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?

Overall quite time consuming but straight forward. I'd not created a photobook before so this is possibly common. I was a bit skeptical about having to download the software from an 'unknown' source but having seen how powerful it is that made sense. I liked the ability to work on it at any time offline and over several days, which I did without any issues and it kept all the images, formatting and text etc I'd added. The ordering was simple though I would have liked a final definitive message on screen after placing the order to confirm it, as is standard with most online retail- I was relieved when the email arrived!

The book itself is very smart and is very well finished and really shows the photos off.

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 used the windows download, which downloaded using Firefox with no problems, and was pretty quick, but we have very fast broadband. I'd imagine this could be frustrating.

I found the software very intuitive to use, this might be as I use programs like Powerpoint and Smart Notebook (teacher). The tabs in the bottom left work very well and made it easy to navigate between selecting layout/photo/clipart etc. It was very easy to import the photos. I liked the page layouts, plenty of them and easy to change as well. The drag and drop feature is straightforward. I did find it a little annoying that if you change layout, text/clipart that you have added disappear. I would also have liked the ability to scan photos straight into the program (unless this exists and I couldn't find it) as I wanted to include my dd's ultrasound scan pictures- I had to save as jpg and import them. I found it easy to add extra pages and delete where appropriate. The clipart was a nice touch though not entirely to my taste, I used the odd bit and it does look good printed (a little surprisingly).

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 paid an extra £6 for more pages as I was doing a review of last year, which took the cost of the book up to more than I'd probably want to pay. The book is lovely quality but I don't think I could justify the full cost (especially while on SMP!). DH on the otherhand thought it was worth it. I imagine the £37.99 version must be pretty thin so I wouldn't feel I was getting value for money?

I might be tempted to purchase another one though, certainly for something special like wedding photos.

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 recommend this matte version for special photos; I'd recommend the process of making it to people who are confident using similar software.

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

I'm not sure really. The TM finish looks stunning on the pages with good quality photos (my camera takes better photos outside than in, like many compacts)- very sharp images that look very professional. That's particularly true of the portrait type photos. On those photos with more variable lighting/more going on etc I think a more conventional finish helps offset some of the issues. I think photos have to be professional quality to really make this finish worthwhile.

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 never used one properly before- I had started to make one page once but got quite frustrated - so I would be tempted to use it again as I can navigate the process easily :)

i have tried making a photobook before and found the process very difficult, the main problem was the software downloaded from the company. the crewe photobook was much easier to use. the software loaded quickly and easily. generally it was quite simple, I struggled on a few small things but I think that was just because I am a beginner. the quality of the photobook is outstanding, very professional looking. I think it is quite expensive at £37.99 plus delivery but would use again for special occasions. I have already shown a few people the book and they were also impressed. I like the matte finish of the book and overall I am impressed and would recommend to others

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?
-The idea is fantastic. At first I wanted to create a personal cookbook but in the end I created a book with my OH from our travels. We had truly great time picking photos and creating our 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?

• Very easy to use but I am not sure it would be as easy without Mumsnet instructions :-)

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 most likely not purchase it for myself as I couldn’t justify spending this money but I would consider getting it as a gift for someone and I would be more than happy to receive a voucher for a book as a gift. If you have spare £40 it is a great thing to spend it on in order to keep the memories.

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 certainly recommend it simply because we had a blast creating our book. It was fun.

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

• I am a huge lover of matte but my book didn’t arrive (we only finish our order this afternoon) so I would love to see it before giving a final say on this matter.

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 never used other retailer to make a photo book. I did a few for the kids but they were not “self done” – I just gave photographs to local photographer who put everything together and made us a book. I was always thinking that self making it will be extremely complicated and hard process... boy how wrong was I?

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

I thought the process was quite difficut and it took me over 2 hours to work it 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?

Downloading the software itself was not a problem but I didnt find the experience of uploading my pictures to be easy at all. there is a lack of direction and the help bar was really of no help.

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 have not received my photobook yet, so I cant really comment on the finished product. I did find the software to be difficult to use and not very user friendly.

