My first experience with Blurb was a pretty positive one so I spent some more time 2 weeks ago and put together another Blurb book. This time, it was more than a test run. My new book had about 200 pages in it and this time I had paid more attention to light correction (something I still think Blurb needs to be do better in-software).
I also ordered both a softcover and a hardcover version of my book because I was interested in comparing the two book types (previously I had ordered only a hardcover).
What did I learn from my second order? I was surprised to find that the quality of printing for Blurb’s softcover books is significantly inferior to the quality of their hard cover books. The cover wasn’t as brilliant, which I could have excused, but the photographs inside the book had inferior quality and noticeably less color depth. Everyone I showed the softcover version too noticed the inferior quality right away. I recommend against making photo albums using the Blurb service’s softcover books. In hindsight, I’m lucky that the first book I ordered from Blurb was a hardcover because if it had been a softcover, I probably wouldn’t have ordered from them again.
While the soft cover underwhelmed, the hard cover was an absolute pleasure. Unlike my first book which I had thrown together pretty quickly, I had spent a lot more time with my second book and it included more than 250 photographs on more than 200 pages. See photographs of my second order below…
The package as it arrived at my desk in the office.
The two books were inside the package, each individually wrapped in plastic (the hard cover is shown on top of the soft cover here)
A photograph of the hard cover book
A close-up of the hard cover book’s spine (this is as close as my SD600 could get without getting blurry)
The soft cover book
The front cover of the hard cover
The inside flap of the hard cover
One page spread in the hard cover Blurb book
Another page spread in the hard cover Blurb book
The back cover of my Blurb book
Thank you soooo much for this wonderful description of your Blurb books. I am working on a project and was wondering about the softcover versions since I will be ordering multiple copies. Based on your recommendation and photos I will definately order the hardcover. Thank you again