Printing 12x12 inch scrapbook pages ...

[Lil]

I have a printer that prints 12x12 inch pages and it's great. I did a wedding scrapbook last year with 80 pages and it turned out wonderful~! BUT ... its really expensive to do this because the paper works out to about $2.00 a sheet ... plus tons of ink and then you still have to buy a scrapbook album.

I've been thinking about getting a hardcover 12x12 inch book done at Artscow. Has anyone used their service? Their prices are better then any other I've seen and I've seen some great reviews about them. I also heard their customer service is great.

Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks~!!

[Brooke - in Oregon]

I love Artscow, I have never done a 12x12 but I have done a few 8x8 albums and I think they have turned out GREAT. Just make sure you allow enough time for shipping cause it is truly coming on the slow boat from China! lol

[Lil]

Brooke ... you were definately right about one thing. It IS ON THE SLOW BOAT FROM CHINA~!!! lol
I ordered on Sept 11th and it was shipped on the 28th. I have not received it yet. I'm expecting it any day now. BUT ... I'm hoping it's going to be worth the wait. I'll post the outcome.

[Diane (diney)]

Another designer (Digitreats) shared her experiences with Artscow on her site...she just raved about them! She lives in Canada also.

[Christine M]

I've never used that service. I did a book on www.blurb.com that turned out really nice, plus found an online coupon for free shipping

[Lil]

Ok, I decided to take the plunge and try it at Artscow. They also have free shipping right now so I couldn't beat the price. A 12x12 inch hard cover book with 30 pages - (Plus you design the cover and back of book) I paid an extra $3.00 to not have their logo on the last page and it was still only $37.99. I couldn't print it myself for close to that. There is no tax on it either. The free shipping is on until Sept. 20th and you just enter Coupon code: FSOVER10 at checkout point.

I'll let everyone know what it turns out like~!!!

[Lynda Farabee]

I was almost ready to hit the submit/print button at Artcows and something held me back. I cannot remember what it was. I agree, prices are good. I've had several 12x12 books done at Shutterfly and have been pleased as long as I remember to turn off the vivid lighting or some such option. ;-)

I've now read to the bottom of the converation and see where you decided to go with Artscow. Good for you. Now when you get the book, let me know what you think. For some reason, maybe they wouldn't allow me to have more than 20 pages? Did you note a page limit? I think I have some 40 ready to go now.

Don't forget to let us know! -L

[Lil]

Lynda ... are you thinking of doing a book or just individual 12x12 pages? There is no limit for individual pages ...
For the books you pick 20, 30, 40 pages etc. I don't think you can do odd numbers.

[Lil]

Yippee~! I received my Photo book from Artscow~! It is FABULOUS~!!!! I received it on Friday and I've been busy all weekend but I will take pictures and post asap. I will definately be ordering from them again. They have so many special deals and so many products to choose from. I think I'll be doing alot of Christmas shopping from them. Soon ... because it does come from Japan. But worth the wait~!!!!!!

[Lil]

Ok ... some previews of the 30 Page Photo Book I received from Artscow. I chose to do the front, back cover and spine in black/white. (Actually I made it more like Chocolate and white) I also chose to do large pictures for the pages. The colours are fantastic and I give the quality a 10~!!! I obviously am not going to post all pages ... but just to give you an idea of the quality ...

FRONT OF BOOK

BACK OF BOOK

I'm going to give some important tips though in another post, this one is getting too long ...

[Lil]

This part is really important ... I luckily read alot before I ordered and it saved me from being disappointed with cut off important parts.

Here is the chart that Artscow recommends for the page, cover size etc. (in pixels)

Back Cover : 3702 Height x 4116 Width or Higher
Front Cover : 3702 Height x 4116 Width or Higher
Page : 3600 Height x 3600 Width or Higher
Spine : 432 Wide x 4116 Height or Higher

I totally agree but I have a tip for you. After reading through the forums and tips before I ordered there is what Artscow calls a 'bleed area'. (No, it's not running ink ..lol) This is a part of your outer page that will be cut off in printing. So this is what I did ...

For the cover I made it exactly the recommendations. (3702 height by 4116 width). When I was totally done the front cover I added 280 pixels around the top, bottom and left side. Like the pic below.

I wasn't sure if any of that part was going to print .. (which it didn't) but just in case I textured it and made it 'match' the rest of the cover.

I then did the exact same thing for the back cover ... added 280 pixels around the top, bottom and left side.

I did make a spine but since the book wasn't too thick, It didn't show the actual pic I used ... but it did at least match. (The text on the spine is done at Artscow when you put together your book there)

Ok ...now as far as the pages go ... I did them 3600x3600 and moved everything in a bit to make sure nothing important is cut off ... it worked out but I think the next time I am going to finish my 3600x3600 page and then add a border of 200 pixels around all 4 sides for the bleed area. (coordinating in case any shows but I don't think it will)

I hope I didn't make this sound confusing ... it's really very easy. When you download your pages to Artscow you can actually preview the book and it shows you the bleed area... just remember this part will be cut off ...
My daughter is going to be thrilled when I give her the engagement photo book. I can't wait~!
Good luck and let me know if you try it ..

[Diane (diney)]

Beautiful book! Did you design your pages or just use one of templates they had?

[Lynda Farabee]

Question Lil -

Are you restricted to the number of pages you can have printed? I'm up to about 40-45 on the current book I'm working on.