photobook makers

<p>Can you recommend one? I'm looking to make photobooks. I want good quality paper, good color printing and good binding.<br>

Thank you,<br>

John Ciccone</p>

<p>I've been relatively pleased with MyPublisher.com. Their interface is very flexible and easy to use. Submit your colors in sRGB for best results. They changed presses a year or two ago and the color accuracy faded a little. If you need totally accurate colors, look elsewhere.</p>

<p>MP used to be excellent, but they were acquired by Snapfish and customer service went to hell in a hand basket. If you have an issue, they promise to get back to you in 72-hours! When did that become acceptable? I was drafting a letter to the CEO when I researched his compensation package in the Snapfish Form 10-K and found that he gets a $1 million bonus when sales exceed $1 billion. I decided not to send the letter because he and the board obviously have their heads up their backsides. </p>

<p>Despite my displeasure, I can recommend them when you do not need absolute color accuracy. Wait for sales pricing and get as much as 60% off.</p>

<p>I've seen excellent results with Blurb and iPhoto, but I've never used either. (You can't really know about color accuracy unless you have the original files).</p>

<p>Dear David, Thank you! This is exactly the kind of informtion I am looking for. The questionable color and especially the poor customer service are real red flags for me. I will consider them in the absence of other alternatives. Best regards, John C</p>

<p>I had Blurb do a book for me a couple of years ago. The paper and binding were excellent, but the color accuracy wasn't. I asked for color profiles and was told they were not available at that time, perhaps they are now.<br>

If you are looking for excellent color accuracy look elsewhere than Blurb.</p>

<p><Chas></p>

<p>I've done a couple of Blurb books, cover, paper and binding were nice, and in my case, the color was very accurate.</p>

<p>Barry, what color space did you process your images in?</p>

<p>I have to look, I'm not sure now that I come to think of it. Normally it would be Adobe RGB 1998 but it may have been Srgb.</p>

<p>Barry, sorry to be a pest, but it's important with most of these bookmakers. Many, like MyPublisher are silent about what's best. Luckily a technician at MP saw me complaining about the change in their color accuracy and contacted me suggesting that I use sRGB, because they'd gone to the least common denominator and had a new printer. Even with that, their latest book for me add some blue tinge to my book, making white snow look blueish, etc.</p>

<p>If reasonably possible, if you could confirm for us, it'd be nice. Still, we understand if you can't.</p>

I've used blurb for about ten books with good results. They do have icc codes for download and a wealth of information on

how to manage your workflow to get the best matches, this varying according to which of their bookmaking tools you're

using. Some years ago you had to be a member of a specific group to gain access to colour profiles but that hasn't been

the case for several years.

 

It is nevertheless true that it's difficult to match what you see on a backlit screen with what you'll get on a print process.

There is a tendency for the printed output to be a little flatter- a bit less contrasty and bright. I tend to boost contrast and

brightness a fraction more than you'd think necessary in the soft proofing process to correct for this in part.

<p>I use Bay photo for my books. Usually it is the 11x14 size as it is the biggest they make. Heavy paper and good color reproduction on sRGB. I wish Windows (Microsoft) and the rest of the book printing world would move to RGB and Pro-Photo RGB as the standard for quality.</p>

<p>Mathew</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I asked for color profiles and was told they were not available at that time, perhaps they are now.<br /></p>

</blockquote>

<p>They are available here:</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>http://www.blurb.com/color-management</p>

</blockquote>

<p>David Henderson mentions they have profiles, thought I would provide a link.</p>

<p>Has anyone used MixBooks? They are highly rated, but not by a group with this expertise.<br>

Thank you,<br>

John Ciccone</p>

<p>David, I'm surprised that I can't tell you. When I output to a PDF, I have a choice of Prophoto, Adobe RGB and SRGB, I would normally, depending on what the publisher requested, output to Adobe RGB. However when I choose to publish out of LR directly to Blurb, I choose the paper, but I didn't see any choice for color space. It may be built in. In any event, my monitor isn't a wide gamut monitor and basically gets pretty close to full RGB, so I'm not sure I would see the difference on screen. I do use a calibrated retina screen iMac and a Apple Thunder Bolt monitor. The book matches very well. I have heard that it also depends on where the book is printed, but I don't have any solid facts regarding that, just anecdotal examples from one or two people, not enough to prove anything. Mine have been good though.</p>

<p>Thanks for trying, Barry.</p>