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

Continuing on from my earlier post now that I have received my book...

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?

A bit expensive. I think priced from £25-30 would be ok. I would most likely buy these as a present for a relative, and I wouldn't usually spend £40 on a present. Given that many people can print photos at home, I think pricing this too high would lead people to just print their pics and put them in a nice album instead.

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 photobooks in general as a great memento and present, but I was disappointed with the CEWE software and so I wouldn't recommend this brand in particular (also how to you pronounce CEWE- cue? see-wee? cue-we?- hard to recommend if you can't pronounce the name properly!).

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

I prefer glossy finish as the pictures look brighter and more vibrant.

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 not used another photobook retailer before.

My book arrived and I like it overall. However I was disappointed that some of the pics are blurry- I remember now they had the red triangle over them, but there was no information about what this triangle meant when constructing the book- an instruction should pop up if you hover over it. Also I had wanted to add a picture at the beginning of my book, but couldn't figure out how to insert one picture and move all the rest along, so I put it at the end instead and it is out of place there. When I tried to move it to the beginning the software kept adding another two-page spread, rather than letting me shift all the pictures along.

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?
I found the installing of the software fairly straight forward I did have slight difficulty in getting my photos so I could use them on the programme.
I found the creating of the photobook fun and would have loved to have spent a bit more time tinkering 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?
I found it fairly easy to use but feel a mini tutorial would have been useful

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 feel that that is a fair price, I managed to get 88 photo's on so feel this is good value, depending on the finished product I may or may not order one again.

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 have already talked to a friend about the book we are eagerly awaiting seeing the finished product

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
I haven't actually seen the finshed product but will update once recieved

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 previously used another photo book retailer

Still doing mine, taken me 3 evenings so far and still at least a third to go. Oh, plus the evening where I left it to download!

Thank you for what I'm sure will be wonderful.

Will post again once completed.

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

I love it! It's perhaps not quite worth the money it should have cost, it's not as 'fancy' looking as if imagined however it's a great way to fit lots of pictures into a compact book. I found creating it really easy, thought the software worked perfectly and had some great feature such as arranging by date. Also loved the fact that it told me how many less photos I needed so I could be selective.

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 it really easy! Much better than some of the other sites I've used. Loved the drag and drop feature and the way I could manually alter the box sizes.

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 with a voucher but I think that is quite dear compared to others in the market. It's good value in terms of content but not too sure if it looks worth the money.

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 loved the software and the end product was probably as good as the majority available on the market.

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

No. I think this may be why I think it's not 'fancy' as others, as I'm used to 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?

I would in terms of quality and ease but may be put off by their slightly higher price. If I was sent voucher codes and offers I would definitely use them again.

I couldn't use the web info you gave so I downloaded the app for iPad. Easy to do and straight forward. Good choice of colours for book and took me around 30 minutes for start to finish.

I found the software easy to use, I opted for the designed one that puts all your pictures in rather than doing manually. This was much easier and you could edit, delete and move pictures if you wanted to change anything.

I think the price is fine as it's about average compared to other photo books, although I'd prefer glossy.

I would recommend Cewe photo book especially for use on iPad as was straight foreword and easy.

The true Matt does make a nice change but I still prefer glossy for something like this.

I have used two other photo book retailers before but I do like cewe as it was so quick to do.

Q1. I found the software difficult to use too unfortunately. I didn't know if I was being dim or not but could only access my pictures through my photo reel and had to transfer all the ones I wanted to use into it before I could upload them which was a very lengthy process.

Q2. Once I'd figured it out I found it ok to use but it did take me a long time bearing in mind I'm not particularly techy.

Q3. I haven't finished my order yet so haven't seen it in 'real life' but at the moment I think it's good value.

Q4. I would recommend it as long as they didn't ask me to help them with it! It was just too lengthy a process!

Q5. I prefer a more traditional glossy finish over matte.

Q6. I've never made or ordered one before so can't comment.

Q1. The process or creating and ordering the photo book was simple and easy to follow, multiple options were available to enable personalisation on each page without being time consuming.

