When it comes to delivering top quality custom made photo books, Photobook Canada is the winner hands down! Whether you are looking to create a special book for a wedding, your child’s first year, a memory book from a family vacation or a special gift book, you’ll be happy to know that you don’t have to cross the border.  Photobook Canada offers a variety of different photobook styles and sizes and the process is as easy as 1-2-3.  Your book can be a simple coffee table photo collection or a combination of photos and text – giving you the creative option to really tell your story.

How easy is it to create a book?

Easy!  We started by downloading the free “My Photobooks” photobook software (which is available for both PC and Mac) and within minutes we were up and running.

Creating Your Book

To get started we simply selected the size of our book and the cover (you pick the cover colour when you place your order).  The software opened to a blank canvas and we were ready to create.  You can pick a quick photobook (wizard) which allows you to pick a theme, orientation, and book size and then upload the photos (previewing and reordering if you like)  or you can make your photo book one page at a time.  We selected this as our option so we could see how easy it was to pick backgrounds, borders, colors, and text.

Sneak Peek at the (red) photo-hard cover photobook and inside with black background and white border.

This is a simple layout with white background and lots of photos!

If you use an SLR or have photos that are very high resolution you may want to organize your photos prior to uploading them.  Things can get a little slow if you upload a large number of photos at one time, and pick and choose from the software.  We elected to organize our photos by folder which made telling the story happen in stages.

The photobook has a number of elements, all easy to figure out and work with.  Each page has a background, you can leave it white or choose a colored background.  Another option, if your photos are high enough resolution, is to use a photo for the background.  This makes the page look as amazing as many of the books we buy!  On top of the background is the layout.  The layout options are great, lots of boxes and orientations and you can easily resize and rotate if you want to make a funky look on a page.  You can also use a Book Template.

Background photos with smaller photos mixed in.

Once you have your page layout (each page can be different if you like) you simply drag and drop the photos into the spaces.  If you want to zoom in you can quite easily.  Once the photos are in place you can pick a border to complement the page and layout.  If you are adding text to the page simply add it using the text boxes in your layout or add a new text box.  It is very easy to make the pages your own.

Continue doing this until the pages are filled, you can add more if you like or just fill the number of pages that come with the photobook style you chose at the beginning.

Ordering your book

Anyone who works in publishing will know the term “preflight” – this is like a preview of what the book is going to look like, it also identifies problems with photos, text etc..  When your book is done and you are ready to order it, you will go to FILE and then at the bottom you will see “Preflight” and Send to Photobook – click on Preflight first to make sure things are good.  If you get the green light to order, place your order - if not, you may have to fix a photos or text before doing a preflight and ordering your book.

It will take a bit of time, so be patient, to upload the photos.  You will get a popup box to confirm your order.  At this time you can view the pages or look at the cover.  If you are happy with your book then you can check the box that confirms you are happy with the book and will be happy when it arrives.

Worth Noting…

• You don’t have to create your photobook in one session.  The software allows you to save your book and open it up at a later time.
• The system tells you if your photos are not high enough resolution – simply put your cursor over a photo and look to the bottom of the window where you will see a checkmark and the resultion number.  If the resolution is not high enough for the size of box you have selected (or background) it will show an X.
• If you close the book down after saving it and open the software again, you will get a box telling you if there are any problems with your book:  Photos missing, resolution problems.  This sounds more complicated than it is – just know that the program is helpful and to watch for these little things so your book turns out nice!
• If you create a page and want to change the order, just click on the page, in the top bar where you see all of your pages, and drag it to the new location.  Simple!
• When you proof your book ask someone to look for you.  It is easy to leave out a border or make a typo.  Fresh eyes will help you to identify these problems so you are not disappointed when you get the finished book.
• The company is really dedicated to their product.  If there is a problem with your book they will do everything they can do identify and fix the problem prior to printing and sending it to you.
• Unlike so many other photobooks, Photobook Canada doesn’t take credit for your book.  They see your book as your masterpiece and don’t put their name on your book, anywhere!  No stickers, imprints or labels.  So, if you really like your book tell people where you get it as a thanks to Photobook Canada for not leaving their mark!

WIN a Photobook!

Thanks to Photobook Canada, we are giving away a $60.00 photobook certificate to one lucky winner.  All you have to do is share your favourite slow cooker recipes from November 24th to November 30th.  A winner will be selected at random so be sure your email address is correct when you submit your recipe.  The more recipes you submit, the better your chances are!  We’ll contact you and have your Gift Certificate sent to you in time for Christmas.

Sorry… the giveaway is over.   Congratulations Jordanne L-B, the winner of the Photobook Canada Gift Certificate.

Posted on November 24th, 2008 by helen
Filed under: Books, Christmas, Family Fun, Gifts for Babies, Gifts for Grade Schoolers, Gifts for Moms, Gifts for Toddlers & Preschoolers, Gifts for Tweens, Scrapbooking