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?

Absolutely awful!!! Had real issues downloading the software. We only have an ipad and a chromebook at home, and couldn't download the software to either of these. I couldn't download the software at work as exe files are blocked. I couldn't download it onto my Mum's ancient PC. In the end I had to borrow a friends Macbook to do it. If I had been paying I would've given up the minute I had to download the software.

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?

When it actually downloaded it was fine. Would've muich rather designed it using web based software though.

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 buy one of these I am afraid. So much easier to do it using Snapfish or Photobox. I have not received the photobook yet so can't comment on 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?

No due to the software issue

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

will have to re answer this when it 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 PHO

Much prefer photobox and snapfish

I got my photobook today. I love it, it looks great. I can see the difference in paper and, now I know what it's like, I prefer the matt finish to glossy and I would probably choose that for other photobooks. I was a bit disappointed that a few of the big photos weren't great quality, especially since I'd been careful to check each one with the little smiley face tool before ordering. Overall I'm very happy with it, thank you!

I received my photobook today so can update my initial review.

Thanks again for letting me try this. Unfortunately I'm disappointed with the final result but that's mainly because I was trying to meet the deadline- which looks like it was extended but I didn't know that last Sunday. Anyway here are my thoughts.

I'm not impressed with the matt paper over glossy photo books I've ordered from other suppliers, however this could be because I'm not impressed with the quality of the printed images. The colours seem off , certainly not how I recall the preview of the photobook looked on screen. It could be the automatic image correction that a previous poster mentioned, or a difference in on-screen colours compared to printed colours. The paper feels nice, and reasonably good quality (important with young children likely to touch the photo book).
Another issue is that in my rush to meet the deadline I have messed up my photo book by duplicating images - both on the same page and on different pages- (I was working on it right up to midnight). I'm sure this wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been working to (the original) deadline, however it is a symptom of the way I found that was best to create my chronological photo book. Ideally I wanted a staging area for each section (in my case, each month) so I'd add the photos (say for January) then choose the best layout for those pages, e.g. I may want to show photos of a particular day out so maybe 2 large portait photos on one page and several small landscape on the opposite page. So I was duplicating pages and moving photos and choosing layouts as I went. In my case it would have been helpful if when processing the book the software highlighted that the same image had been used multiple times (when not working to a deadline I'd have hopefully noticed myself, but an automatic check would be nice).
I only paid £6 for the photo book, I'd probably be really disappointed if I'd paid £60 and messed it up.

Q1. Couldn't download software on first computer, had to try another. Book is nice, some of the photos are a bit blurry but I don’t know if that’s because some of the resolution was somehow lost in the uploading process. Not enough to spoil it though. Creating it was fairly time consuming but simple enough once I got the hang of the software. Given it was a freebie I wasn’t aiming for perfection - I think I might’ve got more frustrated with not being able to get it exactly how I wanted if I’d been paying and/or was more of a perfectionist!

Q2. It was mostly pretty intuitive as someone who’s used to computers - not sure someone less tech savvy (e.g. my Mum) would’ve coped, but then I used the design it yourself version so I can’t comment on the simpler option.

Q3. Honestly I wouldn’t pay that much for it, but that’s probably a comment on my cheapskatedness rather than the quality of the product. I’ve never made one before so I can’t compare prices

Q4 I might say I’d used them and it was a perfectly OK process if someone was looking for options, not sure I’d recommend as such, certainly wouldn’t put people off

Q5 Never had one before to compare but it’s fine

Q6 Never used one before

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

Oh my goodness what a chore getting it done! My original project was a family history book for our children with old photos of the family in, but there wasn't a chance to get that done in time, and I spent 4 or 5 nights doing nothing else. In the end to use the voucher I had to do a completely separate book around a 6mth trip DH and I did before children. I used the assistant but it was still really difficult and in the end I ended up going over my page limit because I didn't know how to use the software properly. I was really annoyed about it at the time, but thought I should go through with the test on time, plus I didn't want to throw away the hours I spent on the damn thing!! That said, now that my book is here I couldn't be happier. It's a lovely memento of our time together, really nice quality and we'll enjoy looking through it for years to come.

