Making hard bound books

[hiccup42]

This forum says it includes tips on making hard bound books, but it doesn't :(
Maybe that's because no one's asked, so here I am asking!

Is it actually feasible to make your own book, or do you just buy a ready-made book and attach your printed pages to them?

Any help/tips/advice/useful links etc would be ginormously appreciated - I'm a student on a tight budget, and don't want to fork out tons and tons for albums :)

Thank you

[Margie]

there are quite a few threads, but they're scattered about. i use our photobook creator and have made lots. very easy and affordable!
here are some related threads.
http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26996
http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24825
http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21906
http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22719
http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21907
http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21445

[Leslie]

I made my first book last week with blurb.com. I just made a paperback "trial" book to see how it looks. It's 40 pages and is 8 X 10. I use the word "trial" as I want to see how it looks before I commit myself to the hardcover dust jacket 80 page version that I want to start producing for myself. It cost A$33.50 including postage, direct from my laptop to my mailbox.

I made this one for mom. It's full of her heritage pics and pics of my boys and me. It's due to arrive hopefully at the end of this week. I have friends who are anxious to see how it looks so that we can all start printing up our precious memory pictures, thanks to the wonderful DSP kits. :)

I am SO excited!!

[hiccup42]

Thank you very much - I must ask for one for my birthday!
:)

[Leslie]

ARGH! My book came today! I am SO pleased with it. I am just thrilled. It is even better than I expected.

[Wags]

Viovio (http://www.viovio.com) does both hard and soft cover books in a huge variety of sizes (http://www.viovio.com/wiki/Book+Binding+Specifications) - including 12x12's. Their prices rock and the quality is awesome! Check out their scrapbooking section (http://www.viovio.com/scrapbooking/) for tips and hints on how to design for a book.

I have another softcover 8.5x8.5 on it's the way from them - 40 pages for $17.24, if I had gotten it in hardcover it would have been $10 more. I love the 8.5x size - and the fact that I can do a completely custom cover - I did a full wrap of a beach picture for this one since it was the book from our trip to Jamaica.

And they just announced they are going to have loose pages available too - for folks that like to do use traditional albums - .75 a page!

[Bethysmama]

Thanks For the Blurb.com Refference. There Photo book prices are way lower then everywhere else I have found.

[Leslie]

I've made four now with blurb! It's so exciting. I am making my fifth.

[Wags]

Blurb's prices are in about the same range as Viovio's (http://www.viovio.com/wiki/Book+Binding+Specifications)- but Blurb only offers one square format size (7x7) and Viovio (http://www.viovio.com) offers 6 square format sizes and they offer 8.5x11 portrait which I don't think anyone else does.

[boobearsmama1]

you could also try www.winkflash.com

[Lauren]

Ive made a couple with Shutterfly and have been pleased with the results

[Lauren]

Heres a link to some shots of one of my finished books
http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=260176

[crouch79]

with vivio.com where do you go to find out about $.75 for single pages. I am interested in this. But cannot find out anything about it on the website.

[Wags]

with vivio.com where do you go to find out about $.75 for single pages. I am interested in this. But cannot find out anything about it on the website.

You can read the whole press release about it here. (http://express-press-release.com/49/12x12%20Loose%20Pages%20Now%20Available.php)

The same digital silk quality pages available in the 12x12 bound books are now available loose at the low price of $.75 per page. The double-sided minimum page count is 24. For customers that prefer single-sided printing for their pages the fee is only an additional 15%. With single-sided printing the minimum page count is 12. To order loose pages simply create a gallery, upload your pages, and click the “order photo book” icon engaging the bookmaker process. Check the box to have the cover image printed inside the book, accept the default cover info and move to the purchase page. “Unbound book” is the last selection from the drop down menu.

[dmrdm]

This thread caught my eye. I've been reading about Blurb, My Publisher and Shutterfly products and downloaded their software. I'll have to check out Viovio.

I have a few questions:

Worried a little about Blurb because in their forum read something about color issues and the pictures being darker. Has anyone experienced that? (I use CS3)

Has anyone used a couple of different vendors, that they could comment on the differences or Pros and Cons? I was kind of leaning toward Blurb and Shutterfly at this point, but that's not set in stone.

I'm looking to do a cookbook (with scrapbook elements/pages) for my little niece. Are the 7 x 7's or 8 x 8's too small for a cookbook?

Appreciate any comments. Thank you!

[Wags]

I have used Shutterfly, MyPublisher, Kodak and Viovio. All the bindings on the books I had made at MyPublisher have cracked - that is how I found Viovio, I was sick and tired of the quality and lack of customer service I was getting at MyPublisher. Shutterfly is my second favorite - they make a nice book, but their prices are a bit much for my budget. Viovio's quality is just as good (I did a head to head comparison a year ago using the same layouts) as Shutterfly and their everyday prices beat Shutterfly's sale prices, so that is why they are my #1 choice.

