I've been trying to create hardcover books of our wedding photos for our families' Christmas presents using Inkubook (because they offer a free book the first time you use them), but I find that the whole experience is not very user-friendly.
Initially, I was very excited that the program let me import photos from flickr (that's where all the photos are from our guests), but when I try to use them, the program reports that the file size is too small and will likely result in a low quality picture.
Additionally, completing simple tasks--like changing font size and color--is proving to be downright difficult for me (despite that fact that I'm normally proficient enough with tech stuff). I can't even seem to finish the front cover. Argh!
I'm all about saving money, but if I can't actually produce something I want to give as gifts to my family members, then it's not worth it.
Does anyone else have recommendations for other sites that let you turn your photos into hardcover books (specifically, a company that's inexpensive and user-friendly)?
16 comments:
Have you looked at snapfish? I've always had great luck with them.
I've used blurb.com - it's relatively inexpensive and it's great quality. You can usually find discounts for it by just googling "blurb coupon code". The program is very user-friendly, and pretty intuitive once you get started. The only thing I didn't like about it was that I wanted to have more control over the layouts (there are tons to choose from, but you can't tweak anything about them). I definitely recommend trying it! Good luck!
I agree with chelsita. blurb.com is also what i use to make albums. i concur that i also wish i had more layout control. i want to be able to move the picture boxes themselves, but so far this is one of the better programs out there.
i've used mypublisher before and its nice that they offer a large book, but the software is limited and so are the layouts.
I've also used Blurb and they were great. I made a book from lots of 1970s pictures that had been scanned in. While I was putting it together I did get a lot of warnings about the quality and resolution of the pictures but there wasn't much I could do so just left it and they all printed really well in the end.
Shutterfly is fairly inexpensive, and easy as pie to use. They let you pick from a lot of different layouts that look really great in print.
I have some friends who have used Winkflash. Not sure what the range of options for templates are, but I know my friends were happy with their books (also wedding pics for parents, etc).
Right now they have a flat-rate deal(no per-page fee) using the code BOOKEM9. The code is only good through October 31, though.
Ive heard shutterfly, kodak, blurb ;o)
mypublisher.com is my favorite! it's very user friendly, and they are constantly doing promotions. When you first sign up you'll get a duplicate of whatever book you make! Makes for a great christmas present for parents:)
I'm a mac user and I use iPhoto to create all my books. Super easy and quite inexpensive. Someone also told me that picaboo.com worked quite well. No idea as to cost there though. She had made her wedding books through that site. Good luck!
I intend on using Blurb as well once our wedding is over to create books. I have heard from random reviews they are the best.
I also love Blurb. I made a lovely book of our engagement photos and it was sooo easy to use. I couldn't stand inkubook either.
I've used shutterfly in the past for various things like some of the other commenters, and it's pretty easy, and looks amazing when done.
I have made photo books on snapfish and iPhoto, and I think Snapfish is the best. it's affordable, and super easy to use. the only thing that sucks is uploading all of your pictures to it, but even that is pretty easy.
www.blurb.com is great.
www.scrapblog.com is my favorite and has just started printing. It also pulls your pictures from flickr, facebook, photobucket, etc.
www.shutterfly.com is a great basic site
stay away from www.lulu.com I have had horrible luck.
If you have any more questions about any of these, let me know. I research photo book creators online for my job (it is my job) and have a whole slew of sites to pull from as well as sites to avoid.
I am getting one done at Meijer's (like Walmart if you don't have them) and they use the Snapfish site. If you search the snapfish website for locations you can find a place to go in and if you have any problems they can help you on the spot. Everything we have done has been online and it was very fast and easy... and cheap. :-)
I have always used shutterfly and snapfish in the past, and I have been very happy with the results.
Also, I went on to inkubook because of the free book offer. I had some technical difficulties as well, but I have to say that I think it was worth it. It was absolutely beautiful, and we'll be using it as our guest book for our wedding in July. So if you can make it through the difficult process, you might be happy. Try uploading your pictures straight from your computer instead of from flicker.
Hope your book turns out great, wherever it comes from!
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