Do you write to your grandparents? I do try to write to my grandparents faithfully. I will often send them pictures of life–I will either print them out on the printer, get pictures made, or sometimes I’ve made photo books for them (when I find a stellar deal!). Doing it this way can get pricey. But, I have now found a terrific (and CHEAP!) product that I want to share with you if you’re not acquainted with the company already.
Let me introduce you to www.hotprints.com. It’s my new fav! With Hotprints.com, you can print up to 4 ‘free’ photo books per month with only a small $2.99 shipping fee.
I just got my first book back. Here’s what I think: If you’re looking for something you can keep forever, this is not that type of a book! But if you’re wanting a very EASY & FUN way to share a bunch of pictures with a loved one (without the clutter of a hundred loose photographs), this is it! The book is on decent paper–a little thicker than a piece of regular printing paper, but NOT the high quality of a fancy-schmancy publication. The cover is also made from the same material in which the rest of the book is made, making it somewhat flimsy (like a magazine). Another reason I’m in love is that Pierson ADORES sitting and looking through all the pictures of our family & I don’t mind him doing so because of how cheap they are!
Advantages of this service: *GREAT for sharing pics easily with family and friends, *great price (especially if you consider the cost of color copies at Kinko’s or prints from Walgreens), *decent quality, *quick shipping.
Disadvantage to this service: *Not a great keep-forever type book; *The application is not crazy user-friendly–For instance, once you upload pictures, there is no way to rotate the pictures. So, before uploading, you must ensure that they are already positioned correctly–no big deal just annoying; *Advertisement page, though it is easily removable and RIGHT in the middle which makes it so.
So, I’ll let you judge for yourself. The title “My Blockbook” would have been customizable…but I forgot until after I had already hit the button which committed me to the purchase. Oh well.
Sending these to my grandparents, I was terrified that the advertisement may be some hoochy-type of ads. These days, one never knows what to expect. I was thrilled that they were from reputable companies, and that the advertisement pages is an entire insert that can easily be removed (it took me all of 2 seconds to tear out!). I took pictures of each of the ad’s pages so you can judge for yourself!
I blanked out my address to avoid Internet crazies showing up at my house at 2 a.m., but it’s the gray box on the page. The address is printed right on the back of the free publication.
Whatcha waiting for? Go make yourself a photo book. And, in case your wondering, this is just because I am in love with the product. Not because Hotprints.com has any clue as to who I am.
