I've been looking at offering Couture Book in the future. Does anyone have experience with this product?

I do. They're sweet. They are hand-made works of art with lots of cool options and funky bindings/covers.

Wow Swan. That is pretty awesome that you would recommend a competitor!

Wow! I just checked out their site- Amazing!
sorry, didn't mean to jack the thread.. just had to say that :-)

I got to see the albums in person at a party hosted by LaCour I am looking forward to ordering my sample books in the next couple of weeks. I am particularly excited about the NYC book with the linen sleeve, the Italian book that is GORGEOUS and handstitched and a new all "green" book that is coming out soon. Highly recommend!

After looking at their site, I can't figure out what they sell?! Do they sell people?

~rc

Kevin is a class act!

Only problem I see is with the terms and conditions, also anyone can register, login and create a book.

Do they offer discounts on sample books?

We better get used to this. Time to think about how to address this and see it as an opportunity instead of a problem.I don't think so because like Stew said, anyone can order.

There has been a HUGE thread on pictage about this. A lot of people are not too impressed with the books, most of them are when the books are smaller than 100 pages. I have one started but am a little afraid...

Yes they do offer a 50% sample discount. Email them after you place your order and they will credit it back to you.

Does anyone over here on OSP have any photos of books they made?

Where do you find their pricing?



Never mind found them

The books look beautiful but in doing my research I found this article

http://h71028.www7.hp.com/ERC/downloads/4AA1-5045ENW.pdf

Mostly talks about the quality of how the books are made but if you scroll down to the last paragraphs it mentions plans/hopes to sell the book at thier own boutiques and upscale shops like Neiman Marcus.

Just something to be aware of.

That's a good post, Jennifer...

Digital printing has come a LONG way in the last few years, but it's still digital printing. Definitely something to be aware of when looking at a book company. If you're used to lab prints, you're not going to get the same type of output from the Indigo printers. I think the feel of the Couture books I've seen sort of "masks" the digital print because they're using a lot of textured papers, etc., that feel very "organic." Most of your clients wouldn't be able to see any problems with the end product.

we are trying them as well

Thanks for the input. Not to hijack the post but is there a post or good article that tells the different printing options out there and the pros and cons of each? I've been very overwhlemed by this album selection thing.

We understand...hahah. I don't know of any comparison article but I can give you some things to look for and ask your vendors about. You can also search for things like "iris print vs." in google and come up with some good articles. I'm sure there are plenty of folks here who could add info to this sketchy list!

k

RA4 (Traditional chemical lab prints -- depending on paper/chemicals used, can last up to 200 years in an album. Uses RGB as the colors, which may more closely resemble your images on screen)

Iris (pioneered fine-art computer printing in the 1990s, sometimes known as a "Giclée", heavily used for proofing in the advertising industry now. CMYK color)

Inkjet (also called "Giclée", seen to replace the Iris in terms of output quality -- depending on paper/inks used, can last around 100 years in an album)

Process (aka 4-color printing for Cyan Magenta Yellow Black. Traditional press printing)

Laser (Usually used for offices, simple graphics, etc. considered lower-end for photo reproduction)

Thank you!!

I came across Couture Books a bit ago and I was blown away by the presentation. They have such a stylish website and presentation does make a difference. Regarding the design etc. the books are on the high-end side and I think the price is justified if you explain to a client that pages are 40% recycled etc, the books are hand made and completely custom. That being said, these are some huge books and 100 pages is a lot to handle. I would not reccomend this book if at heart you cannot fill it with 100 pages of AMAZING images. There is nothing worse than throwing in a few fillers and screwing up an intimate story or even worse...the whole album presentation.

Peace,
Parris

i just got my first sample album from them last week. i was soooooooooo excited to try them out, but unfortunately, my book is already falling apart after about five very careful views. i am shipping it back today and asking for a refund. i ordered a roma sample with less than 100 pages.

this was the post of pictures before it started to fall apart. i'm happy to email anyone the closeups of problem areas if you pm me.

We received our sample recently, and are looking into the options of a return.