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 not seen the finished product but actually using the software is difficult and I am more technical compared to the majority of people I know.

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

In general I have always prefered matt finishes to gloss.

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 never used a photo book retailer but I imagine that they are not all as difficult.

I had an email from customer service saying they will send me out a new photobook with my error resolved. Apparently it was due to Automatic Image Correction being turned on for an image that was already edited. To technical for me but I'm glad customer service is very helpful and there for you when you need them - something very important when you are purchasing online!

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 process quite long winded - I started and stopped and restarted quite a few times, and eventually decided to use the assistant, which still came with its own set of problems as it seemed to have a mind of its own as to how it clipped or zoomed the photos in order to fit them on the page. I also checked and checked and rechecked my book before i completed it, and i'm a bit disappointed that now it has arrived, one of the photos that i had repositioned due to the software chopping my head off has repositioned itself back to where it was and now the pic looks terrible as we are headless, and also i had three pictures on the final page and when it has arrived one of the pictures has disappeared!

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 a pain in the neck to download, it crashed once and corrupted once before I finally got it working. If i had been paying for the book I think i would have given up to be honest. When i did get it working i thought it was a little over complicated and difficult to work out all of its features without spending hours and hours on it, and the clipart features etc have the potential for your book to end up quite amateurish. I also struggled with the book title on the front page, i couldnt get it to do what i wanted so in the end i deleted it completely and left the book untitled.

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?

Apart from the missing heads and the photo that is missing altogether i am quite pleased with how it looks, it certainly looks like a quality product; however my book would have cost in the region of £50 and I dont think that this is particularly good value for money, especially given the difficulties creating it, though I appreciate that the software development is probably a part of this cost. I probably wouldn't purchase a CEWE photobook again at this price, especially as i wouldnt have been happy with the problems had i paid. For something similar I would probably pay about £25.

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 probably recommend it to friends who were quite PC literate, though I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is not good with computers. I would also point out the problems I had with it though.

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

Yes i do, i think it gives the book a luxury and more professional finish.

1. 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 hadn't used one before, but ironically i would use one again - just probably not the CEWE one - Id be more inclined to try a web based retailer so I wouldnt have to struggle with the software so much.

1. Mixed impressions. I liked that I could design it myself a photo book and it comes in the post to my home, rather than having to print it by myself or go somewhere. But I found the software really difficult to download.

1. I found the software poor very hard to download and load on to my desktop. As it is not something I or most people would use often a easy and simple download would be better.

I liked the feature of using Facebook pics, but unfortunately although I selected some they would not load.

1. To be honest althougth I like the end result, it a nice keepsake and lovely finish. I do think the rrp it a bit much for a matte book and have seen cheaper.

I would like to have more book like this but will shop around for a good price or deal.

1. Everyone that has walked thought my door has been show the book, yes I would recommend you finish photobook

1. I never had a photobook before but I do love the finish and style of the true matte photobook

1. N/A

Ok so 8 days after ordering my photobook has arrived. I'm pleased in general with how it looks - see more detailed comments below.

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 is probably a fair, full price, however, sites like Photobox always have offers on their photobooks so I never pay full price. Assuming similar offers were available I would use CEWE photobook (although not true matte - see below). I did like the opportunity to add videos - if I was doing the book as a gift for relatives it's a lovely way of sharing clips with them.

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 still think so.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
I didn't like the finish. It almost didn't seem as sharp some how. My photobook came with an envelope of photos printed on different papers and I preferred the standard paper and the premium photographic paper. I know you can get reflections with the standard paper but I don't really find that a problem.

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 liked the CEWE process but didn't think the product was vastly superior to e.g. Photobox so it would probably be price dependent.

