I grew up scrapbooking as a fun and creative way to remember family vacations. As an adult, I’ve gone digital with that hobby by making photo books of my adventures around the world.
I’ve been very fortunate to travel extensively, and because every trip deserves to be remembered, I’ve created dozens of online photo books over the years.
This summer we had one of my favourite adventures yet – a full summer in my hometown of Toronto with friends, family and Baby C!
Because this was Baby C’s first summer and the longest stretch of time I’ve spent in my hometown since I was in high school, I definitely wanted to document all of our summer adventures in a photo book.
I also really wanted to make a photo book for my parents, so they could look back on all of their sweet moments with their granddaughter.
So I was very excited when Printique reached out to ask me to review their photo book service! Printique is known for their high quality photo books, so I knew it’d make the perfect gift for my parents.
Spoiler alert: I was right – the book is gorgeous!
Read on for my full review where I break down the pros and cons of using Printique’s online design studio, how much the book cost and what I think of my first (but definitely not last) Printique photo book!
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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Printique but all opinions are my own. Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning if you click through and make a purchase, I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks to you (& Printique) for your support!
What makes Printique different?
Printique was founded over 20 years ago and started out as the in-house photo lab for Adorama, a camera gear store in New York City. From the beginning, Printique was known for their high-quality print products loved by professional photographers.
Printique pride themselves on using thicker than average pages in their photo books and high quality printing, so every page comes out looking great.
Another aspect that makes Printique stand out is their quality checks. Every order goes through a quality process, customer service is available with real humans on the line (no bots!), and they offer onsite professional consultation at their Brooklyn photography lab.
Speaking of, how cool is it that Printique handcrafts everything in Brooklyn, with pick up locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan? I like how they’ve stuck to their roots as a New York based company.
They even offer the option to pick up your products from their New York City sister store, Adorama, to save on shipping costs.
The process of making my Printique photo book
While nothing beats receiving the final product and opening up your photo book for the first time, I do really enjoy the process of putting these books together.
Some people find this part challenging or prefer to let the photo company do the heavy-lifting (Printique offers an auto-fill option), but I love the creativity of DIY-ing my online photo books. I’ll obsess over the right layouts, margins, photo selection, etc.
Right away, there were some pros to the Printique photo book creator, but sadly, some cons as well.
There were a lot of cool features but overall, Printique’s photo book maker had a steeper learning curve for first time users than some of the other photo books I’ve tried.
There were a few glitches, but I’m happy to report that Printique took my feedback and has made changes to fix the issues. Three cheers for a company that is not only receptive to customer feedback, but actually makes the changes requested!
Of course, the final product is always more important to me than the process, but I appreciate that Printique is working to smooth out the creation process too.
Adding photos
I loved that I could import photos directly from Google Photos, among other places.
When I was making my book, you could only import 50 photos at a time and, unfortunately, there wasn’t a note about this so I selected 120+ photos, only for the first 50 to be uploaded. This meant I had to go back and re-select the rest in two more batches.
But I’m very happy to report that this has been fixed! I let Printique know about my experience and they’ve now changed it so you can upload up to 1000 (!!) photos from Google Photos.
There’s also a note at the top telling you about the 1000 photo limit, and it keeps track of how many you’re uploading so you know if you’re getting close.
I also ran into some issues with the image sorting. I tried the different options: sorting from new to old, old to new, by name, etc. and the order was never what I expected. It would also freeze when trying to scroll through all of my images.
I learned from Printique that their editor sorts photos based on each file’s metadata, so because some of my files were edited, renamed or came from different sources (e.g. my phone and my husband’s), it affected the sorting.
To avoid this, I’d love to have the option to sort by time added. That way, the photos would appear in the order that I uploaded them, rather than based on the metadata.
On the plus side, I did like that the Printique editor warned me about any photos that were going to be too low-res to print. And, to their credit, they also warned me about any blank spaces, so I wouldn’t actually forget to add in photos.
Designing pages
Creating a custom layout with Printique’s editor
Printique’s online photo book creator offers different layout options for single pages or double page spreads, which is standard amongst photo book makers but still always helpful.
But the extra thing that Printique offers is the ability to create your own custom layout. You can choose how many rows/columns of photos you want, the size of the margins, spacing between images, etc.
I really liked this feature, as I often prefer to do my own layouts. However, even the custom layout maker had limitations as each photo box had to be the same size.
Using my custom layouts in my photo book
And because there weren’t very many page/spread layouts to choose from, this meant more limits on how you could design your page.
I’d say this was both a pro and a con: I’ve seen some photo book makers that offer hundreds of layouts, which is overwhelming and unnecessary. I think Printique is on the right track by only offering a few simple layouts.
