two pages were misaligned.
Bottom Line
Avoid.
Blurb
If you want a budget alternative to Shutterfly, but with significantly better quality, Blurb would be a good candidate.
The Good The Bad
Inexpensive Editor is cumbersome
Decent print quality
Good selection of templates
Offer an e-book version
My experience with Blurb was when we decided to make a cook book at my day-job, collecting recipes from different people. Blurb kind of specializes in things like that, having dedicated templates for them. They also offer trade books and magazines.
Their selection of paper/cover is not huge, and you wouldn’t find the really luxurious options there. We ended up using standard paper with a soft cover (we printed one hard cover version for the office).
Pricing really depends on the option you choose, with the lower tier options being very affordable. Additional discounts are available for larger number of copies, and those are substantial.
When I received the cook books, I was somewhat pleasantly surprised, as even the most basic option was well constructed and print quality was pretty good. I have not tried their more premium products, so, I don’t know whether they justify the cost increase.
Blurb also offers a PDF version of the book for free and an e-book version you can use on your Kindle or Apple devices for a relatively low price.
My biggest issue with Blurb is their editor. On the plus side, I didn’t have to upload the images to the web for editing the book. However, it is just terrible. Editing the book was a nightmare. They do have an option of publishing directly from Lightroom, but I am not sure how that works.
Bottom Line
Good budget option, especially if you want to print multiple copies
Mixbook
I have been printing photobooks with Mixbook for a long time. For a while, they were my go-to printer. They offer an excellent balance between price and quality.
The Good The Bad
Good print quality On-line editor
Good construction Full price is a bit high
Excellent selection of templates Newer books have thinner pages
Good customer service Newer books no longer come with a box
Somewhat limited selection of covers/paper
When I first started printing photobooks about ten years ago, I found Mixbook after reading reviews on-line. I gave them a go and fell in love. I’ve been ordering books from them since then (though recently I started printing more with a different vendor).
Mixbook is very reliable. their books are well constructed and well printed. When one time a calendar I printed with them came with a misprint, customer service was quick and responsive. Their lay-flat pages lay completely flat, and you can reliably print an image across the entire spread.
Print quality is good, though I haven’t printed with them any of my more recent work, which is significantly improved compared to just a few years ago. One of their selling points is the excellent selection of templates available. You really can find whatever you need. You can also modify the template fairly easily. You can also switch or adjust the template as you go. The different templates can be very useful if you are making a different type of a book like a family album for example (a couple years ago I scanned a bunch of old family photos and made a book out of it).
On the more negative side, they have somewhat limited selection of paper/cover types. In addition, their editor is on-line. As a result, you need to upload your images first, which can take a while if you have many images in high resolution. The editor itself is pretty good and responsive, though it can slow down a bit if you have a lot of pages in your book and a lot of images.
If you look at their full price, their products are not cheap. In fact, they can be pretty expensive. However, Mixbook run promotions almost constantly, and it is not unusual to find 40 and even 50 percent discounts. So, wait until you do to get the best bang for your buck.
A couple of minor annoyances came up over the years. About five years ago, they made their premium lay-flat pages thinner. They used to be pretty thick and would not bend almost at all. Now, they are still thick, but less so. In addition, albums used to come in a nice box, which you could use for storage, transport etc. They dropped that a few years ago as well. Now, their albums are shipped in a packaging similar to other vendors.
Bottom Line
Very good option if you are looking for a variety of templates to help you design your photobook. Good balance between price and print quality, but wait for the discount to get a good price. Selection of paper/cover types could be better.
SAAL Digital
A while back I got a promotional coupon from SAAL to evaluate their Professional Line photobooks (I also reviewed their wall art options here). I love working with them and they are now my go-to printer, offering excellent quality for a reasonable price.
The Good The Bad
Very good print quality Full price is a little expensive (especially for the
Excellent construction professional line)
Easy to use off-line editor Acrylic cover looks amazing, but has somewhat
Quick service sharp edges
Good customer service Template selection is a bit rudimentary
Excellent selection of covers and paper
I have first heard of SAAL before printing with them through a Youtube channel dedicated to photo books I stumbled upon. These days, a lot of photographers I follow on Yutube shared their promotions. They have two paper types they call glossy and matte (they added a third one recently). Many people say that their glossy paper is amazing, but I generally don’t like printing glossy. I asked them in an email how matte is matte. Turned out, the matte option is actually semi-gloss lustre with a bit of texture. I ended up ordering this paper type and was not disappointed.
Print quality is very good. SAAL offers ICC profiles to color correct your images for printing, but I never used them, and my images in the albums are pretty color-accurate without the need for the profile.
