Shutterfly's photo book service initially presents a rather ordinary image. It boasts a nice assortment of templates along with appealing cover and page type choices. Yet, as one delves deeper into the editing process, a significant shift occurs. What initially seems like a straightforward, customizable entity gradually reveals its messy and clunky nature.

Discover the Pros and Cons of Shutterfly's Photo Book Service

Editing Process: A Tale of Two Faces

1: When embarking on creating our standardized TechRadar photo book with Shutterfly's software, I encountered quite a rough journey. After selecting the 12 x 12 inches photo book size and page/cover type and choosing Manual mode, I was greeted by a rather rudimentary and outdated-looking editing page. There's a toggle in the top-right for 'Advanced Editing' that needs to be flicked on to access most features. On the left side, there's a ribbon with four options - Layouts (including templates for individual pages), Backgrounds (for altering background/color), Embellishments (to insert Stickers, Ribbons or Frames), and Idea Pages (with different individual page layouts). 2: While the concept isn't inherently bad, the actual options within these menus leave much to be desired. For instance, one can't use a hex code to select a specific background color and there's no list of colors to choose from. Instead, one has to type in the hue and scroll through until finding a close match. This is rather archaic and not something one would encounter with some of the top photo book services.

Adding Embellishments: A Clunky Experience

1: Adding embellishments like shapes and ribbons was an extremely cumbersome task. For example, when trying to add a salmon-colored rectangle against a photo, I faced two key issues. Firstly, I couldn't change the color of the shapes; I had to settle for the closest shade available through a manual search. Secondly, once I found a shape relatively close to the desired shade, I couldn't adjust its width or height independently. I could only make it larger or smaller. These rigid design choices made the editing process extremely frustrating. 2: The inability to freely modify the shape and color of embellishments added to the overall dissatisfaction. It seemed like basic design features were overlooked, resulting in a less than seamless editing experience.

Adding Photos: A Mixed Bag

1: The upload process for photos is relatively easy. One can drag and drop images in JPG, JPEG, PNG, and BMP file formats from the computer and they fill a section at the bottom of the editor. Images can be easily moved around the pages, and their size (with length and width displayed in inches) and position can be adjusted. Alternatively, a Photo Area block can be added and an image assigned to it. 2: However, there were some drawbacks. I was unable to reverse images, which is a basic functionality one would expect. There was also a glitch where an image would move or change size without my input after being placed on a different part of the photo book. This meant constantly having to check the positions of photos, extending the editing process.

Product Quality: A Mixed Review

1: When it comes to the actual product, Shutterfly's photo book had its moments. When compared side-by-side with our Mixbook photo book, Shutterfly offered brighter and more vibrant colors with solid overall clarity. On one page, a man's face that was almost unrecognizable in the Mixbook photo book became visible in the Shutterfly alternative due to the added brightness. 2: But there were also some issues. There were instances of patchiness in color, such as a line of pink missing in a rectangle and some inconsistencies in a football image. These may not be major errors, but for a price of over $100 / £100, one would expect better.

User Experience: A Mixed Bag

1: If you're keen on using Shutterfly, using a template is your best bet. There will still be some user issues like not being able to use a manual text size (with just a list of options) and restrictive fonts. But it can help bypass some of the annoying photo editing issues. 2: If you don't want to use an overarching template, there is a middle ground. Using the Layouts option on the left side of the screen allows for auto-adding of photos to specified areas, which works nicely and doesn't have the issue of items glitching or changing shape.

Price Comparison

1: The price of a 12×12 inch, 27-page Shutterfly photo book is around $130 (about £100 / AU$200). While it's not extremely steep compared to competitors, a rough estimate using envelope figures shows that the same book would cost just over $145 using Printique and $133 via Mixbook. 2: We managed to grab our photo book for only $98.84 without shipping costs, which is a saving. But considering the frequent glitches and constrained editing options, it's still a significant investment.In conclusion, Shutterfly has its strengths and weaknesses. If you're looking for a quick and easy solution with built-in templates, it may work. But for a more personalized layout, there are better options available. It falls short of similarly priced competitors in terms of user friendliness and editing options, despite having solid print quality.