MyPublisher Premium Album Flush Mount and Design Service Review
In celebration of Photobookgirl.com's 5th Anniversary back in February, MyPublisher sponsored a huge prize package worth $1495.00. One of my lucky, lucky readers won an amazing professionally designed premium flush mount album with all the bells and whistles. She said she was planning to use it to make a wedding or anniversary album. In that post I mentioned that my review of the actual MyPublisher premium album and their new design service would be forthcoming as I wanted to wait for an upcoming special occasion I was particularly anticipating.
Well, the special occasion arose a few months later - my maternity/family photo shoot! We were so happy to be able to work once again with our wedding photographer Albert Yau of Second Print Productions. We actually decided to have our photo shoot at some of the same locations where we had our engagement photos taken. It seemed fitting to come back full circle, this time with our almost four-year-old and another on the way!
Here's the stats on my MyPublisher Premium Album:
| Book size: | 10 x 10" (width x height) square book |
| Cover: | Black premium leather with acrylic |
| Paper Type: | photo paper with protective lacquer finished, fused to rigid core (1/16") upgraded "Thick" option |
| Pages: | 24 (double-sided), silver gilded edges |
| Binding: | lay-flat, folded, seamless |
| Price: | $575.00 (complimentary for purposes of review) |
The Process - Let MyPublisher Do the Work
If you've read some of my reviews before you may know that I'm a bit of a control freak. Having made so many photo books, I'm pretty particular about my layouts, so it was kind of difficult to hand over the design work to someone else, albeit to professionals. In this case, the timing was just right. I was in my last weeks before having baby #2 and it was a refreshing change of pace to leave the work to someone else. At that time (June), flush mounts could only be made through MyPublisher's design service, but just recently they've added on the option to make your own premium albums using MyPublisher's updated software. (Note that only landscape books can be made DIY at this time as the software is in beta mode. It's the same software you use for MyPublisher's regular photo books.) It was reassuring to know that I had the final say and could give feedback to the designers as to any changes I wanted to make. I actually made very few changes and the process made it pretty easy to convey those changes.
If you choose to use the design service, you can either upload all your photos and let the designer choose for you, or you can provide the exact photos you wish them to use. Since I had preselected the photos I wanted in the book, I chose the latter option. For more details on creating a premium album using MyPublisher's design service check out my earlier post on MyPublisher's premium albums.
The Album Arrives
My premium album arrived in a presentation box, lined with tissue paper and bubble wrapped.
I was excited to get my first look at the acrylic cover I had been coveting ever since I learned about MyPublisher's album options. I also opted for the rounded corners. I love the modern look of it. Oh look - there's my belly. I kind of miss being pregnant!
Here's a shot of the side of the thick acrylic cover and the silver gilded edges I opted for. You can also choose gold edges. The gilding adds $20.00 to the price of the album but at the time I ordered it was being offered as a free upgrade. You can also see how thick the pages are here. I opted for the thicker 1/16" pages which added $50.00 to the cost. If you want to keep it more affordable, you could stick to the standard pages (1/32") which will still be much thicker than the average photo book.
I liked the vast majority of the layouts the designers presented for review. Most of the changes I requested had to do with emphasis on particular photos. I wanted to highlight some photos over others, and it can be hard for someone else to know which ones you like more. It was pretty easy to submit the changes via the online form. Each page had its own place for comments and you could just comment on the pages you wanted changed.
Below is my little man giving me a checkup. I had found a similar inspiration photo on Pinterest and I had pinned it on my "Photos I'd Like to Recreate Someday" board. Check it out along with my "Photo Book Inspiration" board and be sure to follow me if you like what you see! When it came time for our photo shoot I was easily able to show our photographer some of the photo ideas I'd been saving during my pregnancy.
As would be expected with a high end flush mount photo book, the pages are seamless (meaning no gutter) just a fold in the center so none of your photo gets cut off. The pages lay flat.
Here's a view of the interior "endsheets". They're made of a black fabric-like paper with a subtle texture and a slight sheen.
With all cover options the sides are bound in leather. You have a choice of 20 colors.
MyPublisher's logo may be removed for a fee of $10.00. I didn't mind it being there - it's pretty subtle on the back inside page. If you're a pro photographer you would likely opt to have it removed and it's a reasonable price to do so.
Summary
In all the album turned out great. The colors were reproduced faithfully and I love the acrylic cover. Letting MyPublisher's designers do the design work was easy and $50.00 is a reasonable cost for the service. MyPublisher has been offering discounts on the design fee, so that makes it even more affordable. If you've been putting off making a wedding album, this is one of the easiest ways to get it done.
Flush mount albums are definitely a high end product and not for everyday photos. They are intended for special occasions and works best with a curated subset of photos from your event or occasion (i.e. 40 to 50 of your best shots not 400!). Albums like my 10 x 10" flush mount start at $370.00 for 20 pages. The most expensive option I selected was the acrylic cover which added $75.00 to the overall cost. 8 x 8 albums starting at $270 and 12 x 12 albums starting at $470 are also available. Landscape albums are offered in two sizes starting at $320.00.
Photo Book Girl Readers - Get a Deal!
High end flush mount albums rarely go on sale, but MyPublisher is offering Photobookgirl.com readers a discount on their premium albums!
25% off your 12 x 12 or 14 x 11 Premium Photo Album
20% off your 10 x 10 or 11 x 8.75 Premium Photo Album
15% off your 8 x 8 Premium Photo Album
These discounts apply to the cost of the albums only and not on the design service if you choose to have MyPublisher lay out your album. After clicking on the image or link and providing your email, you will receive a special code that will be valid for 14 days after issuance. You may click on this offer until 11:59pm ET, September 30, 2015.
If you'd like to see my reviews of other lay flat photo books and flush mount photo albums check out my Ultimate Lay Flat Photo Book Comparison Guide. There's a lay flat photo book for every budget!
Happy Photobooking!
Photo Book Girl
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Please note, this album was provided complimentary to me for purposes of review. I am an affiliate of the company as well as other photo book companies you may see on this site. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a referral fee from the company. Regardless, my opinions are always my own and are an honest reflection of my views.
