Blurb introduced their layflat photo books late last year, and I've been keen to try them. When Blurb reached out to me recently to review another one of their products, I was keen to take them up on the offer.

We enjoyed a family holiday in the state of Victoria earlier this year, so I created a photo book using photos from that holiday. The book was created using Blurb's BookWrite software, which has improved somewhat since I previously wrote about it.

A couple of restrictions that I encountered with Blurb's layflat photo books:

• The only paper option is the "Standard Layflat" paper; you cannot select any other paper type.
  
  
• There's no option for a black logo page. As I wanted the pages in my book to have a black background, my only options were to have a white logo page at the end of the book (which would look weird), or pay an extra $10 to remove the logo page.

I ordered the layflat book using the economy shipping method (the cheapest), and it took one month for the book to arrive, with the ebook arriving on the exact day that Blurb indicated it would.
In comparison, a non-layflat photo book from Blurb, ordered at around the same time, took just 16 days to arrive.

front cover

front cover and spine

The book was securely packaged in a plastic bag, and then in a robust cardboard packing sleeve. After unpacking it, and looking through the book, my first impressions were:

• The cover has a soft "rubberish" feel to it. It's hard to describe, but it is nice to touch.
• The pages are much thicker than non-layflat Blurb photo books.
• The layflat book feels and looks much more "luxurious" and higher-end than regular (non-layflat) Blurb photo books.
• The surface of the pages is fairly matte - especially when doing a direct comparison to the premium lustre paper that I normally use for other Blurb (non-layflat) photo books.

Blurb's BookSmart software for creating photobooks was first released in 2007, while BookWright was released in 2014 as a beta, and publicly released in February 2015. BookWright can import photobooks in several other formats, including Blurb's BookSmart format and Blurb's Bookify format.

According to Blurb, "Because BookWright is brand new, we have new technology available to us to make the app run smoother and faster, refresh the overall look and feel, and to incorporate new features."

It sounds like a no-brainer - BookWright should be the default choice when deciding which software to use to create a photobook for printing by Blurb. After using BookWright to create a photobook, I believe it's not a simple choice. Read on for details.

Blurb are a well-known print-on-demand company, and they offer numerous book printing and photo book printing options, with a variety of paper types, book bindings and other options. Blurb provide multiple options for creating books, allowing you to use either their BookSmart software, BookWright software, web-based Bookify, a plug-in for Adobe InDesign, or you can do your own thing and create a PDF file for Blurb to print as a book.

Be sure to read my post on lessons learnt from printing a Blurb photo book, where I take a closer look at using Blurb's BookSmart software, and provide some recommendations and guidelines for creating a photo book.

To encourage you to make a photo book with your own photos, and to save you money, I will be keeping this page up-to-date with current offers and discounts available from Blurb. These are all valid coupon codes - no expired codes will be listed here.

Here are the currently available Blurb coupon codes, sorted by expiry date:

Save 30% off photo books
coupon code:	COMMUNITY30
expires:	08-Sep-2025
details:	Offer valid through September 8, 2025 (11:59 p.m. local time). Valid only for photo books uploaded to and purchased through your own account. The discount is applied toward your product total with no minimum or maximum order amount. This offer has a maximum value of $725. This offer is good for two uses, and cannot be used for ebook or PDF purchases, and wall art, or combined with volume discounts, custom orders, other promotional codes, gift cards, or used for adjustments on previous orders.
Save with Blurb's volume discounts
coupon code:	none required
expires:	not applicable
details:	Volume discounts applied at checkout are: 10-19 copies: 10% discount 20+ copies: 20% discount For details of discounts on large orders, you can request a custom quote from Blurb.
35% Off Your First Photo Book
coupon code:	none required
expires:	not applicable
details:	Valid for printed books only. Get 35% off your first photo book. This offer is good for one-time use, and cannot be combined with volume discounts, other promotional codes, gift cards, or used for adjustments on previous orders. Offer valid for 30 days after user's first registration.

All offers are valid through through to 11:59pm local time on the specified expiry date.
Coupons are good for one-time use, and cannot be combined with volume discounts, other promotional codes, gift cards, or used for adjustments on previous orders.

Several years ago, I read an article that described how to transfer photo prints onto wood. The idea intrigued me, and I bought some gel medium on ebay. After laser-printing some mirrored photos, I followed the process described. After some bit of trial and error and some lack-lustre results, I was able to achieve pretty consistent results that I was happy with.

completed wood print on a 280x190mm piece of pine timber
boat on the Keizersgracht passing under a bridge

After a family holiday to Holland a couple of years ago, we had a photo book printed by Blurb. I took a lot of photos on the three-week trip, and wanted to have a hard-copy photo book for myself, and for my parents and siblings who holidayed with us.

Blurb are a well-renowned print-on-demand company, and they offer numerous book printing options, with a variety of paper types, book bindings and other options. Blurb provide multiple options for creating books, allowing you to use either their BookSmart software, web-based Bookify, a plug-in for Adobe InDesign, or you can do your own thing and create a PDF file for printing as a book.

This photo book was in Blurb's large landscape size (13x11 inches, or 33x28 cm), and was created using Blurb's BookSmart software. When we had it printed by Blurb, we specified it with an imagewrap hard cover, ProLine black end sheets, premium lustre paper. These options increased the cost of the book, but I think it was worth the additional cost.

showing the spine, cover and binding of the book

We are very happy with the resulting book from our recent experience with Blurb. However, there are a few things I wish I had known before undertaking this project, as it would have saved me some time and effort.

Here are a few of the things I learnt from my experiences in preparing my first photo book using Blurb's BookSmart software.

My wife and I have been looking for a good solution for displaying photos in the house, but until recently, had not found a good solution.

A pinup board results in holes in each photo, and moving a photo to another location on the board means you need to remove and re-insert all the pins in that photo.

Magnetic photo rope (using magnets to hold photos onto a steel cable hanging on the wall) is a cool idea, but the photos will blow around when doors are opened/closed, or if the wind blows in through a window.



However, the use of magnets gave me an idea, and last week, I bought a magnetic whiteboard from a local office supplies shop, along with some tiny rare-earth magnets.

using tiny magnets to hold photos on the board

There is something nice about the retro look of a Polaroid photo, and using the free Poladroid application, you can easily re-create the nostalgic look of Polaroid photos, complete with scratches and fingerprints.

While similar results can be achieved in Photoshop or another image editing package, the free Poladroid application provides a very easy way to produce consistent results with minimal effort.



Here are some examples of the Polaroid-looking images generated by the Poladroid application:

storm clouds over the Royal Perth Yacht Club

beach chair

lonely autumn leaf

Taraxacum flower

In recent weeks, there seems to be a growing interest in tilt-shift photography, as well as applying a fake tilt-shift effect to photos. This post provides some background information, as well as details on how you can achieve a tilt-shift effect with your own photos.

Narrows Bridge into South Perth, digitally tilt-shifted

Producing bookmarks with your photos provides another mechanism for you to share your photos, and can also provide a way to publicise your website. Bookmarks can also make attractive gifts, and can easily be slipped inside an envelope along with a card.
If you run a photography business, you can also use these bookmarks to advertise your business.

completed bookmarks

With photo-quality printers becoming cheaply and readily available, many people will be able to make these photo bookmarks at home. (However, many people may not have a laminator at home. Laminators are reasonably cheap, and many printing places provide laminating services. Alternatively, your workpace may have one, so ask if you can use it.)