[Riddle]

Hey guys,
I just got back from spending a few years overseas, and while overseas, I really got into photography. It's been neat to see the progression of my photo taking skills from when I left the US to when I arrived.

In any case, I wanted to print out a book of the photos, maybe with some captions on the pages, and leave it on my coffee table to show off some of my favorite shots, instead of leaving them all cooped up in Facebook. I know Lightroom has the "Book" tab, but does anyone have any other recommendations for sites that'll do a nice job of printing/binding a photo book?

[em-tx]

I use Whitewall for print. I am not sure they print books although I believe so at least in EU (did not print a book yet). Either way they are worth to check.

[nosliwmit]

Shutterfly does a good job. I've made several books through them for the same thing you're talking about and I've been very happy with them. You upload photos to the web and then manipulate them through their web-site. There are lots of templates for pages but you can customize pretty freely (number of photos per page, size and aspect ratio; text size, font and color etc.). Keep an eye out for on-line coupons because it makes a big difference in price. I think once you create an account on their site you'll start to get special offers...

[MadMathMind]

Shutterfly's photos books are of impeccable quality. I was very unimpressed with their 50 free prints, but I've made a couple books with them and they've come out just gorgeous. It's their signature product, so I guess they really keep the quality up.

Keep an eye out for on-line coupons because it makes a big difference in price. I think once you create an account on their site you'll start to get special offers...

You really should never pay full price at Shutterfly unless you absolutely have to have it that minute. National parks hand out free 8x8 photo book coupons (as does Best Buy with purchase of camera equipment), Coke Rewards points can be redeemed for free books, etc. There's so many deals that you can wait a week and have another. I'd say hold out until you can get at least 30% off.

[frogoutofwater]

I've printed about 20 books (8 different subjects) through mypublisher.com and I have a love/dislike relationship with them.

Pros: Image quality is great. I particularly like the thick, glossy paper. Once you download the software, it's pretty easy to upload and organize a book that is photos only or photos with just a small amount of text. I like the size and dimensions of the two larger books they offer (classic and deluxe), and I also like the book jacket option (prefer it to the wrap). When there is a good sale, the price is reasonable for the larger books. I love the lie-flat pages option (although it's expensive - about $25 on the classic book size, although it's often discounted on sale). In the NYC area, delivery is super-fast (I think the publisher is located upstate - I get my books within about 2 days after I receive the print confirmation, so it's often less than 7 days from order to receipt.)

Cons: I haven't been able to figure out how to take a finished book and re-save it (preserving the original format) as a new book/new format (e.g., make a classic hardcover, save that version and then take the book file and save it as a paperback). Delivery charges are ridiculously high and are charged per book (about $10.99 per book) - by contrast, I think Blurb's charge is lower for the same book size and additional books in the same package are a smaller add-on delivery charge. Customer service is pretty lousy if you have a question or problem. I do need to send a couple of books back that have some print flaws in them, and it's a fussy process. Based on some reviews I've seen, I think their quality control drops during really busy periods, like pre-Christmas.

Overall, though, I'm really pleased with them. I made some books this year for the non-profit animal welfare groups with whom I work. Some of the books were used for fundraisers (e.g., charity auctions), plus I gave copies to the founders of the charities. In both cases, the founders actually cried when they received and looked at the books. That experience was priceless.

[Riddle]

Thanks guys! I'll take a look at Shutterfly and mypublisher and see what I can come up with

[frogoutofwater]

Riddle - If you can your work together very quickly (by next Monday), you could take advantage of what is probably mypublisher.com's best sale of the season for premium hardcover books. The code is BOOKUPGRADE. You'll get 60% off a hardcover book if you select both lie-flat pages and super-gloss printing (50% off if you choose just one of these options). That price will be available for three sizes of hardcover book they offer: pocketbook (5.75hx7.75w inches), classic (8.75hx11.25w) and deluxe (11.5hx15w). Even if you're not ready to order your ultimate "best of" book, this could be a good time to test mypublisher.com's quality.

I usually order classic photobooks. I like the size because they're big enough to make an impact but small enough to hold comfortably in your hands.

If you are interested in seeing some of the books I've made, please send me a private message with your email address and I'll send you a link to one of my books. I think you'll also be able to see how much the book would cost using the choices I made in the design with the number of pages selected, so that might give you an idea of how much your book would cost.