See what MNers think of CEWE PHOTOBOOK– Nikon Digital camera (RRP £169.99) prize draw for testers’ feedback!NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

This thread is for the 250 Mumsnetters who tried the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK.

Here’s what CEWE say, “The CEWE PHOTOBOOK is Europe’s no. 1 photo book and recently was rated the UK’s best. With more sizes and formats to choose from than any other, the CEWE PHOTOBOOK offers a solution for everyone for all occasions.
“With our easy-to-use free software, you can create your very own personal book capturing forever those precious moments. You design the book yourself adding text, maps, clip art and even video alongside your images.

“Just recently we have launched our brand new True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK. True Matte is unique in the photo book market and offers a luxurious finish to bring out the very best of your photos.
“Whether you want to chart the early years of your little ones or capture this summer’s fantastic family holiday, there is no better way to display and share your wonderful photographs. We are proud to provide the personal touch with a professional finish, giving you a True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK to treasure forever.”

Testers, please provide your feedback by answering the following questions. Feel free to also add any other comments you might have.

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?

Q2. What do you think of the software you used to design your CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Did you find it easy to use, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

Q3. The RRP for the True Matte CEWE PHOTBOOK Large Landscape is from £37.99, do you think that this is good value for money, or not? Do you think you would you purchase a CEWE PHOTOBOOK again? If so, why? If not, why not?

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend CEWE PHOTOBOOK to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

Q6. If you had used another photo book retailer before, how does it compare to CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Would you now switch to the CEWE PHOTOBOOK? If so, why? If not, why not?

Please also remember to complete the short survey we sent to you!

Everyone who adds their feedback will be entered into a prize draw to win a Nikon Coolpix S5300 Digital Camera (RRP £169.99).

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

Sorry sorry sorry for being so late to the feedback party. My photobook arrived today and my initial thought was 'I love it'. I had been meaning to order a photo book for my little girls 1st year but decided to do it for her christening....

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?

The book is lovely. I think hardback gives an impression of something special to last. The paper quality is really nice too (I used the same background colour throughout) and the photo quality is excellent. We had a photographer but I struggled to fill the book so I took a chance with a few that other people took and despite the warning the quality wasn't the best they came out just fine.

Loading the software was a complete pain though and took me 3 proper attempts. My laptop is only 3 years old but really struggles. It may be my fault as I am no techie. I persevered though (thanks for the extension!) and when it finally began to work I found it very smooth. My main problem was filling all the pages nicely. I didn't use the assistant and tried to keep the pages symmetrical. I used a variety of several photos per page and some one per page.

Q2. What do you think of the software you used to design your CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Did you find it easy to use, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

The software was very user-friendly. From selecting the layout / amount of pictures per page and backgrounds. Apart from the front cover, I did not use any text on the pages. I would use more text in future for more informal books such as holidays.

Q3. The RRP for the True Matte CEWE PHOTBOOK Large Landscape is from £37.99, do you think that this is good value for money, or not? Do you think you would you purchase a CEWE PHOTOBOOK again? If so, why? If not, why not?

For a special occasion, or a gift, I would certainly purchase this book again. However, I would not spend this amount for everyday things such as holidays. I have been trying to get into the habit of ordering photobooks when they are on groupon. I ordered 3 through mini box for 3 holidays and overall I was a little disappointed. In particular with the covers being strong paper as opposed to hardback and for future photo book orders I would only order hardback.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend CEWE PHOTOBOOK to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes I would recommend and I am excited to show the book to friends and family as they are keen to see the professional pictures. It is always nicer to see the finished article and I had intended to order a photobook for this,

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes, the true matte really enhances the quality feel of the pages when compared to the glossy pages in the the mini box book.

Q6. If you had used another photo book retailer before, how does it compare to CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Would you now switch to the CEWE PHOTOBOOK? If so, why? If not, why not?

The CEWE photobook is much better quality and I would happily order again. I also have a photo box book that was bought as a gift and the quality difference is clear (although that was 6 years ago now).

Overall I am very happy and will certainly keep an eye out for any offers from CEWE for future photo books. Thank you for selecting me for this test!