Their website is SMOOTH....cover material AWESOME...customer service FRIENDLY...turnaround time QUICK...but...

print quality LACKLUSTER, pages THIN

(at least, I was unsatisfied!) some of the our colors showed up way out of gamut, and the beautiful out-of focus bokeh (which is normally smooth w/my inket prints, or RA-4 prints) was disappointingly dotty and uncharacteristically grainy.

They seemed cool, and I'd be willing to give it another shot if I knew that the print quality and page thickness would improve.

UPDATE: apparently my issue was also an issue for a couple of other people, so they have changed the binding process on books with less than 100 pages. they are rebuilding mine, so i'm going to give it one more shot. i'll post another update once i receive the new one.

Man! I hope they get this solved... Their books are so sweet! I especially love the cover materials.

looks like the website has changed up and you can't access the prices without a review.

We have tried them, and right now...unfortunately- i am not as impressed as i wanted to be! i was really excited about their albums- by the website and photos- they look amazing!
So, i ordered to sample albums at the beginning of february. I just received one of the two, and not to say i was disappointed, but i was disappointed. I was just expecting a little grander of an album, and I know if my clients saw it- they wouldn't jump for joy like my other styles. Its funny because they actually do look like the photos- you just have to think down a couple notches. So, on top of all that, the order was wrong... the one album i got was supposed to come with vellum pages, and I had asked for a imprinted stamp on the cover- which didn't come. So, I had to send it back, which maybe they will, but they haven't offered to reimbursement for the shipping. As for the second album- i still haven't received it. Ive even follow up with them a couple times, but still haven't heard back from them on where it is. On the site they say the turn around is supposed to be 15 days... well, being that it is March 18 and I ordered it on February 6th... well, you get the point.

Maybe others will have had a better experience. I was just hoping for top knotch- which if I had to give them a rating I would only give them 2 stars.

Hi there:
I would like to share my experience with Couture Book. Dave Luebke the customer service concierge is very helpful and usually prompt to reply. He however is in California, and the books are made in Arizona, so he does not actually see the books, which can present a communication issue between you, him and production. I too was very impressed by their web site and was really excited to finally see a really cool product had come out on the market. Unfortunately this is where it ends..... 3 books later they still did not get it right and I have since returned all my books and requested a refund with no refund on shipping even though the error is on Couture. I think their production process needs to mature and they do not yet deliver on what they promise.

Here are the problems I encountered:

1: Binding: All 3 books after only several perusals split and cracked...I took them to a local custom binder and he said that the glue they use is not of great quality.

2: Image Quality: To be frank was sub-standard at best. Funny enough when I sent them back, Dave said that they "were not that bad". Not the answer a professional wants to hear Dave... The shadow areas were blocked up and overprinted, and all the colour images had a distinct yellow cast. The Black & Whites were supposed to be neutral all had a strange gold tone (looked like a metamerism issue) and again were really blocked up in the highlight and shadow areas. Simply not acceptable and certainly not presentable to my client. I showed the books to at least 5 "civilians" who know nothing of professional quality etc. I said nothing of my concerns and they all said the same thing. The did not like how the photos looked. Strange colours and too grainy were the common replies.

3: There seemed to be a pixelated/grainy look to most of the images as well. (Not a resolution issue as I shoot with a 1Ds Mark II & III)

4: I ordered the NYC SOHO in red and the case while beautiful had loose threads that came undone on the edges. As well I ordered custom stamping on the Case Cover and on the book spine. The name on the book spine was not stamped on straight. Their answer was that they allow for a small amount of error due to the hand process. This is not acceptable when a client is paying big dollars for a book that I am putting my reputation behind. Crooked is not straight and it is as simple as that in my book...pardon the pun ~ couldn't resist

5: The pages were kinked throughout. Their paper is around a 90lb weight which is thin at best. Their answer again was that the "human hand" process is a factor and that kinks are inevitable. Guess what? Not good enough Couture and Asuka books from across the pond come kink free ~ every time. In a 96 page book there was at least one or two kinks on almost every second page and in usually the same spot.

6: Several pages were scratched due to rollers from the press. I think since my complaint they may have solved this particular issue.

