I am thinking of doing my first sample album and I am pretty clueless about album design. I don't do albums for most clients and the price/quality of Zookbinder seems to be a good fit for me. I am a novice in PS, but am considering ordering Digi-MatZ from them for $100 since they will give you a $100 album credit in return.

Has anyone used their software? Any feedback? Is it really simple...because that is exactly what I need? Any samples you would willing to share so I can see an example of a final product?

I have also tried the trial-version of Lumapix based on some OSP recommendations and seem to like it as well, but can't afford the full version at this time.

Thanks!

Jen

if you plan to order from zook book then you have nothing to lose!
I do n't have them, but would consider them.

Do you have InDesign? Kevin Swan is working on a tutorial for us on it. the nice thing about indesign is how it works, you can create templates as you go and you place images, rather then embedding them, so it is just referencing them, and if you decide you want it a different size, and resize it, you aren't actually altering the image, just its place holder. Then when it exports or prints, it pulls from the original file giving you the best quality. This also allows you to edit the original photo later and it will update with ease instead of starting over basically in photoshop.

Kevin Kubota and Gary Fong also sell album making software/templates.

I ordered it because I figured I wouldn't loose out, given the $100 credit. It's fine. I've used it off and on a few times, but keep catching myself going back to straight PS and freehanding it. I definitely found it useful when getting started

It is very usefull if you have some photoshop skills, but don't have much in the way of creative ideas. these are templates, and work well for the beginner.

It is very photoshop based, and easy once you get through the tutorials.

However, after three or four books you'll be looking for the next step. Come back to OSP and ask. There are plenty of us here that would be happy to help get you going on the next step.

I just used it for the first time this past weekend. I am somewhat familar with photoshop. I watched the tutorial real quick and referenced it a few times and quickly got the hang of it. It is pretty easy. However, it is slower putting the album together when compared to using pictage's album service. With Pictage you can drag and drop pictures into the templates. It is really awesome for novice designers and those who don't want to be too trick with the design.

I have yet to try any other album desin services. I will be ordering an album from zookbinders tonight or tomorrow. I will let you know how it comes out. They have a cool print to bind services now which makes the process super easy.

Cory-Thanks for the suggestions. I agree it is a no lose situation if I am going to order a sample anyway. I saw the post on Kevin Swan's Indesign deal. I do have Indesign but I know less about it that PS!

Troy-Thanks for the feedback. I will definitely seek more opinions once I get something simple down.

Beth-Thanks for your feedback as well. I wish I had the knowledge/skills to free hand it. I tried, but I definitely am not "there" yet.

Aaron-Thanks. I was planning on trying their print to bind to make things simple. I would love to hear how yours turns out. Keep me posted if you don't mind.

I've been using Photojunction to design my spreads for everything, including Zookbinders.

If you are a Miller's lab user, their album layout software includes all the digimatz, and it's free to use if you print through Millers for the spreads.

Andrew

Thanks for the tips on Miller's Andrew. I am looking for a new lab too, so that might a good option for me.

I'll look into Photojunction as well.