Choosing an Online Print Lab
There are a number of labs to choose from when creating and printing a digital photo album. I wanted to provide you with a bit of guidance when making this decision. The following labs are all ones I have used myself to design and print albums. They provide a range of price points, quality of material, customization options and design software to create your project.
SHUTTERFLY: Many of us are familiar with this online print lab. It is an easy platform to use as it is intuitive for the majority of people. Uploading images and using their design software to create a book is straightforward. You have many themes and elements to choose from when creating your books. They also have a variety of pre-set layouts and text options. Some disadvantages are limitations you have in customizing your layout and book design. Shutterfly is a discount lab and the quality of materials they use is not on par with higher end labs. Shutterfly has an affordable price point and they always have special offers throughout the year to save even more.
PICABOO:Picaboo is very similar to Shutterfly in quality of materials, upgrade options, price point, and discount offers. However, in my experience they offer a bit more flexibility with custom layouts and text arrangements.
ARTIFACT UPRISING: This lab is at a higher price point and boasts high quality materials, but their options for material choices (cover options and page material) is limited. In regards to their design software for creating your book, it was intuitive and easy to learn, but the organization of the editor made it difficult to navigate between images and the book layout at the same time. This is not an ideal option when creating a photo album with a large number of images. However, it would be easy to use with a smaller project. When it comes to designing your book, the layout options are limited and there is not room to customize those options or add your own arrangements. This can be a benefit in streamlining your design process, but if you want more control and customization, this is not the choice for you.
BLURB BOOKS: If you want complete control and customization of your book, this is the site for you! Blurb Books is used by all sorts of authors to create, publish, and print independent books. In order to create a book with this site, you first download their design software “BookWright”. This app is a creative tool that lets you fully customize the layout, picture size, text and font options. Blurb books material quality was on par with other mid range photo labs. They offer upgrades to your paper quality and thickness. Finally, the price point is higher than the discount labs, but they typically offer discounts throughout the year.
NATIONS LAB: This is the lab to choose if you have a very special project in mind. I say this as the prices are higher than some of the other labs I have mentioned, but with that you will get a high end quality product. Nations lab has beautifully bound albums, with top notch materials and printing quality. This might not be the lab you choose for an album with 100+ pages, but would be perfect for a special occasion or gift. Think about using Nations Lab for anniversaries, extended family sessions or milestone birthdays. How about your professional family photo sessions? Make a small high quality album with those professional images! The design software was easy to use and they offer several pre-set page and text layouts.
Overall Recommendations:
If you want to keep costs low: I would recommend Shutterfly or Picaboo
If you want the most control and customization with your book design: I recommend Blurb Books
If you want a high end book with top notch materials and print quality: I recommend Nations Lab
Hope you found this helpful! Feel free to leave a comment or ask questions.
Nicola