lechua photography

Running out of ideas for gifts? With the many photos taken throughout each year and stored in my laptop, external harddisk, etc, I decided to print a selection of them out in a photobook as gifts this Christmas.

Having heard of Photobook Malaysia, I decided to try out their photobook print services. Out of the 3 main bookstyles offered: (i) debossed hardcover, (ii) imagewrap hardcover and (iii) softcover, I chose the softcover style (8” x 11”) of 40 pages, since I preferred a lightweight magazine style. There are 2 other smaller sizes available in softcover style with the same price. Also, Photobook Malaysia was offering a tempting 40% discount offer on all photobooks until 31 Dec 09.

How to create a photobook with Photobook Malaysia

1)    Download the Photobook Designer software from their website http://www.photobook.com.my

2)    Here are some steps with screenshots on how I went about creating my photobook. (Also, refer to their quick guide on how to use the software at http://www.photobook.com.my/?pg=2guide)

1. Create a new project and select the book style; in my case, softcover (8” x 11”).
2. Click the [+] button on the left Pictures panel to load the photos to add to the photobook. (You may always reload additional photos.)
3. Navigate through the cover and pages of the book using the top panel.
4. Go to the lower panel> ‘Page Styles’ tab to select the layout of your photo collage on each page.

      5.    Click the ‘Background’ tab to select a particular background if preferred. There are also other background colour options that can be selected from the right panel>’Page Background’ tab.

       6.    Drag the photos from the left panel to the central panel to arrange the photos as desired. There is also the option to fit an image across the entire page by right clicking on the image and selecting the ‘Fit to Page’ option.

designing the cover

designing the pages inside

      7.    Click on the ‘Add Text’ symbol just above the central panel to add any text or captions to the photos on the page.

3)    Save the project regularly.

4)    When completed, click on File->Order and select the option to Upload Finished Pages to send the file over to Photobook Malaysia.

5)    Allow 7-9 days for production and delivery of your photobook.

For the outcome of the photobook, see post on Photobook Malaysia – Photobook delivered.