Blurb Photo Album 2003-2012

After weeks of hard work it is finally done: 564 family photos were selected, sorted and compiled into a beautiful photo album. The visual narrative of our two daughters growing up was the main theme. The hardcover book was printed in limited edition (72 pages, 4 copies) by using the online publishing platform Blurb.

Collect and select
Perhaps the hardest part of he process was choosing the best images out of 10 years of digital photographs. The first challenge was to combine two separate iPhoto libraries using special software (iPhoto Library Manager). The first selection needed to excel in relevance, quality and diversity.

Chronological
Extra attention was needed for the right order of all images; in ten years time, I used several cameras with sometimes incorrect date settings. The factory settings of the VTech Kidizoom Pro (1907) and the Panasonic DMC-FX12 (2000) proved problematic.

Software and formatting
After extensive research I chose the online photo service of Blurb. The added value of this American supplier is the professional software and quality in execution. The add-in for InDesign makes it easy to create your own unique layout and design, in my case a layout that allows for a series of smaller and some larger images.

Execution
After the required color corrections and writhing captions, the final layout was determined and verified. To keep costs low I opted for a standard size and paper choice, but the hardcover (Image Wrap) variant. The finish is high quality, the only downside I could find was the fact that the book is not easily folds open. Blurb bind all the books ‘perfect binding’, where the back (back of the paper) is trimmed or milled to form a flat surface that is glued to the cover. This method is not the highest quality (compare eg with sewn stitching), but cost effective for small runs.


Publication
While you wait for the paper version to arrive by mail you can send a digital version to family and friends. Furthermore, you can promote your publication on the Blurb platform and try to sell with a profit margin.

See this link for the Dutch national website (Blurb).