Review of MyPublisher album

[CXC]

After reading recent discussions on this forum about online printing and binding, I chose to give www.mypublisher.com a try. I ordered a 12"x16" hardbound album with 24 images, one to a page, for about $72. Here are a few personal judgments:

1. All images are uniformly overexposed on the order of 1 or 2 f/stops. A profile would have been nice. I did use the auto-correct function throughout.

2. Newton rings which are not noticeable in the scans are prominent in the prints. This may just be an artifact of the overexposure.

3. Tiny detail is just not there.

4. Color accuracy is good.

5. All color skies are grainy. This may be due to the size of the scans, which were smaller than the recommended 8M. However the grain looks different than I am accustomed to seeing in a wet print, so who knows.

6. I threw in 3 b&w's, and they all look quite good. Except for the overexposure.

7. The binding is strong and attractive, but bulges out at the top of the front cover indentation/fold point.

8. Very nice paper.

9. Book seems too thin with only 24 leaves in it. 50 or more would be good.

10. At about $3 a shot, I'd say you get your moneysworth. The folks on this forum are not really the target audience for this product. However, our moms/wives/kids would be impressed.

11. With proper care and selection, all shortcomings could be overcome, except #1 and #7. Were I to use this service again, I would: a) contact mypublisher directly to discuss the overexposure problem; b) be more selective; and c) maybe do all b&w.

[Michael Gordon]

I've recently completed a book through Shared Ink, which is top notch. Density is a perfect match, except for perhaps a 1/3 stop (or less) increase in shadow density. Paper quality, linen cover, and binding is all top notch. I did a wholly monochrome book, and since it's CMYK and not duotone, there is some minor metamerism depending upon viewing light. Photographers will notice it; most others don't even when you point it out to them.

You can find a review of several on-demand publishers in this article http://tinyurl.com/caz9y

[Paul Butzi]

Michael, when you're saying a 1/3rd stop increase in shadow density, are you saying that the dmax is higher than you expected, or that you lost shadow detail when you didn't expect to?

[Michael Gordon]

Sorry I wasn't more clear on that, Paul. Yes, I lost the detail, but none of the resulting loss is that big of a deal (very minor). It could be nailed with proofs, but I was on a deadline and had it published sans proofs. I'm pretty impressed with the accuracy. Also, I tipped in a tiny bit of warmth assuming the finished product would be dead neutral or slightly cool. My guesswork came out damn near perfect.

[matthew blais]

Michael, may I ask what the turnaround time was for this?

[Michael Gordon]

One week, Matthew, from order to shipping. Shared Ink really has their stuff together when it comes to customer service.

[matthew blais]

Thanks Michael.

I think I'll give them a try.

[Paul Butzi]

Michael-

Thanks loads for the clarification.

Ok, now I need to go off and think hard. I have in mind a very small run of a small book, as Christmas presents... or maybe that old project will get dusted off, buffed up, and run as a book.

Oh, lord. Too many ideas, all at once...

[Michael Gordon]

If you guys decide to try, make sure you ask for the Photographers Program. It gives you access to features you would not otherwise have on a trial basis. Any questions are promptly and courteously answered by Chris Hickman, SI's president. Like I said, they do good work. It's a pleasure when so many companies turn out sub-standard product with lousy customer service to boot.

[CXC]

To follow up, my wife was NOT impressed by the album, much to my surprise. She immediately commented on the binding fault. After looking at all the pix, she said the colors looked washed out compared to the original wet prints.

What I have learned from this whole experience is that I do like the idea of online bookmaking, so maybe I will also look into Shared Ink. I would appreciate any and all comments thereon.

[Jeremy Moore]

Michael,
I signed up for SharedInk.com and sent an email to Chris. He responded about 4 hours later! with information about the Photographer's Program. For anyone wanting a direct link to info about it:

http://www.sharedink.com/photographer

[danielle]

does Shared Ink to full bleed printing?

thanks!

[Michael Gordon]

YES, they do full bleed.