Posted by Greg Lessard on July 25, 2015 at 12:19 AM
I am researching the viability of self publishing a portfolio for an upcoming show. I have read the NPN posts about self publishing. Most are 8-13 years old.
My book would be a hard cover coffee table style book of approximately 100 pages. Estimates from Shutterfly, Blurb and Mixbook put this project at $120-$180 per book before any discounts. Does anyone know of a self publishing option that is high quality and significantly cheaper?
I once saw a photo book by a well established photographer offered at $450 in his gallery. I now understand why his price was so high...
I found this link, although I will not vouch for its veracity, it seemed to do a good job comparing the services of many top self publishing companies. The conclusion was that Shutterfly was the top dog. http://photo-book-review.toptenreviews.com/
Is Blurb really over $120 for a 100 page book these days? If so, that's disappointing. I remember creating ~160 page books with them--though not the huge coffee table style book, but still a decent-sized hardback--for $60 or less.
From my experience, Shutterfly never offered the flexibility in terms of custom design that Blurb did.
By the way, Greg, a quick price check on Blurb's site shows that for their largest size (12x12), an image wrap hard cover is around $86 for 100 pages. That's the standard paper though. So I assume you're maxing out your options in terms of the highest-quality paper, etc.?
Max
Posted by Greg Lessard on July 25, 2015 at 10:59 AM
Hi Max,
Thank you for the reply. Yes. I was looking to max on the paper. In addition, I have a number of panos that I would like to feature. I was hoping to use lay flat paper, but that is quite expensive.
I would like the book to be a piece of art in addition to my images. I am caught between desiring high quality and trying to keep the price reasonable. Selling the book for $150+ in order to turn a profit seems rather challenging. Financially, it mostly likely wouldn't be worth the effort to create the book.
I do like Blurb's customizing ability. Were you satisfied with their photo quality and overall product?
I don't know what they are charging now...but. several years ago, I published a book of my daughter's wedding photos. I used "My Publisher", which was easy and turned out beautifully. I hope, their quality is still the same. I don't have any reason to believe otherwise,
Greg, I was very happy with the quality, but I was creating books for "less formal" purposes (e.g., a tome from our destination wedding that we gave to all the friends on the trip). I'd imagine that you're probably smart to opt for the slightly higher quality paper for a portfolio piece.
It certainly is frustrating. There's a book project I've wanted to do for some time, but I know that without a hefty investment for X thousand copies from an overseas printer, there's no way something like that is viable commercially.
I've used MyPublisher a few years ago and was also very happy with the results. They tend to be pricey but if you wait for a discount coupon (via email) they can be reasonable.
I would be wary of Shutterfly. I have both heard less than complimentary things about them and have seen one effort from them that looked unsatisfactory.
http://www.photobookpress.com/site/(Photobook Press) does very nice wrok, but is quite expensive as well. There's no print on demand service I'm aware that is both cheap and good - you can choose one or the other.
Discussion
7 repliesI am researching the viability of self publishing a portfolio for an upcoming show. I have read the NPN posts about self publishing. Most are 8-13 years old.
My book would be a hard cover coffee table style book of approximately 100 pages. Estimates from Shutterfly, Blurb and Mixbook put this project at $120-$180 per book before any discounts. Does anyone know of a self publishing option that is high quality and significantly cheaper?
I once saw a photo book by a well established photographer offered at $450 in his gallery. I now understand why his price was so high...
I found this link, although I will not vouch for its veracity, it seemed to do a good job comparing the services of many top self publishing companies. The conclusion was that Shutterfly was the top dog. http://photo-book-review.toptenreviews.com/
Any thoughts on this are truly appreciated!
Is Blurb really over $120 for a 100 page book these days? If so, that's disappointing. I remember creating ~160 page books with them--though not the huge coffee table style book, but still a decent-sized hardback--for $60 or less.
From my experience, Shutterfly never offered the flexibility in terms of custom design that Blurb did.
Max
By the way, Greg, a quick price check on Blurb's site shows that for their largest size (12x12), an image wrap hard cover is around $86 for 100 pages. That's the standard paper though. So I assume you're maxing out your options in terms of the highest-quality paper, etc.?
Max
Hi Max,
Thank you for the reply. Yes. I was looking to max on the paper. In addition, I have a number of panos that I would like to feature. I was hoping to use lay flat paper, but that is quite expensive.
I would like the book to be a piece of art in addition to my images. I am caught between desiring high quality and trying to keep the price reasonable. Selling the book for $150+ in order to turn a profit seems rather challenging. Financially, it mostly likely wouldn't be worth the effort to create the book.
I do like Blurb's customizing ability. Were you satisfied with their photo quality and overall product?
Thanks,
Greg
I don't know what they are charging now...but. several years ago, I published a book of my daughter's wedding photos. I used "My Publisher", which was easy and turned out beautifully. I hope, their quality is still the same. I don't have any reason to believe otherwise,
Greg, I was very happy with the quality, but I was creating books for "less formal" purposes (e.g., a tome from our destination wedding that we gave to all the friends on the trip). I'd imagine that you're probably smart to opt for the slightly higher quality paper for a portfolio piece.
It certainly is frustrating. There's a book project I've wanted to do for some time, but I know that without a hefty investment for X thousand copies from an overseas printer, there's no way something like that is viable commercially.
Max
I've used MyPublisher a few years ago and was also very happy with the results. They tend to be pricey but if you wait for a discount coupon (via email) they can be reasonable.
I would be wary of Shutterfly. I have both heard less than complimentary things about them and have seen one effort from them that looked unsatisfactory.
http://www.photobookpress.com/site/ (Photobook Press) does very nice wrok, but is quite expensive as well. There's no print on demand service I'm aware that is both cheap and good - you can choose one or the other.