I've been hooked into Photobooks lately. It started with the
gift I gave Adrin on our 4th anniversary. I've longed to give him some sort of love story scrapbook way back early into the relationship. I just couldn't get myself to manually select pictures, have them printed, mount them on a craft album, and put little artsy craftsy decors as a final touch. That's why when I saw a voucher for
Photobook Philippines in one of the group buying sites, I decided to try it out and make a digital scrapbook instead.
Here's how it goes:
- Create a digital photobook via their free downloadable software
- Electronically send the completed photobook to the production site (they are having it produced in Malaysia)
- Receive your photobook at your own door step
Their products back then were an array of softcover and hardcover photobooks in different types, sizes, and orientations. I first created a Medium Landscape Imagewrap Hardcover photobook. After following the tutorial in their software, I was able to complete my layout in several days. I uploaded it to their system to start production and my photobook was delivered to me in roughly a week's time.
The end product appears to be meticulously made and is evident to be of high quality. It's heavily bound and stitched at the spine to ensure that the pages won't tore loose. Quality of their standard paper (170gsm premium silk matte paper) is also very good. It's thick enough and doesn't crease immediately. Actual print of images on the paper is 99% color accurate. The item was also packed neatly to avoid the risk of it being damage while in transit.
With similar specs, I next ordered for a book to document our Japan adventure earlier this year. One has full liberty on what design or image to use for the cover.
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| Imagewrap Photobook |
Contents are highly customizable too. You can do it scrapbook style with girly designs...
Or with funky and fun designs.
And if you want to maximize the space, then you can just opt for a straightforward album layout. :)
For my boudoir photos, I decided to try the debossed type and ordered a matching slip case. There are several cover options for this type of photobook, and for this one, I chose leather. Since I want a higher quality paper for that very memorable experience, I also upgraded for this book to use 220gsm premium silk matte paper.
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| Oh why, hello there? | My debossed book and the sturdy slip case in Leather |
Since we already had our official prenup shoot last June, a photobook is also in order for those lovely photos. Again, I made a debossed book, but with a buckram album cover this time. I've heard good feedback regarding the photo paper so I chose that type of paper for this photobook. And boy was I so glad with that upgrade because the photo papers are so nice. At 190gsm, it's thinner than the ones I used for my boudoir album, but the texture and print is better than on the silk matte variants. Probably because it's, yeah, a PHOTO paper. Haha!
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| Debossed book in Buckram |
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| See the weaved texture? |
Here's a better comparison of the paper types I've tried so far.
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Top: 170gsm Premium Silk Matte; Mid: 220gsm Premium Silk Matte;
Bottom: 190gsm Photo Paper |
There are several other companies offering similar services and products but I haven't tried them yet. Never did I thought of changing suppliers because I'm satisfied with my transactions with Photobook Philippines so far.
8 Reasons why I love Photobook Philippines:
- Software is very user friendly. It even shows tutorial prompts which you can turn-off whenever you want.
- A lot of layouts, backgrounds, frames, etc. to choose from. I haven't even fully maximized all the stickers available for the users.
- Lots of photobook types and sizes to choose from. They have it in hardcover and softcovers; small to extra large; landscape or portrait.
- Lots of cover choices. There's imagewrap, debossed (with further more options), and designer books. They even have proof books and pofessional photobooks!
- Ease of sending the finished book to the printing facility. From doing the layouts, to actual ordering, uploading, and payment -- everything is triggered from the free software. You just need to ensure that you have a reliable internet connection once you're ready to order your photobook.
- Tracking of order status is easy. Once you've successfully uploaded your order, they'll send you a link so you can check the status of your order whether its still In Production, Bindery, or Final QC.
- Partner courier is reliable. All photobooks I've received so far were produced in Malaysia. They were sent to me via DHL which is one of the largest couriers worldwide. As soon as the book has been shipped out, you'll also receive a notification with a link to the DHL site where you can check the location of your item.
- Very good customer service. I received my boudoir photobook with several damaged prints. When I reported it to their customer service, they just asked for pictures to see the damage and immediately informed me that they will reprint my order and send me a new one. In just one week (normal order lead time), I received my replacement photobook. Not bad right? No need for long arguments and follow-ups.
Aside from photobooks, they now offer other products:
- Poster prints
- Photo cards
I'm set to order some poster prints for the wedding so I'll keep you posted on that.
Of course I'd want to try out other photobook suppliers out there but I'll probably save that for occasions other than our second prenup and our wedding. Photos from those occasions are far too memorable to risk with a new supplier. I'm sticking with the tested and reliable for now. :)
Photobook Philippines
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Cheers!
