What's the Difference Between Photo Books and Photo Albums?
With so many photo printing companies on the market now, it can be so difficult figuring out where to print the best photo books in Australia. Is it one of the consumer retail stores like Kmart, Officeworks, Harvey Norman or Big W who print the best photobooks? Or perhaps one of the many other online photo book printers that offer a quick and cheap service?
As a mum who takes lots of photos of her kids, and also a professional photographer offering premium photo products to my clients, I’ve used a few different photo book printers over the years so I wanted to share my thoughts.
Photo Books Vs Photo Albums - what’s the difference?
There are quite a few differences between photo books and photo albums, the main ones being:
Paper type - images in photo books are printed onto thin press paper similar to that used for printing brochures or flyers, while photos in photo albums are printed onto professional grade photographic paper, then mounted onto a thicker substrate to form rigid pages.
Binding options - the specific binding options offered to you will depend on the printing company you choose, but generally photobooks are bound at the spine using glue. Binding on photo albums can range from lab to lab, but the most popular ones use traditional book binding methods, sometimes with cloth stitching, and allow for the pages to lay flat so you can see the entire photo.
Cover options - again the options will depend on the photo printers you choose, but generally photo book cover options can include a photo cover, dust jacket, soft cover, hard cover, and possibly a cloth or synthetic leather option. Most photographic labs offer a combination of genuine leather, vegan leather, linen, silk, suede, velvet or various options with photographic insets.
Cost - generally photobooks are available at a lower price point, while photo albums are more expensive due to the higher quality.
Photo Albums Vs Photobooks - which one should I use?
When deciding to print your photos using either a photo book or photo album, I like to look at the reason behind taking the photographs or the event being captured.
For our family, when I want to print off all the photos I take everyday on my phone, I’ll choose a photo book. Even though I much prefer the quality of a photo album, there’s just so many everyday snaps that I want us all to remember, it would cost a small fortune to print as albums. I like to create a photobook each year and include all our best memories from that year into one book.
However, for more special occasions and family milestones like weddings, new babies, anniversaries, or special family portraits created every couple of years, I like to think these deserve the importance of an heirloom quality photo album. As you collect these albums, you’re creating your family history one chapter at time. A photo album from a professional photo lab is crafted with archival quality papers and inks that will ensure that your children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren will be leafing through the pages and sharing in your memories too.
My recommendation for the best quality photo books
After using and seeing samples of a couple of the retail photo book printers in Australia like Snapfish, Big W and Harvey Norman I was really disappointed with the quality. Personally I didn’t like how they felt cheap and flimsy in my hands. Then I tried out Blurb and I haven’t looked back. Anytime I want to create a book of everyday family highlights, I always use Blurb Photo Books. The colour reproduction is amazing and the eggshell paper feels slightly textured and substantial in my hands.
Heirloom quality photo albums - your family history in the making
It’s so easy to live in the here and now with the instantaneous nature of digital photography. You snap, you share. Easy-peasy! Easy is great - sometimes, but often important things take time and intention. Professional photographers (like me!) have access to the best photographic labs in the industry. Labs that fuss over colour profiles, gamma, calibration, tonal range etc - all the stuff that we don’t want to concern ourselves with, but is the difference between an average print and a truly stunning print, worthy of your treasured memories.
Hiring a family photographer for professional portraits is a beautiful way to intentionally document your family at important milestones, or every couple of years. A quality family photo album takes an investment of time, effort and money, but it’s a gift to your family that will be treasured for generations. What will you be leaving your kids and grandkids as a celebration of your family and their childhood?
For blogs on related topics, see the HELPFUL INFO banner on my blog page or check out these ones. Reliving your family memories in the years to come ~ What to do if your digital files become corrupt?