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Recommendation of a professional online photo book other than Blurb.com


A miller

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  • 2 weeks later...

Andy just used Blurb for the forum book, and the result, especially the b&w shots, is excellent. What problem are you experiencing?

 

 

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Edited by stuny
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I, too, have not been impressed with Blurb. I have made two books--one color and one monochrome. The monochrome was the better of the two. I found the layout interface to be kludgy.

 

With that in mind, I have searched for alternatives. These folks (Fine Art Books ) look like they meet your desires from a quality standpoint. I priced out a 60-page book out of curiosity. You are in the $300 neighborhood, depending on how you "pimp your book." That obviously is cost prohibitive if you are hoping to sell the books unless you are a big-name photographer.

 

I am taking a closer look at folios and other ways to package work. At least that way, I have control over the printing. In the event that interests you, I suggest you take a look at the Lens Works website--a paid annual subscription site--but I think a Google search will get you to some info on folios. They have a video course on creating your own folios. If you don't want to roll your own, there is a website where you can buy pre-cut folios that are modeled on what they show at Lens Work. Dane Creek Folio Covers - Home

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I used Blurb once. While the book looked great overall, the photos lacked something or rather they did not pop so to speak. I have a calibrated monitor and they looked great while putting together the book but not so great when published.

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I am very sorry for the delay. For some reason I wasn't getting email notifications of your responses until this morning when I receoved a dump of them.

 

I really appreciate your time and thoughts on this.

 

The big problems with Blurb were:

 

-the B&W had green hues on one page and red hues on this opposite pages

-some B&W pages has subtle blotches of color (due to the CMYK ink that is used)

-the colors weren't spot on, which is due to the lack of color profiles for LR due to LR's inability to accept CMYK profiles (it only accepts only adobe profiles.)

-There is some noise in the B&W pictures that detracts fromt he quality.

 

This is a real bummer b/c Blurb is SOOO easy to use in LR. The thought of having to export and upload 100 photos is daunting!

 

Thanks very much for the suggestions. I will explore them with great interest and report back with my thoughts!

 

Thanks again,

Adam

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Many thanks, Simon and Je Texas. Really appreciate your feedback. I rec'd a new copy of the blurb book. I used the most expensive paper and there is a dramatic difference in quality. It actually it almost satisfactory. The only remaining annoying problem is that there are very subtle streaks of reddish hues on some pages and greenish hues on other pages. I've gone back to the customer support people but am fully expecting them to tell me that this is life with them and get used to it.

 

If the convenience wasn't so great I wouldn't give them the time of day.

 

I look forward to scoping out the ideas that you have provided.

Thanks again for your time.

Best,

adam

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...

The big problems with Blurb were:

 

-the B&W had green hues on one page and red hues on this opposite pages

-some B&W pages has subtle blotches of color (due to the CMYK ink that is used)

-the colors weren't spot on, which is due to the lack of color profiles for LR due to LR's inability to accept CMYK profiles (it only accepts only adobe profiles.)

-There is some noise in the B&W pictures that detracts fromt he quality.

 

This is a real bummer b/c Blurb is SOOO easy to use in LR. The thought of having to export and upload 100 photos is daunting!...

Adam

Adam,

 

Have you reported your concerns to BLURB? If so, what was their response?

 

I would have thought they would have taken valid criticisms seriously and redressed your concerns.

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They have no phone support which is so annoying.

So I complained via email and received a response not immediately.

They asked me to go through the hassle of sending pictures evidencing the errors.

Then they said that subtle green and red hues in the B&W photos are to be expected due to the use of color ink.

I was able to demonstrate clear our of variance errors and they finally agreed to pay for a new book. I upgraded to the most expensive paper and I will say that there is a dramatic difference in quality. So much that I think the most expensive paper paper is a must have for a book with serious quality.

 

Anyone ordering a book with a lot of B&W photos should have the expectation that there will be many of them with subtle red hues and some with green hues, even with the most expensive paper. And based on the tremendous swell of complaints on Blurb's very own customer discussion forum, I don't think they have a business model that includes striving for perfection.

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Adam -

 

I'm wondering if Blurb has different standards in different markets. The Leica books Andy Barton assembled do not suffer the quality problems you describe.

 

Interesting, Stuart, thanks. Have you flipped through one of Andy's books in person?

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Interesting, Stuart, thanks. Have you flipped through one of Andy's books in person?

 

 

I have one here (printed in the Netherlands) and the quality of both the color and the black and white images is outstanding.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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After three attempts and a lot of haggling, I finally rec'd a copy that I am ok with. Using the most expensive paper, the color photos are indeed quite nice. The BW photos, on the other hand, still leave a little to be desired. This can largely be blamed on the fact that color inks are used even for the BW photos. I think there also may be a quality control issue b/c since I started complaining, the subsequent copies of the book had less and less hues. Even with the best rendition, the quality pales in comparison to the results I get from the silver gelatin prints using Ilford baryta paper that I have been using lately from Whitewall. Certainly, there shouldn't be an apples to apples comparison here. However, it's a bit frustrating where the blurb books are used for professional purposes in which the photos are meant to represent what a customer might get in a print. I am addressing this by having to attach a few small samples of the BW photos with the Ilford baryta paper as inserts in the book. Not ideal, but necessary, I believe, in my particular case.

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