Crafting Memories with VistaPrint: A Comprehensive Review of Photo Book Features, Quality, and Value
In a shadowy world of printed photos, in a world of creating dead moon photos, all of which are often trapped in our phones, photo books design a physical home for our best memories. Even though VistaPrint is most associated with business cards and marketing materials, it’s a player in the photo book game worth considering. This review breaks down VistaPrint’s photo book service in detail, looking at design capabilities, print quality and more value.
Brief Product Overview: Options for Everyone
VistaPrint provides various photo book types to suit various tastes and projects. The service offers eight sizes of photo book — in square, portrait and landscape formats — from petite 13 x 10cm (5.1 x 3.9 inches) volumes to 39 x 29cm (15.4 x 11.4 inches) albums. This means people can choose the right format for their particular project, be it a wedding album, holiday memories or family yearbook too.
VistaPrint is known for it’s generous page allowance. Whereas most competitors have 20-page books as their introductory product, VistaPrint’s average books come with an impressive 24 pages, and they can go back as far as 120 pages. There is a small cost for this update — as it will be an extra £1.50 for every two pages after 24.
There are also multiple customization options available from the service. You can choose standard paper, premium glossy paper (which adds around £10.50 to the price) and several cover options including linen and photo covers (that’s an additional charge of about £6.50). For those wanting to make a more premium product, layflat binding is offered on some of its larger sizes for an additional £1.50 per page so that a panoramic photo can be printed across two pages.
UX: Intuitive Yet Shows Its Age
Photo books: VistaPrint offers some flexibility in how users create their photo books, including an online browser-based editor as well as downloadable software for Windows and macOS systems. Accompanying different user preferences and ways of working the two platforms.
For users hoping to shave some time off the design process, VistaPrint’s Smart Assistant function analyzes uploaded photos to pick out the best options and automatically generate layouts that are still editable after the fact. It is particularly useful to users who may be overwhelmed by the design process or pressed for time.
The editor interface is mostly intuitive, with clear toolbars providing easy access to common features. Users can insert photos in a variety of ways: In bulk at once, clicking on a block and having a file explorer open up, or dragging and dropping files from their computer. Photo resizing is simple—just drag corners or sides to resize.
However, the editor does come with some major limitations. No exact measurements option, which can be annoying interface for people who want to layout precisely. Arrow keys are useful for fine-tuning placements, and common keyboard shortcuts seem to work as expected, but it is not possible to select multiple blocks using Ctrl or Shift clicks anywhere, limiting efficiency when working with more complex layout.
The software does provide snap lines on both the horizontal and vertical planes, but these don’t always show up as one might expect. The photo editing tools are a little rudimentary, despite the fact that they work. There’s a very vague Auto Enhancement option, which can’t be disabled on a permanent basis, meaning users must deactivate it each time, for every added photo.
Limited background options with no color wheel or custom shades hex code input. There are some functional oddities as well, such as not being able to undo the application of frames or masks once they’re applied. Another important consideration for iPhone users: The desktop editor does not support the HEIC format (which is the default for iPhone photographs), so you’ll need to convert your photos to JPEG before uploading.
Photo and Print Quality: Very Good with Some Small Issues
When it comes to final print quality, VistaPrint photo books are excellent, although there are a few software limitations. Images have a sharp print, with no large blurring or artifacts. Color is delivered with phenomenal accuracy and vibrancy, full-page spreads are visual highlights of the books.
The layflat binding option does indeed allow the pages to lay flat (NOTHING is propped up) when the book is open to any two page spread, which is particularly important for panoramic or multi-page-spread images. The paper quality is nice, the glossy paper makes the books look professional.
But small quality issues often can become present. Some reviewers have observed slightly jagged edges on images and text and solid blocks of color. There may be some random specks of color on white backgrounds, but these are usually small and rare. Cover photos can appear oversaturated at times, with skin tones especially affected in being too pink.
Balancing price point with print quality, the quality of the books compares well to other digitally printed photo books on the market making them exceptional value for casual memory keeping.
Delivery and Packaging: Needs Work
Due to VistaPrint’s standard turnaround time of a couple of weeks, there is no expedited option for those who wait until the last minute. Though some customers say their orders arrived ahead of the expected delivery date — in one instance, the order came four days early — the inability to select expedited shipping could be a disadvantage for time-sensitive projects.
The packaging leaves something to be desired, and this seems like a point VistaPrint could focus on. Some books have arrived with punctured and damaged spines, and damage on inside corners, which indicates they were not protected well enough in shipment. The cardboard sleeve used for shipping is thin, with no bubble wrap or any other soft padding that could cushion the records if they are damaged in transit.
Shipping is approximately £5.50, but delivery is free on orders over £40. If you are buying for customers belonging to India, VistaPrint offers cash on delivery options that give you extra convenience.
Competitive Comparison: The Value King With a Few Trade-offs
Navigator: VistaPrint is a value player in the photo book space. A standard 11 x 8.5-inch hardcover landscape book from VistaPrint runs about $30 — less than many competitors — and 24 pages are included as a standard, as opposed to 20 pages that others provide.
VistaPrint has continued to maintain competitive pricing against more premium services — such as Apple’s photo books or Printique premium prints — which can run at far higher price points.
Competitors such as Shutterfly may provide more detailed control over layouts or a wider design catalog, but usually at a higher cost than VistaPrint’s range of products.
Mixbook is also a serious contender with its creative designs and solid editing tools, but it’s often at a premium price point compared with VistaPrint’s affordable price structure.
Pros and Cons: Weighing the Upsides and Downsides
Pros:
Excellent value for money
Decent print quality for very low cost
Smart Assistant: intuitive editor
Flexible layout options
Generous standard page count (24 pages)
Several binding choices like layflat
Cons:
Layout measurements are not very precise
No rush shipping choices
Packaging could be improved
Not much in the way of advanced editing tools
No auto save in editor
iPhone’s native HEIC format not supported by desktop editor
Value for money: Quality does not have to break the bank to make everyday memories
VistaPrint typically produces reliable quality photo books at lower prices than many rival sites while sacrificing little essential quality or features. Repeated discounts also make the process more accessible, while the print quality remains modest enough to satisfy casual users wanting to collage everyday memories or create thoughtful keepsakes.
Conclusion: A Solid Choice for Cost-Conscious Memory Maestros
VistaPrint photo books strike an impressive balance between quality and price — two important factors when it comes to photo book printing today. Far from perfect — particularly when it comes to advanced layout controls or premium packaging — but it gets results that will satisfy most casual users for a fraction of competitors’ prices.
These photo books are best suited families looking to capture an event year by year or anyone that wants to create gift-worthy material without breaking the bank — while still getting access to sharp prints and sturdy construction well-suited for even long-term storage.
VistaPrint earns solid praise, making it worth considering for affordable solutions that don’t sacrifice too much quality.
