Adoramapix Photobooks

Here's my take with Adoramapix Photobooks:

Overall, I really like the way the photobooks look, and most likely use them again. Here's my breakdown:

Pro:
* Quite inexpensive compared with other vendors
* The photo cover is gorgeous
* The print quality is great (see con also).
* The pages are nice and thick
* The book lays flat, which makes two page spread look good (no gap in between)
* The online software is fairly intuitive to use in comparison to others (at least for me)
* The customer service is exceptional

Cons:
* The cover and pages are fairly easy to scratch. I've tried taking good care of my photo book and notice minor wear from the cover and pages in a short period of time.

* It's best to use their ICC profile when editing. My monitor is calibrated with XRITE EyeOne Display 2, but the print for my first designed album came out to be too dark.

* You don't have the option of adding more pages. You could choose the number of pages, but can't add additional ones if you need just one more page.


There's probably more, but that's all I could think of for the time being

I just got my 2nd book back from them and it is gorgeous. This time I used a separate profile for the cover and it worked perfectly. For those who did not follow the entire thread: I had issues with the colors on the cover being blown out because they use a metallic paper for it instead of the Fuji Chrystal of the inside pages. Adorama CS sent me a profile for the cover and that worked great.

I agree that their software is rather inflexible but print quality is more important to me than convenience.

Got my 12x9 Adoramapix photo book yesterday. I'm really impressed with the quality. The pages are thick Fuji photo paper. I got the UV protection. No auto correction in printing. I used their ICC printer profile in Photoshop.

I think it's more than adequate for my model shoots. And since no one buys prints anymore, several models have already expressed interest in purchasing a photo book

quick video review and compared it with my old Blurb book and mentioned some lighting on few pics:

http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=8wnvyI13AOY

Peter, I agree 100% with your review. There is just no comparison between the Blurb books and Adoramapix. My next project is a 2011 calendar as Christmas gift for friends and relatives and given my great experience with Adorama I will use their services again.

5Dmaniac wrote in post #11255714
Peter, I agree 100% with your review. There is just no comparison between the Blurb books and Adoramapix. My next project is a 2011 calendar as Christmas gift for friends and relatives and given my great experience with Adorama I will use their services again.

yeah, Adoramapix will definitely be my place for now in terms of price and photo quality. I think if they offered different cover options like leather or linen they can capture a bigger share of the market but then cost would go up.

Let me know how the calendar comes out, plan on doing one also.

xcel730 wrote in post #11248990
Here's my take with Adoramapix Photobooks:

Overall, I really like the way the photobooks look, and most likely use them again. Here's my breakdown:

Pro:
* Quite inexpensive compared with other vendors
* The photo cover is gorgeous
* The print quality is great (see con also).
* The pages are nice and thick
* The book lays flat, which makes two page spread look good (no gap in between)
* The online software is fairly intuitive to use in comparison to others (at least for me)
* The customer service is exceptional

Cons:
* The cover and pages are fairly easy to scratch. I've tried taking good care of my photo book and notice minor wear from the cover and pages in a short period of time.

* It's best to use their ICC profile when editing. My monitor is calibrated with XRITE EyeOne Display 2, but the print for my first designed album came out to be too dark.

* You don't have the option of adding more pages. You could choose the number of pages, but can't add additional ones if you need just one more page.

Great review, thank you, and thanks also to everyone else for the compliments which I've passed over to the team at the lab.

Thank you also for the suggestions and recommendations eg re durability and material of the covers, adding additional pages etc.

You're probably aware that AdoramaPix is growing rapidly and introducing improvements all the time. I know that your feedback is taken seriously and as and when we grow our capabilities, these will certainly be addressed.

JoeyBowman wrote in post #11214226
I have ordered approximately 20 books since the spring of 2009. In 4x6, 8x8, 8x10, and 9x12 sizes.

Their photobooks are good quality until you start looking at and comparing them to other companies such as Collages, White House Custom Color and others. Of Course Adorama's are much much much cheaper.

Speaking of prices, Adorama's prices have been raised several times in one year. The first 8x8 26 page book I ordered in spring 2009 was $26.99, now they are $36.95. I have orders inbetween then and now that are different prices including one at 29.99 and 33.99. Yeah its still cheap compared to other companies but now they are now almost 40% more expensive compared to last year...


The print quality is great, the pages kind of lay flat (compare it to other companies and you will see what a true lay flat design is). Their covers are not remotely close to being scratch or scuff resistance. I have had countless issues with their covers being scratched with very lite use, and the corners getting worn very easily. I was told that this should not happen and during the spring of this year Adorama, thanks to Helen one of their reps that checks this board, reprinted several of the books. That was nice but one of the reprinted books arrived with worn edges... The rest are already worn and scratched, and the only time they are touched is when I take them to meetings with potential clients, they are transported wrapped up in styrofoam and are left in a soft bag when not in use. Thankfully I have not had any clients complain to me yet about their edges or covers getting worn or scratched but I expect it to happen eventually.


I do like their books for personal use but I think that if you are selling to clients it may be wise to look into other companies.

So what companies are you suggesting to order through? Links possibly?

rohicks wrote in post #11260821
So what companies are you suggesting to order through? Links possibly?

www.collages.net
www.whcc.com

JoeyBowman wrote in post #11261452
www.whcc.com

Had a few photo friends not like WHCC.
"Dull colors"

rohicks wrote in post #11261642
Had a few photo friends not like WHCC.
"Dull colors"

I think everyone's experiences with a lab can vary. Some people are thrilled with Adorama's books while others such as myself feel that they can still be improved on.

Some people swear by labs such as Millers or WHCC, others think their prints look a little "dull".

JoeyBowman wrote in post #11261777
I think everyone's experiences with a lab can vary. Some people are thrilled with Adorama's books while others such as myself feel that they can still be improved on.

Some people swear by labs such as Millers or WHCC, others think their prints look a little "dull".

I agree labs all vary. I got some pics from Photoreflect and allowed them to do color correction and pics came out dark and way oversaturated.

I don't have a device to calibrate my monitor so I used Adoramapix's ICC profile and printed it out with my Epson 1400. Pics were still dark, I'm sure it's b/c my Macbook Pro screen is set too bright from factory like most monitors out there. I increased the Lightness +8 in hue/ saturation and printed the pics again and it was good. Did a batch process of my pics and used the Lightness +8 versions to make the Adorama book you see in my video review. YMMV

@pnmd - sorry I didn't respond - I didn't see your question til now... Picaboo Madison's paper is completely different from AdoramaPix's. The Madison is printed on 110 lb. cardstock which gives off a pearlescent finish. AdoramaPix prints theirs on real photo paper and the pages are heavy and stiff - but still bendable. Both lay flat. They are completely different products so it will really come down to preference. I know some readers commented that they weren't used to the "shimmery" look of the Madison and it is quite pricey in comparison to the AdoramaPix book. But what helps is the Picaboo Groupon that's been offered quite frequently (I have an in-depth reply that I posted to a reader on my blog comparing the two companies which you may find interesting. (It's a reply I posted on 9/21/2010 at the bottom of the page)

I received a book from Blurb, and it was mildly jacked up (ink blotches), so they sent a replacement. It was kinda' jacked up (more ink blotches), so they sent me another. The third one had no ink blotches, but the pages were horribly misaligned.

They'll get no more of my business, so I'm appreciative of this thread...

I just ordered my most recent book a couple of weeks ago. Given the pricing, I think the quality is more than satisfactory, but I'm annoyed by the minimum number of pages.

I ordered mine cant wait to get it. Would you guys use this for a wedding album?