1. Overall this wasn't a bad process. The software took a fair while to download-tried on 2 different computers. Ordering was very easy & straightforward but creation was a little trickier. It didn't take long to grasp the software so was relatively easy to use other than the missing functionality mentioned below or my inability to find it!

2)I found the formatting quite arduous. I may have missed a select all option at the start for page colour & layout so the colour remained white as it would have been too much to go back & change each page individually. The layout was a faff having to change each page as you progressed. It would be preferable if there was an option, at any stage of creation, to select all remaining pages & choose a layout. It took an excessive number of mouse clicks to create the book in my desired layout.

3. the rrp does seem to compare to other available products & the book was a decent quality & I would buy another BUT only if on offer-there is no need to buy any of these products at full price as there are always offers available.

4. I would happily recommend the company/product to others but believe it would be personal choice as it is different to other brands. It would depend on the user & whether they are generally comfortable with new software.

5)It would depend on who/what I was buying the product for. I like it but some may prefer a more traditional finish so if it were a gift I would have to consider this.

6. I would happily use the company again-especially as I suspect with a bit more practice the functionality I believed to be missing would be found! It would come down to price & if similar quality products were on offer or not at the time.

I created and ordered my photobook from my desktop PC. Downloading the software was simple and straightforward. Once I opened up with software to start creating, initially I tried using the feature where the software assists you in creating your photobook, but after a quick trial of that, I quickly decided that I wanted to have more control over the style and layout of the photos. Whilst it did take me a little time to get used to it and find all of the features, once I had got to grips with the best way for me to go about it (I quickly decided to order all of the photos I wanted to use in a separate folder to make it easier to drag and drop in, rather than searching for them as I was creating).
There are lots of features - having page layouts for different numbers of photos on the page - or you can make your own; loads of different backgrounds; the options of adding text if you want as well.
Having done this once and familiarized myself with the way it works, the next time will be so much easier.

I think that the price is good value for money considering the quality of the finished product. I would certainly buy one again, it would be particularly good as a memento of a big family occasion or as a gift for a big birthday - showing photos of the person throughout their life. I would certainly recommend this, although the greatest, easiest recommendation will be showing them the finished product - which looks great.

I do really like the True Matte finish over more conventional finishes as it doesn't get lots of light reflecting off the surface, so looking through the photobook you can see all of the photos really easily and the colour really stands out in a well lit room without blinding you.

I have been disappointed with other cheaper photobooks in the past, not coming up to my high standard, so I will now switch to the CEWE PHOTOBOOK? I would rather have one or two better quality products like these over and above a multitude of inferior products.

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?

Overall impression with the book - good. Not totally blown away, but I'm happy with it.

Q2. What do you think of the software you used to design your CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Did you find it easy to use, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

Creating it was very time consuming whilst I got the hang of the software but I sped up as I got used to it. I didn't use text or clipart as I'm not a fan. I don't discover the layout tab on the left hand side until the end of the book so I spent an age flipping through all the options before finding layouts for each page that worked with the images. Perhaps, once the software is launched for the first time, a little video giving a guided tour of the functions would be useful. Also rollover states for all the buttons in the toolbar that says what they do would be simple to add and make a big difference. A redesign of the button icons could make the whole thing look a little more pleasing - they're not the prettiest and I think the UI could be cleaned up better - batching tools together into drop downs or tool pallets.

It took a very long time to install on my iMac. A more obvious loading progress graphic would help as I thought it had frozen until I spotted the tiny graphic on the bottom left.

Q3. The RRP for the True Matte CEWE PHOTBOOK Large Landscape is from £37.99, do you think that this is good value for money, or not? Do you think you would you purchase a CEWE PHOTOBOOK again? If so, why? If not, why not?

