MP Quality versus Books made using Apple's printing company

[AnnaMG]

Can anybody tell me which is better; MP Quality versus Books made through Apple? I've read great reviews about the MP books, but since I used Aperture to make a book layout, I was wondering how the comparison holds up.
I already created a layout in the MP software as well, but the layout options are very limited and it does not look as cool.

Thanks!

[mypublisher]

Hi Anna - personally I like us better...I always am comparing us to the others. But...don't take my word for it. Let's ask the other folks...

[Wazy]

Hello Anna I have personally used Apple printing and the long and short of it is they "suck". Colours were ruined, bright blue from tropical vacation was dull and dirty looking. The paper quality was so thin. I did enjoy the layouts though and ease of use. But personally I love MP. I have had about 5 different books made by MP and have not been disappointed in the quality. I had an upload problem once but all is well.I find MP very easy to use also. I also have aperture but just follow them for now. I group my pictures and send to iphoto and have no issues. One extra step and that is it. Hope this helps.

Peggy

[boredn0w]

I have used both Apple and myPublisher for books and I have to say that even with my recent problem with MP, I 110% prefer the Apple book. The quality of Apple is just so much better. I am a graphic designer. The quality of photos and the paper is 100 times better with Apple. I will gladly pay more to use them in the future. Plus, I used the same exact version of iPhoto for both and had no problems whatsoever with Apple directly. However, MP has not only screwed up all text in my book, but also a couple of the photos were printed crappy. It's like someone took a piece of tape, layed in on the photo and then pulled it off slowly. Part of the colors were there and then part was not. Eh:(

So, Apple is my favorite by far.

[AnnaMG]

Hmmm, you guys made me thoroughly confused now! Peggy says the paper is thin, and you "boredn0w" says that Apple's paper is better than MP....
I think the color problem is correctable and I'm sure (or at least I hope) that MP will make good on this for you as that's unacceptable. I'm mostly concerned though about the paper thickness. I've also used Shutterfly once and although the book was nice, the paper was thinner than thin. Have you maybe used them as well before and if so, would you say the paper Apple uses is as thin as Shutterfly's?

Also, not sure if the customer service of MP is reading this again, but if you do; do you guys print the colors as they come in or is there actually somebody that takes a look at the colors in the pictures and decides the printing should be done darker, lighter etc?

Thanks so much for your answers!

[mypublisher]

I can tell you that our paper is thicker than Apple's - I have no idea what books the prior customer ordered!!!

[boredn0w]

Anna-

Now granted the last book I ordered from Apple was several months ago, the paper was thicker and better quality than my recent MP order. It also had a glossier finish which gave it a higher quality look and feel. I ordered the cheapest book (with the linen cover) that Apple had. The book from MP is the linen cover as well, however the pages are thinner. I've compared them side by side.

boredn0w

[MNBabette]

> Can anybody tell me which is better; MP Quality versus Books made through Apple?

Good question, since I was getting conflicting information about who uses thinker paper, I asked My Publisher (see below) and they gave me very helpful info about the paper. I'm surprised that the Deluxe album actually has thinner paper!

Hi,
> Can you tell me what stock paper you use for your albums? (Apple lists theirs as 100#)
> Do you use nicer paper for your Deluxe Albums?
> Is the paper and printing quality for books made using Bookmaker and the Iphoto plugin the same or different?
> Is the Wedding Template available on the Bookmaker 2.1 for Mac yet?
> Thanks for your help!
> Christina

Greetings Christina,

Thank you for your interest in the printing method and type of paper we use to publish MyPublisher books. We are very proud of the quality and professional look and feel that MyPublisher books express. This is the outcome of years of experimentation and steady improvements in both materials, technology and in workmanship.

We print our books using a four color digital printing process on the following types of equipment on the paper product listed below.

PRINTING EQUIPMENT:
Hewlett Packard 3050 Digital Offset Press

PAPER TYPE:on Bookmaker and iPhoto orders:

Deluxe Hardcover Book: Acid-free, 80# archival, acid-free, glossy cover stock
Classic Hardcover Book: Acid-free, 115# archival, acid-free, glossy text stock
Paperback PocketBook: Acid-free, 115# archival, acid-free, glossy text stock

BOOK JACKETS:
The outside of the jacket is laminated and is moisture resistant. The laminate is 1 mil and the paper print stock is 7 mil. High resolution images are printed on a wide format Canon printer.

The bookmaker for Mac software will soon have access to the wedding templates soon. We hope to have this available within the next month or so.

Best Regards,

Sue B.
Customer Service Team

[MNBabette]

CORRECTION: The deluxe actually has thicker pages. As is often the case, the metric system is much clearer than the English system. (If you are interested in the conversion you can read about it here. http://www.paper-paper.com/weight.html)

Does this actually mean that the Deluxe has thinner pages than the Classic? It seems like that is the case, but that doesn't seem to make sense...

Dear Christina,
I apologize for the misunderstanding, the Deluxe size book is glossy cover stock = 216.64 gsm and the Classic Hardcover Book: glossy text stock = 170.2 gsm.
Sincerely,
Carmen
Customer Service Team

[mypublisher]

Yes i would like to also point out the difference between "cover stock" - that is thicker paper in general. We offer thicker paper than any of our competitors including Apple.

[kds]

A couple of years ago I was in an Apple store in the Mall and they had one of their Photobooks on display. I thought the quality was very mediocre. I didn't like it at all. The paper seemed quite thin, and the colors seemed weak. I thought the MyPublisher books were considerably nicer.

But, that was a couple of years ago and I wouldn't be surprised if they have upgraded their paper/printing process as the photobooks get more and more popular.

Everyone who sees my photobooks from My Publisher oohs and ahhs and says they look really great. I think the quality is quite nice and have never been disappointed.

I must admit that what draws me to My Publisher the most is the great coupons they often have. I typically do an end-of-year book which is 100 pages long and I make several copies (you know - for grandma, grandpa, auntie, etc) and MP sometimes has 40% off coupons which is a big savings for me.

Keep up the nice printing and the good coupons! :-)

[acpryor]

I have now gone through 4 books with Apple and each one had issues which is why I'm looking for alternatives. The colors were washed out each time and the Apple rep concurred which is why they kept reprinting them (and refunding my money).

I'm not sure what's going on but my high-rez pictures looked like low rez when printed and the colors were way off (yes my monitor is calibrated accordingly). I don't know about paper quality since I don't have anything to compare it to. Apple's support was fantastic though. In the end, they refunded all my money and told me just to keep the books. A nice gesture but I don't want anyone to see these cruddier versions of my photography work so they'll be tossed into the trash once I try the MyPublisher platform. Hopefully I'll have much better results.