Creating photo books, what's my best option?

[svetayasofiya]

I am resurrecting an old thread here...... I am in the process of needing a few photobooks. I can not spend $100+ per book, but want the BEST quality for my money. The most important to me is image quality. I ordered a 'test' book through Photobook Canada. They are on the pricier side and their website is uber professional so I thought the quality of their books would be what I was looking for. Well... I just received my test book and it is a nicely done book, but I am so disappointed in the quality of the images. I used orginal resolution images from a 5.1 MP camera and the photos printed out are grainy. Most people probably wouldn't notice nor care, but I am a little OCD when it comes to this kind of stuff. So I don't think I will be using them for my wedding album. I ordered a small 8x6 book too so the pictures are small and the quality should have been high.

 

So that all being said... blurb, shutterfly, kodak etc... what are all your experiences? Give me the gritty details on quality please! I need help making my decision. Keep in mind I am also from Canada. I looked into Mpix but their S&H is $30 a book to Canada plus duty fees! That's ridiculous... unless they really are the best.

[MDLady]

Oooh, I never knew there were so many sites. I only used Snapfish in the past to create my niece's baby book. It came out really nicely! Does anyone know which of these books/photos keep the best over the years and don't fade?

[Helen_S81]

I've ordered books from Shutterfly. I made my daughter's wedding one in the 8.5 x 11 and the 5 x7 and I've also done one with a collection of pictures for someone that was retiring. I used a collection of the professional and guests for my daughters albums and I think they turned out fine. Don't really look grainy to me. I ordered 1 book in each size as a test then made some changes then ordered 5 copies.

 

For the retirement book I had some really bad pictures to work with. They were going back over 30 years. Yes, some of the pictures are grainy but then the images were not good to begin with.

 

The last order I placed I was charged $19.99 for shipping and handling for 5 books. I have never paid any duty on anything that has come from Shutterfly.

[AishaB]

I really like Blurb. I have been creating my guest book there and it is turning out pretty great!

[KarenM]

I chose Shutterfly for my BD book and could not have been happier! I chose them because I wanted an 8x8 square book with leather cover and they seemed to be the only one that offered that. Plus their prices are really inexpensive and the process is very straight-forward. The quality of the printed photos was perfect (but just make sure they're of good quality/high resolution to begin with).

 

I've heard great things about Blurb too and may use them for our wedding album (they have a premium paper option).