I wrote a few months back about how I prepare a family yearbook and have it professionally printed. I am a huge advocate of printing and organizing your family photos–whether that means just printing stacks of 4x6s and putting them in archive boxes or preparing a family yearbook album the way I do. The only downside I have found to my family yearbook strategy is that the books are so expensive, even when on sale or using my photographer’s discount, that I really have to be choosy in what images I want to place inside. So, I have been on a quest to find an alternative way to print out lots of images per year and keep them all together. Thus, when I came across Blurb books I was really excited.
As an affordable alternative and complement to my family yearbook, I’ve gone back and created Blurb books for each year since 2011. In fact, I actually have a private family blog and I used my Blurb books to backup all the text and images I have on my blog and translate it into a mini album.
So, if you are feeling inspired to do a little family photo organizing, I had a few comments about my experience with Blurb that I hope someone out there will find helpful:
Pros:
- Blurb books are affordable. They often send out email coupons so if you are thinking of ordering something you can always save your design and then wait to order until a coupon is available.
- You can have up to 200 pages–no need to stress over what to include in your book as there is plenty of room!
- Designing an album doesn’t take expensive software like Indesign or Photoshop. Blurb has its own design software program online that can walk you through the process step by step. If you prefer Indesign/Photoshop then they also allow the flexibility to use those programs as well.
- It’s fast! All of my books were printed and shipped within 2 weeks. Great turnaround time!
Cons:
- Quality– Blurb is a consumer grade product and quite honestly the paper, binding and overall quality is not something I would want to print for my clients. However, if you are just looking to self-document your own memories then this is perfectly acceptable. I do suggest going with their heaviest paper and hardback cover for maximum quality.
So, overall, I’d give my experience using Blurb an “A” and would totally recommend them for personal use. Have more questions for me–email heather@hparkerphotography.com
H.Parker Photography specializes in newborn, baby and child photography in Trophy Club, Texas and surrounding areas including but not limited to Dallas, Ft Worth and Roanoke.