Comparing Wedding Photo Albums Created Online

A Look at Large Format Photo Books

This post is about BIG photo books. Specifically, wedding books. Your wedding album can be any size, naturally, but most of the time, people want a big book to cover the big day.

You probably know by now that you can create your own wedding photo album online using services like Kodak Gallery, Picaboo, or Shutterfly, and create a beautifully bound, coffee table quality book. In fact, many wedding photographers offer photo book service–they’ll create the photo book for you instead of the traditional print album.

But whether you do it yourself, or you  hire a professional, take a few minutes to survey the range of wedding album choices out there. There are so many new companies offering photo book design, the choice can be somewhat daunting.

Here are some features to look for when deciding on which photo book service:

Large format sizes

By large format, I mean 12 x 12 or larger. Kodak Gallery has a 12 x 14 landscape size, MixBook has a 14 x11 landscape size as well.

Lay flat pages

Lay flat pages are do not bend across the gutter (the point where pages are attached to the spine). The pages lay perfectly flat so you can conceivably have a two page photo spread. Picaboo and MyPublisher both offer this option.

Number of pages

Some vendors have lower maximum page counts than others so check this especially if you’re planning a large album. Picaboo specifies 160 pages (or 80 double sided),

Page themes and design

Most vendors offer a range of themes, from the obvious Wedding, and other special occasion, to Cookbooks, Travelog, Portfolio, Baby,Vintage, Kids and so on.

Spine printing

This is tough to figure out for some reason. As of today, here’s who allows you to put a title on the spine (hardcovers only): MyPublisher,  Shutterfly

Cover printing

Most vendors allow a photo to be printed on the front cover, with the the left most edge of the photo wrapping around the spine. Some vendors also allow a photo on the back cover.

Shutterfly: both front and back

Kodak Gallery: front and small square on back

MyPublisher: front and back, also has a dust jacket cover (a removable paper cover, like a bestseller)

Types of cover

Besides the hard ans soft photofinish cover, you can get linen, leather, velvet and padded covers. Shutterfly, Picaboo, MyPublisher, and Kodak Gallery all offer a similar options.

Embossing

Picaboo goes all the way with its top of the line photo book. this is closest to what I’d call the traditional wedding album. It includes a genuine leather hardcover and custom cover stamping, hinged flush mount, lay-flat binding, and page edge gilding color to match cover stamping. It’s also the most expensive (no surprise there).

Barcodes and Logos

Sometimes, vendors stamp their logo and barcode on the back cover. This is for tracking purposes, so that the right cover always gets matched with the right insides. However, the result is kind of ugly (I think).

Price

Cost Comparison for largest size album offered with 20 pages and photofinish cover:

Kodak Gallery: $69.99

Picaboo: $350

MyPublisher: $59.80

MixBook: $34.99

Shutterfly: $54.99

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I’ll be adding to this comparison as time goes by so please bookmark this post and check back for updates!