stunsworth Posted October 31, 2010 Share #41 Posted October 31, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) Frank, I think you are confusing downloading and uploading. You download the Blurb software and then upload the finished book to them for printing. If you look at the Blurb site you will see that they there are other methods of creating the book if you don't want to use their software. I'm not sure that you can export a book from the Blurb software and then send the exported file to another printer, partly because it wouldn't be in Blurb's best interest to do so. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 31, 2010 Posted October 31, 2010 Hi stunsworth, Take a look here Creating and printing a Photo Book [Merged]. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
giordano Posted October 31, 2010 Share #42 Posted October 31, 2010 If you're already familiar with a page layout package (Publisher, InDesign, whatever) I'd recommend creating the book that way, then creating a PDF to upload to Blurb (or whoever). Otherwise - the Blurb software is specifically designed to help publishing novices create picture books. There are several free PDF-creator programs, it doesn't have to be the overpriced Acrobat. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted October 31, 2010 Share #43 Posted October 31, 2010 Can't you do a book through Lightroom? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thompsonkirk Posted October 31, 2010 Share #44 Posted October 31, 2010 Blurb's software is proprietary – you can't just export it to another printer, you have to re-format. Kirk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted October 31, 2010 Share #45 Posted October 31, 2010 ...does anyone have any recomendations for a book layout software that can be used on a PC that is then easily downloadable to Blurb or the other printers? Blurb have some templates available for Adobe In Design... PDF To Book | Blurb Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lieberdavid Posted November 1, 2010 Share #46 Posted November 1, 2010 Hi All, I have published so far two books with Blurb and I am just finishing a third. I've used their proprietary Booksmart software for all of them. I researched many of the online publishers, including those mentioned here, before choosing Blurb. Some, which had a reputation for very high reproduction quality, I had to reject because the cost was too high for me. In the case of others I didn't like the restriction to a small number of pages or having a hole cut in the cover. On the whole, I have been pleased with Blurb. I find the Booksmart software easy to use. I like making the book on my own computer and then uploading the finished result as opposed to making the book on their website on line. The service is fast and the quality of the binding is good in my view. I like the choices available for formats, covers, number of pages, and so forth. The Customer Service is good, the forum is helpful, and the prices are within my budget. The only negative, and it is a big one, is the quality of the reproduction of the photos in the published book. The quality is not near the quality you would ordinarily find on a good coffe table type photo book. Still, the quality is adequate for an amateur like me, and I plan to continue to use Blurb for further publishing efforts. Cheers! David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted November 1, 2010 Share #47 Posted November 1, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) Michael - The current issue of Popular Photography compares about ten photo book services. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calshot Posted November 2, 2010 Share #48 Posted November 2, 2010 Hi re:- Blurb Not that difficult to use.I downloaded the freely available software then set to work. I have used Kodak for two books but would use Blurb from now on.Just allow plenty of time to produce at for them to post out.If you have a Mac then check out the new iLife10 I think that also will have a book system. Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BigSplash Posted November 3, 2010 Share #49 Posted November 3, 2010 Many thanks to all of you for the feedback, which is very helpful to me. What I am reading is that Blurb using their software is the way to go. However there also seems to be general opinion that MyPublisher offers a higher quality product and that some inputs above seem to be critical about Blurb output quality which is described as variable (apparently as they use different printer companies), and not coffee table art quality. Also some people suggested to use " in Design " software from Adobe as this allows one to change from Blurb etc at a later date. I have the following questions: Is Blurb giving very good quality that is suitable as a catalogue for artwork rather than a family album of snap shots.? Is "In Design" relatively easy to use ...I have no experience of it. Has anyone gone the "In design" route throush a PDF to Blurb or MyPublisher etc? Thanks again to all who have given very helpful inputs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted November 3, 2010 Share #50 Posted November 3, 2010 Is Blurb giving very good quality that is suitable as a catalogue for artwork rather than a family album of snap shots.? It's good quality for what it is, but it's not as good as a 'traditional' photo book. It's our old friend "rapport qualité prix". The look may improve if you use the more expensive, heavier, paper. With the standard paper I'd rate if at or above magazine quality. The quality of printing has improved over the years - particularly for b&w. Is "In Design" relatively easy to use ...I have no experience of it I haven't used it either, but given that it's a professional level DTP package, I'd guess it isn't something you can just load and run with. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted November 3, 2010 Share #51 Posted November 3, 2010 If the quality of the input into this book warrants spending the money on a full "coffee table book" quality print run, then doing it online is completely the wrong way to go. You need to take it to a proper printer used to dealing with fine art books. I was very impressed with the quality of our Blurb charity book. It is at least as agood a quality as many of the photography books that adorn my shelves. Next time we will restrict the number of pages so that the better quality paper can be used. I haven't heards of any complaints from the people that have bought them. Have you bought one Frank? You should really judge for yourself rather than taking someone else's word for it. InDesign is a high-end desktop publishing program. The cost of the software alone would probably buy you three or four books from Blurb - even the big ones such as our charity book. Then there is the learning curve to get it to do what you want to do with it. How long have you got? If you used a Mac, you could use Pages from the iWork suite, if you don't want to go down the on-line route. On a PC there are dozens of cheap page layout programs, but whether the quality or ease of use is anything suitable, I have no idea. