iPhoto book service personal opinion
hey, folks, i realized that no one seems to have ever reviewed apple's iPhoto book service, and since my wife and I used the service for our sister-in-law's xmas gift, i thought i would give a rundown for those curious.
first, let it be known that customer service with the books is handled SOLELY via e-mail. even 1-800-my-apple can't direct you to a human responsible for making these things. so when it nearly got lost xmas eve, my wife and i had a fit. so if you are going to use the service, give yourself a little time in case it gets lost or delayed, because they only give 48 hour response time for questions via their online form. have a series of 2 or 3 question/answer go-rounds with support, and you're looking at a week or two to get any issue resolved.
also, iphoto makes NO MENTION of how the books will be shipped. they simply give you a "standard" and "express" option. well, be forewarned that standard means USPS, which is even more frustrating than iPhoto to deal with if there is a problem. i thought apple would just use fedex like they use for everything else, or at the very least UPS. nope. only express gets fedex'd.
now, on to the book itself: it arrived, and it was okay, but not great. the cover photo is literally adhered to the front, not inset or anything. like someone took a glossy epson photo print, put rubber cement on the back and slapped it on. my sister-in-law was ecstatic, but i was like "glad you like it" while thinking "shit, i would be pissed." plus, there are issues with how you can assemble the book. like the book pages can't be double-sided, which sucks, especially because it makes you use more pages (which cost more). sure, it's handy if you want to add signatures or something, but i kept getting the feeling that this was some guy printing all of these books on his inkjet in his basement with hardcover journals he buys from Michael's Arts & Crafts.
Anyway, if you've explored the option at all, you also know they come in a limited number of colors (navy, burgundy, gray), and only one finish type (linen hard cover). but it is really easy to place your order, as you have come to expect from apple. and the photo quality was exactly as it left iphoto, so no surprises.
i seem to recall long ago that apple doesn't actually make the books, but outsources them to anther company. if so, i REALLY think they need to switch vendors... am i being nitpicky? probably. but i might not be so nitpicky if i didn't just notice this service by accident...
if you're looking for a GOOD online photo book compilation, check out shutterfly's service.
Shutterfly Photo Books
tons of customizability, lots of text can be placed on the pages, double-sided pages, different finishes, "themes" (okay, cheesy, but better than the nothing that apple provides), etc. mind you, i haven't seen one in person, but i like it already just from the description and the online photos. of course, the true proof will be the photo quality itself, and uploading the photos may be an impossible chore, perhaps their customer service is awful... who knows? but it might be worth a look if any of you are exploring apple's iphoto book service as an option.
i give apple's service 2 out of 5 stars (though i am sure most relatives you would give it to would find it fantastic).
first, let it be known that customer service with the books is handled SOLELY via e-mail. even 1-800-my-apple can't direct you to a human responsible for making these things. so when it nearly got lost xmas eve, my wife and i had a fit. so if you are going to use the service, give yourself a little time in case it gets lost or delayed, because they only give 48 hour response time for questions via their online form. have a series of 2 or 3 question/answer go-rounds with support, and you're looking at a week or two to get any issue resolved.
also, iphoto makes NO MENTION of how the books will be shipped. they simply give you a "standard" and "express" option. well, be forewarned that standard means USPS, which is even more frustrating than iPhoto to deal with if there is a problem. i thought apple would just use fedex like they use for everything else, or at the very least UPS. nope. only express gets fedex'd.
now, on to the book itself: it arrived, and it was okay, but not great. the cover photo is literally adhered to the front, not inset or anything. like someone took a glossy epson photo print, put rubber cement on the back and slapped it on. my sister-in-law was ecstatic, but i was like "glad you like it" while thinking "shit, i would be pissed." plus, there are issues with how you can assemble the book. like the book pages can't be double-sided, which sucks, especially because it makes you use more pages (which cost more). sure, it's handy if you want to add signatures or something, but i kept getting the feeling that this was some guy printing all of these books on his inkjet in his basement with hardcover journals he buys from Michael's Arts & Crafts.
Anyway, if you've explored the option at all, you also know they come in a limited number of colors (navy, burgundy, gray), and only one finish type (linen hard cover). but it is really easy to place your order, as you have come to expect from apple. and the photo quality was exactly as it left iphoto, so no surprises.
i seem to recall long ago that apple doesn't actually make the books, but outsources them to anther company. if so, i REALLY think they need to switch vendors... am i being nitpicky? probably. but i might not be so nitpicky if i didn't just notice this service by accident...
if you're looking for a GOOD online photo book compilation, check out shutterfly's service.
