Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Rosemary C-B on August 17, 2010 at 4:39pm

Rachel, it all depends on several factors--

What is your average net profit on a wedding?

How much do you want to spend on an album for clients--what is that price range, depending on their level of service from you?

Are we talking matted, flush-mount, magazine, what?

Are you going to be offering these as part of a wedding collection, a la carte, or both?

Will you be designing them or outsourcing this service?

There are tons of album companies out there, so answering a few of these questions may help to narrow it down for you.

HTH, though!

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Permalink Reply by R a c h e l S e e d on August 17, 2010 at 5:04pm

Hi Rosemary,

I don't have a price range in mind for the albums, but what I do want is for them to be top quality, contemporary and lasting albums. Probably flush-mount, both as part of wedding packages and a la carte and I would probably design them myself.

Can you recommend any companies?

Thanks,
Rachel

Rosemary C-B said:

Rachel, it all depends on several factors--

What is your average net profit on a wedding?

How much do you want to spend on an album for clients--what is that price range, depending on their level of service from you?

Are we talking matted, flush-mount, magazine, what?

Are you going to be offering these as part of a wedding collection, a la carte, or both?

Will you be designing them or outsourcing this service?

There are tons of album companies out there, so answering a few of these questions may help to narrow it down for you.

HTH, though!

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Permalink Reply by Rosemary C-B on August 17, 2010 at 5:44pm

This is a partial list that we kept for a while. We all use different companies to suit our styles and client needs, but this list probably has something that will work for you!

And get on some forums like DWF, Open Source, Photo.net, OurPPA, and of course here to find specific answers about the albums you have seen online!

Also--A couple of them may be gone now (for instance, I heard earlier this year that Kambara went belly-up, so I didn't put them on the list).

A lot of people use Zookbinders (that is what we used until 2 years ago)
KISS Albums
Finao
Artleather
Millers
WHCC
Graphistudio
Dream Albums
Asuka
Forbeyon
ClassicAlbum
Leather Craftsmen
H&H
Black River Imaging
Iris
Renaissance
Queensberry
Albums Unlimited

They are all sorts of prices and styles--just check them out and you will be able to get samples for a discount--typically!

And it also helps if you can go to a trade show and see them in person. This made a huge difference when we switched to our company two years ago.

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Permalink Reply by R a c h e l S e e d on August 17, 2010 at 6:04pm

Thanks, Rosemary! This is a great start.

Rosemary C-B said:

This is a partial list that we kept for a while. We all use different companies to suit our styles and client needs, but this list probably has something that will work for you!

And get on some forums like DWF, Open Source, Photo.net, OurPPA, and of course here to find specific answers about the albums you have seen online!

Also--A couple of them may be gone now (for instance, I heard earlier this year that Kambara went belly-up, so I didn't put them on the list).

A lot of people use Zookbinders (that is what we used until 2 years ago)
KISS Albums
Finao
Artleather
Millers
WHCC
Graphistudio
Dream Albums
Asuka
Forbeyon
ClassicAlbum
Leather Craftsmen
H&H
Black River Imaging
Iris
Renaissance
Queensberry
Albums Unlimited

They are all sorts of prices and styles--just check them out and you will be able to get samples for a discount--typically!

And it also helps if you can go to a trade show and see them in person. This made a huge difference when we switched to our company two years ago.

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Permalink Reply by Shane E. on August 19, 2010 at 12:28pm

Album companies are a dime a dozen and clients are impressed by 95% of them.

The trick is what software are you going to use to design your album? Photoshop is not album design software.

Rosemary's oldest boy, Johnathon, will vouch for this, too. Lumapix's Fotofusion is the most efficient album design software on planet earth. (I limit my testimonials to the vicinity of our planet, since I've never tried to download anything from outer space, aside from instructions, that is).

I've designed a few hundred albums and used a lot of different software. Fotofusion saves me sooo much time. So much, in fact, I have time to type this. Okay, not really. I should be working. Seriously.

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Permalink Reply by Rosemary C-B on August 19, 2010 at 12:54pm

Shane, you read my mind, you freak! I was going to mention this. Yeah, PS for designing albums was a slow, nightmarish process. Lumapix Fotofusion is so worth the money! We use it for all of our guest book, portrait, boudoir, and wedding albums. And I use a few of the borders and frames for portrait designs, too.

And you can get a trial of it, I do believe.

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Permalink Reply by R a c h e l S e e d on August 20, 2010 at 6:09pm

That's great info, Shane and Rosemary. Thanks a bunch!!

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