Photo Books - UK/ European/ US/ International printers

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

09/27/2005 12:55:36 PM · #1

Hi folks

Having recently shot a friend's wedding (informally but as the main photographer) I now want to create a photo book/ album for them as my wedding gift to them.

I got some great information in this thread:
//www.dpchallenge.com/forum.php?action=read&FORUM_THREAD_ID=250444

Now I am looking for recommendations and thoughts on photo book printers. I'm really looking for UK/ European based printers but am also considering worldwide ones (especially US where more companies seem to offer this product) as they may work out the cheapest quality option even with shipping costs.

I'm intrigued by pixbook.co.uk - prices seem reasonable - an A4 semi-transparent plastic-covered album containing 40 double sided sheets (80 pages) is just over Â£40 (GBP) plus minimal postage. The confusion for me is that their FAQ suggests that the plastic cover is the only one available yet their pricing table suggests they also offer leather covers!

Mypublisher.com are well known and well established. Their Classic Hardcover albums looks great. Depending on cover they are Â£30/$40 US for 20 pages and a whopping extra $30 for another 20 pages! They are sized at 12-inches wide and 9-inches high. Shipping is at least $13+ for the 20 page book, probably more for a thicker book.

Totalpix.co.uk are UK based and do offer large size books. They don't seem to offer much leeway on cover pictures/ text/ colour. A 50 page book that is 30cm x 30cm costs Â£50 (GBP). I can't find shipping costs.

viovio.com offer really nice looking softback books and their prices are also excellent - their largest book size (8.5x11) costs $30 (US?) for a book of 100 pages. I can't work out how much postage is to the UK or even where they are based. They are also a tiny, start-up so it's hard to know how good their quality is and how well they will deal with any problems or issues that arise.

Truprint.co.uk offer photo books too - the cost would be just over Â£30 (GBP) for a 40 sheet book - I haven't yet worked out what size their books are - rather crucial!

Bagsoflove.co.uk are a little more expensive - a hardback book containing 40 images (which i assume means 20 sheets/ 40 pages) costs Â£95 (GBP). But that price seems to include all the page layout services which I wouldn't need so I may be able to negotiate a lower rate, I don't know.

Glorious books seems to offer a very polished and professional service and product but their prices (which were a pain to download and which I seem to have lost and am unable to download again) were very high so not really feasible.

Buzznet.com offer similar books (from what I can tell) to viovio - perfect bound softback books - if I understand pricing correctly it's going to cost around $20-25 US for around 40 pages (20 double sided sheets). I don't know what postage to the UK would be.

Photoworks.com offer quite a range of books. Their Standard range includes a 9" x 10.25" sized hardback option with linen cover and window through which one of my photos would show. Pricing is $29.95 for 20 pages. I can have up to 50 pages max and that many pages would cost $90.

Lastly, shutterfly.com are pretty well known. Their hardcover 8.75 Ã� 11.25 book is $30 (UUS) for 20 pages and would be another $20 for an additional 20 pages. However, they do NOT offer full bleed printing.

Any comments on any of these options would be very useful. If you have used them, I'd particularly like to know any problems you experienced, any comments on the technical process and finished quality and anything else you think might help.

I'll add others to the list as I find them.

THANKS

Message edited by author 2005-10-07 12:12:03.

BobsterLobster

Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro

09/27/2005 02:38:37 PM · #2

Wow, I'm going to bookmark this mine of information.
I'm looking forward to the replies!
Bob

09/27/2005 05:02:17 PM · #3

Bob, yeah I figured a good starting point was to list all the info I already had so no-one wasted their time reinventing the wheel --- now I'm hoping for any input and comments on these or any other options so that I can narrow it down and make a decision! (never my strong point, making a final decision)

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

09/28/2005 06:38:50 AM · #4

ttt

aKiwi

Canon EOS-7D

09/28/2005 07:06:41 AM · #5

I haven't used them, but another option here in Europe is fotobuch.de
Postage might be better from here to UK.
Disadvantage is everything is in German!
Postage to UK is 9.90 Euro.
Prices are for a 20.5 x 27cm Hardcover book
16 pages = 19.90 Euro
48 Pages = 39.90 Euro

Message edited by author 2005-09-28 07:08:37.

Nuno

Nikon D700

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

09/28/2005 07:19:58 AM · #6

I'm also looking for a service like this. But the problem is the book size that most of the places sell. It's too small. I was thinking at least 30cm tall.

Hope to hear some feedback here too.

I was planning to make a copy with portfolio images to present to my clients in Asuka Books in USA, because shipping is unexpensive and you can order the first one for half the price.

09/28/2005 11:16:23 AM · #7

Thanks Akiwi!

Nuno, one of those I listed above does a book that is 30 x 30 cm. Check through my list and you should find it.