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

ThomasDisaster you can only add/remove pages in multiples of 8, it's on the bottom middle-right.

Thanks, I stupidly thought that was just to make it easier to add pages all at once & I could still delete pages individually.

I'm doing a wedding book so will maybe just chuck some honeymoon pics at the end instead of having to go back and change the rest of it

Thank you for the photobook, it is lovely.

1. My overall impressions of the book itself are very good (it arrived this morning!) but I would say that the process was a steep learning curve and time consuming. I have made photobooks with other companies and they do always take longer than you think. I would find it quite easy to do it again now.

1. I used the iOS app first time round – which wouldn’t let me use the voucher I had been sent. Once I realised my mistake, I downloaded the software with no problems. At first I found it very difficult to find my photos – there was a list of folders on the left hand side, but not all my photos seemed to be in the folders. I think this is because it was very slow to load them up. I didn’t like the way that I could only see thumbnails – when you have a lot of photos taken at the same time need to look closely to get the best one e.g. to check that people haven’t got their eyes closed. However, after I while I sussed that I could drag and drop from iPhoto which speeded up the process considerably. I also found it very annoying that when selecting the layouts, even if you had added a layout to favourites (I probably only used about 5 different ones), you had to select the number per page first e.g. 2 per page in order to see your list of favourites. I’d just like to see all my favourites in one go.

Once I submitted it, I realised that I had not changed the background to the photos. I don’t think I was reminded or prompted to do this (although I may have just clicked past that).

1. I think this is quite expensive, although I noticed that there were discounts available online. I would probably purchase again using a discount code but not at full price

1. Yes, I would recommend, but I would also offer to help them use the software to start with! It’s not easy to recommend when you can’t pronounce the name though! Coo-ee, Soo-ee, Cue?

1. I like it, it’s a novelty for me but I think I prefer glossy.

1. I’ve used Photobox before. I think that CEWE and Photobox are equivalent in terms of quality and probably price, but the photobox software probably has the edge in terms of ease of use.

Hi, it's me again (feedback given above). I was a bit hasty this morning when I looked at the book and only flicked through it outside the sorting office when I picked it up! Now I've had a proper look and can see that about 25 percent of the photos are double printed, so one colour has been printed in a different position to another. It looks terrible. I am really disappointed.

I managed to download the software but it then didn't work. It just wouldn't open and do anything. I idi try to do it on my laptop, but was told that i Had to do it on a laptop / desktop. Was disappointed and frustrated that it didn't work, and I really couldn't tell why not.

Still waiting for my photo book to arrive. It says it has been dispatched. Really hope it arrives tomorrow as we are going away on Saturday for a week...

Mine took 5 days after the day it said it was dispatched, Bicnod.

It just comes as normal post though so you should be OK.

Thanks Goldfish did it fit through your letterbox by the way? Otherwise I'll leave a note for the postie to leave it somewhere...

Mine arrived the day after it was dispatched. Wouldn't fit through the letter box as the cardboard packaging is pretty wide.

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

Have just ordered, haven't received yet so will add further feedback when I've seen it. The process of creating it has been horribly frustrating. I haven't bothered with photo books before because I tend to take photos in high res and the upload times were frustratingly slow last time I tried a few years ago. I like the idea that you download the software to do all the work on it locally and then the upload is all after you've clicked order and you can get on with something else while it does it. HOWEVER, this software did not download smoothly, was very slow to download and still buggy even when I could access it (for example after creating, I had to save and exit the software before it would let me view the basket).

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?

After the download, the software was good but I hadn't realised quite what a time commitment we were making to teach ourselves how to use quite a powerful tool. I agree with posters above that it's not for everyone - not particularly intuitive and if you make a mistake it's hard to go back without starting afresh - eg I started with the assistant, found it frustrating so decided to carry on without but there didn't seem to be a way to flick to without assistant, I could only dump the pics I'd started with and start all over again. I didn't feel I had enough time to play with all of the features so wonder whether my photobook will be quite plain, but then I like plain - just an update on sticky photos into an album really.

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?