I do all of my books in 8.5x8.5 and I think that size would be fine for a recipe book. That is Viovio's finished size. Shutterfly's finished size is 7.75x7.75. As long as you use at least a 12-14 size font a 12x12 layout should resize to an 8.5x8.5 without any problems.

[LadyCarolyn]

I am currently working on about 4 projects . . . . my sister's trip to Vegas as a suprise for her, a Book Of Memories about my Mom, a cookbook, and a book of my floral photos. I am currently organizing things in Shutterfly . . . .. as my feeling is that if it meet's Lauren's standards I am pretty sure it will meet mine. I did a bit of research and wanted the flexibility that Shutterly offered . ... more than one size of book and various formats. The Vegas one is nearly ready to go, so will post how I feel about it.

[happybeingamom]

I just used winkflash and I am quite happy.

[carolat]

I have a book in the works at Realbooks (http://www.realbooks-scrapbooks.com/index.html) They have the cheapest prices out there - and since I was worried about the quality of their printing with such low pricing, I ordered a few print samples. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The quality of their printing is great - now I want to order some smaller ones for my boys :)

[Wags]

Some quick price comparisons for a 40 page 12x12 hardcover book:

Viovio (http://www.viovio.com/products/bookmaker/splash.php?aff=5932) = $44.99
MyPicTales = $59.99
Snapfish/Walmart = $62.82
Realbooks = $67
Shutterfly = $84.99 (currently $67.99 on sale)


For a 40 page 8x8 hard cover:

Viovio = $24.99 (book is actually 8.5x8.5)
Snapfish/Walmart = $40.12
Shutterfly = $49.99 (Currently on sale for 39.99)

*MyPicTales and Realbooks don't offer an 8x8 hardcover.

[happybeingamom]

I just want to give the winkflash price

These are their hardcover books.

their 12X12 book is $26.95 with 20 pages and each additional page is 50 cents.

their 8X8 is $12.95 with 20 pages and each additional page is 50 cents.

[Wags]

Ok, so a 40 page 12x12 at Winkflash would be $36.95 and an 8x8 would be $22.95. Good prices, too bad they don't have custom covers available.

[happybeingamom]

Ok, so a 40 page 12x12 at Winkflash would be $36.95 and an 8x8 would be $22.95. Good prices, too bad they don't have custom covers available.

They have custom covers but that costs more go to their site and check the books out www.winkflash.com

[carolat]

I was just checking out viovio (they have really good prices & I'm always looking for a deal), but I didn't see where you could have the cover printed. Do they have this option?

[Wags]

You can make a custom cover on the 8.5x8.5 - hard or soft cover. You can see examples and find more info about it here. (http://www.viovio.com/wiki/8.5x8.5+Photo+Book?aff=5932)

[Nena2007]

Wags- I am looking into Viovio, do they have the custom covers like the one that Lauren put a link to for 12x12? I only see the die cut ones. Thanks!

[Wags]

They only have the die cut for the 12x12 at this time, but they may offer full wrap in the future if they have enough folks ask for it.

[cecesnana]

Were you happy with the quality of the book you got from Viovio

[cecesnana]

I just made one with Shutterfly and was very disappointed. I sent them jpegs, 12 x 12, 300 and the picture quality on the pages was terrible. Very red and dark. Is that something I'm doing wrong or is it something in their conversion?

[Wags]

In January of 2007 I did a head to head comparison between Viovio and Shutterfly - same layouts in each book. There was no noticeable difference in quality - the only difference was price. Viovio's customer service has always been very quick to help, and very proactive too. They will email you if they spot a problem with something you uploaded that might cause you to get a book that is less than optimal, and give you the opportunity to fix it before it goes to press.

[Wags]

I just made one with Shutterfly and was very disappointed. I sent them jpegs, 12 x 12, 300 and the picture quality on the pages was terrible. Very red and dark. Is that something I'm doing wrong or is it something in their conversion?

Did you turn off the "Vivid Pictures" option? That usually is the culprit when colors come out messed up at Shutterfly. Viovio doesn't use that - what you upload with them is what you get.

[cecesnana]

Did you turn off the "Vivid Pictures" option? That usually is the culprit when colors come out messed up at Shutterfly. Viovio doesn't use that - what you upload with them is what you get.
That was what customer service said and they reprinted the book turning off that option. The color was better on the pictures I was not happy with but then the contrast was way down so many of the other pictures came out very dark. I have to say I loved the cover though - I ordered a padded hard cover book with a picture on it and the quality of the picture on the front was fantastic. They must use a different process to produce the cover. And I was happy with their customer service. They have offered to let me return the books for a refund, which I am doing. My husband thinks I'm nuts but I just worked too hard on this book to be unhappy with the result. I am going to try Viovio to see if it comes out better.

