Live Video: Dan Milnor & The New Photo Book

Live Video: Dan Milnor & The New Photo Book

Documentary photographer and photo book connoisseur Dan Milnor spoke with us about today’s so-called new photo book – the one he claims every photographer has has in him or herself.

“Stop thinking the monograph is the only option,” he said. Dan showcased several of his photo books, and reminded us to think outside the box when it comes to our books – we are creatives, after all. He also reminds us that at the end of the day, the process of creating a photo book should be enjoyable. Check out this video recording of the webinar to hear more from Dan.

There were also some lingering questions about Blurb products and photo books – check out the answers to a few of the most popular questions:

Q: There are a myriad of photo book publishers. What makes Blurb stand out from the rest ?

No other publisher allows you to create books as big (page count wise) as ours, We are the only ones with a sales platform that allows you to sell your book and keep 100% of the profit. Also we just made it easy for you to create a digital version in a matter of clicks AND sell it on the iBookstore. Add all of that to our high quality and we think you have a winning formula.

Q: What type of paper (quality wise) is Blurb using for their books?

You can get paper specifics here: http://www.blurb.com/make-books. Our pro-Line paper is made by Mohawk.

Q: How does the new book module in Lightroom work with Blurb?

Lightroom 4 allows you to create your book from scratch directly in Lightroom and upload to Blurb from there. You can find more info and help videos here: http://www.blurb.com/lightroom

Q: Is there a way to scale the design of a book easily in Blurb, so that you can print multiple sizes without re-designing it?

Yes, BookSmart allows you to change the size of your book and also edit the book if you wish.

Q: What color profile I should be working with/saving my images for my Blurb books?

We’ve created this resource center because we understand how important your images are to you. Print on demand (POD) technology has come a long way, but still has a way go to match true offset quality. Results can be amazing, but getting an image you like – from your back-lit RGB monitor to a book printed on a CMYK printer – can sometimes be a challenge. Several variables come into play between your monitor and our global print network. In POD, books – covers and pages – are printed on different print devices, which means that even though everything is calibrated to the Blurb ICC Profile, variables are a given. Controlling as many variables as possible is what color management is all about.

Q: How can I sell the book to Apple’s iBookstore via Blurb?

It takes approximately two weeks for your ebook to be reviewed by Apple.  If accepted, you will receive an automated email from Blurb notifying you that your book is now available in the iBookstore. If your book is not approved, you will receive an automated email with Apple’s reason(s). You can resubmit your book after making any required adjustments.

Q: What about Amazon? Will you go there, at some stage?

We are working on it but Amazon wants to take 30% of your sales profits and we don’t believe in taking any of your mark up..so there’s a few difference still to work out!

Q: Does Blurb ship internationally?

Yes – all the countries we ship to are listed here: http://www.blurb.com/shipping

Q: Can Blurb give some stats on how many consumers are buying books from professional photographers on the Blurb website?

We can tell you that last year we shipped over 1.2 million unique titles. We don’t have other stats avail as we don’t share our users sales figures :-).

Q: Does Blurb work only with photographers?

No! We are a platform used by everyone who has a story to tell – authors, designers, businesses, consumers…our tools are avail for all to take and create beautiful books with. However we were founded by a photographer and so they will always have a special place in our heart.

 

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There are 4 comments for this article
  1. Flemming Bo Jensen at 9:19 am

    A great informative and fun talk, and I am honoured to have my book about Peru featured in the webinar. Thanks!

    Oh, the book is still for sale. Just the limited edition is sold out, but the book itself can be purchased still – just contact me.

  2. Pingback: Shop front – A book; part 1 | Simon Brown photojournalist

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