Frequently Asked Questions
Updated: Aug 23
Our blog is absolutely PACKED with all the answers to our questions, and is the fastest way to get all the support you need to create the photo book of your dreams!
Please be sure to read through these posts thoroughly.
We cover the following here:
ORDERS TAKE APPROXIMATELY 10-14 WORKING DAYS TO PRINT
1. IMAGE SPECIFICATIONS
Can I use images from my phone?
Absolutely! Most smart phones these days take really good quality photos, which are perfect for your photo book!
You can even access our software directly ON YOUR PHONE, and upload pics straight from your device into your photo book layout, yay!
Can I include photos from Instagram?
Yes!
You just need to pop them into smaller image blocks.
Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp all compress images when they are uploaded or downloaded, which does make them tricky to print, and can cause resolution images.
However! If you choose a layout (such as the one pictured alongside), you SHOULD be able to include your pics from your social media platforms in your book, yay!
Please keep an eye out for the orange exclamation mark, which will let you know if the pics are too small to print.
Here's the instructions on how to save images from Instagram to your camera roll as you post them.
Ready to get started? Click here to start your order.
How many images can I fit into my book?
This is up to you, and which layouts you choose for your book! However we tend to find the following approximate numbers apply:
32 pages (about 100-150 images)
60 pages about 200-240 images)
100 pages (about 300-360 images)
What should the pictures be of?
This is the fun part!
Our personal fave is our Year In Your Life photo book - explore the options here.
But you can make a photo book of anything! Examples include:
an amazing holiday
a milestone birthday party
a wedding
life during lockdown!
a year of fabulous travel
Can I include old printed pictures?
Absolutely! It's amazing to take old childhood photos and digitise them into one glorious book of memories.
Here's three quick ways to take your old photos and get them into your new photo book.
Ready to get started? Click here to start your order.
2. THE ORDERING PROCESS
How do I order a book?
We've drawn up a quick step-by-step list to make it really easy to order your book.
Can I order multiple copies of the same book?
Absolutely! When you reach the "Cart Summary" you'll have a chance to update the number of copies you'd like to order.
How do the templates work?
An important thing to note: our design team has created the templates in discussion with the printing team. This means that these templates are PERFECTLY optimised to allow optimal printing of your images and text. We highly suggest that you use the templates (especially for your cover!) throughout your book, in order to ensure everything prints within the pages.
Please watch this video for more info:
Can I re-order a previous project?
We will save your previous books for one year from time of ordering in your account. This will allow you to come back and re-order a previous book.
Please note that after a year your previous ordered books will be deleted. You will however receive an email notification from our system beforehand, should you like to order another copy.
Can I share my project with friends/family?
Absolutely! Once you've saved your book, click on the "share" button at the top of the screen to generate a preview link that you'll be able to send to friends.
How do I get the most out of my photo book?
Yay, we love this question! So much so that we've put together a whole blog post on how to make the most memorable photo book ever. It's all about using the best quality photos, curating what's going in, telling a story, and more!
Can I add text to my book?
Yes! You have a couple of options here:
Select a template that has text blocks included already.
Or click "add a text block" in order to choose where and when to include your own text.
Your text can include captions, letters, content pages, vows, quotes etc.
ORDERS TAKE APPROXIMATELY 10-14 WORKING DAYS TO PRINT
What is the book made of?
MATERIALS
Paper
We use a gesso fine art paper for all our photo books. Gesso is an uncoated paper with a lightly hammered texture and a soft honey hue. Its creamy, warm base means printed colours will appear soft and slightly muted.
Binding
Polyurethane Reactive (PUR) Binding is a form of perfect binding, where the pages and the soft cover are glued together at the spine and the other three sides of the book are trimmed as needed to give them clean "perfect" edges.
Printed Cover
Our Fine Art printed cover is printed on 230 gsm fine art and protected with a fine layer of sand lamination. This cover range is a great way to customise your albums with unique images of your choosing, additionally you can add typography where you please when you are designing your cover.
Can you design my book for me?
All of our books are do-it-yourself, so we don't offer design services.
We promise that if you spend a few mins reading through posts such as this one, and watching a few tutorials, that you'll see just how quick and easy it is to make your own photo book!
And reliving all your memories is part of the fun!
