Blurb Photobooks...

Amp34 · 3 Jun 2010 at 17:21

I got one I made this morning (standard landscape with around 30 pages) and tbh I'm not that impressed. All I can say is you get what you pay for.

The book itself (although very thin!) seems well made but the print quality leaves a bit more to be desired. Admittedly I went for the cheaper standard print instead of premium paper but still... The prints are quite dark and not very photo like, they also seem to have a colour tint on them too.

Having said that I could be being spoiled, I'm comparing it to a Cewe photobook (printed on premium paper) I had done a while ago. The Cewe book cost me £40 and the Blurb book £11 so I guess you get what you pay for.

Just posting this as a heads up for anyone interested in getting photobooks printed.

** As mentioned I had the print done with the standard paper, I have no idea how much better the premium paper actually is.

Derek W · 3 Jun 2010 at 18:12

can you pop up a few photos of the book? I'm sure Raymond Lin had one printed and it looked pretty good (i think it was premium paper)

I'm going to be printing a book in the next couple of months so wouldn't mind seeing some more examples

Raymond Lin · 3 Jun 2010 at 18:27

I made mine with premium paper last year

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18100457&highlight=Blurb

Amp34 · 3 Jun 2010 at 19:55

Terrible quality but...

Cewe at top, Blurb at bottom

Loxley on left, Blurb on right

(The top images are an identical Jpeg sent to both places, bottom the only difference is a crop then a save to Jpeg)

Now obviously it's a bit unfair expecting them to be of photo quality but at least some where near would be nice, expecially from a company that sells "photobooks"...

Unfortunately I can't get the the "texture" of the print with any of my current lenses but it's similar to newspaper quality (the whole little round bits making up the photo). More annoyingly it's not confined to the photos themselves, the grey writing (on the left of the top image) also has the same "texture" instead of being a solid block of colour.

I guess for the price the "build quality" of the book is pretty good but it seems to have gone a bit photobox on the prints...

Derek W · 3 Jun 2010 at 20:13

Certainly the second comparison the greeens are more blue and washed out compared to the loxely print you've got there.

It would be interesting to see Raymonds comments on the print quality he got on his, will check to see if he's made any in his topic.

Amp34 · 3 Jun 2010 at 20:21

In actual fact the worst of the two is actually the first. It looks completely different to both the Cewe book and a large (24x16) print by Loxley, again faded/flat and washed out, with quite a colour difference. The second shot is pretty much true to life.

Raymond Lin · 3 Jun 2010 at 20:22

I fine mine to be fine actually, it is pretty accurate to what i see on my screen. I did choose premium paper though.

Amp34 · 3 Jun 2010 at 20:27

I'll have to give premium paper a go at some point then, see what the difference actually is.

As mentioned before I will probably be printing a load of the same book out so i'll check what the premium one is like first and decide whether the cost increase is acceptable.

martinturner · 3 Jun 2010 at 21:29

Cannot say I have opted for the cheaper paper; but I have had 4 done on seperate occasions with the premium and have to say the quality has been exceptional for the money.

The_Abyss · 3 Jun 2010 at 23:03

I've always gone for the premium paper - I've done 4 or 5 books now. When you're paying £40 or so, a few extra pounds seems worth it to me.

Capt Doufos · 3 Jun 2010 at 23:44

I've had a large landscape done, 152 pages premium paper and I am happy with the results, colour reproduction is good. Book quallity is pretty good, but you can tell the weight is pushing the boundries of the binding.

33L · 5 Jun 2010 at 12:09

I ordered a large landscape 13"*11" and was very happy with the quality for the price, i did use premium paper as it was a wedding album for a wedding i covered. I have only one shot of the book but will see if i can dig it out.

The images did not seem to be faded at all. The B&G loved it and would use them again.

mavers · 6 Jun 2010 at 17:48

I've used Blurb a few times, the standard paper is quite shocking as i've found its hit and miss with the quality.

On the other hand i havent had any issues with the premium paper.

martinturner · 6 Jun 2010 at 19:30

Sounds like its a case of always go with Premium paper; that's good to know for future reference. I have been meaning to get another book done.

Namistai · 6 Jun 2010 at 20:40

This is really useful information. I want to get a couple of different photobooks printed and was considering using Blurb - but was starting to doubt whether it would be better value to spend more to ensure the colour is accurate. If premium paper sorts it then I'll try one and make a call on the other

Amp34 · 6 Jun 2010 at 22:56

martinturner said:
Sounds like its a case of always go with Premium paper; that's good to know for future reference. I have been meaning to get another book done.

Definately, it's always a bit of a pain when all you get is recommendations by people with no examples, it's always a bit hit and miss if their quality is the same as your quality.