Inexpensive Wedding Albums

Hi Friends,

I have a little trouble finding any good inexpensive matted wedding album.
I just got a couple that wants a 10x10 or 12x12 wedding album for $200, I really have bulldozed the net but can not find any decent wedding album in $200 price range, I really don't know what to do, I can not give them a slide in PVC 4x6 album I just can't.

I need your help!
Any Ideas?

You can offer them a press printed 10x10 with 20 pages. I would let them know that wedding albums start at $600 if they want something nice.

Check out:
WHCC - Press printed
Vision Art
Finao
Black River Imaging

Adorama's Adoramapix site has a book offering that is a reasonable album alternative. It is printed on photo paper and the spread can be a single 10x20 image.

With some attention to the layout and design elements it could turn out well.
The cover is a wrapped photo, so you have control of that as well.

As for matted, I have no idea.

I charge way more than $200 for my time to design an album. I charge more for books as they usually have more pages than albums and so they take longer. For $200 suggest they use a consumer oriented book and design it themselves, there's no way they're getting a decent professional product for that. My albums start from NZ$1800/US$1200 or so, and go up to about US$5000.

Does it have to me matted? I don't hear any (really, zero) interest in matted albums anymore. Mpix offers an assembled album that is very nice for the price and I think it hits your budget, but it's flush mounted.

I still sell 20-30% matted albums.

My wife and I did our albums through Shutterfly... the end result was actually rather impressive... might not be what you were looking for... but, it's an option you can look at.

Do they offer pro coffe table flush style albums where lab prints are bonded to rigid pages, or are these the lightweight litho style (magazine) albums? I haven't done anything through shutterfly myself so I'm curious.

va_rider wrote in post #9702288
My wife and I did our albums through Shutterfly... the end result was actually rather impressive... might not be what you were looking for... but, it's an option you can look at.

They're hard-bound books... not a big thick cover though... like the cover on a hard-bound children's book... nice thick weight paper... glossy... they do a good print job...

Thanks VA - sort of a hybrid construction then. High quality magazine style flexible glossy paper with rigid binding, but not the bound rigid photo pages of something like a Leathercraftsman, Zook, Finao or Artcarved book.

va_rider wrote in post #9702491
They're hard-bound books... not a big thick cover though... like the cover on a hard-bound children's book... nice thick weight paper... glossy... they do a good print job...

Thanks for the advise, I have tried TAP, zookbinders, Renaissance etc. they all start from $180-ish cover only no matts, I really don't see any sense buying that type of albums for $500 or more when Photo books with hard cover and hard page type go for about the same price or even cheaper , it does not make any sense does it?

Armans Photography wrote in post #9710844
=Arman's Photography;9710844]Th​anks for the advise, I have tried TAP, zookbinders, Renaissance etc. they all start from $180-ish cover only no matts, I really don't see any sense buying that type of albums for $500 or more when Photo books with hard cover and hard page type go for about the same price or even cheaper , it does not make any sense does it?

Book = flimsy and may wear out in a few years. Album = substantial and will last decades or generations. I haven't supplied books for weddings in years, albums only.

Pictobooks has a 10x10 album that is just a little more than the price you're looking for, but they're 20% off through the end of the month so you could get one for that price. They'll even do the design work for you (for $45). This price is for a 16 spread (32 page) album and I'd recommend including 65-85 images for them to work with. They will only sell to professionals (they ask to see your website) but I love their work. I normally charge my clients quite a bit more but if you're looking for a way to break into the business and make a name, I'd try them (look for their Bijou series).

Hi Arman,
Hopefully Im getting it right, but I found this:
http://www.lbalbumfram​e.com/LibraryBoundAlbu​ms/08.htm
http://www.lbalbumfram​e.com/PostBoundAlbums/​11.htm
Hope that helps

Armans Photography wrote in post #9696715
=Arman's Photography;9696715]de​cent wedding album in $200 price range,

That is a tall order. If there were many quality albums priced at a point where we could sell them for $200 we would all be doing it. But, quality is going to come at a price. You also have no mention of the time and labor costs. Is that included?
You could look into a blurb book, 12x12 at about $100. Then tell your client the design is done, if they one day find themselves with the means to upgrade to a higher quality album the design is already done in a very standard format.