“Pro photographer and book designer Mat Thorne presents an introduction to book design principals. This webinar covers an overview of typography, essentials of cover design, and laying out front & back matter. Mat also shares examples and offers inspiration from published photography books.”

Find more bookmaking resources here.

Learn more in my digital printing and digital photography workshops here.

Category: Blurb, Video
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“Mat Thorne, pro photographer and design whiz, shares his secrets for great book design. Mat was the Art Director at the prestigious Maine Media Workshops and has designed books for some notable figures in contemporary photography. In this webinar, he walks you through book design and layout essentials and touches upon tips and tricks to help you with every aspect of bookmaking, from workflow to typography to final layout.”

Find more bookmaking resources here.

Learn more in my digital printing and digital photography workshops here.

Category: Blurb, Video
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Blurb recently updated their free bookmaking software BookSmart (3.0).

New feature highlights include …

Change book sizes automatically with one click, making it smaller or larger.

Create two-page spreads automatically.

Read more about the update here.
Watch more about using Blurb in these useful videos.
Learn more in my Bookmaking lessons.

Category: Blurb
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Start a book project with Blurb BookSmart® and invite others to contribute with GroupBook.

Learn more in my online Bookmaking resources.

Learn more in my Professional Portfolio workshop.

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Manage color with Blurb’s PDF to Book workflow.

Learn more in my online Bookmaking resources.

Learn more in my Professional Portfolio workshop.

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Go beyond the basics of BookSmart. This intermediate webinar explores several design ideas you can use in your books. Part inspiration, part instruction, you’ll get some great tips straight from Blurb’s designers.

Learn more in my online Bookmaking resources.

Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

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Learn how to: create your book; work with photos, text, and layouts; upload your book; and more.

It’s surprisingly easy to do!

Learn more in my online Bookmaking resources.

Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

Category: Blurb, Books
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Mat Thorne, pro photographer and design whiz, shares his secrets for great book design. Mat was the Art Director at the prestigious Maine Media Workshops and has designed books for some notable figures in contemporary photography. In this webinar, he walks you through book design and layout essentials and touches upon tips and tricks to help you with every aspect of bookmaking, from workflow to typography to final layout.

Learn more in my online Bookmaking resources.

Learn more in my Publish & Exhibit workshop.

Category: Blurb, Books, Video
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The cover of your book is your best chance to catch someone’s eye. In this webinar, photography book editor Alan Rapp uses examples from iconic works and Blurb books alike, and shows how the cover draws the viewer in.

Learn more in my online Bookmaking resources.

Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

Category: Blurb, Books, Video
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You won’t believe how easy Getting Started with Blurb BookSmart (2:12) is. If you’ve ever made a book traditionally you’ll be amazed. If you haven’t you may be tempted to take this new found ease for granted. The mechanics of making a book has never been easier. The art of making a book (editing, sequencing, designing, etc) has never been more important.

Learn more in my online Bookmaking Lessons.

Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

Category: Blurb, Books, Video
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booksmart_fineartmetals

“Booksmart Studio’s inkjet printable fine art metal allows you to print directly on metal surfaces, the metal has a coating applied to accept most popular inkjet printer inks. These fine art printable metals are offered in aluminum and gold and provide a very durable & luminous print. Users must print with a printer that allows direct pass through for paper. The fine art metal series has an adhesive backing to make mounting an easier process, this adhesive backing is optional in certain sizes. The inkjet printable gold and aluminum allow users to create prints that are unlike any print produced on paper.

Users must overcoat the metal after printing due to then nature of ink sitting on metal, one can coat with Clearstar Coatings for a matte, semi-gloss, or gloss finish. One can also laminate the fine art metals, which is often more accurate and reliable but expensive for initial setup. Waterproof ink will run because the ink sitting on the inkjet coating, please remember to overcoat or laminate your prints.”

Prepared metals come in Satin White, Brushed Silver, Matte Silver, Satin Silver, Satin Gold.

Find out more here.

Learn more about digital printing with my online Lessons.
Learn still more in my DVD Fine Art Digital Printing.
Learn even more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

Category: Printing
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BlurbDamages

If your Blurb book was damaged in shipping or has a production defect (like banding or improper binding) Blurb will replace it. Simple email them a picture of your problem to start the process.

There are a number of things that can go wrong that Blurb can’t cover, which you can control by carefully checking a file before you upload it.

Here’s Blurb’s Return Policy.

