Saal Digital contacted me offering a voucher to cover the cost of having a book of my photos printed. The only condition of this offer was that I would give an honest review - with no influence on the part of Saal as to what I would say. I would never endorse a product without being sure of its quality but as the review was to be totally frank I felt it a worthwhile exercise. The timing was great too - being in lockdown I was able to find the time to invest in the book’s layout.
Before deciding whether or not to take up Saal Digital’s offer I looked at reviews on their site and noted that several customers mentioned how the books open beautifully flat. I thought nothing of this until I held my own book - yes, opening truly flat is a big plus. There’s no need to keep taming the pages which stay fully open to allow the leisurely enjoyment of the photos.
In preparing the book, I chose the 30 x 30 cm Pro. It has a sturdy acrylic front cover and is bound in black leatherette - overall giving it a rather classy and contemporary look that I would be proud to see on any coffee table.
I chose a quality matt paper which was in fact cheaper than the gloss. It’s great, is less of a fingerprint magnet than gloss and would definitely be my choice every time. The colour printing is accurate which, with my passion for colour as a macro fine art photographer, is very important to me.
The software for creating the book was easy to use but there are videos online if you want a brief resumé of how to start. There may be other methods but I placed all the photos I wanted to include in a dedicated file on my hard drive and then imported them into the software programme. It worked seamlessly.
I was happy with the layout and my choices, I pressed the ‘send’ button and waited just a few days before DHL delivered my much awaited package!
I am thrilled with the book. There is absolutely nothing which disappoints me. In the main, I chose to have one photo only per page. In my next book though, I would, on some pages, include two or three, maybe even 4 photos as I realise now that 30 x 30 could easily carry more. But that’s a personal preference.
The Saal Digital book is perfect for so many situations: a wedding album, baby photos, 18th birthday memory book, a special holiday. There is no limit to the options. It would also be perfect as a sample book for professional photographers such as myself, to show clients choosing prints of your work. It’s considerably easier and more social to have an image to touch and discuss together rather than selecting from a website.
The arrival of this book is very timely for me. In this digital age I had become increasingly conscious of how few of my photos I print for myself. I inserted text on one of the pages saying the book contains my heart and my soul. Now that I actually hold the book I know and feel that it does. It is wonderful to touch my photos, to have something physical which I can leave as a legacy. The problem is, that always always, my best photo is my next one - so I will need to make future volumes: using Saal Digital without a doubt. As you can tell: I was not disappointed!
Incidentally, as I write, I believe there is a promotion on their books! This could be the perfect opportunity for you to make good use of your time in Lockdown!
#saaldigital