To me it seems expensive. Given that high quality photo printing is cheap and easy on our home printers these days, I'd expect a printed book to be cheaper, especially given the time I'd have to invest in creating it. The book seems to be a lot more expensive than buying an old fashioned album to stick professionally printed photos into.

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 if someone likes creating photo books then I think it's fine to use. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who needs help with software as it's not that easy to teach yourself, I expect some are much simpler. Would be good for a really special project book as a one off I think, not just recording family snaps.

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

Will come back to this question when I have received 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?
Haven't used another for such a long time I don't think it would be fair to compare.

Firstly thankyou so much for the chance to try this out, I'm so looking forward to this momento! Okay. Ordered but will feedback again after it arrives.
Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?
The software provided is a little complex, it takes a while to download and looks a bit scary to the uninitiated.

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?
At first I thought I'd never manage it, it reminded me of the coral draw programme that was so complex it came with a 200 page book! Some photos refused to load, got a warning triangle to say that it didn't like the pic but no explanation of how to rectify the problem, it took about 15 attempts to load a photo that I had scanned as it was not happy with the sizing. A little help with that would have been nice. The overall look was a little scary. Other posters have said about drop down menus rather than so many icons, that would make it easier for those that don't normally use the more complex parts of drawing/presentation programmes.

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?
Have not yet seen the finished product but seems like a fair price, it would be good to know if this price could be reduced by buying more copies, that would be a real plus point for gifts!

I will reply further when it arrives...can't wait!

So far, I cannot download the software! I will keep trying but may have to give it up as a bad job...

Hi everyone, thank you to everyone for taking part. CEWE would like to say,

"We’re delighted so many of you are creating your own CEWE PHOTOBOOK and we hope you absolutely love the book when you receive it
If anyone experiences any issues at all whilst creating your book or if you would like any more help or advice, please feel free to get in touch with our friendly customer care team. We’re available 7 days a week from 9am to 10pm. You can easily get in touch via phone 01926 463107, email [email protected] or online with our LiveChat service at photoworld.com/help."

add on from my initial review
so the book has arrived and it is bloody fantastic!!! really high quality. im so pleased!!!

Just received my book. Looks great but I just noticed a printing error on one of the pictures - wouldn't be happy if I had paid for this

Oh. So the red triangles mean that your photo is too low resolution. I didn't realise that.

Also I didn't use any fancy layouts- by the time I had selected all my photos three times to finally get them into the bloody book, I just wanted to get it finished as fast as possible,

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

I have just received my book - overall I'm happy with it. It does look of high quality and expensive but unfortunately it has one printing error on it, which if I had paid for I would have been very upset and on customer services back. Due to this and my overall experience of the software I would rate the whole process 7 out of 10.

The process of creating this book was frustrating. I have previously created 2 photobooks using Photobox so was aware of how much time and effort goes into making it. The one thing I found most annoying was not knowing if the quality of the images was any good as I use my iphone to take most of my pictures.

**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 seemed like it took ages to download - but once installed I liked the idea of having all the images on my computer easily accessible.

The software isnt easy to use at first go - i think it takes at least half an hour to get yourself familiarised with how it works.

You couldn’t move page sides around which I found annoying. In the beginning I pasted some images on one slide and I wanted to move that one page to the middle but I couldn’t as the software recognised it as 2 pages so I had to re-find the images and start again. I wanted to make my photobook flow like a story book but at the end I gave up and just did whatever which funny enough a family member noticed how towards the end of the book images are just all over the place in no date order.

**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's slightly on the expensive side compared to other companies who have great offers on which are really appealing. I would only purchase if there was a good deal on otherwise the whole process was very time consuming and frustrating.

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

My brother is looking to create a family photobook for his wedding, CEWE PHOTOBOOK would come as a second choice mainly because the software doesnt tell you if any images would come out pixelated and choosing page layouts and changing image boxes was frustrating. I spent 6 to 7 hours on my book all together - it takes a lot of patience.

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

I think its an individual opinion/choice but I wouldnt choose the true matte finish again. I dont like the feel to it and it makes the images look dull. I prefer a shine to the page/images.

**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?

In terms of quality I think you compare well to the other company I used.

