Estimated reading time: 4 mins
Product customization is a great way to boost sales and keep customers satisfied. It also helps your brand create a sense of personal belonging for your customer base or target audience.
Designing Your Photo Book
Whether you’re creating a baby book, wedding album, or travel scrapbook, your photos must be the show’s star. Remember this when choosing backgrounds, fonts, and other design elements to avoid distracting from the images. Photo book printing services offer several customizable options. You can be as hands-on or hands-off as possible with the creation process.
Photo Books are a great way to turn once-in-a-lifetime milestones like graduations, family vacations, and art projects into precious time capsules that can be enjoyed for generations. They also make thoughtful gifts for grandparents and parents and smart collector’s items for creative professionals and recent graduates.
Many primary photo book printing services offer a wide selection of pre-made themed styles and fully customizable templates that let you create your one-of-a-kind book. Once you’ve chosen a style, select a cover, size, and number of pages. Most books start with 20 pages and can be upgraded for extra pages (two at a time, front and back). Then, choose your page layout – ranging from full-page portraits to panoramic photos that span two pages in a spread.
Uploading Your Photos
There are a few different ways to upload photos for your photo book. You can do so on the website of the company you are using or the app that comes with the service. Some apps have more options and features than others, but both are easy to use and simple to get the hang of.
Once you have all your photos, start sifting through them to find the best ones. You can arrange them into categories like subjects, aesthetics, and color. This will help you determine which photos are the most eye-catching, beautiful, or fit well with each other. It is also a good idea to eliminate images that are out of focus or have bad lighting.
When you finish your selections, it is time to start creating. Most companies have a step-by-step process that will walk you through the creation process. You can also select a photo book template to make it easier. Many companies offer different layouts and page sizes, including lay-flat pages. You can add text to your photo book to include captions, dates, and stories.
Selecting Your Paper
The type of paper you use to print your photo book will make all the difference in how your final product looks. The paper should be thick enough to hold the weight of your photos and keep them from bending or wrinkling as they’re handled. It should also have a smooth surface to ensure your images look crisp and clear.
Some photo book printing services offer various types of paper to choose from. Coated papers, for example, have a higher saturation than uncoated ones and are ideal for images with a lot of color. Specialty papers that add a touch of luxury to your book are available.
One of the most popular options is luster paper, which has a slight sheen and sandy texture that softens your photos. It’s perfect for portraits, landscapes, and pictures with a soft contour. It’s also resistant to fingerprints and dust, making it a great choice for coffee table books with hardcovers that will be touched frequently. It’s also an environmentally friendly option as it uses recycled materials and is powered by renewable energy during production.
Selecting Your Layout
Photobook printing services offer a variety of layout options. These can include bleed spreads (a page extending to the gutter) or a two-page spread with one image on each side of the book. The choice of layouts helps you tell your story appealingly and cohesively.
For example, a book organized chronologically is perfect for a year-in-review. However, a wedding album may benefit from a more thematic approach to storytelling. In either case, the layout should be designed to support your narrative and enhance the impact of each image.
A few full-text pages are also a great way to add depth and meaning to your photos. It’s essential to keep the number of text pages consistent with the overall layout of your book. This helps ensure the images remain the focal point and do not become overwhelmed by a text-heavy layout. The human eye craves contrast, so having a few varied page layouts throughout your photo book is an excellent way to make it look visually appealing and coherent.
Selecting Your Finishing Touches
Whether you’ve worked through a professional printer or are using an online service, there are a few things to consider when choosing your photo book printing services. For example, the way your prints are produced can have a large impact on both the appearance and feel of your photos.
Some photo book printing services offer various paper types and finishes, such as glossy, matte, or luster. Some also offer a choice of binding, like hardcover or softcover. These options give your book a more tailored look and help make it stand out.
Other services offer a wide range of templates, layouts, and other features to create your perfect photo book. For example, others provide an intuitive design tool and a selection of templates to suit any theme. Additionally, they use a global network of print partners to ensure quality, and their print-on-demand model means you only pay for what you need. This makes their service both cost-effective and environmentally friendly.