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 am not very tech savy and found it really difficult to use. I kept making mistakes and particularly found it infuriatingly hard to alter the size of a photo. Why you can't just pull from the corners and scale it up is anyones guess. My worst point during the process was using the assistant (the original book I did without it). I had spent about three hours choosing photos from the more than 1000 snaps we took and had it whittled down to about 200. I decided to close for the night and clicked out of the assistant. No 'Are you sure?', no 'Would you like to save?' Nothing. All that work lost. I nearly cried. There's not a chance I would have completed this without the free voucher. I guess the complexity of it means you can do more interesting things with your book, but I'm sure that there are a few simple tweaks that could make the process less painful.

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?

Excellent value for money. I love my finished book and I will order the other one I have in progress. I like having it on my computer it does allow me to take my time (although that is necessary!!). I had briefly looked at other photobooks when I first thought of the project and none of them measured up to the scale of the project I had in mind. Now I'm more used to using the software I would probably do so again, if I had something suitable.

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 warn them about the software, but if you're good with computers then I guess thats not such a problem. I am a bit hopeless.

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

Yes I loved the finish of it. It looks better quality than a gloss finish I think. The book is hardwearing. I'm surprised that other posters said the photos hadn't come out well. Our original photos were really poor quality (cheap camera, also several years ago and technology has moved on), but they look great in the book, much better than they do on my computer.

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 but my pal has a couple of books from snapfish. They are fun to look at but I think they look cheap in comparison to this one. I'll definitely use CEWE for any photobooks I order.

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

I did not find it easy to download the software for Ubuntu , I had to enlist the help of tech expert partner, as I was getting lost in directorys and not sure what a needed to do. Once I had the software installed it was quite easy to use. It hung up on me a couple of times but everything was looking as its should when I recovered it. Ordering once I had finished working on the book was straightforward and easy, I was fortunate not to have a network problem during upload as it took quite a long time and we do have frequent network blips ( living rurally).

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 quite easy, and intuitive to use. I was happy to explore the tabs and find interesting backgrounds, masks and frames. I did not find the edit feature easy to use , I didn't work out how to resize photos conveniently and was struggling with frames masking off bits of photo I wanted to see. I seemed to be able to move phots side to side with in a too small frame, but not up and down.

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 an expensive product for the end result. I was underwhelmed by the finished product. Black n white pictures have ended up being very much darker than I expected and lower resolution photos are very pixelated, despite my use of the edit feature ( and gimp ) to resize pictures. I even tried reducing frame sizes for low res pictures but they have printed as a lower quality image than they looked on screen.

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 them to a family member who has a high quality camera and takes high res pictures. I wold not recommend them to another camera phone snapper like myself as I don't think the cost is justified for lower quality images.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
I prefer the glossy finish I have seen in other photo books.

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 another retailer ( vistaprint) to create photo calenders before. I would use them again in preference to Cewe. I would create a calender in preference to a book, I don;t think I have enough quality images in a year to justify a book costing in excess of £30. I also think Calenders make better presents for Grandparents.

cewe photobook had a wider range of backgrounds and frames than the supplier I have used before.

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?
I didn't have any trouble downloading the software. I didn't use the assist as I wanted my photos chronologically organised and I didn't trust the computer to get it right :)
I'm really pleased with the book, I liked the quality of it. Think it looked good. It was left out when some family came round today and they all picked it up and had a look

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 a bit of getting used to. I didn't use many of the available functions. The red eye remover was very good. I found resizing a bit fiddly - had to work out how to drag back the bit of photo I wanted as I just kept resizing the frame and chopping bits off

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 a bit more expensive than I usually use. I'd probably use it if there was a voucher code, but it would have to have a fairly long expiry date as it took me ages of faffing around. Might use it as a special occasion book rather than an every day 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?
yes I would, the only thing I'd say would be that its a bit more expensive than other brands

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
Didn't necessarily prefer it, but I do like it. I'm not sure which I'd pick next time. I think as others have said it might depend on the quality of the photos I was using

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 various other ones. I think price would be the deciding factor to be honest as I don't think there's much between them. I'd just compare prices when deciding where to order from

Really pleased with my photobook. Thankyou very much :)

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?
The photobook arrived yesterday (Thank you Cewe and Mumsnet!) and I absolutely love it. It feels high quality and looks brilliant. It took me several days of emailing to and fro with customer services to get the software downloaded but it was definitely worth it. I now have a wedding album which I never expected.

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?
Once it was downloaded (about a million attempts and 5 days of emails) it was easy to compile but the software would have put me off to be honest, If I couldn't have done it quickly and easily i'd have gone elsewhere.