Blurb guarantees your satisfaction with the workmanship of your book. On the off chance your book arrives damaged or with a manufacturing defect, contact us via Blurb’s Customer Support within 14 days of receipt. We’ll make things right. Please understand that Blurb does not provide refunds or cancel orders, and except for the cases expressly described in this return policy (i.e., your book arrives damaged, with a manufacturing defect or a defect in workmanship), Blurb cannot otherwise accept returns.

Please note that each book you order from us is individually made by one of Blurb’s top-notch professional book-printing partners. There may be minor differences across different prints of the same books and/or across books printed by our different book-printing partners, including, but not limited to, slight variances in color fidelity and binding type. While we work very hard to keep our product as consistent as possible, this variation is a normal occurrence and is not considered a manufacturing defect or a defect in workmanship and does not qualify for a reprint.

When Purchasing Your Own Book…

Your book is all yours: Blurb does not proof, edit, or change your content in any way. This means it’s your responsibility to review your book before you publish, and fix:

- Typos, grammar, unfinished text, or other text errors

- Low-resolution images that may appear blurry in print

- Dark images that appear dark on screen (Blurb doesn’t lighten your images to match what you see on a backlit screen)

- Design issues, including book format, organization, style, color, and page layout

- Any other creative choices you made in Blurb BookSmart® or PDF to Book you want to revisit

We strongly recommend printing a hard copy of your book on your local printer for a final once-over. (You might ask a friend to look it over, too.) If you find changes you’d like to make, no problem. Just make them in Blurb BookSmart® or your original PDF to Book file, upload the revised book, and then order as many copies as you’d like.

When Purchasing a Book From the Blurb Bookstore…

Blurb is not responsible for the quality of the content of any book in the Blurb Bookstore. Each book you purchase from the Blurb Bookstore is custom printed only upon your order, and we don’t warehouse books, therefore we do not accept returns or process refunds for any reason, except to the extent we guarantee your satisfaction with the workmanship of our books, as described above.

Learn more with my Bookmaking Lessons.
Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

Category: Blurb, Books
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BlurbColorVideo
X-Rite and Joe Brady offer this free 52 minute webinar on how to get great color in Blurb books.

video Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Your Book (37 Minutes)

Learn how to: create your book; work with photos, text, and layouts; upload your book; and more.

video Blurb BookSmart® Design Tips and Techniques (26 minutes)

For those who already know the basics of BookSmart, this intermediate session explores several design ideas you can use in your books.

video Using InDesign® to Make a Blurb Book (3:33)

A short three-minute introduction to using Adobe InDesign® to create compliant PDF files by using the Blurb PDF/X-3 Export Preset and the Blurb Templates.

Learn more with my Bookmaking Lessons.
Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

Category: Blurb, color management
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BlurbJulyDiscounts

Make a Blurb book by July 31 and get 20% off. Blurb is declaring July “Digital Photo Liberation”. Liberate all those holiday/wedding/baby/you-name it photos locked away in your camera and on your computer. Set them free – get them out of the digital world and into the physical world – in a book made by you.

Simply type in the appropriate promo code at checkout.

–  USD $ coupon code: LIBERATION
–  GBP £ coupon code: LIBERATION1
–  EUR € coupon code: LIBERATION2
–  AUD $ coupon code: LIBERATION3
–  CAD $ coupon code: LIBERATION4

Learn more with my Bookmaking Lessons.
Learn more in my Bookmaking Workshop.

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BlurbVolumeDiscounts
With Blurb you can order one copy of your book or many. Volume order discounts begin on orders of ten or more copies of the same book. For orders of 1,000 or more, Blurb offers offset printing for better economies of scale. Your discount grows along with the size of your order.

What are the discounts?

10    – 199     10%
200 – 400    15%
401 – 999     Request a POD price quote here.
1000+          Request an Offset price quote here.

Find out more and get answers to these frequently asked questions here.

–  Do I need to order a proof book before I submit a volume order?
– Will my volume order books look like my proof book?
– How much is shipping?
– How can I get a price quote for a volume order?
– What is the total turnaround time for volume orders?
– Why do volume orders take longer to process?
– What are my payment options for a volume order?

Learn more with my Bookmaking Lessons.
Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

Category: Blurb, Books
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BlurbPBNContest
Only two more weeks remain in Blurb’s Photography Book Now contest.

Blurb books must be submitted by 11:59 PDT July 15.

Categories include Fine Art, Editorial, and Portfolio.

The Grand Prize is $25,000.