I do think it's a difficult price bracket, given the competitiveness of the market. I'd generally either be looking for something a bit cheaper or I'd want to spend a bit more and get something really premium with lay flat binding and linen cover or similar I think. So many competitors have offers on all the time I'd always shop around for one with an offer on.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend CEWE PHOTOBOOK to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

I would say I had used it and I was happy with the results but I wouldn't say that 'had' to use it above others. I wouldn't recommend it to, say, my mother (60+) as I think the software would totally befuddle her. More suited to younger folk who are better used to different software and UI's.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

I like it but I don't think it does the photos justice. They come out pretty dark. Feels nice though.

Q6. If you had used another photo book retailer before, how does it compare to CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Would you now switch to the CEWE PHOTOBOOK? If so, why? If not, why not?

I've not made a photo book before

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?

Software was a bit annoying but got there in the end, the true matte book is nice but not for snapshots (would make a nice wedding guest book for example)

Q2. What do you think of the software you used to design your CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Did you find it easy to use, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

I wanted something in between the assistant and the custom - so it would autofill and then I could tweak it. I mainly used 3/4 layouts but these didn't get added to the favourite layout tab automatically, so selecting them each time was a pain.

I also think it should do a better job of telling you when the quality isn't high enough - some photos weren't flagged by the software as too low-res but when the book came they were a bit too fuzzy.

Q3. The RRP for the True Matte CEWE PHOTBOOK Large Landscape is from £37.99, do you think that this is good value for money, or not? Do you think you would you purchase a CEWE PHOTOBOOK again? If so, why? If not, why not?

Not great value, but not the worst either. Probably won't buy again as I'd like either the convenience of a high street company or the quality and ease of an Apple book.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend CEWE PHOTOBOOK to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

If they said they wanted a really matte photobook, or admired the one I made.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

As i said, it's nice luxe finish but didn't work for the book I made.

Q6. If you had used another photo book retailer before, how does it compare to CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Would you now switch to the CEWE PHOTOBOOK? If so, why? If not, why not?

See answer to Q3.

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?
It looks fab, I like the true matt finish, a bit fiddly to create, but easy after playing with the software for a while, and pretty straightforward to order, once I had sorted my voucher.

Q2. What do you think of the software you used to design your CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Did you find it easy to use, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
It toook a while to get my photos together.
I had a few attempts, with and without using the assistant. I did it all in a bit of a rush and the first attempt with the assistant non of the subject matter was visible in the pictures (it was doing clever thing that unfortunately covered one pic with another). In the end I opted to do it myself so it was pretty basic, just 2 pics on a page - but the end resulted looked fine. The whole process took a lot longer than I thought it would. However, I have played with it again and I realise that it is a lot easier to use than I first thought.

Q3. The RRP for the True Matte CEWE PHOTBOOK Large Landscape is from £37.99, do you think that this is good value for money, or not? Do you think you would you purchase a CEWE PHOTOBOOK again? If so, why? If not, why not?
It is quite expensive, but the end product is fab. If it was cheaper, all my photos would be in photo books, as its a great format. However, at this price I would use again, but only for special occasions or special holidays.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend CEWE PHOTOBOOK to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes I would definitely recommend, but I would recommend that anyone takes their time to use it to its full potential. It produces a lovely keepsake, as it great quality.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

I would usually go for gloss pics, but they are always prone to fingerprints and glare. So I do like the True matt finish and would definitely use in the future.

Q6. If you had used another photo book retailer before, how does it compare to CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Would you now switch to the CEWE PHOTOBOOK? If so, why? If not, why not?

Have never produced a photobook before, but the quality of the CEWE photobook is so good, I would be concerned that others could not match up, and when spending out, you want to be able to depend on the quality.

Thanks for opportunity, Its given me a great reminder of my last family holiday to Florida

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?
I am generally really pleased with my photobook. Some of the photos, especially outdoor ones, look wonderful. The colours are a little bit funny in some of them, but this may be due to my photos. The software could have been better, but I was able to get the results I wanted (if not as efficiently as I would have preferred).