7: Numerous production delays and miscommunication with shipping preferences all amounted to a lot of frustration and me not having their books to present at a high-end wedding show I was an exhibiting in. In retrospect this was a good thing! The fact is I was promised I would have the books and they failed to deliver. Even after calling and specifically telling Dave my situation, someone in the Arizona production team managed to miss my urgency and shipped the book on a 2 day Fedex service as opposed to an overnight which Dave said he would make sure happened. Again having CSR in California and Production in Arizona...not so good. Needless to say I was not impressed...

I also ordered an 8 x 8 book which printed absolutely BEAUTIFULLY! Again the binding split about the 3rd viewing in...What gives you may ask? Why such a variance in print quality?
They use an HP Indigo 5500 Press which to be honest is about as good as an offset press ~ unbelievable quality from a digital press. I do honestly love this press as the quality is unreal. For those of you who don't know about the HP, it lays down actual ink (6 of them in fact) as opposed to toner like the rest of the digital presses out there. The thing is the maximum sheet size for the HP is 12X18. So Couture cannot make a SMYTH Bound book larger than 8X8 using the HP Indigo if they want the "lay flat" binding that they claim. So for the 10 x 10 and larger books they use a Xerox Digital Press which in essence is an extremely expensive colour laser photocopier. Hence the very different quality of prints between the 8 x 8 and 10 x 10 sizes. I had two identical NYC Red SOHO styles (images, layouts, and all) and the 10x10 could not even be compared to the 8X8 in print quality. They were not even as close as night and day....Really too bad.

Conflicting Target Marketing Audience?....
If you ask them they claim to only want to market to professionals. And while they finally just recently changed the back end login criteria to their web site, I am still not sure of their true intentions to sell to professionals only. A company needs to instill confidence and trust with me to gain me as a client. I am not sure what they are up to at this point...and I do not think they are being very upfront about their intentions.
Please see this FOX Media interview and you can be the judge: http://dolphinsafeblog.blogspot.com/2007/1...n-fox-news.html
As well check out this PDF from Hewlett Packard, paraphrased below here: http://h71028.www7.hp.com/ERC/downloads/4AA1-5045ENW.pdf

" In addition to her peers in the photographic and graphic design communities, Phyllis Lane anticipates COUTURE BOOK will include brides who crave unique wedding albums; corporate marketers who need presentation books, architectural books, graphic design portfolios and the like; and even style-conscious shoppers at high-end stores. In fact, looking ahead, the company would like to make the books available at high-end department stores like Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, with exclusive lines available only by ordering through the store. Further into the future, Lane and Coelho would like to create COUTURE BOOK boutiques, where customers can browse through books, drop off digital images, and talk with designers. “Seeing the books and holding them will make the difference for some customers,” Lane says. She clearly believes COUTURE BOOK will serve an untapped market. “A lot of people who want better things are spending their money today on the very ordinary, like $450 sunglasses,” Lane continues. “These are books that will be valuable treasures to people for the rest of their lives. They are meant to last generations. We feel the value proposition is tremendous.”

I saw them at WPPI this year. I wasn't very impressed with them.

Hey Alex, could you say more about what did not impress you about them?

I'm bummed that these books aren't looking so great, I was so stoked when I received the initial email about them, they looked really awesome....

I love their site-
They are selling a vibe- a world vibe
very artistic-unique, creative
pulled me right in-

thanks for your insight on the "real" stuff William-
if the product and customer service matches the site-
they'd have a real winner..to me....

From their web presentation and price you would expect to be impressed with the book, but I wasn't. I don't know, maybe the paper was very soft and textured and it is not good for pictures with details.
You can probably sell it if you play card that they use post consumer paper, "green", etc.

This is where OSP really shines, thanks for all the input from everyone. Just goes to show if your gonna sell something, market and value it accordingly or your going to get called out on it.

This is all too bad. I really like the concept and the "look" of all the albums. I hope they can get it all together.

They really do have such a unique quality about them. I am glad I didn't waste money on samples like I thought about doing. I will wait.

