If you're looking for a gift for friends or family, a Mixbook photo book might be the way to go. Photo books are not only one of the best sentimental gifts you can buy for a loved one, they’re also a fantastic way to appreciate your own hard work on your photography.
Whether you fill your photo book with nostalgic snapshots of friends, family and loved ones, or the masterpieces from your latest shoot, you want to make sure that you’re choosing from the best photo books.
Mixbook is one of the most prolific photo book manufacturers around, and they often offer steep discounts on their products, which can be handy when you’re looking to order a gift and you’re working with a strict budget. Mixbook offers a wide range of photo finishing products, including photo books, photo cards, canvas prints, metal prints and more.
Specifications
Book shape: Landscape, Square, Portrait
Book size: 8 x 6”, 11 x 8.5”, 14 x 11”. 8.5 x 8.5”, 10 x 10”, 12 x 12”, 8.5 x 11”
Paper: Semi-Gloss, Pearl Finish, Premium Matte
Style: Softcover, Hardcover, Hardcover with dust jacket, Leather with dust jacket
Extra pages: £1.19 per two pages
Shipping: Northern America, Canada, Europe, Netherlands, Australia, United Kingdom
Ease of use
The software is incredibly easy to use - you don't have to download anything, as it's all done in your internet browser. There are nearly 400 fully customizable templates, backgrounds and stickers to choose from, which enables you to create a perfectly polished photo book that will impress anyone who sees it.
Mixbook photo books come in three versatile paper types, semi-gloss, pearl finish and an ultra-thick premium matte paper for its lay flat photo book option. We chose to design a 27 page 8.5x8.5" Classic Square Glossy Hardcover photo book.
We found the process of creating a Mixbook photo book simple and easy to navigate, with plenty of customization options available for each of the many templates Mixbook offers. Uploading images to the site was simple, and arranging them on the pages didn't take long at all.
Quality of results
Unfortunately, when our photo book arrived we did have a few issues with the quality of the front cover of the book. There was some fringing on the edges of the image and the logo. While it wasn't immediately obvious, it was definitely noticeable when inspecting at close quarters.
In addition, the colors were inaccurate on the cover as well. In all the photo books we tested this seemed to be a common theme. However, while the original image used for the cover photo had been graded with warm oranges, the printed cover skewed more red, creating muddy tones. The Mixbook photo book was the only photo book out of the six we tested that changed the grading of the image, rather than just boosting the saturation.
However, most of our issues were with the cover of the book. The images printed on the inside were true-to-color and printed nicely. Plus, the design and layout of the book were genuinely beautiful and helped bring the photos to life.
Conclusion
If you’re a serious photographer looking for high quality prints of your work, then you might want to consider going elsewhere. However, if you’re looking for an affordable way to collect your favorite photos in one place, then Mixbook is a great option. With Mixbook often offering substantial discounts, we recommend waiting for the opportune moment and grabbing yourself a real bargain.
Read more
• Best photo books in 2020
• Best photo printing online: top services from around the web
• Best canvas print services in 2020
• Best photo albums in 2020
