In the album forum, right now, people are looking for inexpensive press books for proofing. You can see the thread here (must be a member of the DWF).
Proofing is a difficult decision for a studio and can turn into an expensive cost, both in product and in labor. Sometimes finding the cheapest press book can actually end up costing you much more money.
The cheaper press books usually come with their own design software, or you need to do the design yourself. Either way, laying out a grid of images in a nice manner can be a time consuming problem. Even if you use Lightroom, or a nifty proofing script, you still need to upload the pages to the the album manufacturer and make the order. All of this time makes for lost revenue in your business, unless you like to work for free.
Personally, the only proof books that I see as profitable in a studio (unless you are charging a premium for them) are proof books directly from the lab. Labs offer proof books directly from your files. You simply upload the individual files via their ROES software, choose how many images you want on a page, choose your cover and presto, you’ve got a book. These books might be $30-50 more than a cheap press printed book, but they will add value to the bottom line of your business. First of all, they will most likely look better, which will help in both client satisfaction and marketing. Secondly, the time saved in the order process will more than make up for the added cost.
Here is one of my favorite proof books, from ProDPI. The layout is clean and the covers are a cut above.
Fundy
Fundy is the creator of the Fundy Album Builder design software and Album Approved album proofing software. Free trials available for both.
Back Home
O comments at "Proof This!"
Comment Now!