Photobooks

[ammonite]

I use Photobook Singapore. Usually I wait for their sale and buy the coupons.

[sharonkhoo]

ammonite:

I use Photobook Singapore. Usually I wait for their sale and buy the coupons.

I find the info on the website rather confusing - so I'll ask you!
Is the price quoted for just 1 copy? So if I want 3, I'll have to pay 3 times the amount?
Is there shipping charges on top of that price?
Do you use their software to design the pages? If not, what do you use?
What are \"readybooks\"?

I have scanned a bunch of family photos from my parents' courting days to the present and made a ppt for my father's birthday. I showed it to them on Sunday, and they really enjoyed it. I thought it would be nice to put them in a photobook for my mum who is not a computer/gadget user. I've never done this before, so any tips would be welcome! Thanks!

[floppy]

slmkhoo:

Not sure where to post this. Does anyone make photobooks with your family photos? Any company to recommend? I have heard of Photobook Singapore, but are there any others I can compare with? I would only want to make about 3 copies, and the cost seems high. Any suggestions?

I create and print photobooks from time to time - typically photos from an important occasion or family travels.
As I am using a Mac / Apply ecosystem, I create them through iPhoto. You can https://www.apple.com/sg/macos/print-products/. May not be the cheapest, but I don't find their price exorbitant either.

If you are not on the Mac ecosystem, you can probably consider the following, apart from http://www.photobooksingapore.com/:
1. http://www.photobookjoy.com.sg
2. http://www.fotohub.com
3. http://www.fotoplay.sg/

[ammonite]

slmkhoo:

ammonite:

I use Photobook Singapore. Usually I wait for their sale and buy the coupons.

I find the info on the website rather confusing - so I'll ask you!
Is the price quoted for just 1 copy? So if I want 3, I'll have to pay 3 times the amount?
Is there shipping charges on top of that price?
Do you use their software to design the pages? If not, what do you use?
What are \"readybooks\"?

I have scanned a bunch of family photos from my parents' courting days to the present and made a ppt for my father's birthday. I showed it to them on Sunday, and they really enjoyed it. I thought it would be nice to put them in a photobook for my mum who is not a computer/gadget user. I've never done this before, so any tips would be welcome! Thanks!

Yes, the price quoted is usually for one book. I usually just scan for discounts during sale period so I will read the specific write-up to find out if it is the discounted price is for 1 book, or if it is a 1-for-1 ie 2 copies of the exact same thing. They also have bulk discount pricing - I think it starts at 5 books (of the same design) and above.

Shipping cost is additional and usually hand delivered by courier.

I prefer to use my own layout but their software, so I use the online project option, but choose a blank book. Readybooks are already laid out in terms of photo sizing and positioning, sometimes some backgrounds as well. But I think you can edit at will even if you select a ready book. Note that their online website can get overloaded and laggy so patience is required and keep saving your updates if you do that.

[sharonkhoo]

ammonite:

slmkhoo:

[quote=\"ammonite\"]I use Photobook Singapore. Usually I wait for their sale and buy the coupons.

I find the info on the website rather confusing - so I'll ask you!
Is the price quoted for just 1 copy? So if I want 3, I'll have to pay 3 times the amount?
Is there shipping charges on top of that price?
Do you use their software to design the pages? If not, what do you use?
What are \"readybooks\"?

I have scanned a bunch of family photos from my parents' courting days to the present and made a ppt for my father's birthday. I showed it to them on Sunday, and they really enjoyed it. I thought it would be nice to put them in a photobook for my mum who is not a computer/gadget user. I've never done this before, so any tips would be welcome! Thanks!

Yes, the price quoted is usually for one book. I usually just scan for discounts during sale period so I will read the specific write-up to find out if it is the discounted price is for 1 book, or if it is a 1-for-1 ie 2 copies of the exact same thing. They also have bulk discount pricing - I think it starts at 5 books (of the same design) and above.

Shipping cost is additional and usually hand delivered by courier.

I prefer to use my own layout but their software, so I use the online project option, but choose a blank book. Readybooks are already laid out in terms of photo sizing and positioning, sometimes some backgrounds as well. But I think you can edit at will even if you select a ready book. Note that their online website can get overloaded and laggy so patience is required and keep saving your updates if you do that.[/quote]Thanks! They are having a promotion now, and it's very tempting, especially as I can pay the reduced prince now but have a couple of months to prepare the book. What size do you find the best? I'm deciding between a 8\" x 11\" landscape or 8\" x 8\" square.

[ammonite]

I have used landscape and portrait, but not the square. But I think old photos tend to be squares?


You have to think about your preferred layout so you can take a look at the photos you have at hand and decide how you would like to "showcase" them. Eg do you want to have full page photos, if so are the photos mostly landscape or portrait, do you prefer to have a border around them to frame them, do you want to add heading and text and if so, what is your style etc. Remember as well that the dimensions are sort of changed when you open the book up. The opened square book will become a long rectangle. (If you are intending to work across two pages.) To get a sense of the differences, you can go to the library or bookshop and flip through some photobooks.

[sharonkhoo]

ammonite:

I have used landscape and portrait, but not the square. But I think old photos tend to be squares?


You have to think about your preferred layout so you can take a look at the photos you have at hand and decide how you would like to \"showcase\" them. Eg do you want to have full page photos, if so are the photos mostly landscape or portrait, do you prefer to have a border around them to frame them, do you want to add heading and text and if so, what is your style etc. Remember as well that the dimensions are sort of changed when you open the book up. The opened square book will become a long rectangle. (If you are intending to work across two pages.) To get a sense of the differences, you can go to the library or bookshop and flip through some photobooks.

Thanks! I decided on the landscape one. I doubt I'll use a full page photos as we don't have such nice ones! More like 2-3 on a page. Oh well, I'm not aiming for artistic excellence - just to let my mum have them in hard copy so she can look at them when she wants to. Now I have to remember to get it done by April (when the voucher expires!).

[ammonite]

Most welcomed! In this case, you may want to use a ready book and just check through the size/scanned resolution of photos before printing. Have fun!

[sharonkhoo]

I’ve downloaded the Designer s/w so I can work offline. I’ll see if there is a readybook that suits my purposes, but it may be simpler to start with a blank book, I think. Will play around with it today!