Review of Yophoto Online Photobook Service
Sunday, August 10, 2008 @ 10:10
Have you ever wished to publish your own photo book, but didn't know where to start? Have you ever thought it would be too expensive since you probably couldn't sell enough copies to make the print run worthwhile?
Well, Yophoto Online Photobook Service might be your answer to this dilemma. Set up 14 years ago by a digital printing company, Yophoto now specializes in custom-designed photobooks and calendars. If you go to http://www.yophoto.com, you can first learn a bit about the company and then examine the different products they offer. Be aware that this is a UK company, so all prices are in pounds sterling, in other words you must double the prices if you are paying in U.S. dollars.
To create your own photobook is easy on the website. The software is easy to download and relatively intuitive to use. You have a choice of four different types of photobooks, and there are even options for bespoke laser etching on the more expensive photobooks.
Once you've selected the specific format of photobook you wish to create, you just click on the "Go Create" icon which helps you to download the necessary software to actually create your book. You can then begin the process of downloading the individual photos you wish to include in your book. You can also download captions to run with those photos.
You can select some other options, such as background colors and whatnot, and once you've finished loading all the photos, the book will be printed and mailed to you. The process takes about a week.
The finished product is rather nice, and YoPhoto is a great service to photographers in that they can use it as a relatively inexpensive way to showcase some of their best work. The books come deeply bound and make a handsome addition to the coffee table or side table in an office.
The only thing one needs to be extra careful about is to ensure that captions don't run too long. If they do, sometimes text will be truncated, and the software doesn't provide adequate warning about this.
While one wouldn't care to display all of his photos in this manner (the cost would probably be prohibitive for most of us), it is a great way to showcase a special collection, such as travel photographs from a special trip in a nice, easy-to-handle, easy-to-read manner.
