Shutterfly vs. Blurb

[thessh]

I've been reading so many posts all over the digiscrapping community about different places to print books, and their pros and cons!

Living in Sweden, my first priority has always been to find a company that actually delivers to Sweden! There are a couple of businesses that do photobooks here, but I find their quality quite poor, and since I do my pages from scratch in Photoshop, I also need full bleed-pages and a square format. Not an easy order in my country...

In 2007, I ordered my first 12x12 Photobook from Shutterfly in the States. It was beautiful, but a couple of pages came loose right away. I contacted Shutterfly, and their customer service arranged for me to have a new copy a.s.a.p. Over the years, I've stayed with Shutterfly and the main reason has been their excellent customer service! Because I have had some problems with some of my books - like wrong color and glue on the pages - but they've always taken care of me! I've made 7 different books with Shutterfly and I'm very happy with the results!

I heard of Blurb several years ago, but at that time they didn't make a 12x12 book. Now they do. They also make books bigger than 100 pages! I haven't had the need for that yet, but I will as I'm working on books covering entire years and not only special occasions/trips.

So, I decided to conduct my own, very personal, survey.
I simply ordered the exact same book from Blurb, as I had recently ordered from Shutterfly! I figured that would give me the best insight...

With Blurb, I chose the ImageWrap Cover and Premium Paper (Lustre finish). It came to 94 pages, since they add some copyright- and logo-things. This is the only thing I dislike about Blurb...

The book-total was $113,95. The same book at Shutterfly (90 pages) was $159,99. This is without shipping. Shipping from Blurb was much less, since they printed and shipped within Europe. Shutterfly prints and ships from the US. So, Blurb is cheaper! BUT - I ordered two copies of that book from Shutterfly (for family) and got a 50% discount on the second book, which made them cost $119,99 each instead! Only $6 more than Blurb...

Now to the quality:
The Premium paper I chose with Blurb feels just like the Shutterfly-paper. I think the colors came out just the same in both books - no difference at all! The binding seems to hold up just fine in both. My husband and I have both looked through them a couple of times and given a little tug here and there!

I really like the matte cover of the Blurb-book and find the images a little bit sharper than the ones on the glossy Shutterfly-cover. But my husband is sceptical to the matte cover and thinks it will stain and become more worn, quicker.

The verdict:
I will stay with both!

Shutterfly will still be the place where I print my books on special occasions and trips. Books that are less than 100 pages! I don't mind paying a little bit more, and with Shutterfly's frequent coupons and promotions - you can easily get very good prices on your books! And dear husband will get his glossy covers!

Blurb will be the place where I print my Yearbooks! But I will have them made with the black linen-cover and printed dust jackets. I will also use Blurb if I need to do a book on a special occasion that requires more than 100 pages!

[mugsbigsis]

I am like you, I use Shutterfly when there is a sale and blurb when I need more than 100 pages.
BTW, you can delete those copywrite pages in Blurb. :O)

[marnie]

Wow, I'm impressed with your thorough and personal research. Very helpful information--thanks for taking the time to record the results for us!

[thessh]

Originally Posted by mugsbigsis

I am like you, I use Shutterfly when there is a sale and blurb when I need more than 100 pages.
BTW, you can delete those copywrite pages in Blurb. :O)

Thanks, Kelly!
I have to look into that so I don't have to have them in my next book!

[digigrandma]

I love your travel books, Thess, and, I love the way you researched this. I think you have come up with the perfect solution for your printing needs and I appreciate knowing what you learned, too.

[akpatterson]

Thanks for this great summary.

[KarenC]

Thanks so much for doing research and sharing it with us.

[mymalloryboys]

Yes, thanks for sharing this info with us - I have tons of printing to do!!!

[Shannamay]

That's really interesting, Thess. Been wondering the same myself - postage to Australia would probably be similar for both I'm guessing. I do books through Shutterfly - and two volumes when I need to. Guess that suits me ok, until I can find an Aussie company that is comparable (to save on freight).