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 for special occasion books, I personally wouldn't spend that much on a photo book unless it was for a wedding, big birthday gift etc. I have actually purchased a cheaper book from another supplier for the photos friends have sent us of our wedding reception. It isn't as nice quality but was a lot cheaper.

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 for special occasion books or if they have a good discount or promotion.

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 feels high quality and I think it is an attractive finish.
Q6. If you had used another photo book retailer before, how does it compare to CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Would you now switch to the CEWE PHOTOBOOK? If so, why? If not, why not?
I hadn't tried one before but have since purchased a cheaper book from elsewhere which isn't as nice quality but was only half the price.

ok this is what I said before.... (and I'll answer the proper questions :) )

"The software is awful - it crashes, goes "not responding" more times than I can count and takes AGES to load photos from the hard drive.

I've used Bonusprint's photobook software before and it was MUCH easier; easier to choose page layouts, easier to size photos as you want, not as software dictates, easier to design where you want things and a superior choice of backgrounds / clip-arts. I have found the CEWE backgrounds a little lacking in usable designs (the baby section is awful, for example)

I must add here that at this point, I hadn't found the "more" option on backgrounds etc.... after finding that, I was much more satisfied with design options

I don't like the fact that some of the frames/designs change your picture size. I don't want a teeny tiny square with picture corners - I want MY picture to have corners!

I will answer the questions properly when I've received my book... it's still in the process of being made. It's taking ages though because I'm doing it for DS's life so far - he just turned 12!" in the end, I used over 550 photos - it took me ages because there was a lot in there!

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

Overall, once I'd got used to the buttons, it was easy however as others have said - there are a LOT of buttons and I didn't realise the "download more" or "more" (can't remember what it said) option on page backgrounds etc were free to access...

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 is awful - see above

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

I think this is "alright" value - I am poor though so go for companies with amazing Groupon offers, like the Bonusprint £9 one at the mo!

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

Yes, but they'd have to be computer literate and have a lot of time on their hands... mind you, I think it took so long (5 evenings) to do because I am a perfectionist and fannied around a lot!

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

I love it - looks great

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 Bonusprint through Groupon and would probably use them again as they're cheaper (see my comment re: poverty!) and I preferred their software, however if CEWE were doing a deal, I'd use them as I know their software now and like the result

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 surprisingly easy, in fact it was an enjoyable thing to do, I kept it quite basic, the hardest part was selecting which photos to use. Ordering was no problem, very smooth.

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 it was easy to use, I expected it to be much more difficult, I've never created a photobook before, if I can do it I think anybody could.

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, I would purchase again as a gift for family, as money is tight I couldn't afford this for myself but it's a beautiful book and well 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 would recommend it, it's so much nicer than a traditional album and much easier than going to the extent of printing photos, putting them into albums (which they fall out of). If I could I would have every photo I have in one of these. They look beautiful, easy storage, it's a wonderful service.

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

• yes, I didn't think I would but the photos look so natural when they are matte, it's the finish I would opt for given the choice now.

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 another photo book retailer before.

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

Lovely product, took hours and hours to produce.

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's not intuitive in any way. Oodles and oodles of buttons and it's not clear what they all do. I got there eventually but it was like that Doctor Who Google Doodle puzzle where you have to use trial and error to work out how to move the little chap and get to the next level. I just kept thinking 'But what are the blue mountains for??'

Getting the photos pulled across to use in the book was a nightmare. I did the same thing repeatedly and it didn't work the first 8 times and then suddenly seemed to work. Odd.

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?

That price for 26 pages is steep, I think. Especially when it is so bloody difficult to use. I would definitely use it again if there was a Groupon / Living Social or other special offer though, as the quality is good, and once you get the hang of it and have taught yourself what to do, it's reasonably straightforward to create a 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 I probably would, with the caveat of waiting for a special offer, and volunteering to sit down with them and show them how it works. The finished product is beautiful and carefully packaged - I was impressed.

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

Honestly didn't notice the difference.

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

I haven't used another photo book retailer before, but CEWE has a reputation for being good and easy to use. Imagine how un-ergonomic the others must be!

Can't help but think it just HAS to be possible for these companies to create something more user-friendly. I like to think I am averagely tech-savvy - I use the net a lot, am on MN all the goddamned time participate in MN surveys and conversations, use Facebook and do a lot of internet shopping...but I really struggled initially with using the CEWE software to make the photobook.