[dmrdm]

Gee, I was thinking I was going to try Shutterfly. I downloaded their stuff and they do mention turning that option off in their instructions. Not sure of why they have it, if they tell everyone to turn it off. ...sorry to hear about your issues. For those of you that have used Viovio....I was looking at the binding options. Quick binding or Pro binding. Which have you used? One of my fears, was bindings/spines cracking or falling apart. There are a bunch of comments about that all over the web for My Publisher. Has anyone had any pages falling out of their books with any of the other companies?

[cecesnana]

Gee, I was thinking I was going to try Shutterfly. I downloaded their stuff and they do mention turning that option off in their instructions. Not sure of why they have it, if they tell everyone to turn it off. ...sorry to hear about your issues. For those of you that have used Viovio....I was looking at the binding options. Quick binding or Pro binding. Which have you used? One of my fears, was bindings/spines cracking or falling apart. There are a bunch of comments about that all over the web for My Publisher. Has anyone had any pages falling out of their books with any of the other companies?
I have used Photoworks and was really pleased with both the quality of the pictures and the binding, which I've had (and looked at many times) for about 8 months. The reason I wanted to change was that they don't really offer any cover options for the 12 x 12 books which is what I've created with this latest project, only a black leather cover.

[Leslie]

I use Blurb books. You download their program, which is called Book Smart. I have made two 40 page paperback books, one 80 page hard cover with dust jacket and one 120 page hard cover image wrap cover - all with just digital scrapbook pictures. These were all 8 x 10.

Two pictures were a bit too dark, but then, they were really a bit too dark before I made the book.

I am making books five, six and seven - all at once. Two are gifts for my mother and sister again, and are 8 x 10. The bindings are fantastic. The prices are lower than I can get in Australia. My new book I am making for me, is 11 X 13. The pictures are all smaller than the size of the page as the page is portrait size rectangular and my pictures are made in 12 X 12 format - also, you need to be aware of the edges and leave a good quarter of an inch at least, all around.

Almost every picture I make goes into "my" book - I am more selective with the ones for my relatives. I also blog with almost all of my pictures. And I publish a few of them them here. :)

I paid - in Australian dollars - INCLUDING POSTAGE - $35 for a 40 page 8 X 10 paperback, and $73 for 120 pages, hard cover, image wrap cover. Have a look on the website (blurb.com) for the much cheaper US prices - you have a lot less postage to pay.

To say I am thrilled is an understatement. I have two coffee table books for me so far and can't wait to publish the next.

Crikey - my first morning cup of tea went stone cold while I was typing that. :) I'll have to go make a cappuccino instead!

[Leslie]

I'm just now watching the instruction video (http://www.blurb.com/help/video/booksmart) for Blurb books again - it's great.

[Wags]

I've not had any problems with Viovio's books and mine get handled by a couple of toddlers. I've only used the quick binding option, but if I ever get my 2007 family year book ready I'm going to try the pro binding option just to see for myself.

I worked in a book bindery when I was in college and the pro style is the way we did it then. So I'm guessing it will make for a long lasting book.

[wineandtennis]

Hi - I've used Mpix and loved their books - I really like the paper they use. Unfortunately, they don't have a variety of sizes for books. Can anyone tell me if the Shutterfly paper is high quality? I'm guessing that it is not.

Thanks,

[LadyCarolyn]

Shutterfly has fantastic quality . . ... a very professional looking end product.

Hi - I've used Mpix and loved their books - I really like the paper they use. Unfortunately, they don't have a variety of sizes for books. Can anyone tell me if the Shutterfly paper is high quality? I'm guessing that it is not.

Thanks,

[slacker98]

I'm on a mission to create a 100 page 12x12 hard bound book through Viovio. Would like to know if anyone has created a page spread (layout that flows on 2 pages?) Also, do the pages need to be submitted at 300 dpi? Do I need to convert my page kits from 200 dpi to 300 dpi? If so, what's the best method using CS?

[carolat]

I am in the process of doing the same thing. I have one twopager and I am splitting it up into 2 separate documents. Also, I am changing all of my pages from 200 to 300 dpi. Under the image tab, there is an image size menu and I am just changing the image size from 200 to 300 dpi. Good luck!

[Wags]

Better to submit at 300dpi if possible. It is hard to get an overlap photo to look right, although it isn't impossible. Vioivo has an instruction page (http://www.viovio.com/photos/gallery/11323) on how to do it.

Good luck with your book!

