Photography News 74

Buyers’ guide

Turn over a new leaf

There have never been more ways to share and display your photos, but one of the best is still in a photo book or album. So why not kick off 2020 with one of these first-class options…

YOU DON’T SEE art galleries full of LCD screens, do you? Not yet, anyway. That’s because, despite the digital age we live in and the fact that we view images more commonly on screens than anything else, printed photos are still king. In fact, every time the balance tips towards pixels, printed images become even more important and treasured. Digital displays are fleeting, and all too ready to be clicked on to the next visual hit, but prints last forever. There are so many great ways to enjoy printed images these days, and

one of the best is in a book or album. There’s an essential pleasure in holding a well-printed and bound book of your photography, and proper presentation of your photographs can turn a collection of images into a great gift or a timeless memory of an event or holiday. Today, you can choose almost any format of album or book design, pick the layout, the cover design, and the number of pages, and have it printed within a few days. There’s never been so much choice, and here are a few great places to start.

Price: from£18.95

whitewall.com/uk

Though it produces all sort of excellent photo books, Whitewall’s Hardcover range is the company’s bestseller, thanks to its high-quality product and wide range of options. Books can be designed using a simple online interface, or by uploading a pre-made PDF if you prefer. Four papers are available: 170gsm Silk Matte; 250gsm Premium Silk Matte; 250gsm Premium Gloss; and 170gsm Premium Matte Uncoated. Books can include from 24 to 252 pages and are available in six formats including A5, A4 and A3 Landscape, A4 portrait and 20cm or 30cm square. Pages are glued to the spine with elastic adhesive, and are guaranteed to remain pristine. Covers are fully customisable, and come in several finishes, while a range of text is available on the cover and inside pages. To give the books a classy finish they also include end papers. 020 3411 1846 info@whitewall.com Whitewall hardcover photo books

Price: from£34.95

heritagephotoalbums.co.uk

Heritage PhotoAlbums

If you like to print your own shots, or you have many vintage photos to display, an album is an obvious choice to protect and show them off. You also get the chance to amend layout and image selection, whereas a printed photo book is of course ‘set in stone’. Heritage Photo Albums produces an excellent range of wedding and regular albums, and as well as the traditional route of sticking in photos, both ranges include easy-to- use, slot-in versions. The Slip In and Easy Fill Wedding Albums can take 30 or 50 5x7in, 6x8in or 8x10in photos in portrait or landscape, and both come with a gift box. The traditional photo albums come with either tan corners and tan spines, or in contrasting two-tone colours, and there are five sizes from 9x8.75in to a huge 16.5x13.75in, holding between 80 and 600 photos. But with all albums handmade in the UK, if you have a special requirement it can be quickly made to order. Just mention PN for 15% off your order. 08456 387171 sales@heritagephotoalbums.co.uk

Price: from£4

my-picture.co.uk

My Picture Pixie photo books

For a high-quality and highly affordable option with plenty of customisable features, check out My Picture’s range of photo books, including compact and characterful square Pixie format, which costs only £4. The Pixie measures 10x10cm, and the basic version includes 20 lab-quality photo-paper pages with a low-reflectionmatte finish, and a sturdy lay-flat cover. Additional double pages can be added for 50p a time. Creation is very simple, using a browser-based interface with lots of customisation options, and the lay-flat design of the Pixie and My Picture’s other photo books means you can run images across spreads more easily. All the books can be made with digital print or real photo paper, and other sizes include the Quixie (19x13cm, from £7), the Quadro (20x20cm, from£11), the Primus (29.7x21cm, from£13) and the Imperial (44x30cm, from£40). 020 3499 2781 info@my-picture.co.uk

36 Photography News | Issue 74

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