My mum, who emails, does the odd bit of net-surfing, and is resistant to the point of bolshy defiance about getting a smartphone, would LOVE to make these photobooks, but if I can't get my head around it easily, there is no way she would have the patience to sit and spend the hours working it out.
I bet many older adults would be in the same position.

Anyway, THANK YOU MNHQ for giving me the opportunity to participate in this test. The book looks brilliant - so professional.

Thank you VERY much for allowing me to test this book. despite the critical comments that follow I'm thrilled to have my children's pictures in one place that I can carry with me when I have to travel for work.

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

Overall It's a good program, relatively easy to play with and reasonable to order. However, it wasn't without a few sweary moments and took a LOT longer than I was prepared for to do. If I hadn't been doing it for this, I would have abandoned 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?

It didn't download well to start with and crashed several times on my computer. I 'lost' my book a few times and had to get DH to dig it out of recovered files or something whilst I swore like a goodun! However, one up and running it was similar to powerpoint and intuitive to use.

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

I don't think I would purchase it regularly as our 42 page version cost 54 pounds. We don't have that kind of money spare. I was really excited waiting to see my book, but a little disappointed that 'Large' isn't an enormous coffee table book size, but fits into an A4 envelope with room to spare. Despite the photos all meeting the resolution checker on the software, some appear slightly grainy/blurry compared to other prints of the same pictures. It's not got the wow factor that I anticipated. I had chosen to put between 3-6 pictures per page though which probably detracts from the aesthetic. one page had only one lovely sepia print on and does look much more 'coffee table'.

That said, its a real treat to have put the edited highlights form the last 7 years into a book that we can thumb through with our children easily to narrate the last few years.

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 with the caveat that it's quite expensive for the finish achieved.

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

No. The snaps looked very dull and ordinary/grainy at times. Then again maybe I'm a chav!

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?
More faffy having to download the software, resulting book not better.

I answered q1&2 above and have now received my lovely book, so here are the rest of my answers.

1. 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?

The book is clearly more expensive than printing photos but the quality it's excellent.the book is just like an Annual. Good quality cover and pictures. I would buy one in the future, it would be a great way to store precious photos for future generations to view. I may create my own photo Annual highlighting the years photos. They would also make fantastic presents.

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 found the software relatively easy, delivery was quick and the options. For formatting enormous.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
I prefer a matte finish than a gloss, not really sure why, just personal preference.

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 the Apple Mac photo book previously. This was very easy using a Mac machine. Now that I have a Windows PC I will stick to the Cewe photo book. Can't wait to create my next one.

Thank you for including me in the trial. I enjoyed the experience and am very pleased with the result.

My photobook has now arrived so I can answer the following questions:

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 loved the finished product and I can see it is a high-quality desig. That said, I couldn't afford to make another photobook any time soon with a price tag of £37.99. £25 would be a more afforadle price, and I'd be happy to have fewer pages for this amount.

Q5. Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
I think the True Matte finish is very effective and yes I did prefer it.

Now I have seen the final product, I can change my answer to Q4.

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, for the finished product.

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 great - I especially like the cover. There is a lot of scope for originality of design, although I was time limited so autofilled my 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?

There were some aspects of the software that were not very intuitive, and the dragging and expanding tool was not very smooth or sensitive. Apart from that it was fine.

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

I would probably only buy a photobook when it was on offer. That said it's something to keep for ever, so providing the images do not fade it is good value for 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?

I would recommend it as an option. There are other photobooks which are of equal quality. The main reason that I would recommend it is the cover and flexibility, especially if you have plenty of time.

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

I like the true matte 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

It is of equal quality. I think there may be more flexibility in the software. I tend to purchase photo-book credits when they are on offer. So if there was a good offer on I certainly would use.

Thanks very much for the opportunity to trial.

Mine arrived last week and it is beautiful. I've almost forgotten the trauma of putting it together as it's lovely - really high quality.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to test this photobook. My book arrived while I was away for half-term so I finally got to see it yesterday - it's fab :)

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

Overall impressions are that the photobook itself is lovely. The paper is good quality, the photos are good representations of the originals - true to colour etc. The process of creating the photobook, on the other hand, was pretty arduous, with a few annoyances along the way (see response to Q2. for more on these!)

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 pretty straightforward to use and easy to download, but it could be massively improved. For example, not being able to add or remove fewer than 8 pages at a time made it tricky to get the photobook exactly as I wanted it. Also, downloading photos from facebook didn't work at all for some reason. It would be better to not have to download the software and to create the photobook online.

