Photo-book
As a photo book is called a digitally printed book, the pages of the user designed himself on the computer with images and text. Much less common than digitally printed photo books are photo books with prints on photographic paper.
The digitally printed photo books, whose massive launch in Germany took place in 2007, in competition with the traditional photo albums. Before the launch of this digitally printed photo books, the term Photobook referred generally to a printed book, with reference to photography, such as picture books, books about photographic design issues, reference books about photographic equipment, photographic history books, and such.
Production
Customers
Images are captured or scanned with a digital camera. Often using a layout program that can be downloaded free of charge from the website of a provider usually, the images are in a virtual book " stuck " and labeled appropriately.
The program creates the order data and introduce any technical tests on the user input and the images used. The completed order data are loaded via the internet on the vendor's server, alternatively burned to CD and sent by post or delivered via memory card to the dealer.
Provider
The provider takes the normalized order data counter, converts them as necessary in order to print-ready data and produces personal photo book of the customer. Due to the limited working with modern digital presses. The quality of digital printing does not quite manage to connect a conventional photographic print, but is steadily improving. The print image can be compared with the quality of high-quality illustrated books from the bookstore quite. Photo books can also be created via a photofinishing service with genuine includes prints. These ensure a higher photo quality.
Meanwhile, photo books can be designed extremely varied: there are different formats, bindings ( leather, linen, hardcover, softcover ) and bonds, but also offered different papers. As a binding method usually adhesive bond or the more durable thread stitching used. As a cheaper variants very many vendors have also saddle-stitched booklets in the program.
A few days after placing an order the customer gets sent to the pre-printed or exposed in the photo lab and bound photo book.
There are now a number of providers, which differ in terms of their ordering systems, the photo book quality, delivery time, price and service.
Printing process
The quality of the picture book, also depending on the printing method used. With the use of electrostatic printing systems, the quality is lower than in real photo paper.
This electrostatic printing method can not reproduce the full color space and the image quality of the digital camera. Cause is the lossy conversion ( color management ) of the RGB images ( as they come from the camera as JPEG images ) into CMYK format (in which the four-color printing is done ). In the printed image more color points are right next to one another in order to simulate a mixed color. The green of the trees and the blue of the sky are not "naturally " mapped.
Genuine Photo Paper is able to bring all the pixel information of the JPEG image without loss of quality on paper, as in the use of appropriate photo paper for a color space of 16.7 million colors per pixel is available.
So smooth transitions and homogeneous surfaces can be displayed in real half-tones. Halftoning is a printing technique that allows for the approximation of halftones using halftone printing. Another high-quality printing process, in addition to the photochemistry is the Thermo Autochrome process which not for photo books because of the high price - is used - in the sense of photo albums.
The photo books that reflect on special photo paper quality recordings are significantly more expensive. This photo paper is then made into photo books, remember its thick sides something to children's books. Due to the relative thickness side of the photo paper in comparison to the usual weights, which are used in digital printing, in some cases substantially fewer pages are available in the so-called real photo books in a photo book. Also important is the reference to the result of the exposure slightly schwammigere appearance of text in comparison to the screen printing method. Basically is therefore advisable to use larger fonts for the body text of at least 14 points from ausbelichteten books.
Application
In addition to applications in the private sector (eg holiday memories, a substitute for a photo album ) can be realized with photo books and small editions of books in terms of a Book-on -Demand.
Economy
According to the Photographic Industry Association individually created photo books were produced in Germany in 2010 of 5.7 million. The Association looks for this photo finishing product in the future enormous growth potential.