Digital BW, The Print

On 28 Apr 2010, at 9:34 AM, faeofavalon wrote:

> I thought this got posted but maybe not. It's been covered but I have used both blurb and lulu. lulu did a horrible job on print quality and the cover was an extremely glossy laminated stock that looked tacky, in my opinion. The 8.5 square format was also a bit too large for my work. I was also not crazy with their limited layout palette. I had to create the full pages in PS before importing them. Lastly, you have no way to edit the title page...at all. So if you choose a font for the cover and text pages inside, you are stuck with only one font on the title page.


I think Lulu gives you several options for the cover design.  You *can* do the entire cover design yourself, but you have to choose that option, and provide the right sorts of files (PDF is best, done in Adobe InDesign).  But I've done it several times with success.  Here are links to a few books I've done with Lulu to demonstrate:

	http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/convento-art-emerging-from-ruins-%28exhibition-catalog%29/4576181
	http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/automatic-vaudeville/4017579
	http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/ex-cuba-libris/2082612

However, I do agree about the problems with Lulu's output.  While I've had good luck with more graphic books (with art from paintings, etc.), the photographic output, especially monochrome, has been depressingly bad.

--John