stuparr935 Loc: Dallas, Texas area

Jon, photo books where a commercial printer prints the photos on pages as you create a photo book with their software. It is probably near impossible to turn off Shutterfly's Auto-Enhancement for each image you put in a book of 80 to 100 pages. There is no global parameter to change this feature. I ask the publisher/printer their how many lines per inch their press Prints and then you double that for proper PPI number (resolution of each image) you use on your photos you put in book. Then the pictures you put into that book remain true to YOUR enhancements after you turn of Shutterfly's color balancing globally. The color is controlled globally for each photo book they print.

As I sell many of my photos, I have a commercial quality printer at home.

Hope that clears it up..... Stu

Frisco Loc: San Francisco

Yes John, I mean commercial photo books like those mentioned in this thread. I'm not suggesting an "old school" photo album where you print your images then mount them ,by hand ,in an album.

katu41

I have been using blurb.com for the past 7 years. I have done approx. 15 12x12 coffee table art books for my own use. The site is used by many professionals. You can see hundreds of books on their website that are open for preview. A great source for seeing the creative ideas of very accomplished photographers.

As for quality, you can order various grades of paper. I have used their highest quality papers and have been very satisfied. These books are expensive but if you have put in a lot of time in capturing and processing your shots, you will be looking for the best results.

Jacqui Burke Loc: Perkiomenville, PA

There'a a website called Photobookgirl that has extensive reviews on all the photobooks available. I used the site after My Publisher went out of business. Some books don't offer lay-flat pages, some have online software and some have downloadable software, some books may come in a preferred size/shape. I loved My Publisher then did one book with Snapfish after MP closed down. The quality of the photo reproduction in the Snapfish book was as you describe. I will try Photobook America next. I like downloadable software because my Internet connection is slow way out in the country, and because I want a 100 page lay flat book.

Frisco Loc: San Francisco

Thank you katu and Jacqui, I will investigate. I'm not sure what downloadable software is or does. Thanks to all who have responded. I'm still researching......

crazydaddio Loc: Toronto Ontario Canada

Photobooks allows you to download the designer software so you can build your book offline.....waaaay faster. Once done, you can upload.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

If you haven't already, fine out what the specs for uploading to the print company is. Be sure to provide that or more.

btbg

I also vote for adoramapix. They use heavier paper than any other book publisher that I have seen and will either color correct or allow you to make all the corrections and just check a box to print as is. They also allow the download of images up to 100 mb, so there is no loss of image quality.

And yes they do cost more. You pretty much get what you pay for. If others are satisfied with other publishing choices that's great, but I suspect that you will have trouble finding someone who has used adoramapix and some other choice that will say the other choice is as good.

The other possible choice is if you can find a specialty printer that is local to you, but that would probably cost even more than adorama.

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

I am also an Adoramapix customer. Their quality is excellent, and so are their prices. Once you are on their mailing list, you will also get notifications of specials that you can take advantage of. Some are for specific products, like prints on metal or photo books, others are site-wide with various % off, for a short limited time. I generally wait for a sale then order what I want at that time. I created a folder just for this, so I could have the photos ready to upload without having to make adjustments. Sometimes I have to do one or two before sending, but it certainly cuts down the time it takes to make an order!

Make sure you have the images in the format and size they want. If too large, it simply will not upload. If your monitor is color calibrated you will not need their color correction, so need to uncheck that box. Also, I can print up to 8x10 at home and will do a "test print" with several on one page [for images I have not "tested" before]. This has saved me several times, because I was able to see a color cast or sharpness issue that was not as clear on the computer monitor. For larger prints, I add a border to the image so as not to lose any in "bleed over" when printed, and also so I have that added edge for matting. Smaller ones they will put a border on them for you.

Their book designs are good, and you can adapt them to your own layout ideas. For instance, the template may only show one picture on a page, but you can add more photos and arrange them the way you want. Text boxes can also be placed. The covers are good, you can put one of your photos on the front along with a title, and the spine can be printed with a title and author name.

Frisco Loc: San Francisco

Thank you very much, sounds like exactly what I was looking for! Good tips too...