Photobooks: Fantastic Experience with MyPublisher.com

THIS IS NOT AN ADVERTISEMENT!

We recently climbed on the photobooks wagon and ordered our first two photobooks. Although the initial experience wasn’t astounding, the overall experience was fantastic.

Admittedly, we’ve only used one company that produces photobooks: MyPublisher.com, but, given MyPublisher’s follow-through, we have no reason to try another photobook company.

The first book we ordered was titled, “A Month’s Sojourn, France & Spain” and included photos we took while visiting several different cities and villages in France and Spain. Paris was one of the cities we visited. (And, Paris has to be one of the most photogenic cities in the world!)

MyPublisher’s software (which you download to your computer) is very easy to use – and that’s an understatement, because it was my wife - who is barely computer literate - who downloaded the software, uploaded the photos, arranged, sized and edited the photos, and ordered the book. She had no problem using MyPublisher’s software, and the quality of the photobook we received was fantastic, with the exception of the binding. The binding was too small for the number of pages in the book, and MyPublisher re-did the book to my wife’s satisfaction (and she is not easy to please, so that’s saying something; let’s just say that she is a very discriminating consumer.)

So, after we were delighted with the first book, my wife submitted another order for a photobook – this one a “wedding” photobook of my daughter’s wedding. We ordered this one in the largest size MyPublisher offers and, when you order the “largest” page size, they automatically use heavyweight paper. When I arrived home the day the photobook arrived at our house, my wife was ‘beaming’ – the photobook of my daughter’s wedding was unbelievably awesome! (My wife did a fantastic job with photo-selection, organizing, sizing, etc. We paid less than $100 for this book, and it is worth its weight in gold.

My note to reprographers and printers who are doing business with customers over the Internet [and this note is for those who offer “anything” (any type of print job) over the Internet, not just photobooks)]:

1) The key term is “user-friendly”. If your software is easy to understand, easy to use, customers who use your services will be delighted and will repeat over and over. Think “addictive” (in a positive sense.)

2) Quality and follow-through is essential. If you make mistakes (and, who, after all, is perfect) and quickly fix them, your customers will be very satisfied and will repeat over and over.

3) “Cost” is not the major issue. Think “reasonable” and “competitive”, but don’t obsess over being the low-cost provider.