Q2. What do you think of the software you used to design your CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Did you find it easy to use, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

Q3. The RRP for the True Matte CEWE PHOTBOOK Large Landscape is from £37.99, do you think that this is good value for money, or not? Do you think you would you purchase a CEWE PHOTOBOOK again? If so, why? If not, why not?
I think in any situation where I'd want to create a photobook, I would need more pages than that, so really I would be looking at £50 or so. That's a lot, and sadly I believe I can get similarly good results for less money elsewhere.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend CEWE PHOTOBOOK to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?
If someone I knew was wanting to try it, I would say I was pleased with the results, but would feel I had to mention that I'd had some issues with the software.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
I generally prefer gloss, but I actually like the True Matte finish a lot more than I expected. I wouldn't say I prefer it, but I don't mind it.

Q6. If you had used another photo book retailer before, how does it compare to CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Would you now switch to the CEWE PHOTOBOOK? If so, why? If not, why not?
I haven't made a photobook before, but I have used a leading photo retailer for other products, e.g. calendars. I've also been given photobooks made by that same retailer. The results are similarly high quality, but the prices seem higher for the CEWE photobook. Also, I don't think I would make another CEWE photobook until they make changes to the software so that individual pages can be reordered. I like to select my photos, then arrange them in groups, then get the order right. The software does not allow me to make this approach, and it was a time-consuming issue for me. So at the moment, I don't think I would switch to CEWE photobook.

Just received my book today, I ordered it at the last minute

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?

Creating it was frustrating at the start until I became accustomed to the software. It took me a week of working on it at night to get it finished. Once it was created, ordering it was simple.

Q2. What do you think of the software you used to design your CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Did you find it easy to use, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
It was easy to use, but not easy to use well. It's a pretty powerful piece of software which was good once I'd worked it out but was very frustrating at the start. I found the gui quite complicated and more closely related to photoshop than the photo book creation tools I'd used before. It crashed a few times on my MacBook so I had to keep saving a lot too. However, I really liked it once I got used to it, especially being able to zoom in on a photo on the page and the auto alignment of photos. I also really liked that I could retrieve photos from a range of sources.

Q3. The RRP for the True Matte CEWE PHOTBOOK Large Landscape is from £37.99, do you think that this is good value for money, or not? Do you think you would you purchase a CEWE PHOTOBOOK again? If so, why? If not, why not?
I used the full page allowance and I would be disappointed if I'd spent the £50ish it should have cost, the cover is great but the interior pages were a lighter weight paper than I was expecting. I would purchase another but probably only if I saw a good offer.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend CEWE PHOTOBOOK to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?
Probably not, because the software was too complicated for family and friends would probably want something a bit cheaper.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
The black and white photos and landscape photos came out incredibly well but the family pictures would probably have looked better in a glossy finish.

Q6. If you had used another photo book retailer before, how does it compare to CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Would you now switch to the CEWE PHOTOBOOK? If so, why? If not, why not?
I've used photobox before and I found their online software much simpler but you get a greater range of features in cewe so I would probably switch to it if there was an offer on.

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?
When I eventually got the hang of it (3rd time lucky) it was a very straightforward process, but that may only because I am used to using similar software from another company.

Q2. What do you think of the software you used to design your CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Did you find it easy to use, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
As mentioned above, it took my third attempt to get my head around the software. I'm not sure what was going on during attempts 1 and 2 but I really didn't get it to begin with, far too complicated. Eventually I clicked with it and breezed through it, but had MN not extended the deadline I probably would have given up the task.

Q3. The RRP for the True Matte CEWE PHOTBOOK Large Landscape is from £37.99, do you think that this is good value for money, or not? Do you think you would you purchase a CEWE PHOTOBOOK again? If so, why? If not, why not?
It compares favourably to other companies but I never buy at full price. I would find it too pricey at £37.99 but it is fairly good value for such a large product. I would probably look at CEWE next time I come to do a photobook to compare prices.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend CEWE PHOTOBOOK to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?
I would, but only to those are fairly computer-literate as I think it would be intimidating to the technophobes in my family.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
I prefer my usual gloss finish, it just gives the page more impact!

