You only get one chance to make a good first impression. With Saal Digital’s Professional Line of photo books, you know they are going to be a killer product as soon as you open the extensive protective packaging.
One option for the Pro line of books is a photo protected behind acrylic as the cover. This eye catching and distinctive and certainly creates an amazing first impression. Not just good looks but it serves to protect the cover image from damage. One of the ideas behind the books is to take a copy along to art and craft fairs and the acrylic cover will not only protect the cover photo but provide a tactile and visual extravaganza of an experience.
In fact, we ordered two books from Saal. Both were identical in that they were both Pro Line, 40 by 30cm with acrylic covers. One was 130 pages, the other 46. The smaller one will serve as a mini portfolio to go out to markets and fairs. We previously ordered a similar Pro Line book with acrylic cover and it has received a lot of attention from customers. People seem to make a bee line for the book and peruse every single page, often asking questions about the photos and ordering prints.
The previous book was a bit rushed since the voucher from Saal was time sensitive and it had to be produced during the summer guiding season last year. As such, it was just my favourite photos.
This year, with more time to play around, I spent a while creating captions for each photo. The effort was worthwhile and each photo has a title and a short description, major peaks are identified. This was largely done so that potential customers can reference a particular image and subsequently order a print on aluminium or photographic paper or a canvas.
The comprehensive software offers many choices of font, style and text size and also makes for easy aligning with particular photos.
The Saal software is intuitive and easy to use with lots of templates and guidelines or you can just build your book from scratch. I’m a bit of a luddite with computers yet found the whole design process easy with zero frustration or exasperation.
I put all the photos I wanted in a separate file on my desktop so that selection of images for each page was straight forward. The software has loads of helpful features, not leas the ability to centre photos horizontally and vertically on a single page or over a double spread. I really like the red warnings that appear if a photo is too close to the edge. Ditto, the same warnings for words and text. This all makes the design process simple and ensures neither text or photos disappear off the edge of the page.
Many congratulations to Saal for providing such usable software. I designed my books from scratch, sizing and positioning each photo and block of text captions. It was very easy but there are even easier design possibilities for those that want. I spent ages trying different images, different sizes and positions of both photos and text.
One huge plus point of the Saal Digital books is the fold flat page design which means that photos can be printed across both pages; the book folds open flat and you can enjoy a wonderful panoramic photo experience. This is one of the best aspects of Saal’s books and one I exploited to the fall by including a lot of panoramic images, each spread over two pages.
I was out guiding when the books arrived, but a succession of updated emails kept me informed of the progress of my books from printing, to being in transit, to actual delivery. Tired after a day's guiding, I was excited to see the two packages and quickly tore the protective cardboard open. The books were exceedingly well packed with thick cardboard boxes, lots of protection and the books themselves were contained in foam padded bags. Great to see such good packaging.
Photo books are where Saal Digital really excel. The finished books are works of art. Printing detail and colour are spot on, the images looking exactly as per my computer and a real joy to simply stare at. The tones in the black and white photos, especially the one of the In Pinn in winter are similarly spot on.
The larger book will serve as a portfolio which clients can seat our Glen Brittle home. It’s a huge volume and at 130 pages, the largest available from Saal. It comes complete in a splendid “Gift Box” covered in natural linen. The box makes a handsome addition and really finishes off the large book as a portfolio of my favourite photos. It also serves to protect the book.
As you’ve probably realised, I’m super impressed by these books from Saal. The quality is faultless, the product superb and delivery time from Germany was swift. The only real downside is the cost. The smaller book would cost just over £200, the larger one with the box, about £450. Eye watering amounts but not bad when you consider how much individual prints of this size and quality would cost.
As a generous introduction, Saal have offered all ATC members a 50% discount off any of their products using the following link. This includes books, prints, wall art and more so take a look and grab a bargain
https://www.saal-digital.co.uk/lp/allthingscuillin-15683/