Be sure to watch the below video for a step-by-step guide to ordering your book:
3. YOUR ACCOUNT
Where do I access my account and previous projects?
Once you've started making your first book, you'll be prompted to save it, and therefore create an account in order to do so.
This allows you to come back to your projects at any time, and finish up your work. If you've been inactive on the page for a while, you will need to go back to our home page and log in again.
Once you've created an account, you can simply head to our home page, and click on any of the "log in" buttons in order to sign in and see your previous books.
Please note that we can only store unordered projects on our servers for a maximum of 3 months. Please be sure to place your order before then.
4. SOFTWARE
What do all the terms on the Designer mean?
AUTOFILL: This is a fun little feature that automatically fills all your images in throughout the book. It's a super quick way to get your book designed, if you're not too worried about chronological order etc.
PERFECTLY CLEAR: This button will automatically and intelligently enhance your images colour, sharpness and exposure.
SAVE PROJECT: This step is VERY important - please note unsaved projects will be deleted after seven days. You will need to create an account in order to save your project.
LOW QUALITY PICTURE WARNING: This will appear as an orange exclamation mark on the images which are low res. This will often occur with images that have been shared via whatsapp or downloaded from facebook. Ideally you need high resolution images from your phone or camera.
PREVIEW OPTION: We highly recommend using the preview option to view your book before ordering.
INSERT PAGE: The "insert page" option will always add a double spread.
The Designer isn't loading - help?
Here's some things to try:
Go back to our home page, and log in to your account again.
Use a different browser.
Open an incognito browsing window.
Clear your cache.
Restart your computer.
5. PRICING
What costs are involved in ordering the book?
All of our book options and prices are available here.
Each book starts at 20 pages. You can add additional pages within the Creator, for an additional fee.
Shipping fee is added as a final step (R90 to Gauteng, R120 to the rest of South Africa - please contact us for a custom quote for shipping elsewhere)
15% VAT will be added to your order.
How much is it for additional pages?
The 20x20 and A4 albums works in increments of 4 extra pages at a time.
And the A3 works in increments of 2 pages at a time.
You will find the rates for these increments when you launch the designer and click on the "Total Pages" button at the bottom of your screen, as shown below. The prices indicate how much your final book will be, as you add additional pages.
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Ready to get started? Click here to start your order.
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6. DELIVERY & SHIPPING
Where do you ship to?
We ship our photo books across South Africa. The shipping fees are calculated at check out.
R100 - Gauteng, R120 - rest of SA.
Should you like to receive your book in a neighbouring African country, please email us your full postal address and we will calculate your shipping rate.
How long does it take to be printed?
It takes an average of 10-14 working days from the time you click "order" for the book to be printed.
This is because each book is printed individually. The pages all have to dry before they can be bound together; the cover is manufactured separately (our fine art printed cover is printed on 230 gsm fine art and protected with a fine layer of sand lamination); and then the pages and cover are hand bound - a process that also requires a drying time for the glue to properly adhere.
Our printing team processes a vast number of orders on a daily basis (in between loadshedding and any other power issues, hehe!), and prints orders in the order in which they've been received. Please be sure to place your order in a timeous manner, should you have a deadline.
We are committed to a high level of excellence, and need this time in order to ensure your book is of the upmost quality.
Books are only available to be shipped, not collected.
How long will it take for my book to arrive?
Once the above 10-14 days is completed, you will receive an email stating that your book has been handed over to the courier company. The shipping usually takes 1-3 working days. Please ensure that someone is home to collect, as this can delay the delivery process.
Please note printing and delivery times will be longer around peak periods (November/December for example), and it is necessary to get your order in far in advance to avoid disappointment.
Be sure to watch this video, for a deeper dive into how our software works, and answers to more of your questions:
Please note that we can only store unordered projects on our servers for a maximum of 3 months. Please be sure to place your order before then.
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CONTACT
Please note our team is available only on email from Monday-Thursday 9am-4pm.
This is why we've created such comprehensive posts (such as this one!), to answer all the rest of your questions when our team is not on duty.
We're an all-female team, and have the upmost respect for our team's need to rest and recuperate, hence our shorter work hours. How cool right??
Head to our instagram for more info - our IG highlights and feed posts are packed with more information!
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ORDERS TAKE APPROXIMATELY 10-14 WORKING DAYS TO PRINT
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