printing part I: choosing a printer

1/26/2013

Printing digital scrapbooking pages is the worst part of scrapbooking for me. It takes forever and can be really frustrating. Plus I always have a mini-heart attack when I see the total price of printing a book. Eek! But all of that goes away when you get your book in the mail. Your book, your pages, your memories now recorded forever. I've had a few friends recently ask me questions about how I print my scrapbook pages, so I thought I'd do a three-part series on what I've learned while navigating this complicated process.

**Special note: This review is for people printing completed scrapbook pages, meaning they created those pages in Photoshop NOT with the printer's online program. [. . .]

choosing a printer.

I have printed books with Shutterfly, Mixbook, Viovio, and Apple. Each company is completely different. You have to decide what you think is most important to you, and then find the company that fits what you want. Hands down Shutterfly creates the most beautiful books I've ever seen, but I'd have to sell my car to print all of my scrapbooking pages. I care about pretty pages, but I also care about price--otherwise nothing would ever get printed. Viovio has been my favorite company for printing photobooks because it is reasonably priced and the quality is great (i.e. the cover and binding are sturdy, the paper is decent weight, the colors are true to the original). I created a chart to compare prices among the popular printers, but of course Weebly won't let me paste it here so if you want to see the entire comparison, you'll have to download the document below (this is the updated document).

cost comparison summary
(50 page 12x12 hard cover book)

Costco: $53.79
Paper Kiwi: $62.99
Viovio: $72.49
Blurb: $84.95
Mixbook: $87.49
Picaboo: $89.79
Shutterfly: $99.99
Persnickety Prints: $110.69

Costco has example books to look through at their warehouse. While I love their photo prints, the books feel flimsy and cheap like the pages would rip very easily. I've never tried Paper Kiwi, but maybe I should next time. Even after the comparison I would probably still stick with Viovio because of my personal preference for their 12x12 soft cover books. I don't like hard cover scrapbooks because they are harder to read and hold. I love the soft cover book because it feels more friendly like a magazine (though much much much higher quality). Plus a 50 page 12x12 soft cover book through Viovio only cost $55.49. Entirely my personal preference. The main point is to do your research and read user reviews before committing to a book (and the hefty price that comes with it).

viovio soft cover

mixbook hard cover

8 Comments

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6/12/2016 02:59:54 am

I don't like hard cover scrapbooks because they are harder to read and hold.

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2/25/2017 01:59:48 am

I have read your article; it is very informative and helpful for me.

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10/4/2017 02:05:36 pm

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2/14/2022 01:35:56 am

I do agree that when looking to have a printing service hired, it is important to look at the quality of work they produce. It makes sense as in doing some it ensures that we are choosing the right provider. I will definitely keep this information in mind.