Help! Shutterfly vs VioVio vs Blurb vs...

[joyyost]

I'm relatively new to photo books, especially getting them printed. I printed my first digital scrapbook a few months ago (an 8X8 hardcover with shutterfly). It turned out great. My only real complaint was that I can't really lay the book flat and it makes it hard to see the inner sides of the pages b/c of the binding.

Well, I'm working on my second book now (an 8.5X11 landscape of my parent's cruise). I was originally going to go with Shutterfly again but I didn't like that they don't offer a photo wrap cover for that size. It only has the cover with the square cut out. I also wondered why they didn't offer an 8.5X11 portrait book. So, I started doing some research online thinking maybe I could find another company or two that had some different options. Little did I know I just opened a HUGE can of worms. There are just so many options out there.

So, here's where I am right now. I really liked the Blurb website and book sizes and their prices are great! But how do you feel about overall quality? Has anyone printed with them and Shutterfly to be able to tell me the difference?

I've also checked out VioVio, along with Asuka Book, Digi-lab, ubuildabook.com, My Publisher and many others. Now I'm getting so confused! There are just so many options and I'm not sure where to turn next. Can anyone steer me back in the right direction? Thanks for your info!

Joy

[mcbowersox]

I just did a set of books from Blurb for Christmas and I couldn't be more thrilled! The quality is fantastic!

I tend to like a matte finish better than glossy and that's what Blurb uses. Around the same time I got a book printed at Snapfish (from the free Oprah offer) and it's the same weight paper, but it's a very glossy finish. I just think that it just doesn't look as nice and as rich as my Blurb books.

I'd actually pay more for Blurb books, but the best part is that they're cheaper!

The customer service is great too. One of my books was bound upside down and they replaced it with no problems at all.

If only Blurb offered 12x12 . . . I'm planning on doing one at Viovio soon cause they offer 12x12.

So all that to say, go with Blurb without hesitation!!!!

Let me know if you have any more questions. I'll try to remember to check back, but feel free to pm me too.

Christy

[mcbowersox]

Oh! And welcome to DSP! You're going to LOVE it here! It's a bit overwhelming at first, but stick around. You'll be glad you did!

[Leslie]

I have printed 11 so far with blurb.com since May last year and am about to do my 12th. I'm happy with them and haven't found anything yet to beat the price.

But, like with everything on DSP, there are always a lot of options. :)

Yes, ask questions so that you can work things out and not be disappointed with an end result. :)

[joyyost]

Thank you so much!!! I'm really leaning towards Blurb now. I had already designed all my pages for an 8.5X11 Shutterfly book so I'll have to go back and resize to 8X10, but I don't think that will take any major work. It's just a matter of getting it done.

A friend sent me a link to some of the DSP tutorials and I've used them for several things. It wasn't until I had this question that she suggested trying out the forum. Then I realized there's a whole nother WORLD to this site. I'm so excited about it. There are just so many links and forums, etc. I'm going to have to sit down and go through it and learn my way around. Looks like there's just a wealth of knowledge on here. Thanks so much for your help and suggestions!

Joy

[guitargirl]

I've gotten books from Shutterfly and Viovio. The quality is very similar (and Viovio is WAY cheaper). The Viovio pages are just *slightly* thinner, so they lay a little flatter. I always make sure to leave an empty 1/2 inch on the binding side of my pages so elements, photos, and journaling don't get "lost" in the binding.

[Leslie]

I'm sure actually that all the book publishers are excellent. I just stick with blurb as I have learned how to use it and do not want to learn a new software.

You don't resize your layouts, you center them in the software of the book program. I scrap 12 x 12. The book I am about to make is 8 x 10. My picture will stay square as there is a button to press to "center" your picture on the page. So the pictures will come out 7 inches square, and it's 75c a page after postage to Australia.

Look, you can see my centered layouts with a pastel colored border around them - you choose your border colors. I youtubed it for the Granny Thread.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=nMaGsdz1siE

I have just started a Blurb album as well:

http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=6734

And added a new pic to show making the borders of the pages a color, and also to show the button to press to "center" your layout on the page, so it stays square and has a half inch border around it so that no edges ever get cut off.

[joyyost]

Wow Leslie. Your books look great! I'm really excited to try out Blurb now! OK, but here's my deal. A lot of my pages actually have landscaped pictures or spreads that go completely across the page. So I think it would look funny to have a border around the edges. Is there a way to "center" an 8.5 X 11 book to fit into a 8x10 spread without going back and making the change to my original photoshop file?

I may just have to go in and play with the spreads a little and see what happens...

[Muma]

Wow Leslie your books look wonderful and the paper seems a really nice weight as you were turning them. Adore your accent as well LOL ..... I think I may get a book together from Blurb and see how it goes ... love that larger size and the fact that you can still put on a square LO but have a nice border to the page.
Great advertising LOL

[Leslie]

:) Thanks Muma!

Joyyost: "Is there a way to "center" an 8.5 X 11 book to fit into a 8x10 spread without going back and making the change to my original photoshop file?" - I hope someone who knows how to do this will be able to tell you! :)

[cherebus]

I've done several books with shutterfly, but you're right they are limited in options. I'm getting ready to try Viovio for my next book then probably blurb just to see which worked best for me, though I tend to print square format, which is why I'm trying Viovio first. I'd suggest trying Blurb for your next album since you've seen what kind of results you can get.

To let you know Asuka books is really geared towards professional photographers who are offering albums to clients. They are going to be very pricey, because of the quality of the materials used. (I know this because DH is a wedding photographer and I've been to several trade shows.)

[Kathleen]

Thanks for all the comparisons! I have two books that are on my mind to get printed this year (um, did I mention, I need to finish the content for them?), so the information is really helpful!

Don't you just wish that there was a way everyone at DSP could be in the room together, with their stash of stuff under their arm, so we could all compare stuff right next to each other?

[joyyost]

Kathleen that would be awesome! It's just so great to at least be able to share experiences this way. There are just so many options out there. And you hate to spend so much TIME and money on a project and not have it turn out right. Thank you ladies!

Joy