Custom photo book design: what to decide before you start
For a custom photo book, separate what you control in the editor from the size, paper and safe areas the printer fixes. Test your own photo crops and editable text before designing the full book.
Custom and personalised usually mean the same thing on an order form: you supply the content and the printer supplies a set product. Knowing where that line falls saves a redesign at the proof.
Work inside the fixed parts from the first page. Changing the size after the layout is done means cropping every photo again.
Make your photobook
Arrange your photos on A4 pages, check the proof and order a printed copy.
| Part of the book | Yours or fixed | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Photos and their order | Yours | Cut hard and choose the first and last photo early |
| Layout of each page | Yours | Vary it, but repeat a few layouts so the book holds together |
| Words and captions | Check the editor | Type text, save, reopen and correct one word; flattened image text cannot be edited this way |
| Cover photo and title | Yours | Keep the title inside the safe area |
| Typeface | Yours, from a set list | One for captions, one for titles at most |
| Page count | Yours, within limits | Find the exact page increments for the chosen format |
| Trim size and shape | Fixed list | Choose before laying out anything |
| Bleed and safe margin | Fixed | Extend backgrounds into the bleed, keep text inside |
| Paper and cover materials | Fixed range | Pick from the list |
| Colour reproduction | Fixed by the press | Judge colour on the proof or a first copy |
What is yours to decide
Everything that is content is yours. Within the editor's tools, so is most of the styling.
- The cover photo and the title wording.
- Which photos go in, and the order of every page.
- Each page's layout, from one photo to a full grid.
- Your own typed words, with the typefaces and sizes the editor offers.
- Background colours, and pages left deliberately plain.
- A dedication or a list of names on the first page.
- The page count, between the printer's minimum and maximum.
What the printer fixes
Trim sizes come from a list. Expect to pick one rather than set your own.
Bleed is the image beyond the trim line that is cut away. Blurb distinguishes this from the safe area inside the trim; use your chosen printer's template for both.
There is also a safe margin inside the cut. Text and faces outside it can be trimmed off, because the blade does not land in exactly the same place on every copy.
The paper, cover materials and page steps are the printer's range. So is the colour: your file is converted on their equipment, not yours.
Personal details that go wrong
Personalisation fails on small facts more often than on design. These are the ones to check with somebody who knows the people.
- Names spelled the way the person spells them, including nicknames.
- Dates written with the month as a word, so 03/04 cannot be read two ways.
- Ages that match the year in the photo, not the year you are making it.
- Spine text that fits: a thin book may not have room for any.
- A cover title kept clear of the board edge on a hardcover.
Keep the style to a few rules
A book where every spread has a different font and background reads as a sample of the editor, not as one book. Pick one typeface for captions and at most one more for titles.
Choose two or three background colours taken from the photos themselves, and repeat them. Plain white or off-white pages let busy photos breathe.
Before designing the rest, test one portrait and one group photo in your chosen size. Check both with their captions; this exposes awkward crops while a change is still small.
Steps
Fix the size first
Choose the trim size and orientation before placing any photo. In tbf scrapbook that means A4 portrait or A4 landscape for a printed copy.
Find the margins
Read the printer's bleed and safe margin for that size. Keep every caption and face inside the safe line.
Set the style rules
Choose the caption typeface, its size and two or three background colours. Apply them to the first spread and copy that spread's style onward.
Check the personal facts
Send a list of every name, date and age to someone who was there. Correct the book from their answers before you look at the proof.
Questions
Can I choose any size for a custom photo book?
Usually not. Consumer printers sell a list of trim sizes. Pick from that list before designing, since a size change later means re-cropping every photo.
What is the difference between custom and personalised photo books?
Usually none. Both mean a book made from your own photos and words, printed in one of the printer's sizes.
Can I write a long piece of text in a custom photo book?
Yes, on a page of its own or beside a photo. Keep it inside the safe margin, away from the centre fold, and at a size you can read held at arm's length.