Thank you for letting me try this, I am still in the process of arranging my book.
Downloading the software can be problematic, I have used this before. You have to be tech savvy, someone who wasn't would struggle not only downloading but managing the hole process and learning how to use the software, however I am managing to produce my book, its nice to be able to save it and keep coming back to do a bit more. Have used other companies and stopped using one completely because of thier software. I would use Cewe again. Just need to add also that you do need a computer which fast. I cant comment on the finish yet as not ordered my book yet! I'm normally a glossy finish fan though.
I would recommend this software only if they tech savvy or if I was around to help.
Price is probably a bit steep but hard to say as have not seen my finished book yet! If quality is good I will pay for it, over the years I have learnt the hard way that quality of printing varies so much. I will come back post when my book arrives.

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

It was easy to create and order the book - I liked being able to download the software and then upload the images I used at the end, rather than uploading all the photos first which can take ages, and then not using them all anyway.
I was slightly disappointed by the colours on the printed book - the photos seemed over saturated (and were taken with different cameras, and also printed out from another site with no problems, so definitely wasn't a photography issue).

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 above, liked being able to do this offline. It was easy to use and customise the book, easy to swap photos about and change the layout, and I didn't run into any difficulties with it. I dragged and dropped photos from my hard drive directly into the photo boxes, and it worked perfectly. I like the ability to add different backgrounds and text too.

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 was slightly expensive. I am not sure if I would buy one again as although I really enjoyed creating the book, I felt it was let down by the over saturation in the printing. Skin tones looked great on photos that had been taken with a flash, but on non-flash photography, they looked rather orangey or red. I am not sure if the software 'enhanced' these, or whether the printing did, but my newborn baby looks like a tomato in one photo, whereas the actual photo - which we've had printed elsewhere - is perfect.

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 ease of creating the book and the software but would caution people to ensure their photos were not 'enhanced' by the software.
Delivery was also slower than I had expected, and was surprised I didn't have to sign for the photobook seeing as it was quite expensive.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
I love the feel of the book but am unsure whether the colour changes are related to the finish or not. If I had perfect skin tones in all the photos I would be able to draw a better conclusion.

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 printed photos via snapfish and found quality of printing better, but not created a book through snapfish before.

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

Overall impressions with the finished product is it is gorgeous! Really impressed with the image reproduction and production values. It feels really well produced, the paper is lovely. The software felt a bit clunky to start with, but once I got the hang of it (which took ages) it managed to get it doing what I wanted. Ordering the book seemed straightforward and easy.

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 initially quite frustrating - I didn't use the assistant as I was using scanned images so the "date ordering" was no good to me. Probably would have been a lot easier if I was making an album of holiday photos or whatever, where date order was more important. I figured most things out in the end, but I didn't find it intuitive. That said I have used other photobook software previously and found it tricky, resulting in me abandoning projects, so I don't think it is any worse than other software out there. It was useful to be able to work offline. A more "generic" range of backgrounds and frames would have been useful, rather than it all being "event" linked.

I didn't use the "auto-enhance image" feature as I edited all mine in Photoshop first, so I can't comment on 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 think it is a bit expensive, but that's a gut feel really - if I broke down the cost of printing hard copies of each picture and buying an album it probably isn't that steep. Certainly the presentation and ability to add text make it far superior. It does feel a bit extravagant, but it is nice to get pictures which normally languish unlooked at on a hard drive out into "real life".

However having received the book I can see that the True Matte is worth having, but I'm not sure I'd have gone for that if it wasn't for the voucher. The pictures have reproduced really well. I was making a "family history" and so a lot of the pictures are old black and white shots which were not that crisp to start with so I was pleasantly surprised with how well they turned out. I'm delighted with it. I would use CEWE again, but probably for really special gifts/keepsakes - I don't think I would do it for say, holidays - significant birthdays or key anniversaries or big events, maybe.

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, but I would warn them it will probably take longer than they expect to get the book put together using the software. It is quite fiddly but worth it.

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

I really like it. I don't like glossy photos as the reflecting light detracts from the image. I don't know how it compares to other matt finishes but the paper quality is lovely and smooth and the images are really crisp.

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 think the software usability is about comparable to other photobook retailers, but I've never been incentivised to get past the frustration factor and complete the job. I would use CEWE again now I have the hang of it, I've invested a lot of time in getting to know my way round the software! Thank you for the opportunity - I'm looking forward to showing off the book to friends!

