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

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 pleased with the book. It was relatively simple to order and the downloading of the software was straight forward and pretty simple to use.

I am disappointed with the quality of the prints, there are many grainy pictures which is clearly down to low resolution. I would have liked a warning about his before I continued with he book. Other photo book creators offer this facility.

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 really simple to use BUT had I not been taking part in this test I would have been very reluctant to have downloaded it. I just don't like the faff of having to add something to your computer, I would much prefer to work on a website based package.

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?

Its very expensive!! I have ordered from Photobox and Blurb previously and have to say for the cost I really don't feel I got a better product. I would stick with the Photobox 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?

Sadly I wouldn't.

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

No, I think the paper feels like simple copier paper and I like the idea that a page in a book such as this feels glossy and 'fancy'.

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 use Photobox and I think their quality is better than that of the Cewe book. I wouldn't switch to Cewe as I think the products are very expensive.

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

The book looks really nice. Very professional and high end looking.

The process was a bit of a pain. I wasn't expecting to have to download software. Most photobook websites (and I've used a few) use web base software.
I was initially pleased with the choices in layout for each page but then discovered that there were very few options that didn't alter the proportions of the photos. I have a good number of photos where I love the entire composition. Almost all of the options resulted in a good deal of each photo being cropped out. I found this really frustrating.

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've read in other people's reviews about functionality in the software that I wasn't aware of. I'm quite tech savvy but I didn't notice these functions (like the letter/image function). I think the menus or buttons on the toolbar could highlight these features more effectively.
I was frustrated at not being able to zoom out on uploaded photos at any point. I was unable to zoom out on photos that the software had already zoomed in on. I was also unable to zoom out on photos that I had just myself zoomed in on. The zoom out button seemed entirely pointless.

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 this price point is pretty much in line with the competition. I wouldn't flinch at the price. I don't think I would use it again due to the frustrations mentioned above, particularly the lack of opportunity to use photos in their original proportions.

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 be happy to tell them that the end product looks great but would tell them that most of their photos would lose the sides or top & bottom. I don't know if I would recommend them. I would tell them about about my experience of it and let them make their own decision.

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

The True Matte finish does look nice but I haven't seen a photobook that I haven't liked yet, whatever the finish. I don't think it's different enough for it to be a particular hook for me.

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 used other photo book retailers before and I would be surprised if I would switch to CEWE now. Predominantly because I feel that I couldn't display my photos in all their glory. I have experience greater flexibility in the area with other retailers.

(My initial responses pending receipt of the printed photo book)

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 seen the finished product yet. I found the process wasn't particularly intuitive- I was looking for features that I'm used to from manning photo books with photobox. I had to use the Help facility to locate some features, or to understand CEWE's processes. I found that some on-screen icons did not help me understand what the button was for, perhaps the images chosen could be better.

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 sure that I'd download software and spend so much time learning how to use it if I hadn't been given the code (thanks for the code.) I found the launch screen odd and not intuitive. Hopefully the finished product will make me feel the effort of learning to use this software was worth it- once I'd worked out how to move pages around and duplicate pages I found that very 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?
Without seeing the product it seems slightly high. Perhaps once I've seen the finished result I'll think otherwise.

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 wouldn't particularly recommend it over CEWE's competitors. Again I may rethink this after seeing the finished photo book.

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

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 found photobox was easier to get started creating a photo book. Once I got over the surprise at downloading software I did like CEWE's speed of choosing photos to add to the book. I suspect CEWE has a product that would suit people who create photo books reasonably regularly. I create one each year so would have to relearn CEWE's process next time. If I created more photo books, or created them more frequently, I expect I'd find CEWE to be more feature-rich and worth the effort of learning the software properly.

I ordered my book last week and was informed on the 22nd Otober that it had been dispatched.......still waiting for delivery but will give feedback when it arrives.

October

Bicnod, if you leave your feedback next Monday that won't be a problem.

Thanks for the opportunity to trial this product, regardless of the feedback I'm about to give I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity.

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 a fantastic idea but the process took me around 6 hours from start to finish and just when I thought I'd finished it decided it had to do a lot more processing adding another 30 minutes on. If I was paying for it I would have given up after an hour.

