This is your last day to enter my BrideBox Lake album giveaway! Since the giveaway is nearing its end, I wanted to post some photos of my engagement album and share with you Part 2 of my Lake album review. (See Part 1 for my BrideBox software review here.) Unfortunately, there was a printing issue with the first book I received – it looked great, very sharp photos, good color reproduction, and tight, clean binding but upon closer review, I realized some of the design elements I chose (the masks) didn’t show up in the final print. Masks are the overlays you can use to blur the edges of a photo, or crop it into a circle or different shape. I contacted the company and the masks disappearing had something to do with the color correction process. However, BrideBox immediately sent me a reprint and informed me they will be keeping an eye out for that issue in future. I’m happy to report the masks reappeared and the final product looks really professional.
Book Construction
The book is well-constructed. The corners were tight and neat.
When you first open the book, there is a plain black spread which comprises the inside cover (there is the same black end page in the back of the book too). The black page is made of the same material (sturdy photo paper) as the rest of the pages.
I chose a matte cover finish, but you can opt for glossy if you prefer. The matte cover won’t show any fingerprints which is nice.
The lay flat binding of the Lake does not have a gutter (a space in the binding) as the pages are folded, so you don’t lose any image in the middle of the book. Because of that you can freely design across the spread.
Photo Quality
My photos reproduced very nicely and the images were sharp. Color reproduction was accurate as well. This album is printed on actual photo paper (as opposed to being printed on a digital press), so it’s a much different look than a typical photo book. The book definitely stands out with its sturdy thick pages and the gutterless lay flat binding. Note that this is not a flush mount book in that the pages are not mounted onto a heavy non-flexible board. These pages will flex since there’s no backing to them, but you won’t be able to easily crease or damage these pages unless you are intentionally trying to. This type of book is not as expensive as a flush mount, but costs more than a digital press printed book (like Blurb, Mixbook or Shutterfly photo books for example). It’s essentially the middle ground and that’s how it’s being marketed by the company, as an affordable wedding album.
You Can Win This Book!
Okay, not THIS book, but one just like it at a value of $329.00. I’m really excited for whomever wins this because it’s going to make a lovely keepsake album. You don’t have to be a bride to win or even make a wedding album, but be sure to get your entries in – 11:59pm tonight (12/24/2012) is the deadline! Make sure to post your comments on the original giveaway post. Even if your entry isn’t chosen, check out the special coupon codes provided by BrideBox at the top of this post to get 20% off (including flush mounts!) through the end of this year. Nice albums like these rarely go on sale!
I hope you all have a safe and wonderful holiday with your family and friends! Make sure to take lots of photos!
How does it compare to Adorama?