So CEWE sent out my photobook on 24/10/2014 via packet post and it is now lost, or someone else has I, which I am not entirely happy about! Customer service answered in 2 hours though and are sending me out another.

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

Found it quite frustrating, however once in the swing it was easy enough.

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 ok, crashed twice but got it running eventually, found some of the titling etc a bit awkward but got there eventually, there was a point whe I lost half my book I had created, however unsure if this was me or the software!

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 about right, I probably would buy another if the software was easier and more reliable.

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 it to those who had the patience to do it! I think those who aren't necessarily as used to technology would get fed up with it.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
I prefer it personally as I believe it gives a better overall look

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 before, started to create one with Mothercare, but again stopped because it was just annoying and to time consuming.

Just received my photo book so need to add a couple of comments.

I am delighted with my book, the finish is lovely and all of the photos have come out really well. I like the matte finish and compared to the samples that they sent, I think it is my favourite finish although I will have to keep DD away from it as it looks like it will tear easily and she is an 18m old page ripper!

As for the price, I think it is well worth the cost and I will definitely recommend to friends and family in the future.

Thank you so much to MN and CEWE for my lovely photo book, I can't wait to show it off!

I couldn't create mine. Whether it was because it was from the downloaded app and using an iPad idk but the photos wouldn't transfer on to the template. Sorry but thanks for the opportunity.

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?
Well, I actually found the process quite time-consuming and frustrating to begin with. I initially wanted to make a photo book of my late dd's life, so I spent a long time sifting through to choose my 144 favourite photos, which was an emotional job... Then the site crashed and I lost all the work I'd done. After that, I couldn't face doing it again, so I just chose other photos of my ds' first 3 months instead.

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 design assistant fairly easy to use. I enjoyed adding clip art and changing the backgrounds and frames.

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 like to see my finished book first before commenting on this.

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'm not sure if I would recommend as such, but I would mention it as an alternative product on the market- I'd never heard of CEWE before now.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
Again, I need to see the finished product.

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 Tesco and Snap fish- this product felt more difficult to use, but more personalised as a consequence.

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

The book itself is fantastic, looks the part as a coffee table book, very professional and a great keepsake but I felt the design and delivery werent fantastic.

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 difficult to navigate, despite working in IT! I tried to use the assistant but found it put the photos in a really random order and it was difficult to figure out how to change it, for example the photobook was of our wedding day and I couldnt change it from having the front cover as a picture of my husband and another woman! Much as I love our friend I didnt want her to be the focus ha ha! I found that no matter what I tried it kept putting the 2 of them on the cover! I eventually put all my photos in manually but felt it was not very user friendly doing that and to be honest if I had been ordering off my own back I would have given up and used somewhere else as the frustration was too much in fact I completely gave up and went back to it the next day as I was so annoyed! The software kept freezing and at first I thought it was due to the aincient laptop I was using, so I swapped to another newer one and had exactly the same issues, so it was evidently the software at fault. I also found it wasnt very intuitive despite using a variety of different packages on a daily basis I couldnt get to grips with how I put the album together so it felt very frustrating and left me feeling stupid and unable to carry out a simple 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?

I think it is good value, the quality looks and feels much more expensive and good quality, I think I would if I could avoid the fiddly feel of the software, if I had to use the same method the thought would completely put me off, no matter how great the book looks. I certainly wouldnt recommend it to anyone who has any issues using computers and there would be no way they could get their head around 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?

Id recommend the book but not the software or the delivery it took 9 days despite the website saying 5-7 and I had actually contacted them by email to query if the delivery had gone missing, they were efficient in their reply and of course sods law meant it arrived just after I emailed!

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
I think it looks better than a glossy photo paper look, more like a book and exactly what I would want as a finish, a friend has a photobook that feels more like an album than a book. It feels expensive and therefore more special as something to keep

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 havent used another photo book retailer before

Has anyone else had emails from CEwE - are we meant to be answering them ?

I haven't had anything nerf

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

We found it really easy to use and was reasonable quick to do. We have made a few photobooks before with other companies so this probably helped.