Q6. If you had used another photo book retailer before, how does it compare to CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Would you now switch to the CEWE PHOTOBOOK? If so, why? If not, why not?
I usually use Photobox (I had never heard of CEWE before this test) and I prefer the books (and prices!) but I will look at CEWE in future especially as I won't be tied to the type/size/finish of the book. In terms of turnaround they compare equally. Like I said earlier, I am quite price-driven when it comes to these investment pieces!

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?

Although the software used to create the photo book was a bit crowded it was easy enough to use. I started off using the tool where they allocated a space for each photo automatically but I ended up changing it around a lot and found this easy enough to do. I do think that the tool is a good idea and helps give you a good starting block, that it can place the photos in chronological order is also helpful.

Q2. What do you think of the software you used to design your CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Did you find it easy to use, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

See above.

Q3. The RRP for the True Matte CEWE PHOTBOOK Large Landscape is from £37.99, do you think that this is good value for money, or not? Do you think you would you purchase a CEWE PHOTOBOOK again? If so, why? If not, why not?

I don't think that this is unreasonable considering the price of competitors photo books.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend CEWE PHOTOBOOK to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes, I really like how the book came out, looks very professional.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

I prefer the True Matte finish, it looks more professional and more like a proper book.

Q6. If you had used another photo book retailer before, how does it compare to CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Would you now switch to the CEWE PHOTOBOOK? If so, why? If not, why not?

I haven't used another photo book retailer before.

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?

Lovely quality. Nice paper and good printing. Mine looked a bit "bitty"entirely down to my amaturish design attempts. I loved the freedom to design as I wanted but maybe an option to have a graphic grid to give some guidance would be good.

Q2. What do you think of the software you used to design your CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Did you find it easy to use, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

I would usually be put off by having to download software first; but having done so it did work very well and was easier than trying to do it all online. I found it quite easy to use, but having read other feedback I think I missed quite a lot of features so perhaps a quick wizard to start with would be useful. I couldnt get my videos to work, but I didnt try very hard.

Q3. The RRP for the True Matte CEWE PHOTBOOK Large Landscape is from £37.99, do you think that this is good value for money, or not? Do you think you would you purchase a CEWE PHOTOBOOK again? If so, why? If not, why not?
I might for a special occasion, but it is more than I would spend for just a book of holiday pictures.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend CEWE PHOTOBOOK to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?
Yes but only if they are quite computer literate. I dont think my parents would manage the software.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
It was very nice.

Q6. If you had used another photo book retailer before, how does it compare to CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Would you now switch to the CEWE PHOTOBOOK? If so, why? If not, why not?
I usually use snapfish. I liked the fact that there was more freedom of design, and the quality was better, but the price would put me off a bit. I usually do 5 copies of photobooks of the children for grandparents, aunts etc and 5x37.99 would be a bit scary!

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?

I didn't like the software but the ordering process itself was fine.

Q2. What do you think of the software you used to design your CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Did you find it easy to use, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

I found the software clunky, old fashioned and not especially intuitive. I am used to the Adobe Creative Suite on a Mac and this felt like going back about 20 years and PCish.

Q3. The RRP for the True Matte CEWE PHOTBOOK Large Landscape is from £37.99, do you think that this is good value for money, or not? Do you think you would you purchase a CEWE PHOTOBOOK again? If so, why? If not, why not?

Not particularly impressed with my book and I would have been disappointed if I'd paid for it.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend CEWE PHOTOBOOK to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

No, didn't like the software and not impressed with the book.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

It's ok.

Q6. If you had used another photo book retailer before, how does it compare to CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Would you now switch to the CEWE PHOTOBOOK? If so, why? If not, why not?

I've used Photobox and Bonusprint I definitely prefered Photobox for their software and product so I won't be switching to CEWE, sorry.

Now I've received my book I'll add an update. The book looks great and is great quality. However, I do now feel that the £54.95 price tag is far too high for this. I have seen similar products for half that price and so with that in mind I wouldn't choose to order anything again unless it was a very special offer.

I received my book on Tuesday (another last minute orderer) so can now leave full feedback. I'd also like to fill in the survey but it seems to have closed a bit early ....

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?

I found it pretty straightforward and mostly intuitve.