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 RRP is pretty standard for this type of photobook. However, I wouldn't purchase any photobook at full price, I always wait for discounts/special offers. I would definitely consider purchasing another CEWE photobook if it was discounted in line with other similar photobook retailers' special offers.

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, as I think the quality is lovely.

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

I do prefer the True Matte finish. All my other photobooks have been printed on glossier paper and I think the True Matte finish makes it seem like a higher quality 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 usually use Snapfish. I would probably continue to use Snapfish unless CEWE gave similar discounts/special offers as I only ever purchase photobooks when they are discounted by at least 50%. If CEWE came up with similar special offers I would certainly consider switching.

Just to add to Q6. Snapfish photobooks are slightly easier to create, there are fewer tools and it seems less fussy. Also, it is all online, so no software to download. I also like the fact that with Snapfish I have free online storage of all the photos/photobooks I have ever uploaded/created - could come in very handy if my laptop got stolen/house burnt down!

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

A dispiriting and time consuming process, that was deeply frustrating and a waste of my time and attention. It took so long and was so unweildy, that I have given up and not bothered to press the final button and redeem my voucher code an order for the photo book. It should be intuitive, instead it drove me mad. I completed the photo assembly, after many many hours of fiddling around, but the final book had too many pages for the value of the voucher code. I did everything to downsize it and remove pages, but I was going to be charged a whopping 89 or something for my book. I found it impossible to delete whole pages and consolidate photos, so I gave up and boycotted the rest of the test after struggling for - literally - hours. My blood pressure couldn't take it.

Accordingly, i cannot comment on the quality of the final product. Might be nice, might not be. Frankly, I don't care anymore. The frustrations of downloading the software on to my phone and using the website was enough for me - I won't be using this photo service, even though I am pretty tech-savvy and have successfully used similar sites like Photobox to make photo books many times before with absolutely no issues and in one tenth of the time.

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 deliberately tried to assemble the photobook on my iphone - it is where all my photos are taken/stored. I dare say it might be easier on a PC or ipad, but I want to be able to do this from my phone without downloading photos to another device. Mobile is the future of this technology, so it has to be got right for Apple and Andriod phones - and it is not there yet (understatement!)

And the software was virtually impossible to use in my (bitter) experience -it kept buffering and updating everytime I tried to go back and check pages, which took 1 minute a time. It was not intuative for an iphobne user and the finger movements didnt work.

I deliberately chose to use the feature where the software creates your photobook at the click of a button and arranges them, because i think this is the test of a good software. Well, it simply resulted in mismatched photos with heads cut off, not centered and badly laid out through the book. It also resulted in 80 pages of photos. So, slowly and painfully, I had to go through each page, (it operated a snails pace!) and individually amend, arrange and delete each photo the software had assembled, reposition it and trim accodingly. It was not a little bit of tinkering with photos to amend the computer's response, but I had to change EVERY SINGLE PHOTO!

I think i worked on my photo book for 8-9 hours before deciding I would rather do the ironing and forego my free 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?

Not awfully, no. It's a lot of money for a photobook. The 42 page one we were trialling was closer to 50 and frankly the time wasted on trying to assumble it was enough to think that it was very bad value for money indeed. I will never get those hours back again. The things i do for Mumsnet.....

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

No, absolutely not. Final quality product might be fine for all i know, but it would drive everyone mad.

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

No idea. I won't be getting a final photobook (see above).

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 comparison - your competitors are far far better at designing software. I was very happy with my products from photobox and found it a diddle to use.

What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?
I didnt have a problem downloading the software as others seemed to. However, the software was awkward and frustrating to use. I get a lot of photo books made up, usually from fotobox, but I have used others and never found them this fiddly and limiting.

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 it. it wasn't very intuitive and didn't have half of the features that I was expecting. I couldnt seem to get the photos to the size and layout that I wanted and ended up just using a standard similar layout on all pages. By the end of the book I was bored and fear the book will be boring too.

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've never paid this amount for a similar book as there are always oofers to be had online. I think about 20 is the most I've paid. I wouldnt use CEWE again as it was just too fiddly and limiting.

If it came up in conversation, would you recommend CEWE PHOTOBOOK to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?
No, for all the reasons outlined above.

Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
I don't know as I am still waiting for my book to arrive 10 days after was dispatched despite the message being that it would arrive 'shortly'! Apparently it is on its way. This is far too long and should be made clear at the point of order.