I wasn't impressed with the books either. There were soooo many book makers at WPPI, and I looked over every one I possibly could since it's important for my design biz. Couture was unimpressive and lacking for reasons already given above. In fact, my conclusions from WPPI is that the well-established companies retain their respect and quality because they simply know what they are doing and invest their money in the product lines, materials, and processes instead of fancy marketing and cool websites.

It's easy to appear cool and trendy, and use your connections to get media attention. That doesn't equate to quality products that we photographers need from suppliers. If the complaints are rolling in this early, then their is a foundational problem that needs to be addresed. Too may products are being launched these days way too early, before the kinks have been worked out.

Impressive books I saw at WPPI:

Leather Craftsmen - Always top quality!! I actually fell in love with their 700 series matted book. This is my idea of a fine art book. Not trendy, just impeccable, high-quality crafstmanship.
Finao - Fantastic! I'll be talking more about them in a later post or website article. If you care about attention to detail, keep an eye out for my review.
Forbeyon - Their press-printed books are exciting. Definitely a must see! The flush-mounts are gorgeous.
Pictobooks - Wow! I looked into this company years ago and thought it was a dull product line. I was blown away by their new lineup. Very impressive. And you should have seen their $16,000 book cover (yes, I typed that correctly)!!

And of course, KISS Wedding Books has laready established a well-deserved reputation for outstanding, top-notch books using a revolutionary concept - SIMPLICITY! So why does it have to be so freakin' complicated? Doesn't have to be anymore. Kevin and Shaun are serious professionals with a serious product. And you MUST check out their brand new site at KISS Wedding Books.

More to come!

I saw the Couture Books at WPPI and was blown away. I absolutely love them and was really impressed with all of their offerings. They are being added to my line up asap!

I guess its different strokes... Everyone I talked to was equally impressed and I had many people asking me if I'd seen them yet. Their team is fabulous - I've worked with them over at CMYK Books and have been wow'd by the customer service over there.

Hey Folks!
I too am blown away by these albums! I raised these concerns with Couture book and I must admit, I'll be ordering my sample album soon despite the negative feedback thus far. Their books are mean to be jam packed with pages, not a teensy winsy 40 page album, so their binding in turn, was meant for larger books. They have since fixed that problem, as well as the CMYK color problems as before.

Just thought you guys should know.

I just ordered with them today. I will happily share my feedback when it comes. I love the uniquenes of some of their books!

Awesome! Which line did you order? Be sure to post some juicy pics!

I ordered the Himalayan! I will, I will.

How many pages and what size did you order with the Himalayan?
Please definitely post back here when you receive your book.

Thanks
W

I ordered with about 97 pages in a 10"x 10" size.
I love that I don't need to know how to design a book, or hire a designer to do it.
I ordered one image per page, with their online tools.

I did run into some difficulty ordering online, because I'm in Canada, but I called their support line and Dave was really helpful and we worked it out.

I will definitely post my thoughts and photos when it arrives.

Yes. They offer a 50% discount on sample albums.

No way thats my favorite one! Sweet!

And yeah....Dave is a really helpful guy...

*bump* anyone have anything new to share?

still waiting for it to come. (Keep in mind though..I'm in Canada).

This is exactly how it started to happen with me....10 days is not 10 days with Couture...
I hope you fare better than I did with their books!
Let us know the results....
~w.

There customer service has been great so far. I emailed them to see how much longer the book would be. Apparently they were having some trouble importing their paper this time. Apparently this usually isn't a problem.
This actually worked out for me, because I have been having some issues with the wedding I submitted. (quality and noise issues) so they are going to send me some of the pages they have already done (unbound) to make sure I like them, before they finish the book.

Dave has been great at communicating. As for the rest, I will keep you posted.

I always said that Dave was great at communicating and very helpful. This however sounds all too familiar... I had similar noise issues that in the end unfortunately could not be resolved.
Like I said I hope that it works out for you and keep me posted....hopefully they will get it right for you! It's nice that you do not have a client waiting for their book either.

True. It is a sample book.
I actually noticed the noise issues with my lab when printing the proofs, which is why I asked Dave about it.

I think that many people are wanting these books, so I hope for their sake, it turns out well.

EAGERLY awaiting photos!