[slacker98]

Yeah, that's what I thought about the resolution so I will change it as I create. I have created a two page spread in the past and it turned out pretty cool - Halloween theme. Going to implement something similar in this project for all of the major holidays. My immediate family is pretty big and I'd hate to miss someone. LOL

[slacker98]

Carola, are you changing the image resolution per piece as your building your LO, or, are you changing the resolution after your done with your LO?

[carolat]

After I am done - the book that I am printing is for 2007 (late, I know!), so I already have all of the layouts. I have just collected all of the layered ps files, open, change image size, flatten, and re-save as a jpeg. (with 300 after the title so I'll know which ones have been done)

[uk_jw]

do you just save as a jpeg or do you save for web and if so what kinds of options do you pick? Many thanks in advance

[Wags]

Save as a jpeg - about a 10 quality, 12 is over kill. Do NOT save for web or you will end up with 72dpi pages that will be nothing but blur.

[evelester]

just wanted to say thanks for this thread! I am learning so much! I am just getting started and cant wait to order my first book! (I need to make a layout first though! LOL)

[carolat]

Wags - I have had pages printed before (although not through Viovio) and have just uploaded a 300 dpi jpeg. Never saved for web and the product is always very sharp. We definitely need to save for web here? Do the pics still come out sharp?

[Wags]

Oops - that should read do NOT save for web, I've corrected it.

[JoannaT]

Hello, this thread also caught my eye. I'm a Volunteer Shutterfly Gallery Guru member. So I am a bit biased when it comes to Shutterfly. I have done 12 books, all through templates they offer on their site and have been so pleased by the results. I have been doing 8x8 hardbound books that you can put a photo on front and back. They have many different sizes as well. I don't have much experience with digital scrapbooks, but the ones in the Gallery are phenomenal. Come take a peek at my books by going to shutterfly.com, click on 'community' tab on top, then in the green search box you can type in my name JoannaT and all my books will appear. They also have a whole section on the left with a bunch of different categories such as wedding, family, birthdays, digital scrapbooking. Then you can view books in those specific groups. Plus in the blog, there is a whole article on digital scrapbooking and so many talented people who can help.
Hope this helps you.
Joanna T

[Leslie]

I've had two 13" x 11" hardbound image wrap books arrive from blurb.com (http://blurb.com)this week.

One of these was a 65 page book I made for my colleague at school. All the teachers were so impressed by it. Several asked me to make them for their families - but really, it took me three weeks to do the one I just did. (She gave me a 160GB EHD for making it.)

I was thrilled at how both of them turned out - mine was 120 pages. I will stick with the company I know I think. It's all a personal choice, there are several companies out there.

I have published 9 now, over the past 3 months and I am so pleased with the quality. Oh, and the front and back covers look phenomenal. The image wrap covers are worth while getting.

I have made five 8 x 10 paperbacks, one 8 x 10 hardcover with dust jacket, an 8 x 10 with the hard cover, image wrap cover, and now two 11 x 13, both with the hardcover, image wrap covers. I'm working on another five.

Did I mention, these are all with digital scrapbook pictures. :)

[dmrdm]

Glad to hear the Blurb recommendation. I'm going to give them a try. I like the fact that they have the software you can download. While I know Shutterfly is also good, it just seems easier to do the Blurb. I'm acutally signed up to take a class today and took one last week on-line. They seem to be do a nice job with that also. I'm attempting to do a cookbook and can't decide if I should use their templates or scrapbook pages. Think I'm going to try their 8 x 10.

[Leslie]

After I had made a few blurb.com books, I found the fun video tutorial on how to work the program, and watched it. Gee, I wish I had seen it earlier - I didn't learn anything new, but in it, were all the things I worked out for myself... :)

[mom2bsa]

I have used Shutterfly as well and was very happy with the quality of my 8x8 album. The prices were a bit steep for a 12x12 album. My only issue was that I was trying to use older 12x12 layouts and had elements right to the edge that would have been trimmed off so I've decided to hold off on my 12x12.

[photoalbum]

The printed hard bound books at PhotoAlbum.com are extremely high quality. The printing is done with archival quality paper and inks. The pages are Sewn together - not glued, and the cover is UV coated to retail its color. The prices are the best in the industry, a 20 page - 12" by 12" hard bound book with customer designed cover is delivered to your door for only $39.95.

[shawsi]

I just looked at a friend's Shutterfly book. It was just beautiful!

[jessjgh1]

bumping this very useful thread up for more thoughts! Thanks! Jessica

[shawsi]

The only one I have used was Shutterfly. I found the pictures very true to the originals. My book looked very professional and I found the paper and the cover high quality. I used the hardback, but did they choose and drop options because I wanted it quickly. I haven't had them print my layouts yet, but want to. Did you follow Lauren's link to her books?