Shutterfly Photo Books
tons of customizability, lots of text can be placed on the pages, double-sided pages, different finishes, "themes" (okay, cheesy, but better than the nothing that apple provides), etc. mind you, i haven't seen one in person, but i like it already just from the description and the online photos. of course, the true proof will be the photo quality itself, and uploading the photos may be an impossible chore, perhaps their customer service is awful... who knows? but it might be worth a look if any of you are exploring apple's iphoto book service as an option.
i give apple's service 2 out of 5 stars (though i am sure most relatives you would give it to would find it fantastic).
Comments
Front is glued on, but how else would one mass produce them?
The layout is not very customizable, however, the program is for beginners who do not want to spend hours doing an exact layout.
As far as double sided, I am sure if they went to double sided they would charge per printed page and you would save no money. Many people just get the 10 page default. You double side that you have 5 pages. pretty thin and lame.
I guess there is room for improvement, but all in all I think its cool.
My parents loved it (all that matters to me). I think the binding is of good quality. The paper isn't flimsy.
IIRC, it's Kodak that assembles the books.
and how else would you mass produce them other than gluing them on? i dunno. ask ofoto or shutterfly. they seem to do a pretty good job with services such as cut-out windows and such. and, unless i am reading ofoto and shutterfly wrong, double-sided doesn't cost more... i guess the cost of the paper outweighs the cost of printing in their opinion. then again, i may be misreading.
regarding the support time and such, there's a little backstory tot he problem. you see, within iphoto, they say they will not ship to p.o. boxes. okay, fine. we were having it shipped to my wife's parents house, and while they only have a p.o. box for standard mail (small town, don't ask me...), they can receive fedex and ups and such at the house no problem, which is what apple typically does, so that's what i was kind of expecting. except they didn't tell you that the standard shipping is USPS, which for some damn reason won't ship to my in-laws house -- rain, sleet and snow be damned, but heavens, they're not on my regular route! -- so we only got the notice of undeliverable when it friggin' got here. that complicated matters immensely. and i am sorry, e-mail only support blows. i can forgive it for small developers and such, but apple and kodak have enough money to have someone next to a phone to answer questions.
but the main point of my review here was to clear up a lot of unanswered questions that apple doesn't make clear in the entire ordering process. so i was hoping that my comments would clarify some of those same issues others might have before they hit that "upload" button. and it's likely efficient enough for most people's uses. but if apple could get a different service to put the books together, they could be even better.
if it makes you happy, i'll bump my review to 3 stars. i guess the stupid delivery thing was still a bad taste in my mouth, but that was the impenetrable us postal service more than anything else.
Seems most of your dissatisfaction lies with the support and less than clear shipping terms. I agree a phone number would be a plus. I just looked on the Apple iPhoto page and I can't find any shipping information so I agree the shipping info. should be made clear.
However, comparing a photo book you have from Apple/Kodak to what another service's marketing (you said yourself you haven't held a book created by the Shutterfly service) could be construed as poor form. Tons of options doesn't mean squat if the pages start falling out a week after you get the book.
Order a book from Shutterfly then come back with a comparative review.
Originally posted by PBG4 Dude
Just relating my experience. You posted an opinion. So did I.
Seems most of your dissatisfaction lies with the support and less than clear shipping terms. I agree a phone number would be a plus. I just looked on the Apple iPhoto page and I can't find any shipping information so I agree the shipping info. should be made clear.
However, comparing a photo book you have from Apple/Kodak to what another service's marketing (you said yourself you haven't held a book created by the Shutterfly service) could be construed as poor form. Tons of options doesn't mean squat if the pages start falling out a week after you get the book.
Order a book from Shutterfly then come back with a comparative review.
well, that's why i tacked on a star. maybe 3.5 'cause i'm in a better mood today?
as soon as a i have an occasion to get another book done, i'll resurrect the thread and post the results.
still wish they had more than just 48-hour turnaround e-mail support, though.
Originally posted by rok
by the way, i want to point out that almost all of my complaints about book options (or lack thereof) from iphoto's service seem to have been addressed by way of iphoto 5's books.
still wish they had more than just 48-hour turnaround e-mail support, though.
You know, I was thinking of this thread as I watched the MWSF last night. I'm glad they ratcheted up the offerings a notch. Seeing as I just became a first-time father today I see me buying a bunch of those $4.00 pocket photo albums.
Originally posted by PBG4 Dude
Seeing as I just became a first-time father today...
Congratulations! See, the kiddo waited until iPhoto 5 was released. Truly born a Mac fan.
Originally posted by CosmoNut
Congratulations! See, the kiddo waited until iPhoto 5 was released. Truly born a Mac fan.
I know! I watched the keynote the night before Ben's birth. I can't wait to export a customized slideshow of the little bugger.
Here's Ben testing out his new lungs just after birth.