Mark-up on albums?

I have a bunch of questions about albums....
I am going to begin offering albums to clients this year. I'm heading towards Asuka books as I really like the magazine style.
What albums or books do you prefer and why? (Asuka or others)
How long does it take to put them together?
What software do you use?
How much do you charge for them? (I realise that it takes time and skill to make them, and I want to make sure I do come out of it with some profit)
Any album advice?
Thanks!

kiwinvan wrote in post #2494217
I have a bunch of questions about albums....
I am going to begin offering albums to clients this year. I'm heading towards Asuka books as I really like the magazine style.
What albums or books do you prefer and why? (Asuka or others)
How long does it take to put them together?
What software do you use?
How much do you charge for them? (I realise that it takes time and skill to make them, and I want to make sure I do come out of it with some profit)
Any album advice?
Thanks!

Asuka is great as is my vendor.. Laguna Albums
Time frame for my albums range from 3 months to 9 months depending on client
My preferred software choice is Lumapix Fotofusion (studio version)
My 5x5 parent albums are 250.00 - my 8x8 parent albums are 350.00 - not sure about my actual breakdown cost for my 12x12's that come with my packages. It's all inclusive at that point.
Alum advice: look at hundreds of other designs and create a style that works for you. Some people like them super artsy and some people prefer plain and simple.

Another album tip for EVERYONE - if you don't have time to spen doing your own design then check out this company. The chicks are super cool and do amazing work!! www.albumesque.com

Thanks for the tips, Jasen. Do you, or anyone else, still do the "older" albums where you just print up different sizes of images and put them in those thick pages you slide into the book? Does that make sense? My wedding album (from a film photographer) is a Renaissance, and we chose the pics to put in a 12-page, 24-side album. We had a mix of larger and smaller, etc. I just don't like the albums made digitally, where there is a pic in the background, them some smaller pics on top, and stuff like that. I prefer it to look more simple. Hope that makes sense. Thanks!

It makes perfect sense Jess. A lot of people still enjoy that type of album and Renaissance makes some of the nicest albums in the industry. Even on the digital side with their SOHO collection. I personally do not use them any longer as I have gone fully digital with my albums. If a bride requested it though I would for sure supply it. Great question by the way!

We offer both. People still like to hold snapshots in their hands. But the albums are the new WOW factor.

We just got a 10x10 from Laguna Albums for a demo. Also a duplicate 5x5 parent album. Sent them the pics and they arranged it using a concept we told them we wanted to try. Worked out great. You can see the album before printing online. Waiting for it to come is the hardest part. Turnaround is about six weeks. I would recommend them to anyone who wants to try but isn't quite sure how.

Hey Dick, just out of pure curiosity, was your demo album from Laguna Brown with the white gliding??

Jared is the coolest! He helps me out sooooo much!

Anyone care to offer thoughts on mark-up as a percentage?

newgenphoto wrote in post #2496359
Hey Dick, just out of pure curiosity, was your demo album from Laguna Brown with the white gliding??

Jared is the coolest! He helps me out sooooo much!

Nope. We got the black, distressed finish. Silver edge. Very cool.

Jared was the guy who helped us too. They did a great job! Had a show today and that is ALL they wanted to look at.

kiwinvan wrote in post #2498475
Anyone care to offer thoughts on mark-up as a percentage?

We marked ours up the same amount it cost us.

I don't mark up albums but I do charge for all the time spent designing, proofing, ordering and assembling them.
For printed albums I like the ones from Tony Sarlo, for albums with overlays I use Spicer Hallfields Reportage range.

Phil V wrote in post #2499735
I don't mark up albums but I do charge for all the time spent designing, proofing, ordering and assembling them.
For printed albums I like the ones from Tony Sarlo, for albums with overlays I use Spicer Hallfields Reportage range.

On average how many hours do you put into one album?

twinsrus wrote in post #2499584
Nope. We got the black, distressed finish. Silver edge. Very cool.

Jared was the guy who helped us too. They did a great job! Had a show today and that is ALL they wanted to look at.

Oh thats cool. My first sample album from them was the distressed brown with the white edges. It was nice but nothing like the sabago black with silver edges I got from them with my images in it! The coolest color I have seen from them (I had a bride pick it) was the Sebago Purple with silver edges. It was SWEEET!

kiwinvan wrote in post #2494217
I have a bunch of questions about albums....
I am going to begin offering albums to clients this year. I'm heading towards Asuka books as I really like the magazine style.
What albums or books do you prefer and why? (Asuka or others)
How long does it take to put them together?
What software do you use?
How much do you charge for them? (I realise that it takes time and skill to make them, and I want to make sure I do come out of it with some profit)
Any album advice?
Thanks!

1) Queensberry Albums are big, heavy, impressive, and will last many decades. Asukabooks are modern, light, and will last a while with good handling.

2) To start with it took 16-24 hours to do an asukabook, now I can do it in 8 and that's going down. This includes processing the images. If you did a single photo per page it'd be quicker.

3) I use PhotoJunction and CS2, as PJ I got with my Queensberry package. If you don't want that i'd suggest FotoFusion.

4) I worked out how long it should take me to make them, worked out what I wanted to earn per hour, added on the costs and overheads, and set that.

5) Advice: keep it simple, keep the "focus" on the images, not the layout.

Anyone tried the Kubota software for Asuka books?

kiwinvan wrote in post #2499914
On average how many hours do you put into one album?

For a reportage album, about an hour for the design, 2 hrs for the ordering then about 3 hrs to assemble it.

For a coffee table style album, it'll depend greatly on the software you use. I only did it once, using just PSCS2 and it took far too long. I'm hoping I'll get some kind of automation built up before I have to do too many more.