But if they’re going to keep things simple, then I think their custom layout maker needs to offer more flexibility. It would’ve been great to design pages with, for example, two big images and two small ones, rather than four of the exact same size.
Only three pre-made layouts if you want four photos per page
Another downside is that you are not able to add a layout to the front or back cover pages. It would’ve been really nice to have a grid to add multiple photos to the cover, rather than having to eyeball it.
On the plus side, they offer global settings that allow you to add things like borders or shadows across all photos, or select the font/colour you want used across your entire book’s text. This was very handy!
Adding text
I don’t usually add too much text to my photo books, but I’ll occasionally add titles to pages. For this particular book, I had a title on every page and a note on the first page that was a couple paragraphs long (see above).
I really loved all of the different font options Printique offered. Not only were there lots of fonts to choose from, but they were categorized by type so it was easy to find what you were looking for.
I was using two different fonts in separate text boxes, but unfortunately didn’t have the ability to centre them to each other. This is another nit-pick, but it did make it tough to line up my text on each page.
I also ran into some glitches with the text. Sometimes I could move the two text boxes together and other times I couldn’t. Sometimes I could copy/paste text from an external website and other times it wouldn’t let me.
The text went missing!
One of the biggest downsides was text that went missing! I had a note typed out on the first page of my book that mysteriously vanished twice during the photo book making process.
But great news – this has been fixed! It was a reported bug that Printique has now dealt with.
While it was annoying to have to re-type my text twice, at least it wasn’t missing from my final printed product and won’t be a problem going forward. I’m really impressed how fast Printique jumped on this issue as soon as they were notified about it.
Printique pricing & book options
For this review, I ordered a 10×10″ Classic Hardcover Photo Book with 28 pages and matte printing.
The cost for this book, before shipping and without any discounts, was $75.99 USD. After international shipping fees, it was $114.45 USD.
How much does a Printique photo book cost?
25% off Printique discount code
Get 25% off a Classic Hard Cover Photo Book (the same book I ordered) using my exclusive code, TOA25.
Hurry, this code is only valid for a limited time!
CLICK HERE to get started on your photo book & don’t forget to use my code, TOA25, for 25% off
Printique is on the higher end when it comes to photo book pricing, but I think you really do pay for the quality. And the prices are still in line with other major companies – just a smidge higher.
Prices below are current as of Sep 2025
For example in my photo book comparison post, I compare the cost of a hard cover photo book, in size 8-8.5 x 11″, with 20-24 pages. Printique’s book would cost you $50 USD, which is higher than Vistaprint ($26 USD) but right in line with Mixbook ($44 USD) and Shutterfly ($50 USD).
And it’s no contest that you’re getting a nicer book with Printique than you are for the exact same price with Shutterfly!
The cheapest Printique photo book is their 4×4″ Layflat Mini Softcover Photo Book with 20 pages for just $14.99 USD. You can upgrade your 4×4″ softcover to 5×7″ for $24.99 or 8×8″ for $34.99.
Or if you want their cheapest hardcover, you’re looking at the 5×7″ Classic Hardcover Photo Book for $43.99 USD.
One thing to know about photo books is there is almost always a discount available. These companies have coupons, discounts and promotions all the time, so you will rarely pay the list price.
What kind of photo books are available with Printique?
Printique offers Layflat Photo Books and Classic Photo Books, such as the Classic Hardcover that I made. Under the layflat category, they have lots of options like hardcover, softcover, fabric, leather and mini.
For the Classic Hardcover Photo Book you can choose the shape and orientation of your book (landscape, portrait or square), the size (from 6×6″ to 12×12″), the type of paper (luster, vellum or magazine), and the number of pages (from 20 to 200).
I love that you get to make so many choices about your book – from the cover to the size to the type of paper. I also love that you can see all of these options on the sales page before you start designing your book and that the price changes as you make your choices.
That kind of transparency in pricing is really important to me. Some of these photo book companies don’t reveal the final cost until you get to checkout; I love that Printique shows you the cost per page before you even start making your book!
(PS: Don’t worry about finalizing your page count before you start working on your book; you can always add or delete pages as you work. But it’s awesome that you can get a rough idea of what your book will cost you beforehand!)
In addition to photo books, Printique also offers prints, albums, wall decor, gifts, cards, calendars and more! Check out all of Printique’s offerings here.
Printique shipping & delivery
The checkout process with Printique was very easy and straightforward. I simply added my book to my shopping cart and it was ordered in just a few clicks.
I also really appreciated how clear the shipping and delivery timelines and costs were. Printique spells out how long they’ll need to process your order, when you can expect your order to arrive and how much delivery will cost.
