Which Style Book Is Right For You?

There are so many options when it comes to getting your photos printed in an heirloom book format. How do you know which style is best for you? Today I am breaking down the options that my lab, White House Custom Colour, provides and giving you my thoughts on what I would recommend to my clients!

ALBUMS

Great for:
- senior graduation albums
- newborn
or baby's first year

Flush Mount Binding
Each spread is a continuous print mounted edge-to-edge on rigid insert boards without a center cut. This creates a layflat and seamless presentation.

5-25 Thick Spreads
5-40 Thin Spreads

Paper Options:
Photo Lustre
Photo Deep Matte
Smooth Matte
Premium Lustre

LAYFLAT

Great for:
- sign in books for grad parties
- coffee
table books
- family books

Layflat Binding
Spreads are glued back to back and remain completely flat and no visual information is lost in the gutter. This book style is ideal for displaying images that run across a full spread.

10-40 Spreads

Paper Options:
Photo Lustre
Smooth Matte

HARDCOVER

Great for:
- coffee
table books
- low cost senior or family book
- a collection of newborn, 3 mo, 6 mo, 9 mo, 1 year baby books

Saddle-Stitch Binding
Pages are stitched together along the spine, allowing you to include more pages in your book. A small amount of the image will extend into the gutter.

10-75 Spreads
Designed to start and end on a single side.

Paper Options:
Press Semi-Gloss
Press Smooth Matte

SOFTCOVER

Great for:
- travel books
- year in review
- gift giving

Perfect Binding
Pages are adhered to the cover along the spine to create a strong, yet flexible binding with a clean profile. Images placed along the seam will extend into the gutter.

20-75 Spreads
Designed to start and end on a single side.

Paper Options:
Press Smooth Matte

Photo Covers are available for:
- albums
- layflat books
- hardcover books (Fine Art Canvas, Metal, and Wood custom photo covers are not available)
- softcover books

Material Covers are available for:
- albums
- layflat books
- hardcover books (Premium Leathers and Distressed Leathers are not available)

Cameo Covers are available for:
- albums
- layflat books
- hardcover books

Combo Covers are available for:
- albums
- layflat books
- hardcover books

Personally, I recommend the layflat book. It gives you a slightly more elegant product but without the price tag of the album. If you are looking to build a collection of photo books, I would recommend the hardcover book. It will stand up to time well and is a quality product but comes down a little bit more in price.

The albums are your highest quality item and the price tag matches. Softcover books are the lowest quality (but still very nice since nothing WHCC makes is low quality) and if you want to gift photo books to your family for Christmas, they are an excellent option.

I hope this break down is helpful as you make decisions. Stay tuned for a more in-depth look at cover material options!

All the product specs are directly from White House Custom Colour.

You may also be interested in:

• Product Spotlight: Layflat Books
• Why Albums Matter
• Cover Options For Albums & Books
  
• Product Spotlight: Albums & Books