Jurors include Darius Himes, Monica Allende, David Fahey, Michael Mack, Lesley A Martin, Susan Meisalas, Erin O’Tool, Martin Parr, Judith Puckett-Rinella, and Brian Smith.

Get the inside scoop from the jurors here.

What makes a winning photo book? Darius Himes (publisher)
Which photo books have been most influential? David Fahey (dealer)
What books should you read on a desert island? Brian Smith (photographer)
What are last year’s PBN winners are up to now?

Learn more about the the PBN Contest here.

Learn more with my Bookmaking Lessons.
Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

Category: Blurb, Books, Contests
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BlurbforGood

Individuals, non-profits, and organizations of every size and stripe have raised awareness and funds for their causes with Blurb books.

You’ll enjoy many benefits when you join Blurb for Good.

An easy solution
No big budgets or massive production needed. Your expenses are merely the cost of a book, that’s it. We take care of the rest and give you everything you need to create, promote, and sell your book for your cause.

Fundraising mojo
Our Set Your Price program lets you name your book’s price and keep 100% of the profit for your cause. We do all the bookwork, from fulfilling orders to tracking donations and proceeds, to cutting checks and sending them your way. You’ll also get detailed revenue reports, including stats on books sold and the number of visits to your book detail page.

Contributions from Blurb
If you qualify, we’ll even pitch in with a charitable contribution for every book you sell. Simply apply to our charitable contributions program and we’ll pitch in with $1 for every book sold.

High visibility
Get the word out with free promotion tools like Blurb BookShow™, our new book preview widget, and Blurb book badges. Put your book in our Blurb for Good bookstore. And be eligible for our Staff Picks, features in our blog, and shout-outs on Blurb’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

A lot of flexibility
Print on demand means we print to order, one by one. No waste, no warehousing. Discounts to you start at orders of ten or more books. And if you’re thinking books by the hundreds, we can do offset printing for even better economies of scale.

So do some good and join Blurb for Good.

Learn more with my Bookmaking Lessons.
Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

Category: Blurb, Books
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booksmart

Looking for tips on how to use Blurb’s BookSmart software?
Chad Jennings provides useful tips on the Blurberrati blog.
Find 10 Tricks to Impress Your Friends and Confound Your Enemies here.

– Drag and Drop Images from Your Desktop
– Drag and Drop Images to a Page Thumbnail
– Hide Used Images
– Use Arrows to Nudge an Image
– Use Keyboard Shortcuts and Right-Click Menus
– Turn off Text Auto-Zoom
– “Copy and Paste Page Layout” is Your New Best Friend
– Paste Text to Match Style
– Save Headers and Footers Until Last
– How to be Considered for Staff Picks

Find 3 more tips in his updated post here.

– Lock Your Spreads Together
– Hang Your Virtual Shingle
– Show Unused Photos

Learn more with my Bookmaking Lessons.
Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

Category: Blurb, Books
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BookSmart
Blurb’s BookSmart software makes designing books easy. Don’t know how to use InDesign or Quark? No worries. Just want to make a book? Can do. It’s great to use software that intuitively teaches you how to use it as you work with it.

Daniel Milnor makes Blurb books in as little as 20 minutes.
Check out his On Approach here.

Blurb’s new Color Management Resource Center offers BookSmart help.

Find more BookSmart tips here.

Check out these great design books I recommend.

Find my Blurb book Antarctica here.

Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

Category: Blurb
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Blurb’s new book preview Widget lets you preview as much or as little of your Blurb book as you like online. You can embed it on any blog or webpage.

Visitors can view your book as a virtual page turning book or as thumbnails.
They can check Full Screen for a larger preview.
They can click the Share button and help you spread the word.
They can click the Comment button and give you instant feedback.
Or, they can click the Purchase button and get a copy of your book.

BlurbWidgetGrid

BlurbWidgetPage copy

This HTML code generates the widget.

<object classid=”clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000″ width=”425″ height=”300″ codebase=”http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0″><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true” /><param name=”allowScriptAccess” value=”always” /><param name=”src” value=”http://www.blurb.com/assets/embed.swf?book_id=1244722″ /><param name=”allowfullscreen” value=”true” /><embed type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” width=”425″ height=”300″ src=”http://www.blurb.com/assets/embed.swf?book_id=1244722″ allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true”></embed></object>

You can scale the display by changing the dimension numbers.

It’s easy to implement and use.

Here’s more on how to install the widget.

Find out more about how to Share, Promote, Sell your Blurb books here.

Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

Category: Blurb, Books
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