SAAL has a good selection of cover options, sizes, and add-ons like boxes to make your book look more premium. I used standard lay-flat pages, but they also have an XT version, which is even thicker.
When I reviewed their Professional line, I made an album with an acrylic cover. It looks amazing, but I feel that it is also the biggest weakness of the album. I always worry how the acrylic will survive handling over time (I am not particularly gentle with my photobooks). In addition, the edges of the acrylic are pretty sharp. Consequently, when you hold the rather hefty album, they can dig into your arm (it left a mark a couple of times).
After doing the review, I ordered their regular line with a matte cover. I’ve been using this option ever since. The cover looks almost as amazing as the acrylic, and has this soft touch to it, which I absolutely love.
Their service is very quick and responsive. Although the albums are printed in Europe, shipping is free, and you receive them usually within a week from order. The one time I had to interact with the customer service, they were very polite and efficient.
The editor is off-line, which I love. It works with all their products, not just photobooks. Template selection is somewhat rudimentary, but I usually work from scratch now anyway.
All in all, not much to complain about with SAAL, and I’ve been printing with them ever since I tried. Their pricing, especially for the Professional line is a bit on the expensive side, but they almost constantly run a fixed discount which makes it more palatable. If I had to choose now, I would say that their regular line is a better bang for your buck, unless you want that wow factor of the acrylic cover for some special occasion.
Bottom Line
Excellent option with a variety of choices, including luxury options like the professional line with the acrylic cover. Very good print quality, quick and reliable service. Easy to use off-line editor, though if you are looking for a big selection of templates, SAAL is probably not the best choice. Full price is a bit expensive, but they have almost constant discount. Standard albums are a great bang for the buck in most cases. Love the soft-touch matte cover.
Printique
Printique is a subsidiary of Adorama, which is one of the biggest photo gear stores in US. They offer a variety of printing services, and generally are excellent. I’ve been using them for printing my standard and metal prints for a while for their excellent quality and color reproduction.
The Good The Bad
Very good print quality On-line editor
Excellent construction Full price can be rather high depending on the
Quick service options
Excellent selection of covers and paper Template selection is not as good as Mixbook
Offers sample kit before buying
Overall, there isn’t much to write about Printique’s photobooks. My review would be very similar to SAAL Digital, with the exception that I have not tried any of their more premium cover options and they don’t have the acrylic cover as an option.
They do have a bigger selection of paper and covers, but less options for sizes. You can get a sample kit to see the types of the covers and papers before you order. Price-wise they are slightly more expensive, and don’t have as may discount options available. That being said, the price is not outrageous for the quality you get.
Print quality is excellent. The print is very color accurate, and they offer color correction as an option too. I generally print, using their lustre paper as I feel it gives the best balance in terms of the way the prints look.
One downside is that their editor is on-line with all that is implied by this, though I find it fairly quick and responsive.
Really, the biggest reason why I prefer SAAL to them is the soft-touch matte cover.
Bottom Line
Excellent option with a variety of choices, including luxury options. Superb print quality. Reliable and quick service. Pricing is somewhat high, but commensurate with the quality. Large selection of papers. Unfortunately, no soft-touch matte cover option.
Zno
Zno was another company that offered me a coupon to try their product. They are a smaller company with a more luxurious feel. I ended up making a book with them.
The Good The Bad
Very good print quality On-line editor
Excellent construction Full price is very expensive
Has a sample pack to look at the options Not much in terms of templates
Zno is one of those companies I heard about on the same Youtube channel as SAAL Digital. They are a smaller company, working with photographers, and their products are intended to be high end.
I got a 50% off promotion from them and ended up printing a Fine Art Album with a canvas padded cover. In retrospect, this cover choice probably was not the best, as padding seems a bit much, and the canvas is not particularly tolerant of my rough treatment.
Before ordering, I got a small album showing the different paper and print types. I loved the “Art Print” paper type. It is a completely matte paper, and the print quality looked superb. In my actual album, the prints looked very good, but not as good as the sample. I am not completely sure why.
Abum construction was top notch with the pages thick and very stiff. The pages have this black insert between the two sides, which make the album look very unique from the side.
Templates are basically non-existent, but the on-line (again) editor is pretty straightforward and responsive, making designing the album easy. Zno have a good selection of covers and paper types available. They offer a fairly unique canvas print cover, which I chose.
The biggest downside to Zno is price. Even with 50% off, the album ended up being very pricey. In the end, for me, the quality doesn’t justify the very high price, as I prefer other options, but your mileage might vary.
Bottom Line
High end, luxurious feel. Unique cover option. High quality print and construction. Pricey.