Q2. What do you think of the software you used to design your CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Did you find it easy to use, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

Mostly easy to use. I chose the option to have the pages automatically populated from my uploaded pics in date order, and then shuffled them around a bit.

Q3. The RRP for the True Matte CEWE PHOTBOOK Large Landscape is from £37.99, do you think that this is good value for money, or not? Do you think you would you purchase a CEWE PHOTOBOOK again? If so, why? If not, why not?

I think it is a bit high. I tend to look for special offers on photobooks and would probably not exceed £20 - £25 for a book of this size.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend CEWE PHOTOBOOK to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes, I might well do - the software was easy to use and the product is nice quality.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

I don't prefer it but I don't like it any less.

Q6. If you had used another photo book retailer before, how does it compare to CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Would you now switch to the CEWE PHOTOBOOK? If so, why? If not, why not?

I've used snapfish before. I think the CEWE software offers more options, but they're not all options that I'd require. I probably wouldn't switch, for reasons of price.

As I said in a previous comment, as a female customer, the most offputting thing was entering my details as Dr Firstname Lastname and having "Mr Firstname Lastname" appear on the address label, CEWE need to sort that one out!

collected my book from the post office today. It arrived on Tuesday so took about twelve days, which is fine, but worth noting if ordering for christmas- order sooner rather than later.

It is lovely, good quality and lovely thick pages. My DH and DM both commented that they love the matte finish, although I think I would have preferred a low shine. I guess it depends who you are ordering for. Overall, great software, good quality and good service. I don't think I would pay £52 for it though. If they have an offer on in future I will Definetly use CEWE again.

Thanks for inviting me to take part.

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?
I am quite pleased with the overall quality of the book but wish I had been a bit more selective about photos & layout etc, though it would have meant that I would have had to invest a lot more time on it... I did not find it straightforward to create due to my laptop not liking the software which altogether meant that it was a tedious and very time consuming process.
Q2. What do you think of the software you used to design your CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Did you find it easy to use, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
Not keen. It wasn't easy to get it to work on my laptop and I got very bored with asking for help with it and trying to get it to work
Q3. The RRP for the True Matte CEWE PHOTBOOK Large Landscape is from £37.99, do you think that this is good value for money, or not? Do you think you would you purchase a CEWE PHOTOBOOK again? If so, why? If not, why not?
Due to the problems I encountered I would not use this again unless I had a lot of time on my hands & it was on a special offer perhaps. The overall book is very professional looking but I would find it too time consuming to get it perfect enough so that I would feel I would be getting my money's worth at this price.
Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend CEWE PHOTOBOOK to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?
For reasons stated above, not really, as I don't think it's worth the time spent or money in my experience
Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
I don't have strong feelings about it either way
Q6. If you had used another photo book retailer before, how does it compare to CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Would you now switch to the CEWE PHOTOBOOK? If so, why? If not, why not?
I have found other photobooks more straightforward to use & much cheaper, though I would say this photobook is better quality

Thank you everyone who took part in this product test and left their feedback. Congratulations to Lewisfan who has won the prize draw for the Nikon Coolpix digital camera, we'll be in touch soon!

OOh lucky Lewisfan

Thanks for the opportunity - DS will get his book for his birthday in a couple of weeks.

thanks! you've made my week! thanks so much!!

DS is getting his book for Christmas - the suspense is killing him, seeing I've got a parcel and not being allowed to look hahaha

oh balls... I meant to add... Kew - will your DS's book have things from babyhood? I love watching your video of him, even now!

Yes Lewis - "it is Diary of a Super Kid - the first nine years"

Too many baby photos probably for his liking but they were so ridiculously cute that I couldn't resist.

Technically of course its the last 8 years rather than the first 9 years (if you get what I mean) with no photos of year 1 but than didn't sound so good!

I feel very lucky to have been there in time for his first birthday so of course photos of that have made their way in!

I think it would be a nice feature of photobooks if you could get an online montage like Onetruemedia used to do if you order a book.

Effectively a slideshow of the book perhaps that you could add music to

I couldn't leave feedback as only received photo book after thread was closed.