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipper00 Posted November 3, 2010 Share #52 Posted November 3, 2010 I found this site a while back: Edition One Books | Custom Photography & Art Books They seem to say the right things and sound like a quality outfit, but I haven't tried it out yet. Anyone have any experience with them? I had to sign up just so I could recommend this printer. Their background is in photography and they know how to print photos. I did both grayscale and four color black, and they both turned out really well, with black being neutral, not some funky color. I definitely recommend checking them out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BigSplash Posted November 4, 2010 Share #53 Posted November 4, 2010 Andy my daughter's exhibition is from 29 Nov. for a week with the vernisage on Dec 2nd. I think it is going to be too late for this event, however there will be other events and she has a definite need for basically two books: A catalogue of A4 size with a soft cover that can be sold at cost at events. This can show what is on offer for purchase A large XXL "high quality" coffee table book that can sit prominently at the gallery, probably using thicker paper as Steve suggests. I am hoping that the pages can be somewhat similar and need simply bulk adjustment of page sizing followed by some manual adjustment perhaps. That is driving my interest in using a pro software such as "in design", plus I do not like being locked in to one supplier such as Blurb. Thanks for your input. Is the charity book available at Mayfair Leica or by post only? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted November 4, 2010 Share #54 Posted November 4, 2010 The charity book is available directly from Blurb. There's a link to it at the end of Andy's sig. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndjambrose Posted November 4, 2010 Share #55 Posted November 4, 2010 Forget Blurb. This is better. Home | ubyu Bespoke books for you by you Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndjambrose Posted November 4, 2010 Share #56 Posted November 4, 2010 ...Is "In Design" relatively easy to use ...I have no experience of it. No. It's a professional, fully featured design program intended for professional print jobs. Like the rest of Adobe creative suite, it's aimed at expert users and has its own unique learning curve. Only consider using it if you have practical expertise in the pre-requisites, such as using a soft proof profile, accurate colour matching for paper stock, calculating page dimensions with offsets and bleed, pre-flighting a final design, including ICC profiling for press/offset/lith, embedding fonts, working out the correct layout for collated printing (where pages are not sequential), and finalising images for quality output. Most bespoke printers supply you with templates that are already matched to their paper and print setup. If you don't have these (Blurb don't supply them, as they intend you to use Booksmart) you'll may find it a struggle, unless you know how to make your own. It's not a trivial task. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted November 4, 2010 Share #57 Posted November 4, 2010 Most bespoke printers supply you with templates that are already matched to their paper and print setup... ...Blurb don't supply them, as they intend you to use Booksmart... Blurb supply templates for In Design - see the link in my earlier message. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted November 4, 2010 Share #58 Posted November 4, 2010 Blurb, to their credit, have a charitable section, where they donate part of their profit to your charity if, like us, you are publishing for a good cause. To my surprise, a colleague in my office was looking at our book this morning. "Where did you get that from?", said I. "We've bought one for reception", said she. That's made my day I commend it to anyone interested in what forum members do and who wants to support a very good cause. as Steve says, it's available, within a couple of weeks, usually, via the link on every single one of my posts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BigSplash Posted November 4, 2010 Share #59 Posted November 4, 2010 No. It's a professional, fully featured design program intended for professional print jobs. Like the rest of Adobe creative suite, it's aimed at expert users and has its own unique learning curve. Only consider using it if you have practical expertise in the pre-requisites, such as using a soft proof profile, accurate colour matching for paper stock, calculating page dimensions with offsets and bleed, pre-flighting a final design, including ICC profiling for press/offset/lith, embedding fonts, working out the correct layout for collated printing (where pages are not sequential), and finalising images for quality output. Most bespoke printers supply you with templates that are already matched to their paper and print setup. If you don't have these (Blurb don't supply them, as they intend you to use Booksmart) you'll may find it a struggle, unless you know how to make your own. It's not a trivial task. Neil thanks for this feedback. I recognise that Adobe software can be pretty daunting for occassional users having cut my teeth on Photoshop, Lightroom and Premier Pro (for making movies). I am convinced that I do NOT use these products at anything above 60% of what they are capable of but I muddle through and achieve what I consider a good output. You clearly are an expert using inDesign .....is it possible to achieve an "acceptable" output without going to 100% level. You list the following: soft proof profile, Not sure what that is accurate colour matching for paper stock, How do Blurb etc do this? calculating page dimensions with offsets and bleed, Presumably if the interface to Blurb is using one of their templates this is automatic? pre-flighting a final design, including ICC profiling for press/offset/lith, Use Blurb template? embedding fonts, Not sure what this is? working out the correct layout for collated printing (where pages are not sequential), Is this not handled within Blurb templates finalising images for quality output. I guess this is handled by matching the monitor screen to the paper stock and printing process ...again I ask how does this work with Blurb? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted November 4, 2010 Share #60 Posted November 4, 2010 Just use the Blurb or other on-line proprietary services. They do a fantastic job and all those questions will be moot. Just follow the guidelines on the Blurb site. Unless you want to spend the next 6 months learning how to use InDesign _properly_, you will also get a much better result for significantly less money. InDesign is seven hundred pounds... Alternatively, take a CD of all your photographs to a local printer, and get him to do it for you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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