I appreciate you letting me try your service but I think a few changes need to be made to the software to make it appealing and easy to use. The one thing i liked about the previous company I used was how it highlighted the quality of the image I used and how it recommended what size the image should be for it to look good on the photobook.

I'm a graphic designer so i probably noticed this compared to the other users - the gap used to separate images i felt was too much, if I moved the image too close to another image it would just stick together - there should be an option to let you be free and do whatever you want on the page.

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

I like the book, there are plenty of options to choose from and, if you invest the time, you can produce a really beautiful 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?

I hates it. I didn't like having to download it when it could have been fully on-line. I found it slow and frustrating and not terribly intuitive.

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?

Yes, good value for money and it would make a great gift amd/or memento. I do want to get one made for both set of grandparents now because I fully intend to keep the one I made!

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 I would warn them that the software is slow and needs to be downloaded.

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

No, I thought I would but looking at the samples they sent I prefer glossy. I think the matte looks great with the professional photos I put in my book but less stellar when it was a lesser quality photo.

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?
N/A not used one before but I have looked at them.

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

Received my photobook today and it's fine, not much different to something I'd order from Photobox so I wasn't blown away. I would have spent more time honing and perfecting the pictures inside except I couldn't stand the software and gave up. While ordering the book was easy, creating was arduous and I wouldn't use this again.

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?

Took an age to download - an web-based application would be infinitely better. Didn't find it intuitive at all, loads of buttons and commands that I didn't know what they were for. The software froze often and at one point I lost my book so far and had to start again. The only reason I preserved is because t was a product test, otherwise I would have given up. And I am not stupid with using computers!

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?

No - the whole process was too frustrating so defintely now. It's also very expensive for what it is.

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 for all the reasons elaborated on above.

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

Yes the finish is nice and less likely to show fingerprints I would think.

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 prefer Photobox, sorry

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 quite easy to use the photos i wanted but they were already in one album on my computer. I edited the layout quite a lot to suit what i wanted but it could easier to navigate and make changes

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 it was very longwinded and crashed a couple of times

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 isn't too bad a value for money product but I have access to better products from our local photographers. I found the printing very dark. The pictures i used were professionally taken and the copies I have from the studio show the colours much better. I was disappointed at the colour/contrast finish

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 recommend the idea of a photobook but not necessarily from Cewe - i was disappointed with the finish.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not? It is a nice finish for this project. I think I would choose other finishes in other situations.

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? No i wouldn't switch purely due to the print darkness and not true colours that I know were there in the original photos.

CEWE would like to add,

"Hi daylight and is1,
Oh no! We’re really sorry to hear about these problems with your books. We offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee because we’re totally committed to ensuring that every single customer is delighted with their CEWE PHOTOBOOK.
Please send your order number to me personally ([email protected]) and I will ensure this issue is resolved ASAP.
Sorry again and thanks for getting in touch about this, Fliss"

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

I found no problem downloading and using the software (Mac). I chose to create my own book without the assistant and after a couple of pages I found it quick and easy to change layout etc. The finished product arrived today and looks really great, the matt paper really makes it look high-end.

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?

Software was a little clunky at times but overall fine

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 would pay for a special occasion (I used it for my son's first baby photos) but probably would go for something cheaper for holiday pictures for example

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 it to friends who were fairly computer literate, there is a small learning curve but the product is worth it in my opinion

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

Love the true matte finish it looks much better than glossy paper

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 software was a little more difficult than photo box but I would persevere. I would switch now that I have used both as I have got used to CEWE quickly

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

I haven't received my book yet, so will start of with a review of the process. I had no problems downloading the software onto my hated Windows 8 laptop, but would prefer a web based system if I had the option. I liked the fact that the product quickly imported my selected file of photos, but found it time consuming to go through and then delete unwanted ones. I am fairly lazy so I chose the wizard to design my book for me. It looks good online.

Q.2 I found the software fairly easy to use but I use computers a lot. I'm sure my 60 year old parents would not be able to use the product.

I'll add further comments when the book arrives.

Arrived today and it's brilliant. Such better quality than the others and I love the matt paper rather than gloss, I will definitely remember this next time.

Sorry I am taking so long. Couldn't download the program onto my ancient laptop so have had to use a work one.

Will come back ASAP when it is done.