Certain orders have the option to fast track the processing time (my order didn’t have this option). You can also add on a manual check of your files, white-label packaging and a gift note, all at additional cost.
The shipping fee for my order was quite steep ($38.46 USD); I was shocked that the shipping fee was about half the cost of my photo book. Other photo books I have ordered usually have shipping fees around $10-15.
Note that Printique does offer free shipping for orders over $100.
To my surprise, I actually received an additional customs brokerage invoice from UPS about a week after my album arrived. It was only $13.38 CAD ($10 USD) but it was still unexpected to receive an additional charge.
After reaching out to Printique, they explained that even though most printed materials are considered duty-free, customs can still add a brokerage fee. It’s at their discretion.
The good news is that Printique reimburses the customs fees, so you have nothing to worry about. Simply send an email of the invoice to [[email protected]] and they will coordinate a reimbursement with you.
I placed my order on Aug 22 with an estimated delivery of Aug 29. It ended up being delivered after the Labour Day long weekend, on Sep 2.
Despite missing the estimated delivery date (and only by one business day), I still found Printique’s shipping to be really fast. Just over a week for an international delivery is pretty good!
The final product: How does the Printique photo book stand up?
After all that, it’s finally time to talk about the most important part, the actual photo book!
I was expecting a pretty impressive photo book given Printique’s reputation for quality…and that’s exactly what I got.
Immediately upon opening my delivery, I was impressed. The photo book was inside a thick white gift box, wrapped in paper and with a ribbon over it. It felt like a luxurious product and something I would be proud to gift to my parents.
Opening the box, I was surprised how large the photo book was. I knew I had ordered a 10×10″ book but it felt even more substantial than that thanks to the solid cover and construction.
The pages in the Classic Hardcover Photo Book are heavy and thick – upgrades you usually have to pay extra for with other companies.
And despite not being part of the Layflat Photo Book collection, I found the book opened quite flat and no photos were lost in the creases.
The printing was very smooth with both text and images looking vibrant. My only regret is choosing a matte finish. I should just admit that I like the glossy look for photos better!
I’m not totally sold on the front and back cover, but I think that’s mostly down to my design decisions.
Because I couldn’t add a photo layout to the covers (though you are able to upload a pre-designed spread), I free-handed a single image and text and centred them on the page. However, the centre line didn’t account for the spine of the book, so I actually think it looks a little lop-sided.
I’m also not totally sold on the pink background print I put on the covers. It came out exactly as I chose it – so it’s no fault of the printing – but I’m just not sure I made the right choice.
Again, if I had the option to do a photo layout, I think I would’ve preferred that. Otherwise, I should have gone with something more simple, like a single photo or one-colour background.
But besides my little nitpicks (mostly about mistakes I made!), I am truly so impressed with Printique’s photo book. It really does feel like a high-end product and I can see why this brand is popular amongst professional photographers.
Want a luxury photo keepsake? Create your own Printique photo book to gift (or keep!) here. Use my code, TOA25, for 25% off!
Wrapping up my Printique reviews (creation, price & product)
Overall, I am very happy with my Printique photo book and can’t wait to gift it to my parents. When I showed it to my husband, he was actually upset that we wouldn’t get to keep it for ourselves and wants me to order another one!
Yes, there were some hiccups with the photo book editor. The process of creating the book wasn’t as smooth as I would’ve wanted but I do appreciate how Printique quickly fixed some of the issues.
They reiterated to me that they are always looking for ways to improve their photo book experience and welcome feedback, which is such a refreshing stance from a company!
Plus, if you’re not as obsessed with margins and formatting as I am – or if you go for the auto-fill option and let Printique design the book for you – you’ll save yourself some headaches.
And even if you do love designing every square inch of your photo book like I do, the final photo book product more than makes up for any small glitches in the design process.
As I shared above, Printique offers lots of different types of covers, pages, sizes and shapes for their photo books. While their books aren’t cheap, I would still say you’re getting a deal for the luxury product you receive.
Importantly, Printique is very transparent with their pricing – from the number of pages you add to the final shipping cost. So even if the price is on the higher end, at least you’re not surprised by it!
And finally, I have to give a full five stars to the actual Printique photo book product. The book itself is so high quality with vibrant printing and thick pages. It made for an excellent gift for my parents!
25% off Printique discount code
Get 25% off a Classic Hard Cover Photo Book (the same book I ordered) using my exclusive code, TOA25.
Hurry, this code is only valid for a limited time!
CLICK HERE to get started on your photo book & don’t forget to use my code, TOA25, for 25% off
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