Blurb BookSmart book publishing application
Company: Blurb
BookSmart software free. Book pricing varies with format and page count
http://www.blurb.com/
Apple’s marketing juggernaut has done a fine job of convincing iPhoto users that its book publishing feature is the only book publishing game in town. While iPhoto does a fine job of allowing even a novice book designer to produce a creditable looking book, many users crave more. Now there’s another option: Blurb.
Blurb is a online print shop for people who want to design, print, and perhaps sell their own books. While most of us won’t be selling copies of our vacation travelogues, Blurb’s store does allow you to sell your publication. For the rest of us, it provides an alternative to creating a book with iPhoto.
One of the most common complaints about iPhoto’s book creation process is the lack of design freedom. It’s hard to create an ugly book, as Apple has made most of the design decisions for you. iPhoto 9 has thirteen templates, and it’s not feasible for users to create new ones. The only customizing allowed is choosing page backgrounds and the number of photos per page. Text options are similarly limited. This means that you’ll probably produce a good looking book, but it may not be the book you want to create.
Blurb’s BookSmart application frees your inner designer. You can choose from more book formats than Apple provides; square, standard portrait, black and white text 5″ x 8″, standard landscape 10″ x 8″, and large format landscape 13″ x 11″. All formats are available in either hard or soft cover, except the large format landscape, which comes only in hardcover. Hardcover options include a dust jacket, or images printed on the cover itself.
Once you’ve chosen the book’s physical format, choose one of thirteen layouts. Not happy with any of BookSmart’s choices? You can design your layout from scratch, with very few restrictions on how your pages look. Be careful! To quote writer and cartoonist Stan Lee:Â <http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stan_Lee> “With great power comes great responsibility.” It’s easy to get carried away, and end up with a visual mess. Better designs may come from making minor changes to BookSmart’s pre-defined layouts. But if you wish, jump right into the deep end of the design pool.
BookSmart plays nicely with iPhoto; it sees your iPhoto library and albums, making it easy to choose photos.
Given that users may be creating works for sale, BookSmart provides a good selection of text editing tools. You can control horizontal and vertical justification, fonts, text color, photo borders, and many other text and photo attributes.
Photos are added via drag and drop into frames on each page. Text frames are easily added or resized. One nice touch not found in iPhoto is the ability to add page ornaments.
BookSmart provides templates for Title pages, Table of Contents, Introduction, Chapter titles, and Index pages.
Your photos will look much better if you use high resolution originals. If you choose a photograph whose resolution is too low, BookSmart warns you by displaying a small yellow warning triangle.
Editing text and photographs is easy. I was impressed at how the toolbar changes the available options when you select text or photographs. If you prefer, you can select the various editing commands via a right (Command) click. Photo editing is limited to zooming and cropping, flipping, and adding borders. If you need to edit the way the photo itself appears, you’ll need to use your regular photo editor.
Can’t spell? BookSmart includes a spell checker that can check a single page, or the entire book.
A list of all the options and choices BookSmart provides would be too long to print here. If you’ve got the chops, you can design at home a book that’s virtually indistinguishable from one created by a major publisher. But if you don’t have the skills, BookSmart’s wizard can lead you through the process as well or better than iPhoto.
When your masterwork is complete, BookSmart’s preview gives you a chance to see what you’re about to upload for publication. The preview labels each page, so you won’t be confused about which page is the outside front cover and which is the dust jacket. Previewing is essential; you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a book, only to have it come back with typos and poor formatting. Preview several times yourself, and then get a second (or third) pair of eyes to review your work.
BookSmart’s uploading and purchasing process is quick and easy. When you’re sure the book looks just the way you want, click the Order Book button. You’ll get a warning to review the book, and then the uploading process begins. Once complete, BookSmart sends you to the Blurb web site, where you complete the purchase.
Pricing depends primarily on the book’s format, which was chosen when the book creation process began, and the number of pages. Like Apple’s books, Blurb’s prices range from moderate to rather pricey. But given the quality of the product, the money is well-spent.
A 40 page 7″ x 7″ square book ranges from $12.95 for a softcover book, to $24.95 for a hardcover with an image on the cover. Premium paper adds a bit more, as does having a custom logo.
A 40 page large format landscape 13″ x 11″ starts at $54.95, with the usual extra cost for premium paper and custom logos.
If your book is text only, you can buy a 5″ x 8″ black and white 40 page softcover book for $4.95.
Tax and shipping are extra.
For this review, I created a standard landscape 10″ x 8″ book with dust jacket, totaling 31 pages. The base price was $29.95. I popped for two-day shipping, which cost $11.14, bringing the total to $45.09.
As expected, the book arrived two days later. I was highly impressed with both the quality of the printing and the book itself. Blurb’s books are easily a match for Apple’s books. The four color printing was crisp and clear. The title was printed on the dust jacket, and lined up perfectly over the book’s spine. The book has been read many times, and the binding continues to hold up. We had several friends do a side-by-side comparison with our Apple books, and everyone said the Blurb book was at least as impressive as Apple’s, if not more so.
Pros:
Blurb’s BookSmart is a fine alternative to creating books with iPhoto. BookSmart provides many more options for book layout and design. Even the supplied templates can be customized. The program is easy to learn, and the Help information is useful and easy to access. The quality of the books are excellent.
Cons:
Users need to employ restraint to avoid creating unattractive layouts, especially when creating a layout from scratch. Choosing photos from an iPhoto library, while easy, is not as seamless as with iPhoto. You need to use your web browser to complete the purchase process. Prices can be high if you purchase premium paper and images on the cover.
Conclusion:
Blurb’s BookSmart is an outstanding application for creating and purchasing books. BookSmart’s ability to provide much more control over layout and design is a powerful asset in the hands of a smart designer. Blurb’s production values are excellent.
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