| I love digital photo books! They take up less physical | | | | * the amount of text you can put on a page |
| space than the traditional photo album and produce | | | | * ability to alter and edit photos |
| far less clutter than traditional paper scrapbooking. | | | | * individual page layout options |
| Have you ever wondered which child will inherit that | | | | * variety of backgrounds, templates and themes |
| ONE copy of your prized family vacation scrapbook? | | | | * usability of photo book software; the time and |
| Do you print multiple copies of your pictures to share | | | | work it takes to learn the program nuances |
| with parents, grandparents or siblings? Are you | | | | * process of uploading photos, storage and sharing |
| struggling with how to keep all those digital photos | | | | options |
| organized? Are you looking for a fun family history | | | | * the ability to make other custom projects from |
| project? | | | | digital images, such as a calendar, greeting cards, |
| Professionally printed photo books are the perfect | | | | t-shirt, etc. |
| combination of printing digital photos and documenting | | | | How to Choose a Personal Publishing Company |
| family memories. They're easy to share and make | | | | To find the company that will best suit your needs, |
| great gifts - just print more than one copy. Plus, | | | | consider the following: |
| personal publishing companies often make organizing | | | | 1. Digital photo books vary, just like the companies |
| your online photos a breeze. | | | | who publish them. How much help will you need? |
| Ready to jump on that learning curve? | | | | Browse through the "about us" and customer service |
| Understanding the Basics | | | | portions of the website to get a feel for how |
| Standard digital photo books are usually... | | | | available they are to answer individual questions. Are |
| * about 20 pages with the capacity to include | | | | there webinars or tutorials to get you started? |
| 100-150 pages | | | | 2. What size do you want for your personalized |
| * hard or soft cover | | | | photo book? Different companies offer different |
| * sometime come with a dust cover, or the option | | | | options. If you want to create a photo book based |
| of purchasing a dust cover for an additional fee | | | | on your 12x12 scrapbook pages, it'll be easiest to |
| * vary in size - anything from 5x5 to 7x10 to 8x8 to | | | | print a 12x12 book. |
| 10.5x11 to 12x12 | | | | 3. What is your skill level? How easy does your |
| Every company I've worked with requires you to | | | | project need to be? If you don't want to spend a lot |
| first create a free password-protected user account. | | | | of time customizing pages, look for attractive |
| From there, some companies ask you to download | | | | templates and themed books. If the available |
| bookmaking software while others operate entirely | | | | backgrounds and designs seem limiting, make sure |
| online. | | | | the company offers editing options and photo |
| Photo Book Variables | | | | placement flexibility. |
| Photo book options vary just as much as the | | | | 4. How much text are you planning to include? Some |
| companies that produce them. There are many | | | | companies/templates offer little more word space |
| features available, but no one company offers them | | | | than the ability to print photo captions. Make sure |
| all. Therefore, it's best to decide what YOU consider | | | | there is enough space to say what you want to say. |
| to be the most important photo book elements | | | | 5. How many photos do you plan to include? Watch |
| before you begin your project. For example: if you | | | | that "additional page" charge - it can add up quickly. |
| want to spend the least amount of money possible, | | | | 6. Is the cover important? Do you want to be able |
| you will most likely be sacrificing quality and working | | | | to print your book title on the spine? Do you need a |
| assembling your book with somewhat confusing | | | | dust jacket? Again, options vary considerably. |
| software. To get the best quality and most | | | | 7. What do you plan to do with your book? Who will |
| customer support, you will most likely need to spend | | | | read it? If you'll be handing your digital photo books |
| more money. | | | | over to young children, make sure the book and |
| Variables include: | | | | pages are of a higher quality so they will resist |
| * prices (base price quotes are usually just for the | | | | wrinkles and tears. |
| standard 20-pages; after that you pay per page) | | | | One thing is certain - a picture is worth a thousand |
| * book quality | | | | words... but only if you look at them! Digital photo |
| * customer service | | | | books are the perfect solution. |
| * layout options | | | | |