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 easy to use once we had worked out what everything did

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?

Whilst I did initially think it was expensive I then thought how much I used to spend on printing photos and buying a photo album and the time involved sticking the pictures in the album and actually it isn't that bad a price. It is also comparable with other companies so I am happy with the 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, we found it easy to use and the photo book is great

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

I quite like the finish, it makes a change from glossy prints

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 it easier than any companies and would definitely switch. I received a discout voucher from Cewe a couple of days ago and was going to make another one until I realised that it was a voucher to buy another copy of the same photobook but I will look out for another offer and make another one then

Despite spending the last two days on it, I still can't get the software to load. Not sure if it's me, or my ancient laptop but it just won't load. Thank you for picking me but I'm sorry that I can't test it thoroughly

I'm another one who has struggled and given up I am afraid.

Firstly, it took a very long time to download the software (2 year old laptop, Windows Vista). About an hour.

I found the software very unstable and it freezes/crashes when I try to do much with it. I didn't find the editing features very instinctive, and actually rather frustrating.

I tried to import some pics from Facebook, and some from my hard drive. The photo book would only save them from one source.

I've probably spent 6 or 7 hours on this and havn't even managed to import the photos I want. I've given up. I am afraid I find a well-known competitor much easier to use. But thank you for the opourtunity.

I received my cewe photobook and I like it although it is smaller than I thought it would be. The true matte finish was more forgiving to the 'snap shot' photos (eg iphone pics). If I was putting together a book from dlsr pics I probably would have gone for the photographic paper finish.

The software was surprisingly hassle free to download, even on my ancient non - flash playing Mac, but the process of putting together the book took a long time and the number of templates, layouts and options was a little overwhelming.

The book came in at around £42 which I thought was pricey. I would look at paying around £25, but I liked the finished product so might recommend it to friends who were not able to access an Apple photo book.

q1.) Looking at the website i thought it looked great and easy to use and i liked the fact you could download software to your comp so that you could add photos in your own time.and i love the fact that you can create the book at home then it gets posted to you. However i found the process of creating the book difficult. I have not recieved my book yet so i can not comment on the actually book.
q2.)I found the software really difficult to use, i spent hours trying to create the book and in the end i actually give up and was not going to order the book as the software kept crashing and freezing on me and i chose to use photos off facebook and hardly any of my facebook photos were coming up and when i was managing to add photos they kept vanishing and it kept saying i had blank pages when i kept checking and i never. I did however decided to try again ordering and used photos that i already have saved in a album on my pc and found it much easier although it did still take a couple hours and kept freezing.
q3.)yeah i think that it is good value for money as i think that you would probably buy something like this to create a book of special memories such as a wedding / christening / holiday etc and it probably works out about the price you would pay to get photos printed and to buy a album to put them in. I probably would create another book as i like the idea of them and it is a nice change to a photo album and will make a nice keepsake or present.
q4.)yeah i probably would do but i would have to warn them to make sure that they have photos saved in a ablum on there pc before creating the book and to be patient with the software.
q5.)i have not recieved my book yet so i am unable to comment on this yet.
q6.)I have not used another retailer before so i can not compare but apart from the software qlitches and it not uploading my facebook photos i found everything else good .

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

Only just ordered it so will post what I think when I get it. Creating - For some bizarre reason every time I logged onto my computer it downloaded another version of the software for about a week - I think I have 5 downloads! I'm pretty savvy when it comes to this kind of thing but I did find it confusing initially. I tried using the assistant thingie but it just wasn't what I wanted so I had to start again planning it myself. I probably would have made a better job of it but by then I was losing the will to live so I rushed it. I'm normally quite detail focused so I#ll be interested to see if rushing through ends up with a less well considered bok than I might otherwise have got

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 - I would have been better off going straight to design myself not losing the will to live with the assistant

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 its a reasonably competitive price, will comment on whether I'd buy one again when I've seen 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?

Not sure yet...

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

Will let you know - instinctively I'd probably normally go for a gloss 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?

Not used before though have looked at a few and not bought