Photo books

[wonton]

Hi I am new to this forum and this is my first post. I was wondering what website most people print from? Especially 12X12 photobooks. I am looking for somthing higher quality than Shutterfly. I tried them before and it did not turn out as nice as I would like. I know there are many websites for professional prints but wanted some recommendations.

BTW - I just started digital scrapbooking this week and love it! I did it the old school way and it takes up too much space. Thanks for this wonderful site!

[katrinak]

I wish I could help more, but I use Shutterfly for all of my books. I print at 8x8 though. Just wanted to say hello

[earlofoxford]

I've used Heritage Makers and have been very pleased with the results. The binding is sewn rather than glued, making the book very sturdy. On the couple of occasions when there has been a problem, their customer service has been excellent and fast.

[dugarner]

I haven't used anyone else, but the last couple I got from Shutterfly were results of a coupon, and I think maybe they send those coupons out at the end of a production run because there was noticeable difference in quality between some of my other books and those two. I'm going to try some different places, but the trouble is, not many other sites do 12X12 yet.

Sarah

[oswegograd]

I'm a consultant with Heritage Makers, so that's all I use. The books are awesome! They have a stitched binding and a vellum liner page. There's also an heirloom assurance program, so that if your book gets damaged you can have it replaced at halk price. You're welcome to contact me if you want more info., or you can look at my web page at www.karensheritage.com.

[rsowers]

What is the maximum number of pages that you can add to the Heritage Makers books? I've never used them before?

[oswegograd]

They all start with 20 pages, but you can add pages to make it as many as 100 pages. Our 12x12 books are on special right now, and if you email me privately I can send you the flyer. The books really are great!

[digigrandma]

I use Shutterfly for printing my 8 x 8 albums. I've been so happy with the service and the quality.

It is important to turn the Vivid Pics feature off at Shutterfly for those of us who create our own pages to upload and print.

[hulseyfam]

I have a question regarding this. I was uploading my own pages to shutterfly for a photo book (back when they had the Oprah special). Anyhow, it told me my pictures weren't high enough resolution and when I was creating them, I saved to web in the highest resolution possible and everything I used was digi kits that had 300 pixel resolution. Any suggestions for what I did wrong?? I ended up not ordering one because I got so frustrated when no matter what I tried, it told me it wasn't high enough resolution.

[Scrapbird]

Welcome Wonton! Whatever you decide to do, we hope you'll share some of your work with us.

[esther_a]

I've used Momento (an Australian Company). Their product is high quality with stitched binding, but not 12x12!

[katrinak]

Originally Posted by hulseyfam

I have a question regarding this. I was uploading my own pages to shutterfly for a photo book (back when they had the Oprah special). Anyhow, it told me my pictures weren't high enough resolution and when I was creating them, I saved to web in the highest resolution possible and everything I used was digi kits that had 300 pixel resolution. Any suggestions for what I did wrong?? I ended up not ordering one because I got so frustrated when no matter what I tried, it told me it wasn't high enough resolution.

I think the problem might have been in "saving to the web". For SF you only need to save as a 300dpi jpeg. Saving for the web will make it lower quality.

[jg2924]

Originally Posted by hulseyfam

I have a question regarding this. I was uploading my own pages to shutterfly for a photo book (back when they had the Oprah special). Anyhow, it told me my pictures weren't high enough resolution and when I was creating them, I saved to web in the highest resolution possible and everything I used was digi kits that had 300 pixel resolution. Any suggestions for what I did wrong?? I ended up not ordering one because I got so frustrated when no matter what I tried, it told me it wasn't high enough resolution.

Just save as a jpg at the 300 resolution and then make it the size you want.

My problem with shutterfly is the bleed space for the binding. I have looked at it online doing the preview and it looks fine, but when I got the book, there were some things on the binding side that were hard to see because they went down into the crease.

[wonton]

Thank you for all the suggestions!

[lat4005]

Shutterfly has a template on their site you can download that has the guide lines for printing. It is a great tool I have come to use on all my layouts to help take the guess work out of what may end up not printing on my pages.

[hulseyfam]

THANK you all for your help!!!

[dugarner]

Originally Posted by jg2924

My problem with shutterfly is the bleed space for the binding. I have looked at it online doing the preview and it looks fine, but when I got the book, there were some things on the binding side that were hard to see because they went down into the crease.

I don't know if this will help anyone, but it really helped me after a frustrating first book with some gutter "issues" (the space where the binding pulls the pages together).

Shutterfly has the templates for their trim specs, but I don't remember if they are accurate for the gutter space. Regardless, since I do two-page spreads, I do my layouts on a 24X12 page on my screen, and I downloaded Grant's Tools which has an action to create your own guide lines.

In a 12X12 book, 1/4" from the right edge on a verso and the left edge on a recto will clear the gutter with Shutterfly. Likewise, their 1/8" recommendation on the outside and top edges is spot-on. I compared my guidelines with my printed book and it was an exact match. On 8X8 books I use 1/4 inch on top, bottom, and outside edges as the no-scrap zone and maintain the 1/4 inch for the gutter.

When I start a blank layout, if I know it might be a layout where pictures cross over the gutter (like with simplyyin's templates), I go ahead and create my guide lines at 11.75 and 12.25, vertical. That gives me my visual space to keep important stuff out of there.

Anyway, I hope that helps! I'm sorry I talk so much.

Sarah

[deanie]

Guidelines-another reason to get CS4-really miss having these. Used other software for all my interior design work and miss having guidelines in elements.
Think I might take your measurements and make up a template for myself by drawing lines on a blank document!

[Mary Rogers]

I just received my first Shutterfly 12x12 book and am so thrilled!!! I love it - I thought it was very professional and I did resize my layouts to 11.75x11.75 just to make sure everything on the edge was included

[dugarner]

Deanie, if you haven't already, try

http://www.cavesofice.org/~grant/Cha...ols/Files.html

Grant's Tools include an add-on that let you create your own guide lines. I used to do it every time I created a new document for Shutterfly (so I could see the gutters).

I am about to order from viovio.com. They have an option where you can pay for a professional binding and it winds up a little cheaper than Shutterfly. The reason I'm trying them is b/c my P365 book will be bigger than Shutterfly will bind. viovio will print up to 136 pages, I think.

Sarah

[whatnext]

I've used a little company called ScrapbooksPlease several times. They have a rather limited choice for covers, but uploading pages couldn't be easier. What you upload is exactly what ends up on your book's pages. No vivid color, no templates, no trying to scrap a page around template specs. Just upload, order, and be happy with what you get in the mail. I've also used BLURB, which has marvelous cover options, but there is an issue there, also, with losing stuff around the edges of your pages.

[craig]

Has anyone here tried Smilebooks.com? They provide a 12" x 12" Deluxe Photo Book (http://www.smilebooks.com/deluxe-photo-book.php) which is beautiful with a capacity of 26-130 full color pages and options of more than 170 layouts and 400 backgrounds! The prices are also affordable for the quality they provide. Hope this helps.

[patriciaz]

I just got my second shutterfly book, it's a 8,5x11, the first one I did was a 8x8, I was very pleased with the final result, the quality was great, i was very impressed to see that everything looked exactly as it does in my computer.
As Merr said, it's important to turn the vivid pics option off.

[Britgirl]

I use shutterfly - and they have always been excellent quality, and I have a few to compare!
and I also use Blurb, esp at Christmas etc, because they make a fabulous 7x7 size I love and they also ship to Uk much cheaper than shutterfly.