Q2. The software was well designed to allow easy modifications to the book to ensure the output was exactly how the user wanted. The various sections for additional personalisations were easy to follow and search for options. I liked the fact you had the software on you computer instead of using an online function, this allowed quick and effortless addition of your photos direct from your hard drive. The assistant function available within the software is very good especially for a first time creation as this takes your photos and after a few choices creates a finished photobook which you can still go and further personalise or change via some simple options

Q3. The cost of the book is slightly more expensive than other available but given the benefits of the software I would use this in the future

Q4. Yes I would recommend this, as previously stated the addition and functionality of the software allows for a photobook to be created in less time and with more ease that other options

Q5. I usually prefer matte finish on photos but will wait till the book arrives and give an additional answer to this.

Q6. I would switch to Cewe photobook due to the functionality and ease of the software

Looking forward to the book arriving to see the quality :)

Can't get this to work on my MacBook -really annoying

I'm still working on mine, if anyone knows how to move pages (including photos and the page design) please let me know. For example if I want to move the photos on page 4 to page 5, and add other photos to page 4.

Also is there an end date for the promotional code? I hope to have it finished this weekend.

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?
Still creating mine as I want to include some photos from this half term.... But so far, have tried using the assistant initially then decided I would still need to do a lot of editing to achieve the end result I wanted - moving pictures Etc, so have started afain without using the assistant

It's taking a while but I am happy with how it looks, and I know the whole family will love looking back at this year's holidays and days out...

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?

Generally yes but I think that's because I am used to IT and spend all day at work using different packages - I do think others eg my Mum would find it trickier

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 expensive but I think it's worth it ... But if money was tight then I'd think again....

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 because the end product is good - I've made a similar book before as a gift

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
Not seen it yet - will add another post later

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, and from memory I'd say this is better/easier to achieve a great product

mipmop ... Try inserting a new page - there are icons to allow you to do this if not using the assistant....

I also hope the voucher doesn't expire yet as I want to include some stuff from this week coming up before I finish mine

1. I found the the process of creating the book quite straightforward once I'd got the hang of it and had worked out where to click and what most of the features did. It took me all afternoon, but that was probably as much my faffing about trying to make it perfect as it was down to the quite time consuming process itself. I did try to use the assistant rather than trying to build the book from scratch, but then ended up reorganising and changing the whole thing anyway which was then more complicated as I was having to remove what the assist had added. Overall the book allows you to be as creative and make your book as bespoke as you want, assuming you have the time and the patience. Had I not been trying to do it whilst juggling a newborn and a toddler I would have actually really enjoyed making it. All in all, impressive if a little fiddly.

2. I (like a few other people I've noticed) had to download the software 3 times before it actually installed and opened correctly. Once installed it could have really done with a quick wizard to show you some of the features. I have made a book before and so was familiar with the concept, but it took me a while to work out what did what. I'm pretty sure that I only used about 20% of the available features as I just didn't know what all the icons were for and half expected one to delete the entire thing if pressed and so opted to keep it simple. My only other issue was with the photo uploader. I uploaded one of my files from which I wanted to browse for pictures but it uploaded half of it saying insufficient room, and then I couldn't view the rest so ended up copy and pasting directly from my pictures instead which was just a bit more fiddly. With hindsight I should have created a file beforehand which only included the selection of pictures that I wanted to include.

3. I think the RRP is comparable with other full price photobooks on the market. I am planning to make another as a gift for xmas and have received a 25% off code with my book (thank you) however having seen much cheaper offers constantly available through "daily deal" sites, the price could end up being a deal breaker.

4. I would definitely recommend the concept of photobooks as I think they are a fantastic way to keep special memories together, I have to say that I don't really feel blown away enough by this product to specifically recommend it over any other brand though.

5. The true matt finish is nice and the photos are very clear, but I think personally I prefer a slightly glossier finish.

