Hey everyone! I know it has been a while since you last heard from me. I may get into that later or another time. This week I am bringing you something new. Depending on how this goes I may do more. I recently came across the opportunity to design and review Saal Digital's Professional Line Photo Book. A few months ago, a sponsored post appeared on my Instagram feed. Saal Digital was looking for photographers to review their Professional Line Photo Book. At the time I didn't think or believe that I had any merit or business doing something like this. I was insecure about my abilities as a photographer and decided to not do it and continued on with my day. Then last month it came across my feed again. This time I thought "Why not?" and I applied for their voucher. My application was accepted and here we are to today. This probably isn't the review they asked for, but I wouldn't be doing my due diligence if I didn't review the company as a whole. In this review, I am going to go over first impressions, the photo book, ordering process, the company, and finish up with some final thoughts. So, let's get started!
First Impressions
When I opened the box and took the book out of the protective packaging, my first thought was "Oh, wow!". The cover was absolutely beautiful. Then when I opened the book, I was just in awe. The photos looked beautiful. The colors were vibrant and true to how they looked on my laptop. As we all know with printers, this isn't always the case. The book itself is amazing quality. Although the protective film on the acrylic was a little hard to get off but it left no residue. I couldn't stop saying all night how beautiful the book was and how amazing quality it is too. I'll include some photos below.
Photo Book
When I designed my photo book, I chose acrylic and leatherette for the cover and black leatherette for the cover surface. For the spreads (this is your photo paper), I chose the glossy photo paper. With the page layout, I mostly chose bordered landscape images with some portrait images here and there. I could have spent some more time and thought with how I placed my images in the photo book, but I was just creating this for me and not for resale. However, I didn't choose to have a gift box for my photo book. I probably should have done it to protect the book without having to worry about damaging it, but it is what it is.
They have quite a few options that you can choose from when you go to design your book. You have the two cover options between acrylic/leatherette and leatherette/linen. Then with your cover surface, there are three leatherette, five linen, two wood-look, and cork options. For the spreads (photo paper), you have the choice between matte or glossy. If you choose to get a gift box, there are two leatherette options. You also have the choice to do a natural linen and leatherette combination instead. It is also worth noting that the leatherette is synthetic. And also, thanks to the lay-flat binding, you can have an image span across two pages without losing anything to the binding.
Order Process
When you are designing and ordering your photo book, you can choose to use the website or the desktop app. I downloaded and used the desktop app. It was easy to use and designing my book was a breeze. In the app, you choose your product, in this case it is the Professional Link Photo Book. Then you choose your cover, cover surface, spread (photo paper), and gift box (optional). From there you have the option to either use an Empty Template where you create your photo book on your own. Comfort Designer, you have someone helping you design your photo book. You can adjust the design to fit your liking and style. Or you can choose One Minute Photo Book. You just choose the images you want to have in the book, and it is automatically made for you. You can also make adjustments with this option to fit your style if you need to. I chose to use the Empty Template option when creating my photo book. Using an empty template does seem daunting especially when you have never created a photo book before. But I assure you that it was very easy to do. Then you choose the number of pages that you would like your book to have. On the pop-up it gives you three main options with a drop-down menu underneath for all of the options. After that, you choose the layout of the pages. You can have one image on a page to multiple images spanning across two pages.
When you have everything all set and ready to go, it is time to add it to your cart. After you press add to cart, a pop-up appears for you to choose your cover, cover surface, spread, and gift box. This seems a little unnecessary to me. However, you can make sure you have chosen the correct options or even make changes if you would like to. So, I guess having to ability to confirm what you have or being able to change it isn't a bad thing to have. If everything looks good or you made some changes, press add to cart again. A gift box pop-up will appear asking about a gift box again. This also seems unnecessary after the first two times of choosing or not choosing a gift box. If you're like me, just click hide window to not be asked about it again.
At the checkout screen, enter in your information. You will then be taken to your web browser for confirmation that your order went through. Then you go back to the desktop app to continue the upload. If I am remembering correctly, you're then taken back to your web browser to confirm that the upload was completed. I'm not sure why there is this back and forth between the desktop app and the web browser. If Saal Digital can figure out how to cut that out and have it all in app, great. If not, it's not that bad to deal with.
Company
Everything was pretty seamless. The software was easy to use. Website was easy to navigate. Ordering process was easy. My order was made and shipped out the next day. I received my order the next working business day (Tuesday). And I even ordered my photo book right before a weekend and a holiday weekend at that (4th of July in America).
Final Thoughts
Like I said before, the photo book is absolutely beautiful. The quality is amazing. The photos are vibrant and true to color. The acrylic cover was an excellent choice. The price is a bit expensive, but it is worth it. This would be a great addition or option for wedding and other portrait photographers and their clients. But for the photography I do, maybe not the best choice for a standard coffee table photography book. If you are a wedding or portrait photographer and you want to add this to what you offer, they do have a reseller program available. With that said, I highly recommend the Saal Digital Professional Line Photo Book. Don't just take my word for it. Order one and see for yourself. I bet you'll love it.
That is all I have for this review. If you enjoyed it and would like to see more reviews, let me know in the comments or on my Instagram @dawnevermorephotography. What is that I just said? Comments? Comments are now available on my posts for you to be able to comment on them without having to sign up for an account! Photo of the Week blogs will be returning soon. New prints will also be available soon as well. Until next time!
Go after your dreams. Whatever they may be.
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