[Dave]

As part of the research for finding the best Photobook service for Pixalo members, there is nothing like taking a test ride

As such I created my own PhotoBook from Pixalo, choosing the hardback copy. With my Mothers birthday coming up, it was an easy choice of subject for the book..... Libby her grand daughter. You can always trust your Mum for honest feedback

I purposely didn't read the help panels, to get a feel for how intuitive the whole process was .....well that's my excuse anyway

Download the PhotoBook Software

One of the key factors in deciding which PhotoBook service to use on Pixalo, was the ability to run it stand alone on your PC. This ensures you never get that dreaded "connection lost" on the web, along with all your work. A simple click on the link from the Pixalo Printing service downloaded the software in a few minutes.

Running the PhotoBook Software



Above is the screen that meets you. Nice & simple, just choose the format of book you want & then proceed. You also have the option to "load" any previous Photobooks you have created or are working on.

Start Creating Your PhotoBook

..

Now this was a joy to use. On the left you have 3 main areas to play with.

• Images Using Explorer style interface locate the Photos you want to use
• Layout Here you can choose the layout per page, including number of images, mixtures of sizes, areas for text etc. You can always manilpulate & move images afterwards, to give you maximum flexibility
• Background Here you can choose from a selection of backrounds to use on your page, or for the more creative you can use one of your own images

Now you can either drag & drop your images one at a time in to the layouts you have uses, or there is a function to upload x photos & the software will place them accordingly on the pages. A great function for those looking to use the PhotoBooks as a method of sharing proof prints to customers. As ever, you can always change, move photos at anytime....ultimate flexibility.

The software warns you if your images are too small for printing, as I found with some old web shots. In addition there are some basic image manipulation functions built in , so you can play with contrast, saturation etc for each shot. (Note the software will try to optimise shots for printing, unless you leave EXIF data in your images at which point it will not alter your shots. )

In addition to the content of the book, you can choose your images for the cover of the book, plus add some text to the spine.

Finishing Touches

With the option to add text to any page, you really can make your PhotoBook so much more special than a normal photo album. It really is possible to create something that wouldn't look out of place in a book store !!

When you have finished everything, you can preview your book before moving on to the simple order process, which uploads your PhotoBook to Cewe ready for printing.

Results

Well here's a shot of the final book. Hope you agree it has a proffesional look to it.



Here you can see I have also included images on the back of the book, plus added a personal message along the spine of the book.



Here is an example of some of the pages. Here I used an informal layout to load as many of the "snapshots" I had stored on my PC ....



...but for that special shot, why not use a double page spread



Conclusion

The PhotoBook software was a joy to use. If needed, you could create a PhotoBook in less than 5 minutes. It took me much longer to decide which shots to include & in what order, than creating the book. The flexibility of the PhotoBook software means you are only restricted by your own imagination. With the ability to also add Text in a structured layout, you are able to go beyond just sharing photos & move towards a proffesional book.

Not only are people now starting to use PhotoBooks as a preferred method of sharing their photos, they are ideal for presents & for the semi/pro a great way to share their work with potential clients, or even as an offering for events such as Weddings etc.

So Why Did Granny Cry ?

This for me was the ultimate test. We wrapped the PhotoBook up & it took it to Granny for her Birthday. Spoiled as ever, Granny was unwrapping presents from everyone, giving a courteous thankyou along the way.

BUT, when she opened her PhotoBook the moment will stay with me forever ...you would have thought we had given her the crown jewels. The biggest smile I have ever seen, the eye's welling up with tears...to say she was pleased with the PhotoBook is an understatement. That said it all for me.

Granny now carries her book everywhere to show people & they are all impressed. By spending a little time & effort you can end up with that extra special gift for someone


So what are you waiting for ? Download the software for free, build a book & if you like what you see, order away

[JMitchell]

Good review, and accurate, although, what I will say is that it cropped many of my shots a lot when I would have preferred them to be full frame but smaller, rather than chopped about...don't know how mine will come out but I will tell you when I get it

[Dave]

You should be able to get full frame shots on page no probs. You can resize any of the frames

[JMitchell]

Yeah I know, I did that, but it's just that (remember this is the small one), when I selected to pictures, the way they were automatically laid out was cropped, which I would have preferred them not to have been, I don't know if there is a way to stop this?

[Dave]

I think there are some defaults it takes you through when you start the software up. Will have a play later

<Update> - Lots of options at startup how you want the pages to be filled & everything can be updated whilst creating book

[fionaB]

i got the hardback as a present for Alans folks of our holiday together and i didint come across any cropping issues, the software was an absolute dream to use once it loaded and the result was a highly proffesional book that they loved and it only took 5 days from upload to delivery thru their door.

Fi

[Steve]

Thanks for the feedback Fi, its good to hear that you were pleased with the results

[Dabhand16]

I can now add my impressions having just received the three large hardback photobooks I ordered for Christmas presents.

I also found the software easy to use, although I did do a couple of 'dry runs' to familiarise myself with it. I found myself wishing that a larger size was available as I was reluctant to put more than three photos on a single page to keep them at a reasonable size (although you can vary the individual sizes of every photo on a page). You can also change the page set up at any time by just deleting or adding images. Extra pages can be added to enable easier re-ordering of pictures and then the blank pages can be removed.

I would like to see the ability to cut & paste pages to make re-ordering even easier though. I had the folder containing my images open at the same time to select my images as the thumbnails displayed in the photobook file browser are quite small, and you can also view them full screen if necessary. In future, I might just make up a new folder of images I want to put into a photobook in advance making it just a question of dragging them into the photobook.

I think the extra pages at £2.50 for eight extra pages was good value, although I did not increase the standard 26 pages that the standard photobook offers.

Ordered on Sunday, received on Wednesday. Well pleased, and would recommend to everyone.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Dabhand16

I would like to see the ability to cut & paste pages to make re-ordering even easier though.

You have the option to save your photobook, so in future you would just reopen the PhotoBook software , load your saved photobook & then re-order. Did this recently. Less than a minute do it all

[Dabhand16]

Lol - I know this! I meant re-ordering the photos in the photobook!

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Dabhand16

Lol - I know this! I meant re-ordering the photos in the photobook!

You can drag & drop the pages from the top thumbnails ... does that get round what you were trying to do ?

[Dabhand16]

Originally Posted by Dave

You can drag & drop the pages from the top thumbnails ... does that get round what you were trying to do ?

No - 'cos you can only move whole double pages. I wanted to move either one side or one picture, but you have to put a new blank page in the position you want and upload again - or move the double page, delete the images not wanted on that page and re-load them in the new position.

If you mixed images in the photobook from several folders as I had, it does make for a lot of fiddling around. That's why in future I'd make a new folder with all of my images in it up front.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Dabhand16

That's why in future I'd make a new folder with all of my images in it up front.

Good advice