Photo book by Christmas: a countdown from the order date
Find your printer's last order date for delivery before Christmas and count back about six weeks. Ask others for photos first, since waiting on them takes longest, and order days early.
The date that matters is not 25 December. It is the last day your printer will take an order and still deliver in time.
Work backwards from that date. Each step below has a finish-by point, so a slip shows up in November rather than the week before.
Make your photobook
Arrange your photos on A4 pages, check the proof and order a printed copy.
| Before the last order date | Finish this | Allow |
|---|---|---|
| 6 weeks | Span, page count and size decided; photos requested from others with a reply-by date | One evening |
| 5 weeks | Your own picks from each phone copied into one folder | Two or three evenings |
| 4 weeks | Contributed photos received; any missing section removed or left for a later edition | Mostly waiting |
| 3 weeks | Every spread laid out in rough | A weekend |
| 2 weeks | Names, dates and any text written and placed | Several evenings |
| 10 days | Proof read by you and by one other person | Two evenings |
| 1 week | Fixes made and the order placed | One evening |
| After ordering | A PDF saved for the day; tracking checked | A few minutes |
Find the real deadline
Look up the printer's own Christmas dates. Read the one for your delivery speed and for the address the book is going to.
If you will send the book on, plan two legs: printer to you, then you to the recipient. Check the postal deadline separately and leave time to inspect and pack the book.
Choose your own order date a few days before the last one. That buffer covers a proof that needs one more round of fixes.
Save the deadline page with the date you checked it, the product, destination and delivery option. A cut-off for one binding or country does not establish the date for another.
Where the weeks go
Ask contributors who have agreed to help in the first week, with a reply-by date and a specific event or month. Plan the book so it still works if some material does not arrive.
Choosing is the step most often underestimated. A year on two phones can run to thousands of photos, so set the count from the page total before you start.
Proofing needs a second reader and a second sitting.
Making it smaller to make it in time
If the countdown is already behind, cut scope before it costs you the proof read.
- Cover one event or one season rather than the whole year.
- Use one layout of one, two or four photos and repeat it.
- Write names and dates only, and save longer writing for next year's book.
- Cut the page count before cutting the checking time.
If it will not arrive in time
Give the finished pages another way on the day: a PDF on a tablet or laptop, or the cover printed at home and wrapped, with the book following in January.
tbf scrapbook exports a PDF without a watermark, on the free plan too.
Before paying for faster delivery, read the printer's own date for that speed. It only helps if that date falls later than the one you missed.
Steps
Put the dates in the calendar
Write down the printer's last order date and your own order date a few days before it. Mark the finish-by points from the countdown.
Ask other people first
Ask agreed contributors for a specific month or occasion and set a collecting close. Decide which pages can be completed from your own photos if contributions do not arrive.
Fix a layout rule
Choose one or two page layouts and use them throughout. Every decision you remove gives time back for checking names.
Order early and keep the PDF
Order on your own date, not the printer's last one. Save a PDF of the finished book in case delivery runs late.
Questions
When should I start a photo book for Christmas?
Use the printer's current deadline for your exact book and address, then allow for collecting, layout and proof corrections. The six-week table is a planning example, not a delivery promise.
What if someone sends their photos late?
Hold one spread open for late arrivals. If nothing comes by your layout date, fill it from your own photos and move on.
Can I order before the proof is perfect?
Not if the faults are names or dates, which cannot be changed once printed. Small layout niggles only you will notice can wait for a second edition.