ArtsCow Review
ArtsCow is a digital photo and photo product printing company based in Hong Kong, China, in operation since 2004. In addition to printing photo books, ArtsCow features hundreds of personalized photo products such as purses, playing cards, dog tags, mousepads and computer cases just to name a few. I just recently came across ArtsCow and ordered my first photobooks from them a few weeks ago after signing up for a free membership.
When you sign up to be a member, you’ll instantly receive free credits for photo books and a number of other products from your digital photos. ArtsCow is really big on providing lots of these promotional codes and I really wish I had more time in the day to create these products so I could take full advantage of their offers! An interesting feature is the ability to transfer and/or sell credits from one member to another. The credits carry an expiration date and that expiration date is retained during the transfer.
According to ArtsCow’s website, their photo books are now printed on their recently acquired 4-color $640,000.00 Xerox iGen4 Digital Press machine. Now I can’t say that I know much about the technology behind commercial printing, but I can say that the print quality of the (standard) books I received came out very good - though the covers came out considerably darker than my original photos. UPDATE: 12/20/11 - ArtsCow recently released a Deluxe photo book line printed on real photo paper. The higher end books are mounted on thick cardstock pages and lie flat. See my ArtsCow Deluxe photo book review.
ArtsCow's online software is a little clunky to navigate, but still reasonably easy to use. It allows for full customization so you can create your own layouts. Downloading a free program called Microsoft Silverlight (both Mac and PC compatible) is required to use the program and to upload photos. Photos have to be uploaded to the site in order to use them, so you do have allow some time for the upload.
Check out my full review on ArtsCow’s photo book software as well as a review of ArtsCow photo books will be coming soon!
Unique Features/Tips
- ArtsCow allows you to put a custom image on the spine as well as text
- ArtsCow has an easy to use one-click button which changes a square photo box to one with rounded corners, a circle or many other shapes
- The software allows you to fully customize your layouts, but you can also buy scrapbook kits as well
Click HERE to go to ArtsCow's site!
Don't forget to check the main Photobook Deals page for all of today's deals! Bookmark that page or fan me on Facebook and you won't miss out on the latest coupon codes! Save money with the latest ArtsCow coupons and deals.
ArtsCow Reviews from the Blog
Dec 20, 2011: Artscow Deluxe Photo Book Review - Baby Shower Photo Book
May 27, 2010: Top Tips For the Bride (or Groom) who Loves Photos: Photo Invites & Save the Dates & Engagement Photo Books
Quick Specs for ArtsCowNew to photo books? Learn the lingo
| Book Type | Hardcover |
| Book Shape | Landscape, Square, Portrait |
| Types of Covers | Die Cut, Full Photo Cover |
| Min/Max Pages | 20 - 100; 20 - 32 (Deluxe) |
| Paper | 157 gsm; 750 gsm Fuji Crystal Photo Paper (Deluxe) |
| Binding | Stitch-bound; Glued |
| Lay Flat | Yes |
| Fully Customizable Layouts | Yes |
| Themes | 35+ |
| Layouts/Templates | 120+ colors; Kits |
| Backgrounds | 100+ |
| Image as Background | Yes |
| Full Photo Cover | Yes |
| Customizable Spine | Yes - text and photo background |
| Full Photo Back Cover | Yes |
| Full Page Bleed | Yes |
| Captions/Fonts | 100+ |
| Embellishments | Yes |
| Mac/PC | Both |
| Download or Online | Online |
| Special Photo Importing | No |
| Share Online | Yes |
| Sell Online | Yes |
| Collaboration | No |
| Logo | Yes - not removable |
| Photo Editing in Program | Rotate, Size, Borders |
| Digital Scrapbooking Compatible | Yes |
ArtsCow Photo Books
Thinking about designing a photobook on ArtsCow? You can view a detailed chart of every ArtsCow photo book, including sizes and pricing. See the full list of ArtsCow photo books.
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