I love making photo books and I have made books from several different companies now: Shutterfly (review here), MyPublisher, MixBook and now AdoramaPix! Wow, the AdoramaPix one really blows me away in terms of the quality of the finished product. I recently made an order with AdoramaPix so I wanted to review the ordering process and the finished product. This review is rather detailed and lengthy, so I’ll just cut to the chase right here: the book turned out BEAUTIFULLY and the photos are really the showcase of the book. The book is truly a beautiful keepsake!
Now, read on for all the details about the book and our very first GIVEAWAY!
Customizable Features
Here are some of the key customizable features that stood out to me:
- Seamless, layflat pages are standard for every book — this is NOT an upgrade, unlike at other companies
- Pages are made of high quality photo paper
- Several different cover choices (photo, fabric, die-cut, faux leather and genuine leather)
- Several different paper texture choices: luster, glossy, silk, linen, pebble or deep matte
- Several different book orientations and sizes: portrait, landscape, panoramic and many sizes from smaller sizes like 6×4.5 to large 12×12 books.
What is also great is the pricing is transparent: you can see right on this page how much your book is going to cost, based on the options you’ve chosen. I really appreciate when companies are upfront about the cost, rather than hiding it until the end.
Book Design Options
Once you have selected the basic features of your book (size, cover, type of paper), there are tons of templates to build your book with. They are sorted by theme, such as wedding, family, children, travel, etc. It is fairly easy to change the theme if you’re not satisfied with how it looks. If you want to build from a blank canvas, that is also an option. If you are a pro, you can build your book via some other design tool and upload a PDF file. Basically, you have a ton of options to choose from!
Importing Photos to AdoramaPix
AdoramaPix supports a ton of different methods to get your photos to them: Upload directly from your computer (including exporting from Lightroom), or importing from your Flickr, Facebook, Smugmug or Instagram account.
After you pick your parameters for your book, you enter the Design wizard. You choose the photos you want to add to this project, then drag and drop to the various templates. You can choose new layouts, add pages, add stickers/embellishments/backgrounds. It’s all very easy to do.
Ordering Process
It is super easy to add extra books or order extra sizes of the same book. You can also optionally add a gift/presentation box. Everything arrived super fast in a well protected mailer. If there is one thing that really bugs me, is when companies skimp on the shipping container and the merchandise arrives damaged! My AdoramaPix book arrived wrapped in an inner cardboard mailer, then that was wrapped in an outer cardboard mailer. No corners were harmed while shipping! Yay!
A High Quality Finished Product
I was seriously wow-ed by the book I received. It really is in a different league than what I’ve ordered from Shutterfly. Yes, it is more expensive, but it really is a HUGE difference in what you get. I think the added expense is absolutely worth it.
The cover and all the pages have a beautiful gentle sheen to them, courtesy of the luster finish that I chose.
The pages are thick and luxurious and showcase the photos beautifully. The colors are vibrant and true to calibration.
One thing to note is that I *love* that there is no AdoramaPix logo. Other companies add a logo to the last page and it really bothers me.
Comparing AdoramaPix photobooks to others
I would say what impressed me most about the AdoramaPix photobook was the finished product. As I have mentioned several times in the review, it really is MUCH higher quality than any other book I’ve ordered in the past. However, it certainly is more expensive. My book was a 24 page 10×12.5″ photo hardcover book and it came out to $70 (shipping was free). I am able to order 20 page 8×8 Shutterfly books (which retail for $29.99) typically at a 40% discount + $8 shipping– so about $26.
The design and book building process were fairly similar to the other companies I’ve tried. I would say the templates that AdoramaPix provides are not as “scrapbooky” as some of the other companies — there aren’t as many cute embellishments to pick from. However, I was still able to create a beautiful book and there are a variety of backgrounds and templates to choose from. It all depends on what kind of look and feel you’re going for in your book.
Giveaway!
AdoramaPix has graciously provided a 20 page 10×10 hardcover photobook for me to give away to one lucky reader! AdoramaPix will provide a credit for the book, but you’ll need to pay for shipping and any additional pages. Please enter by commenting below with what kind of photobook you will make! For two additional entries, follow AdoramaPix on Facebook and Twitter and leave separate comments saying you’ve done both. Contest ends midnight PST on Wednesday, October 14th. I will contact the winners on Thursday October 15th and you have 48 hours to confirm that you’ve accepted the prize!
Thank you to AdoramaPix for providing a credit for the photobook I made and for the contest give away. All opinions are mine.
This giveaway is open to anyone 18 or older. This giveaway is only open to residents of the U.S. Void where prohibited. Entries must be received by Wednesday, October 14, 2015, at 11:59pm PT and any entries not in accordance with the rules will be disqualified at our sole discretion and at the discretion of the sponsor. Winning entry will be chosen using Random.org. After compiling the results, I will announce the winner thereafter and will email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or I will redraw another entry. Winner will work with AdoramaPix to redeem the prize. Cannot be combined with other promotions. Winner will be responsible for shipping costs. Winner will be solely responsible for any taxes due on the product or prize including but not limited to sales tax, tariffs, duties and fees as well as any income tax obligations if any. Disclosure: AdoramaPix is sponsoring the prize for this giveaway.