6. I have used a couple of different photobook providers previously. A couple of them have looked more like a scrap book with a hard cover and so far less impressive, but I have a couple from Photobox which I think just have the edge on this product. I think this is owing to the range of themes available as they seemed to have a bigger range of very subtle and tasteful themes for wedding and new baby which were perfect. it could be that there is a bigger range than I could see at first glance as I think that other options could be downloaded, but as mentioned previously I wanted to keep it simple as I was already working pretty much within the maximum realms of my limited technological ability

Overall I am pleased with the finished product and grateful to have been able to try it out free of charge. Would I be so pleased with it having paid full price? I'm not quite so sure.

I've made a couple of photobooks before, but never with CEWE. I think this made it easier to use the CEWE software, as I found it fairly straight forward to work out what to do. I agree with the other reviewers that it's a bit fiddly swapping between photo layouts and your own photos, but I can't see any way round that if you want all your pages to have different layouts.

Things I liked:
1 - The fact that you download the software (which I found easy) rather than having to upload a pile of your photos before creating the book (which you have to do with Photobox, for example) - I keep most of my photos stored on my computer, not online, so the CEWE system suited me more than doing it online. I have a pretty slow internet connection at home, so creating it offline was much faster.
2 - Being able to choose "favourite" page layouts and background colours so that you can more quickly decide what each page looks like
3 - The size of the book is really nice - it feels really special and will be a precious keepsake

Things I didn't like:
1 - It always takes longer than you think to make these things - that's not really a fault of CEWE, just that I don't think I'd normally be able to find time to make a photo book
2 - I found it hard to read the text I typed as it comes up really small on your screen - it would be very easy to make typos and not spot them until it's printed

So overall, I'd choose CEWE over other makes because it's offline so faster for my situation. However, if one of the other companies were offering a cheaper deal or special offer I'd go for them as the books are pretty expensive.

Q1. I love my Photobook and am grateful for the opportunity to review it so thank you. I did mine of my DDs first year (was always planning to do this so this came just at the right time!) and it is just lovely . It was dispatched fairly quickly and well packaged when it arrived. Software was OK, I did it myself rather than let the software create the book for me (control freak!) it took some time to get it how I wanted but was worth the time spent I don't think it is something I could have rushed. Ordering after making the book was simple.

Q2. I found it a faff that the software had to be downloaded rather than being web based. That said it was quick to download and install. I found the software fairly easy to use but I'm pretty sure that I didn't use half the functions! My book was basic pictures on a black background. I liked the options of how many photos per page and how they are arranged. I also liked how a warning came up if the picture was bad quality and if it was too big and becoming pixelated.

Q3. It's not something I would fork out for regularly but is great for a treat. Although I have to admit I would shop around if I ever do another photobook and if someone like photobox were doing them cheaper I wouldn't hesitate to choose them next time. Also to get better paper and more pages the price goes up and up. I wouldn't say it was extortionate but it's a luxury item and I would research carefully to try and get the best deal.

Q4. I would probably mention where I got mine from as an option but the price may put people off.

Q5. If I had another photobook from you I would probably have it glossy. My book came with samples of pictures and I preferred the glossy finish to the matte.

Q6. This is my first photobook so I've never used another company.

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, very nicely made. I like the paper page at the front of the book,mits nice that you're not opening the book right into the first photo. From ordering the book to receiving it was quick as well.

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 took me a few attempts to download the software as got a"file missing" error the first two times but it did eventually work.

I did the assisted design and that worked quite well but couldn't figure out how to replace a photo once I removed one so took a few attempts to get the book near to how I wanted it.

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 photo books are quite pricey to start with. This is the first proper sized photo book I've "purchased" and I am pleasantly surprised and would more than likely order another one for a special occasion.

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 yes as the finished product is lovely.

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

Yes, I prefer it to the glossy photo finish, it makes it look more like a book than a photo album

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 only ordered small a5 soft cover books but the quality of the cewe book is lovely. I would probably use again.

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

I am so impressed with the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK. The book is gorgeous with a hard cover and I am very pleased with the true matt finish. When I compared it to the other paper samples that were sent it was by far my favourite for a book of this kind. I have wanted to create one for a long time but was always put off by the process and to be honest if I had not have been give this to test I would have given up at the first hurdle. Initially I tried to create via my iPad but I could not get it to work, I have to admit this was because I didn't realise that I had to download the software and I really would prefer to be able to create from a web based site. However I dusted off the laptop and tried again, following the instructions word for word... I did manage to download the software easily enough, it did seem to take a while and I wasn't sure if I had completed the task correctly.

