My goal was to finish this little music project (HERE) by October so I could move onto other things. So I spent a few days at the end of September and got the pages finished, uploaded to Chatbooks and all sent off on a Saturday night with a few days to spare.
I chose Chatbooks for this project because they offer a 6x6 book (HERE) at a reasonable price. I picked a softcover for this, there is also a hardcover option. I have printed a few Instagram books through them before and was happy with the result.
The process of uploading was a bit of a challenge. I had named my pages in a very basic way (01, 02, 03) so that they would be in the correct order when I bought them into Chatbooks (I did it via my desktop Mac) - but they were mixed up.
After talking with customer service (who were very helpful) they confirmed the pages sort automatically by date (strange, because I made my pages in order but may have made chages at the end that may have effected the file date). So I had to manually move everything around. It didn't take too long and the big numbers on my layouts helped, but being able to sort by filename (as Blurb does) would be useful. The rest of the process was easy, including the cover and spine label, and I probably got it all together and ordered within 20 minutes.
I ordered on 27 September, got a shipping notification on 3 October and it arrived here in Sydney on 10 October (from the USA). Cost was US$34.65 all up.
I am so happy with the result. The pages are clear and crisp with great colours. The paper is very good quality, thick with a lovely sheen and feel. The template fit perfectly on each page and I had no cut off.
If I could change anything, I would add an introduction page to say what the book is about and why I made it. I usually do that for my books but I think I was just so eager to get this one sent away and crossed off my list. I think it would have also been nice if I added in some full page photos here and there of my record player and stacks of records etc just to break it up. But really it's just fine as it is. Love this little book.
Supplies:
Cathy Zielske's Six By Eights No 4 Template, cut to 6x6 (HERE)
Chatbooks 6x6 softcover photobook (HERE)
