I was recently provided with the opportunity to review a SaalDigital photobook. They graciously provided me with a free book of my own photos to help form this review.
The first step is to install the software. I’m working on a Mac and the first time I ran the software it crashed, I sent a report and the second time it worked a lot better.
They ask you to choose from a range of high-end options, including black leather and satin first. There is also the option of a slightly pricy display box to match the cover. You can adjust these options before you finalise your order at the end.
The software will provide templates which you can use to very quickly design a photo book. This system works well, the slight hiccup being the lack of obvious support for the Mac photos app. It’s a lot easier for example to use the Mac photos app to make a folder of pictures you would like to use and then transfer this over. A nice feature is that the program will estimate the quality of the image on the printed page. Simple designs are easy to do, although some of the stock templates are a little cringy and a little ‘hallmark’. I would have liked to have seen some more modern designs. You can use whatever font you like, but a few modern and smart templates would be fantastic. I was a little hesitant about downloading dedicated software, especially for a product I wouldn’t likely be using very often. But if you are a professional photographer you may be used to this kind of system. The dedicated app, over say, a web app, allows for greater freedom and there are plenty of settings to play with, although most will find the snap-to-template system more than adequate for most needs. I only ran into a few formatting issues whilst playing around, all of these were easily fixed.
The actual book feels premium, the full-colour pages are fantastic, although lighter images work much better on the matt finish. The fact the book can open out flat is fantastic. It does look very smart on the table and it has already become a talking point. The print quality is fantastic, and the acrylic cover is a nice touch. They are aiming at a professional market and I think most would be satisfied with the product. It would also make a nice high-end gift to commemorate a special occasion. I personally filled my review product with images I’d taken in Japan. Some of these were simple iPhone snaps, and they came out just as nice as those taken with more dedicated camera set-ups.
So in summary:
Pros
- Very nicely presented, binding is high quality
- Produced and delivered quickly
- Matt printing looks great on bright colours
- Available for Mac and PC.
- Overall product is very nice.
- Instagram friendly ‘square’ printing is a nice option.
- The book lies flat when open.
- Acrylic cover is very nice.
Cons
- Software presentation is rudimentary and not necessarily beginner friendly crashed on first use.
- Presentation box costs over a third of the price of the book itself.
- Other additional options can get quite pricey quickly.
- Outdated text templates.
#saaldigital
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