Printing digital scrapbook layouts with Blurb

I am a recent convert to Blurb for my digital scrapbook photobook printing, having previously used Persnickety and Shutterfly because of their 10 x 10 options. When shipping costs became unsustainable I looked for an alternative and turned to Blurb.

(As you can see, I've also switched formats and use their 8 x 10 option now)

I found the printing process for uploading and creating photobooks from digital scrapbook layouts very easy and intuitive.

Here's Marilyn to share her experience as well, including of using Blurb's magazine and trade book options:

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Marilyn:

Back in the fall of 2016, I had just returned from a trip to Poland. I had hundreds of photos that I wanted to organize into a photo book. At that time, I was not interested in scrapbook layouts, just a coffee table book of the actual photos. I considered Shutterfly, but there were so many good reviews about Blurb from the folks over at The LilyPad, that I decided to try them out. And that began my love affair with Blurb.

I opted for a 13x11 landscape hardcover book, premium papers with a black background on each page. I waited until Blurb's Black Friday sale and then ordered it. It was stunning! Never had I ever seen anything like it.

I dabbled around with other options. I made an 8x10 portrait hardcover book with select scrapbook layouts and gifted it for Christmas one year. Again, they did not disappoint.

But one thing that peaked my curiosity was Blurb's magazine format. It is in an 8.5x11 portrait style, exactly my format since I first began digital scrapbooking in 2006. So I decided to give it a try. My first venture were magazines around 50-75 pages. I created a few for yearly challenges I was involved with, Tangie's Art Journal Emporium, Documented Life Project, and even my first Month of Challenges (from 2017). I was so impressed with the inexpensive option and the quality that I haven't looked back. I've got 35 of their magazines on the shelf in my studio. :-) Their magazine option allows for a maximum of 240 pages, sturdy softcovers and a page quality that reminds me of a high-end magazine, i.e. Stampington publications.

I've documented my December since 2018, using a standard traveler's notebook size, 4x8. And I center it on an 8.5x11 page in Photoshop, bold white margins all around and print them using their magazine format. So versatile. Thinking outside of the box, it is entirely possible to print square layouts using this format.

See the following for some possibilities:

In all of the years I have used Blurb, their quality has been consistent. I have had few issues with bent covers (due to the shipping partner), but they were all backed up and replaced by Blurb.

And just a month ago, I created a trade book for my husband, some of his memoirs to date. Done in 6x9 with their best paper quality for trade books, it makes me smile.

BookWright is Blurb's downloadable software. They also have an Adobe Illustrator option as well as Adobe InDesign, but I do not use either. Within BookWright, there are numerous templates for text and photo placement without using a photo editing software to create your pages. And each of their book formats allows for a full-page template design.

At first I was a bit leary of downloading the software, but once I got used to it, I actually now prefer to work at my own pace without being at the mercy of the internet. When you are done with your project, you preview it, make any corrections and upload it to their site. You have 15 days to purchase before the project is deleted from their site. I always wait for a sale which are quite frequent, upload when the sale is announced and then purchase.

Here are their current options and pricing.

For their regular photo books, Blurb offers layflat, hardcover and softcover options.

They have numerous HELP articles on their site and youtube videos to guide you should you need assistance.

Here is an intro to BookWright to get you started:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oANWvRgtrqQ

Marilyn (aka mcurtt)

* We have no affiliation with Blurb, just happy users. I hope to bring you some posts about other printing options too :-)