I help overwhelmed family photo keepers become memory preservation masters so they can enjoy their photos again and leave meaningful collections for future generations.
Not All Photo Books Are Worth It (Here’s How to Tell)
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Hi , A few years ago, I spent hours creating a photo book as a gift. I mean, I was so excited about it. I carefully chose every photo, wrote thoughtful captions, arranged everything just right. When it arrived, I ripped open the box (you know how that goes)…and my heart just sank. The colors looked washed out. The pages felt cheap and flimsy. And when I flipped through it? I could already see the spine starting to pull away from the binding. This was supposed to be a treasured keepsake. Instead, it looked like it wouldn’t even make it through one year on someone’s bookshelf. Ugh. 😞 That’s when I learned an expensive lesson: not all photo book companies are created equal. And here’s the thing—unless you know what to look for, you can’t tell the good ones from the bad ones until it’s too late. So today, I want to give you the checklist I wish I’d had before I ordered that book. Whether you’re planning to make a photo book with me or on your own, these are the quality markers that matter. What to Look for in a Photo Book Vendor1. Paper Quality 📄Photo book paper gets rated by weight—usually somewhere between 65 lb and 100 lb. The higher that number, the sturdier your pages will be. But weight isn’t everything. You also want archival-quality paper, which means it needs to be both acid-free AND lignin-free. Wait, what’s lignin? It’s a protein in wood that breaks down super fast once it’s turned into paper. Remember how newspapers turn yellow and get all crumbly? That’s lignin doing its thing. So if the company doesn’t say their paper is lignin-free, definitely ask. You don’t want your beautiful photo book pages turning brown and brittle in just a few years. 2. Binding QualityMost photo books use adhesive binding, but here’s where it gets interesting—not all adhesives are the same. PUR adhesive is way better than EVA adhesive. PUR is more durable, dries completely clear, and holds up in extreme temperatures. EVA? It can literally melt in the heat and crack when it’s cold. (Not exactly what you want for a family heirloom, right?) If the company doesn’t mention PUR adhesive specifically, it’s worth asking about. 3. Print Quality 🖨️I read a study once that rated ten popular photo book companies on print quality. The scores ranged from 67% all the way up to 100%. Want to guess which ones scored lowest? The store photo services like Walmart, Walgreens, and Costco. The highest scores went to companies that actually specialize in photo books and custom photo products. Here’s the truth nobody wants to hear: you really do get what you pay for. 4. Photo ResolutionEven the fanciest printer in the world can’t fix a low-quality photo. So if you’re using scanned photos, make sure they were scanned at at least 300 DPI. (600 DPI is even better which is what I teach.) Your photos should be at least 3.5 MB in size for good print quality. Here’s an easy way to check: if your photos are measured in kilobytes (KB) instead of megabytes (MB), they’re probably too small. And that means they’ll come out blurry or pixelated. 😬 5. Customer Service ❤️OK, this one’s hard to test until something goes wrong—but it really matters. The best companies assume you’re right, even when the mistake was actually yours. I’ve seen photo book companies reprint entire books for free (or at huge discounts) just because the customer wasn’t happy, even when the customer was the one who made the error. If your photo book company doesn’t come through with excellent customer service when you need it? Shop around. There are plenty of companies that actually care about making it right. Vendors I TrustI’ve used a lot of photo book vendors over the years, and these are the ones I recommend:
All of these meet my quality standards. Full transparency: I’m an affiliate for each of them, which means if you order through my links, I might earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. But here’s what I really want you to know: the most important thing is that you actually make the book. Already have a vendor you love and trust? Use them! Want to try one of these? Great! Either way, use this checklist to make sure you’re getting something that’ll last. Want Help Making Your First (or Next) Photo Book?If all of this still feels overwhelming, I have a Photo Book Training that walks you through the entire process — from planning your book to choosing the right format to placing your order. It’s not vendor-specific, so you can use it with any printer you choose. And it includes my 7-step process for creating meaningful photo books that you’ll actually want to look at again and again. Learn more about the Photo Book Training here. Next week, I’ll be talking about digitizing old photos, slides, and videos—and what you absolutely need to know before you send anything off to a digitization service. If you have questions about photo books (or anything photo-related), just hit reply. I read every email and I’m here to help. Warmly, Fancy PS - On Wednesday, 4/8, we’re having our monthly FREE Memory Makers Meetup. You can bring your photo book questions (or any photo organizing questions you’ve got) and get some help. Or just lurk and listen—that’s totally fine, too! Learn more and register here. How I Can Help You
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I'm a Family Photo Keeper. Are you?
I help overwhelmed family photo keepers become memory preservation masters so they can enjoy their photos again and leave meaningful collections for future generations.
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