All,
I know I'm posting in the wrong forum but I studied the list for quite a while and there is nothing dedicated to reviewing print services. Maybe we should consider adding it.
Does anybody have any experience with ordering photobooks through Aperture? I unfortunately do but it hasn't ben very positive. I should preface by saying that I ordered through Aperture 1.5 and I've heard 2.0 books are better.
I received my first copy of the book (which was a collection of pictures from a summer trip) maybe two months ago. The colors were fairly bad. It was as if the color saturation and the contrast was turned quite a bit down. In addition the pictures were fairly fuzzy and the boarders weren't crisp. They reprinted it for me and I just got the second copy today. It's basically the same, though the colors are marginally better.
I have printed a number of these photos at 11 by 14 and/or 16 by 20 from Mpix and, I have to say, they look pretty darn good. The colors are great. The pictures look very rich and full.
I guess my question is: Is it me or is it Apple? I know I had a problem on this trip shooting too wide open (a lot of 1.8 and 3.5). That caused some of the pictures to look a little fuzzy but not like this. When I look at them on my computer monitor they look pretty tack sharp. When I print at Mpix, they look similar. But, maybe these are not good indicators? I'll upload a few of the photos so that you can take a look.
I think I am going to try to print the book (a redesigned version) at Blurb with their heavier paper. Any other suggestions for better results or any similar experiences with Apple? Should I do some sharpening in Photoshop?
Actually, the resolution they let me upload here is so low that I won't upload anything.
Thanks for the help,
Derek