PLEASE NOTE: Sometime earlier this year in 2011, Pixable stopped printing photo books and now appears to be concentrating on online albums. Therefore all information on this company below is inactive and we’ve removed it from the database. If you bought a Groupon that has not yet expired, I would suggest contacting Groupon or the company to obtain a refund.
In the process of compiling the loads of data that went into our NEW Photo Book Wizard, I emailed Pixable customer support to ask some general questions about their software and products. Not only did I get a prompt response – but they asked if I would like to try out a complimentary 20-page 8×8 softcover book. Sure, why not?
Here’s the stats:
| Book size: | 8×8 |
| Cover: | Softcover |
| Pages: | 20 (double-sided) |
| Binding: | Perfect Bound |
| Price: | Normally $15.95 (provided complimentary) |
Pixable’s Software
Since I’ve already posted a review of Pixable’s software, check out my prior post for a full software review.
Print Quality & Book Construction
I had already tried the FREE 8×5.5 photo book Pixable offers for all new users, and for some reason I had visualized that the paper would be the same, however this book is printed on different paper than the smaller book. While the 8×5.5 book is printed on 80 lb. gloss cover paper (which is very glossy), the 8×8 is printed on 100 lb. matte paper with an 80 lb. gloss matte laminate softcover. The cover of the 8×8 is more rigid than on the smaller book but these two books are printed on such different paper, you can’t really compare the two. The photo on the cover reproduced well but could have been a little brighter. Similarly, I would have liked the interior photos to print brighter than they did and with a little more contrast. Overall, I actually like the print quality of the smaller 8×5.5 book better – the photos popped more perhaps due to the glossy paper.
Note that the back cover is not customizable and it prints the solid background color of the cover you select. The book is held together using the perfect binding method, in which the pages are glued to the cover. Pixable prints its logo on the last page of the interior of the book.
Summary
As mentioned in my earlier Pixable post, I don’t print too many softcover books. I definitely lean towards hardcover books even though they cost more (I just wait until a sale comes around.) and I do have a preference for book making software that allows you to fully customize your layouts, over companies that only have fixed templates. After you start making a few books, you may find yourself getting bored of the same layouts. Because of that preference, I’m tending to give a higher personal ranking to companies like Pixable that allow you to customize layouts versus companies that don’t. If I had to choose though, I liked the print quality of the 8×5.5 more than the 8×8.
Want to get the rest of Pixable’s specs?
Want to see which companies allow you to fully customize your layouts?
Go to the Photo Book Software Wizard.
Want to compare the companies that make 8×8 softcover photo books?
Go to the Photo Book Wizard.
