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View Full Version : A Family Heirloom


wildkiwi
10-28-2007, 06:50 PM
Hi All. First off...I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to MyPublisher! The book that I created was a *big deal* and I needed it done on time...but I am a person who procrastinates. I submitted my book on Tuesday morning at 3 AM, and it was on my doorstep (I live in northern Michigan) by Friday morning. What a sigh of relief!

So, the story to my book is that I was trying to find the *perfect* gift for my father who was turning 75. He's one of those guys who has everything, is a pack-rat...so he has saved everything, and he probably has the money to buy anything he might really want. But, he is huge on genealogy and learning about family members from the past. I sent a letter (actual snail mail letter) to all of his family and friends, searching for photos they have from the 1930's to present, as well as little notes and best wishes for the big birthday. I had tremendous support from family and friends (people that I've barely met...it was great), and the photos and wishes started rolling in. I spent a few weeks scanning the old black & whites, and trying to figure out who the people were and what year the photo was taken. As I mentioned early, I submitted at really the last possible moment in order to get it on time...and it arrived!

Wow! Was the final product amazing! My brothers and sisters were floored! I ordered a deluxe copy with a book cover...and when my Dad saw the cover and the first few pages, he started to shake rather uncontrollably and had tears in his eyes. It was an AMAZING moment. He loved it! I bought some acid-free white markers (all the pages are black) so my family members can write in what they remember about the moment caught in those photographs. It really will turn into an family heirloom...and hopefully 75 years from now, people aren't trying to figure out who-is-who, because it will all be contained in this book.

I highly suggest this idea to anyone looking for the perfect book for a family member. With MyPublishers help, a family has been brought closer together.

Thank you!

Here is my book if you'd like to check it out!

http://www.mypublisher.com/bookstore/book_viewer.py?d=tq%3Ey-cppl%60je%3E%3A48938

Cruiser
10-28-2007, 08:24 PM
What a wonderful gift for your father. This is a beautiful book and you put it together very nicely. I am thinking of doing something similar with our old family photographs. Well done......

mypublisher
10-29-2007, 09:35 AM
That truly is a beautiful book! I'm sure he will cherish it forever.

wildkiwi
10-30-2007, 10:36 PM
Thank you Cruiser & mypublisher for the warm fuzzies! :)

asmit4
10-31-2007, 09:14 AM
I'm so happy that your book turned out so great! I am THRILLED with our wedding album too! I had a girls wknd recently and we all brought our wedding stuff with us.
I was told that my MP album was the best wedding album they had ever seen and it seemed that they were sorta disappointed with what they had gotten from their photographers. One of the brides, who still has her proofs, decided to go with a flushmount in an effort to create a book that had some similar qualities to the MP books with more longevity :)

I certainly don't want to rain on your parade and I'm sure none of us know where we will be in 75 years, but the MP books will start to fade and discolor in about 10 years. Given the price of the books, I'm 100% ok with that :) I figure that MP will probably be around for a long time, and I'm sure the JPG images we have used will last or they can be converted to some new type of program down the line that comes out either via MP or another version. We have all our photos printed as 4x6 photos in photographer quality albums, as well as the digital images on CD's as well as on our computer hard drive and shutterfly :) Never can be too careful!

I guess my point is, be sure to save your JPGS on your computer, on a flash drive, and if you can, have them printed out on real photopaper as photos :) That way, if ever need to recreate this book, or say, your grandchildren want to recreate it, they can :) Plus you have backups that won't have issues with longevity.

Congrats on your fantastic book! I am sure your family will love it :)

wildkiwi
11-04-2007, 08:33 PM
Thanks for the heads up! It'd be a disappointment to open the book up years down the road and wonder where the photos went! :) Needless to say, I will continue to use MyPublisher for future books...but will make sure I have a back-up plan just in case. Thanks asmit4!