Once I got to actually creating the book I started about 4 times before I got the hang of what I was meant to be doing - My biggest piece of advice is to make sure you have all the photos you want to use in one space as I found this much easier - a couple of times I accidently clicked import all into book and they all just dropped into the spaces I had created, but not in the way I wanted! I also found the green tick a massive help once that I had used a photo so that I knew that this picture was already in the book. I liked that I could use a variety of shapes and number of pictures to each 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?

Initially I was wary of downloading the software onto my computer. It also took me a while to get used to the design process and I started over a few times before I got the hang of what I was doing. I found the help pages useful here as I wanted to change the order of the pages at one point and I just couldn't figure it out! I was also unsure of what some of the symbols meant – again the help pages came into their own. I do have to say that once I got used to what I was doing I very much enjoyed the process. I also on occasion got a large exclamation mark in a warning triangle, It would have helped a lot to have a pop up notice to say what the problem was rather than just this warning sign.

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 that this book is really good value for money – It took a lot of work to get the book exactly how I wanted and there were plenty of options available to make it truly unique and tailored to your individual tastes. The book feels really sturdy and the paper is very good qulity

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 haven’t stopped showing people my book since it arrived, my sister came over to visit and I had her looking at it before she even had her shoes off! I have definitely recommended it to people who are like me and have loads of photos on lots of different devices that we renew every two years so quite often lose precious images that we never get around to printing off. I would advise them to make sure they have all off their photos in on place before starting. I would also say that if they are nervous of using a computer or technology that they are not overly familiar with it might be worth having someone a be tech savvy to show you the ropes

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
I was very happy with the true matt finish I much preferred it to the glossy paper which I think would make the book too clumpy

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 had never used another book retailer before as I was unsure of what I would have to do and this put me off even trying to make one. I would now use CEWE PHOTOBOOK again as I have the software on my laptop and I have a better understanding of how the process works.

Just marking my place. Got to pick the book up from the post office Monday as been away this week

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

The download was slow, and the programme wasn't really clear. I started a few books and found them frustrating to make - trying to fill the pages with images was difficult. Quite often I would try and pull a picture to a frame and it would jump somewhere else.

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 technique ended up using of auto filling frames was really easy - I had to pull some frames into the right shape as they had been cropped strangely but the process took all of ten minutes.

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 the book is really high quality, so the price probably represents that - but I think consumers are used to getting deals on this type of product. I would not pay 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?

Yes, I'd say it's a bit glitch but the books are worth the patience.

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

I do, I think glossy looks cheap and this book looks really expensive.

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 probably used all of the main photobook retailers - I'd say other sites are easier to use, but Cewe is the best finished product.

Q1. It was easy to use, simple enough to follow the instructions etc. although took a while.
Q2. Software loaded fine and was very easy to use also.
Q3. If I were to spend that kind of money on a photobook, the hardback was nice, but would expect better quality on the photos - they came out darker in the book than they originally were, though that may have been the matte finish. I also prefer a gloss finish, but that's a personal thing.
Q4. I would probably offer it up as an option, but with that caveat that it's expensive compared to the likes of photobox etc.
Q5. I dislike the true matte finish if I'm honest - if I were paying for it, I would go for a glossier finish every time, it's a preference of mine, and I feel it would have looked nicer in the book, too.
Q6. I have used others, but none of them were hardback books. I do like the hardback, and it will make an excellent extra gift for MIL for Christmas - but if I'm honest, CEWE is too costly for my budget.

First of all thank you for letting me do this. First time I have done one and I am impressed!!!

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

Found it to be very easy - but I have quite a new windows 8 pc if that makes a difference. I used the assistant to create my book but then went and edited it myself to finish it off. Some bits were a bit fiddly but it was just me getting used to it. I changed the font on the cover easily, and the template. Only trouble was I had lots of photos from a special holiday...

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?

Yes easy to use - fairly intuitive I 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?