[dugarner]

I think it's a $5 fee or something to remove the logo. Not sure. But it can be done.

[mugsbigsis]

Originally Posted by dugarner

I think it's a $5 fee or something to remove the logo. Not sure. But it can be done.

Didn't know you could remove the logo. I just make my book end on the right hand page and the logo is on the back. Not a problem for me. That logo kind of finishes it off for me. lol
I do delete the copyright page though and that's free. :O)

[anxela]

I'm going to try the paperkiwi.com books (from scrappingsimply). Their shipping overseas is less expensive than shutterfly, I think.

[anke]

thanks for all that research, good to know! Heidi, I can't wait to hear how you like them!

[anxela]

Originally Posted by anke

thanks for all that research, good to know! Heidi, I can't wait to hear how you like them!

It'll be a long wait, Anke - I have sent all my pages until now off for single page printing. And with the scrapping block I've been facing lately - you might have to be patient until I finish my 365 album.

I would believe the quality is in the same league as their single prints though.

On second thought, I might order a 6x6 book just to try it out.

[janedee]

Thanks for the great info!

[Christinas]

I have been using both too ! When I have a lot of pages like the kids books, I print with blurb and I use shutterfly for december daily albums etc.

[dugarner]

Originally Posted by mugsbigsis

Didn't know you could remove the logo.

Kelly, I think you can---but it doesn't bother me, either. I don't pay for that page.

I was not happy with the binding of my Blurb book (I paid for the premium paper) but it has held. The cover, however, is thrashed. It's dented and torn and covered in grease and dirt in places. It won't wipe clean like the Shutterfly covers will.

But for price, Blurb is a great deal. I printed a huge book last year and wouldn't have had any other choice. But this year instead of going with Blurb I went ahead and broke my 2010 into two books with Shutterfly.

[esther_a]

My second Blurb book arrived last week - a 365 page regular paper version. My previous one was with premium paper. The regular paper was a bit thinner than Shutterfly paper, but that's what I'd expect for a 365 page book and the quality of print was still excellent. Shutterfly's specials are good value but a bit of fuss and bother. I rather like the simplicity of Blurb's every day low price!

[mjrooney]

I have also been happy with Shutterfly [I agree that occasionally the pages can seem like they will come loose.] I have just ordered a book from Persnickety and will compare it to Shutterfly. I would pay a little more if I thought that the book would last.

[DonnaNJ]

Thanks so much for this great info.. I use Shutterfly also but that more than 100 pages would be great

[carollee]

Great comparison thanks for letting us know this.

Question - if I have saved layouts at 11.95 (ready for Shutterfly 12x12 book), will I still be able to use the 11.95 saved layouts with a Blurb 12x12 book? Or will they be that whisker too small and stuff the page up?

[katie34]

I think they would be OK carol - blurb has their cropping guidelines clearly marked in their bookmaking program so you know EXACTLY what will and won't be there when you get the book (you do have to check a box to turn the trim guides on though). You could just load a couple of your resized pages into it and see, but i would be surprised if it was a problem.

[Aino]

Thess - that was really useful - thank you. I have not used Shutterfly yet, but I have used Blurb - because it is much cheaper for me with the shipping.

I like Blurb and have no problems with their quality.

I was about to use Shutterfly, but did not like their interface very much.

[thessh]

Originally Posted by Aino

Thess - that was really useful - thank you. I have not used Shutterfly yet, but I have used Blurb - because it is much cheaper for me with the shipping.

I like Blurb and have no problems with their quality.

I was about to use Shutterfly, but did not like their interface very much.

I've always used Shutterfly and know my way around their interface in my sleep...
So, I found some things about Blurb's interface tricky! LOL!
I guess it's just a question about what you're used to!

But for us on this side of the Atlantic, regardless of if it is Sweden or Israel, shipping with Blurb IS very much cheaper! No argument there!

But as long as dear husband doesn't mind paying the extra bucks - he'll get his glossy covers from Shutterfly!