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 the easiest - I don't have windows, I have a MacBook and it was difficult finding the photos I wanted to use. I had to create a new folder on my mac to do this easily. The software downloaded and then I couldn't find it (but that was probably my own fault as I don't download much ... Because I can NEVER find where it goes to - maybe I need lessons on how to use my MacBook for stuff other than browsing the web and looking at photos)

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?
Far too expensive. Now that I've done one I know what to expect and if they had a 50% off deal then I'd probably do another one but the full price doesn't seem good value.

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'd tell them the book looks great and to see if there were any offers on. I'd show them mine and let them make up their own minds on whether to spend a substantial amount of cash on one of these.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
The sample of the premium glossy / premium papers are much better and the books would be more substantial with those. The book sent seems like the pages will mark or tear far too easily and I want to get some of those special white gloves before letting others carefully have a look at my 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 had one of these books previously - I started a few with other companies and they were time consuming so didn't bother finishing or ordering them. If this one hadn't been free to trial I wouldn't have bothered - after an hour I'd have given up.

I'm still working on mine so will try and finish ASAP then message when it arrives

Unfortunately I couldn't do mine - really frustrating as I was really looking forward to my photobook. The software downloaded on my laptop but then would go no further - and I had no information as to why not so I couldn't try to solve the problem. I can't tell if it was a problem with the software or something else, but was really annoying.

Still waiting delivery of my photobook, will complete feedback when I receive it

I too have been unable to create mine.
software just would not fully download.
I feel the download is not needed and therefore plenty of sites where this is not needed.

the cost seems very high compared to others though obviously with no book I cannot comment on quality

Oh I've just had an email and my voucher has expired. I'm still struggling with the software

I gave up in the end, software downloaded ok but took ages. The problem came with uploading photos- none of my photos were ok, all came with the low res warning and the software cropped them all meaning they were unusable as I couldn't centre them to where I wanted the focal point to be. I've had no problems printing at home, printing at 300dpi so don't know what the issue was .

THANK YOU for extending the code. I am half way through making my book and will finish tonight or tomorrow. The thing is a huge pain in the ass to make, that's my first bit of feedback.

I ordered my book last Monday and I received notification of despatch last Wednesday but it hasn't turned up yet - the post hasn't yet been today though - will leave feedback as soon as it arrives as I'd like to be able to answer in full

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

I love my True Matte CEWW PHOTOBOOK, it loks fab and I have shown it to everyone who has been to our house, I have taken it to work and probably bore them to death looking at pics of my girls through the years!
I did find the process a bit tricky, it was time consuming and I did get annoyed/frustrated....however that all pales now that I actually have the book in my hands.

When the book arrived my two girls were out so I left it on the cofee table for them to see when they got home. I heard them laughing and talking for ages, they loved the book and said it was a real trip down memory lane (said the 17 year old!!)

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 didnt find the process easy. I have an ipad and used that, at first we were not advised that this would not work. I downloaded the app and it was a nightmare. I phoned the helpline and was advised that it should be ok to use the ipad as long as I went on the website rather than using the app. several unhappy hours later I realised that it wasn't going to work. Phoned helpline again and was told that it would probably be best to use a pc. I had to download the software at work and do it in my lunch hour. It obviously took longer than my lunch break but my boss doesn't need to know that!!

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 find all photobooks quite expensive but I know that this is because of the software involved. I do think the book looks great and I am very proud of it. My daughter is 18 next year and I will look to doing one for her to keep as I think it makes a lovely gift and a great talking point.

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 recommended CEWE PHOTOBOOKS to all family and friends who have seen my book, really I should be on commission! Some of my family thought it was quite expensive but that it would be money well spent as it is something that you will always have and you would want to look after it.

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

I love the True Matte finish, it looks expensive and I've never liked glossy photographs. I think everything looks better in matte.

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 seen other photobooks but never bought one. In my considered opinion mine looks better than others I've seen (possibly because it has photos in of my own girls so I am biased!) The book looks expensive and good quality, others I have seen have been a bit flimsy. I don;t think I would like a softback book as they would be easier to bend/damage. I will purchase another CEWE photobook as they are great to keep and look back on. I'm going to get one for my daughter's 18 next year, I will fill it with embarrassing photos of her when she was little.

With Many Thanks to Mumsnet and CEWE !!

Mine was dispatched last Wednesday but I haven't received it yet. Hopefully it will arrive in the next day or so and then I will post feedback then.

I am just waiting for mine to arrive so I can answer all the questions at once

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

I still haven't received my photo book but will update once it has arrived. I found the creating process frustrating to start with but soon got into the swing of things.