Yes - but like others I would look for offers (love feeling I have had a bargain). I spent more on extra pages but it was worth it for a lovely keepsake 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?

Yes - I think they'd make amazing 18th birthday presents from parents with photos and momentos from the first 18 years of a childs life. Something to cherish which looks very professional.

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

Yes, I liked it - just like the matt finish rather than glossy.

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?

NA - not used another one before.

Hi everyone,
Hope you're all having a good weekend. This is just a reminder that you must order your photo book today as the voucher code will expire.

Hi MichelleMumsnet, mine didn't arrive before we went away for half term. Will it be to late to leave feedback the week we get back (a week on Monday if I have to collect from post office)?

Ordered. Hard work I thought. Can't wait to see the finished product though

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?
I have only just ordered so will report back when it arrives, but these are my thoughts so far. I have never ordered a photo book before and found it extremely time consuming. It was not helped by the fact that I was unexpectedly away for several nights just after getting the email, so I felt under pressure from the beginning.

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'm not keen on having to download applications onto my laptop, so would prefer it to be web based. The download was very slow.
The software seemed to freeze quite a few times whilst I was creating the book.
I started off with the assistant but it did not work for me as my photo's were all over the place (mainly facebook), so I started again without the assistant.

I feel an introduction for 1st time users would have been useful. Also I thought the assistant would guide me through each step rather than actually putting the pictures into the book for me. i.e. Ask how many photos I wanted on the page, what sort of layout, did I want a background, did I want a text book etc.
I'm very tech savvy, but found the software very frustrating and the help files were pretty useless. If it was not a product trial I would certainly have given up.
The clip art an backgrounds seemed pretty limited to me. I would like to have had more time to try out more of the features.
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 cant really say until I get the book. However I frequently see adverts for discounted photobooks at a cheaper price. If I'm pleased with the book when it arrives, I am thinking of ordering another one.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend CEWE PHOTOBOOK to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?
Depends on the quality of the book, but if I mentioned it, I would warn them about the software.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
I quite like matt finish on normal photo's, so I'm hoping it will look good in the photo 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?
Have never used another one.

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

Okay, I actually order from Cewe A LOT! This was maybe my 10th(?)book from you and I was a bit baffled at the criticisms here for the software.then I remembered that after I updated the software recently on a previous book it had frozen and indeed kicked me out every time I accessed my hard drive for photos. I reverted back to "photoworld4" it shows on my mac as. And it was a fine. Under the new release it kept giving me hardly any photo layout options only "overlapping" using your old software version it was easy.

My book has arrived and I'm thrilled. I had meant to make a photo book for my nan but when it came to it I made an art book of the kids art book (having made the last one for 70.00 using blurb) yours was far superior. Especially the matte effect on the art.

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 I've detailed above the software marked photoworld5 download kicked me out, crashed and gave me limited layout options that I knew were in there having made copious books before. I switched to the earlier version and was fine. I love the drag and drop and how I can toy with layout options to test my ideas.

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?

Hmmm, I paid blurb 70.00 for a similar book and yours was far nicer at 37.99 that's great. However, I use amazon local deals to fund my other books and they come in at 25.00 including postage for 98 pages and based on that, no I wouldn't buy the true matte at that price - lovely as 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?

Absolutely I would. In fact my father in law and I used Blurb because we could use it seamlessly with Lightroom, but it was expensive and the quality was okay. I've urged my photographer father in law to try CEWE as I've had a whole catalogue of family photo albums from you now and they're a real talking point.

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

I do, I really do but perhaps more because I made a coffee table style art book of the kids pictures so they look lovely without sheen or glare on the page. For a normal photo book I perhaps wouldn't opt for it at the higher price because I'm seasoned to accept photos in a glossy finish and so it doesn't matter to me enough to switch.

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 did switch. I had used photo box and blurb, blurb as I say because I could use it through Lightroom which was convenient but in comparison twice the price. I have photo books from 2008-2013 so far often two books per year, plus art books of the kids work, and separate books of their christening a. All bar two now are CEWE as I replaced the other ones as inferior quality.

Thank you for giving me a free book. I'll be back year on year to keep my collection growing.