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?
Yes, I've used fotobox and snapfish before. They are both much easier to use, and deliver quickly. I wouldn't switch to CEWE. It's not awful, just not good enough.

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

I haven't received the book yet so can't comment on the finished item, but the process of creating and ordering was a bit of a learning curve. It was frustrating at times, but now I feel like I know my way around the software a bit better I'd like to have another go at designing another book! Will keep an eye out for special offers.

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 fairly straightforward, with some similarities to Word, but I'm sure there were lots of things that I missed which would have made it easier. It took me a full day to do, but I didn't use the assistant. I would have liked to be able to insert extra pages within the pages I'd already done, rather than in a block at the end. I also found that when choosing a larger frame for a picture the software would automatically zoom in on the photo and crop large areas, with no option to zoom out. Sometimes that's fine, but not when it cuts off half of the focal item of the photo! The main issue for me was that my photos weren't in date order, but that's down to having had to create a new folder to drop them into to get them into the photobook. I couldn't select photos easily from iPhoto using the CEWE software, but that might be my lack of knowledge.

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 seems expensive, although the quality of the finished product could well be worth it. I wouldn't buy one at full price as there are cheaper options available, unless it was for a particularly special keepsake. I would be very tempted if CEWE had a special offer or discount available though.

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

Depending on the finished product, I probably would recommend CEWE if someone wanted a special memento. I would warn them to save their progress regularly though - it crashed while I was using it. Fortunately CEWE's recovery option restored my progress, so it was fine.

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 either kind of finish on a photobook yet, so I can't make a judgement on that.

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 made a photobook before, so I can't comment on other retailers. Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to create my first photobook. I will definitely be looking to make more of them in the future.

Q1. What are your overall impressions of the True Matte CEWE PHOTOBOOK and the process of creating and ordering your photo book?
I love the photobook, it's beautiful and I'm so pleased with it. The process was easy enough, it took ages and ages because all my photos were stored to my phone so I emailed myself the ones I wanted to use, quite a lot to fill 42 pages! All in all a straightforward simple process.

Q2. What do you think of the software you used to design your CEWE PHOTOBOOK? Did you find it easy to use, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
It was easy to use, I just wanted a basic photo book, nothing too fancy, no clip art or borders etc. the icons were pretty self explanatory which made life easier.
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, very good value. I'm so pleased with the quality. I would certainly purchase 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 definitely, easy to use and fast delivery.

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! I've never ordered matte finish before but it's really lovely, photos which aren't the best quality look better and it seems to add a professional touch.

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 retailers and the finished product has not been as impressive and the quality is not as good. However, other retailers were cheaper and I could easily create the book on my phone or iPad.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to test this, we are thrilled with the book and it's lovely to keep one after making others as gifts.

As my book just arrived I want to add a reply to Q5.
Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

• the finish of the book is amazing, extremely high quality, shrink wrapped for protection in transit. It looks perfect. The paper quality is very high and matte finish gives it an incredible look. I love it!

I wanted to wait until i received my book before adding all my feedback

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

I had a problem initially downloading the software and found that in the end i could only do it through Chrome. it was exceptionally time consuming to create the book, but the ordering process was easy and the book arrived within a week. that said the finished product is lovely - i especially like the cover with the added small photos

2.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 got very frustrated with it. it wasn't very intuitive and didn't have half of the features that I was expecting. If i wanted to change the photos i found that i had to go back to start of the process, select them all again and try again - this was what took up the time. I used the automatic create my book so this was good, but it put the photos in timeline order rather than mix them up.

1. 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?

As i haven't used a photobook before i don't know if it is good value, however it does seem a little pricey. I would maybe use CEWE again if it made the software easier to use

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

I would say where i got the book from, and direct them to the website but would leave any decisions up to them as to whether to use CEWE

5.Do you prefer the True Matte finish to more conventional finishes, or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
i like the finish of the pictures. i think that a glossy finish would detract from the overall presentation

6.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 another photo book provider so am unable to compare

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

The photo book is very good and the paper seems good quality. The process of creating it was a bit of a pain and took ages to make the book. I did not like that you have to download the software. Software could be easier and faster to use

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 not that easy to use and was a bit slow.

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 thought it was expensive and I would never pay full price for it.

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

Yes, but I would tell them it is quite expensive

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

I wasn’t bothered either way, they are both nice.

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

I don’t like having to download the software so I probably would not switch. If there was a good discount code I may use it again.