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 downloaded with no problems and once I found my way around it, I found it easy to use. Less buttons and maybe more menu- style options would be better

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 sounds like a very good price, however I would like to wait until my book arrives until I could say whether it is worth the money in quality.

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

From the process so far, yes I would recommend CEWE. Again, I will wait until my book arrives before making a decision on whether I would recommend it.

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

I haven't seen the true matte finish yet so I will answer this when my book arrives.

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 any other photo book provider before.

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

I didnt find it particularly easy - I used Blurb previously and found it much more intuitive. Also, I orderd the book and when I pressed done therewas no message to say that the book hadbeen ordered - I had to go to the help site to see that apparently an email will be sent within 12 hours of me clicking DONE - I hope I ahve ordered it after all that work!

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 didn't like the look of it - the red colour etc. Also, too many buttons - I did the whole book without using 80% of the various buttons available on screen. Too complex by half! Maybe there should be a profession and a more basic less complex interface?

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 havent recived the book (not even sure if I've ordered it) so I'll reservie judgement. Also, I dont like the fact that you cant send abroad.

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 preferred Blurb to be honest - sorry....

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

I haven't seen it yet...

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 - for the reasons above - sorry...

Just wondering how long other people's books took to arrive ? I had the email to say it had been shipped last Wednesday but nothing yet.

My book has finally arrived. It seemed to take a long time from being dispatched to actually turn up.

I reviewed the software earlier and I think I'm the only person who liked it :)

On the whole I'm slightly disappointed in it. The colours don't seem quite right. I think maybe the contrast is too high? There's something that doesn't look right. There also seems to be too much red in some of the pictures (these are high res 'green smile' pictures which look normal on the screen). I also ordered some smaller standard paper copies as presents and they have the same issues with the colours- so I guess it's how the photos are processed or the printer settings.

The cover looks quite nice. The matt paper is quite nice, but to be honest I prefer the standard paper. I think the matt paper would be nice if you were making a different type of book- maybe of art or cookery.

I would be very disappointed if I'd paid £50 for the book and feel as though the £20 each I paid for the smaller books was too much and that they look a little cheap.

If I were doing another photo book I'd try a different company.

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

It was so easy to download and use the programme. I did it on my PC using the Windows programme. I couldn't believe how easy it was to navigate. Every time I thought I'd like to try something new, it only took me seconds to work out how to do it and I managed to do everything I wanted to.

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?

So easy to use and really 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?

It is good value for money. Whilst not something you might make everyday, it is something I would like to make for special occasions.

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

Definitely recommend. I cannot fault the service.

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

I've always preferred a Matte finish to gloss anyway so this suits me fine.

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?

So far CEWE Photobook has been my favourite service and I will be using it again.

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 a bit of a faff to be honest. Downloading the software took forever and crashed a few times. The whole process was pretty slow and quite frustrating. I used the assistant and didn't like the fact that the pictures were put in places that I didn't want them to go. I prefer Photobox where the process is far easier. The whole think took up about three and a half hours of my time which is way too long.

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 complicated. I am used to using things like this as I work in publishing but I reckon someone not so computer literate would find it much harder.

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'm afraid it seems quite expensive. I would probably pay about £30 maximum. So I don't think I would purchase again. There are also so many Groupon type offers out there which are half the price. I have used them and the quality is fine.

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

Possibly, but only to more computer literate people. My parents would find it difficult but younger people may not. I think it needs to be simplified.

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

Matte looks a lot more classier and expensive, It's all about personal preference 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 used Photobox and the process is far less stressful and no software needs to be downloaded. I think I'll stick with them to be honest. Sorry!

I'm on day 6 of trying and approx 25 phone calls later.
After being unable to donwload the software for ages, finally managed.
I uploaded all my photos, used assistant. Photos gone.
Uploaded photos again, same again.
Tried without assistant, could only drag 2 photos.
Uninstalled software as per advice on help line and started again.
Uploaded my 26 photos, hit create now, used 3 photos.
Rang helpline they said to ring back in normal office hours as they couldn't help me!!!
This is the most frustrating system I have ever used. There is no way on earth I would have wasted so much time if they weren't free.
I have wasted all this afternoon trying to do it. And still not managed.
Photobox have an offer at the moment and am sorely tempted to just use them.
I am mainly using photos from Facebook so I don't know if that is the problem.
I wouldn't recommend this company to anyone at the moment.