The primary advantage of a layflat photo book is that two-page spreads are displayed with no binding break between the two pages. This can be especially important if the photograph displays important details in the area of the image that crosses from the left page to the right page. As an example, my photos of my friend's guitars display the details of the neck and the appearance where the neck joins the body in the area of the book where the two pages join. If I had used a standard book, reviewing those details of the guitars would not have been as easy or as enjoyable as when using a layflat book.
I've never seen a photographer's comments about Blurb's layflat photo books and have wondered how good they really are. Now that I have one, I thought it might be helpful to explain my impressions.
Special Requirements
Blurb has two special requirements when producing a layflat book: The cover must be a hard cover that includes a matte wrap around the front cover, spine and rear cover and the pages must be Premium Lustre Ultra-Thick Paper (432 GSM). One of their web pages indicates that that is 100# weight and another one indicates that it is 295#. That discrepancy might be explained by different standards of determining that numeric value. Regardless, the pages are made of very heavy, stiff stock.
Blurb's layflat books must have a minimum of 20 pages (that's true for all of their books whether layflat or not). The maximum is 110 pages and Blurb advertises that "that’s more room than you’ll find anywhere else."
Cost
Blurb's layflat books cost considerably more than their standard books. The photo book of my friend's guitars is 106 pages and the last page displays only Blurb's logo. (Blurb charges more if the book doesn't display their logo.) If I had ordered this book using the soft cover and Premium Lustre paper that isn't ultra-thick I've always previously used, the cost would have been $55. The cost of the layflat book was $155. Those costs are before promotional discounts, taxes and shipping fees.
Quality
I've always been satisfied with the quality of the printing in Blurb's photo books and this layflat book is no exception.
The book weighs about 3.5 pounds (1.6kg), which is hefty. I suppose some would complain that it's too heavy and others would like that it feels solid. I lean toward liking that solid feel.
The pages are so thick that they don't bend when you turn them and this is so new to me that I haven't yet decided whether I like or dislike that characteristic overall. (I've got over 100 commercially produced photography books and I've never seen a book made of pages that don't bend.) One distinct advantage of such stiff pages is that you can easily turn a page by grabbing the top edge of the page with just one finger, which prevents fingerprints from being added to the photographs.
Conclusions about Future Orders
I would order a layflat book when the details in the images and the display of the images in two-page spreads explained above merit the extra expense and weight. Otherwise, I'll continue ordering soft covers, normal pages and a book binding that doesn't lay flat.
I've never seen a photographer's comments about Blurb's layflat photo books and have wondered how good they really are. Now that I have one, I thought it might be helpful to explain my impressions.
Special Requirements
Blurb has two special requirements when producing a layflat book: The cover must be a hard cover that includes a matte wrap around the front cover, spine and rear cover and the pages must be Premium Lustre Ultra-Thick Paper (432 GSM). One of their web pages indicates that that is 100# weight and another one indicates that it is 295#. That discrepancy might be explained by different standards of determining that numeric value. Regardless, the pages are made of very heavy, stiff stock.
Blurb's layflat books must have a minimum of 20 pages (that's true for all of their books whether layflat or not). The maximum is 110 pages and Blurb advertises that "that’s more room than you’ll find anywhere else."
Cost
Blurb's layflat books cost considerably more than their standard books. The photo book of my friend's guitars is 106 pages and the last page displays only Blurb's logo. (Blurb charges more if the book doesn't display their logo.) If I had ordered this book using the soft cover and Premium Lustre paper that isn't ultra-thick I've always previously used, the cost would have been $55. The cost of the layflat book was $155. Those costs are before promotional discounts, taxes and shipping fees.
Quality
I've always been satisfied with the quality of the printing in Blurb's photo books and this layflat book is no exception.
The book weighs about 3.5 pounds (1.6kg), which is hefty. I suppose some would complain that it's too heavy and others would like that it feels solid. I lean toward liking that solid feel.
The pages are so thick that they don't bend when you turn them and this is so new to me that I haven't yet decided whether I like or dislike that characteristic overall. (I've got over 100 commercially produced photography books and I've never seen a book made of pages that don't bend.) One distinct advantage of such stiff pages is that you can easily turn a page by grabbing the top edge of the page with just one finger, which prevents fingerprints from being added to the photographs.
Conclusions about Future Orders
I would order a layflat book when the details in the images and the display of the images in two-page spreads explained above merit the extra expense and weight. Otherwise, I'll continue ordering soft covers, normal pages and a book binding that doesn't lay flat.
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