Wedding Albums-Blurb ?

[carrg1954]

Hi
While this is not a direct wedding thread question , I thought Wedding photographers would use album publishers more than
other photographic streams.

So have any of you used Blurb, or alternatives ?.

Advice from another source suggests Blurb are acceptable, better with
the higher priced papers. Pm me if you like

ps I did do a search and nothing appeared

thanks in advance.

[Kym]

Bump! Anyone have any ideas on this?

[camerasnoop]

I've used Blurb, and coincidentally their last Photobook that I ordered arrived a couple of days ago. I don't term them albums as to me albums are a bit more substantial. This one arrived promptly and was more or less as ordered. They seem to have a problem if you put images to close to the edge, but not over it, if you understand what I mean. I usually order their Large Landscape books with the heaviest Pro-line paper. The quality is okay when everything goes to plan.

Last year I did have a problem with a book that arrived marked. They replaced that with another book that when it arrived had faulty binding. They then replaced that. No such problems with this current book or any of the others prior to that.

I use album software from another source to create the pages and then paste them into the Blurb Software when ready to order. There is no template for Blurb in the software I use, so I have to resize everything. It is a little clunky too. I understand that Blurb has a template in Lightroom (?) Maybe it will also be in the production version of CS6.

I have generally been satisfied by the "Blurb" experience apart from the hiccups last year. One annoying thing they continue to do is place a large sticker right in the middle of the back cover. Too bad that is right in the middle of any picture you print on that cover.

Price is okay and freight is fast even on the cheapest rate.

[virgal_tracy]

By you using Blurb as an example I am guessing that you are talking about what is called "Magazine" ior "digital" albums. Traditional wedding albums are usually "matted", Flush mount or combinations.

I f we stick to digital albums then I can recommend Momento or Asukabook. Both will be more expensive than Blurb but the quality is definetely there to see. I tend to favour momento as I find their software to be more intuitive and easy to use. Having said that I haven't used the latest incarnation from Asukabook. Both of these are printed in Sydney. Service is quick and very professional.

Depending on the quality that you are after, the discount sites - Cudo, Spreets, Scoupon etc. generally have a deal at least every other week for a photobook at veryreasonable prices. eg Cudo has 70 page book from Photobooks R Us for $45.

[Sobriquet]

I like seldex or momento pro for quality, Photoalbummaker for price and ease of use and accessibility of assistance when required (they even use an ICC profile just for me). I got a book made by the people who make the Harvey Norman books and the pages are banded with green and purple tones alternatively, worst one I have ever seen. Click on print have serious customer service issues and their books are not great, even the pro options. Asuka are nice & expensive. We have slow internet so I prefer the ones that offer a software I can download, then ftp the files once it is complete. i don't really care about the software as I make up my book pages in Indesign and then insert them as a finished page so I don't really know about how easy they are to get a professional result. I would say there are some tricks to getting a nice result, really watch your lining up, you might not notice on screen but you really notice even a millimetre difference in print.

[Erin]

Personally wouldn't use Blurb for a wedding book. They are great for general photo books but wedding albums are so much more important and with Blurb, unfortunately, you cannot be 100% guaranteed for the quality. I have two blurb books and they are substantially different in print quality. Not a risk I would be prepared to take. Go with an established wedding book specialist who cater specifically to the market. You will always get the best results that way.

[Dylan & Marianne]

Marianne and I have used momentopro for albums for clients.
The price is higher but the quality is also there (as others have mentioned)
they also have an option for 'lay flat' books so that spreads aren't plagued by vital people disappearing into the fold of the book
hope that helps you
I reckon for wedding albums, quality is important!

[Sifor]

I've used both Blurb and Photobook Australia - I'm happy with both of them.

[nimrodisease]

I have had several photobooks printed with Photobook Australia - the quality is great (I opted for the 170gsm matte paper each time), and I have had many people ask me where I had them printed because they wanted the same quality. They don't put any stickers or any kind of branding on the books.

The only beef I have with them is that my photos come out darker than on my (expensive colour managed) screen, and in doing so lose some detail in the shadows of dark images.

[Sifor]

The only beef I have with them is that my photos come out darker than on my (expensive colour managed) screen, and in doing so lose some detail in the shadows of dark images.

Yes I have also noticed that, not too much darker but noticeable nevertheless.