Photo albums make great keepsakes and clever folders. Whether you want to preserve memories or display art, there’s something nice about flipping through printed pages of pictures.
its biggest drawback perhaps adds to its intrinsic value. Making a book isn’t as simple as turning on a printer and pressing start; it takes time and skill to put something together. It often takes a few days for even the most experienced printers to prepare an order for shipment.
You are reading: Walgreens photo books review
So it may come as a surprise that Walgreens, of all places, offers the service in-house. In addition, the walgreens photo book has a delivery time of 24 hours. but is it worth the investment? we will reveal our findings in this review!
order online and design a book
The first step to making your own Walgreens photo book is to log in to your account and start a design. Your purchasing options vary depending on whether you’re picking up in store or opting to ship your book to the store of your choice. we’ll go over some of those differences in a moment.
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On the surface, Walgreens Design Assistant is pretty similar to what you’d find with any other on-demand service, albeit somewhat limited. but, throughout the design process, i found that the walgreens photo album was a little less flexible than i would have preferred.
My biggest complaint was the complete lack of options for users who wanted to create a project from scratch. the site will actually force you to choose one of their pre-made templates for your book. Granted, you can make changes to template elements once you’ve started placing images, but it’s an unnecessary hassle.
Similarly, there is no way to freely add images to your layout: for each spread, you must apply one of the existing page layouts. once you’ve done that, you can reposition, resize, and remove image gaps. but in all honesty, it makes the process of creating something custom feel complicated.
Of course, not everyone wants to start from scratch. For those trying to complete a project quickly or with no prior photo book experience, the Walgreens format is perfectly fine. however, those with a creative streak may be a bit disappointed.
pickup vs. shipping
what sets walgreens apart from any other photo book printer is convenience. customers have the option to ship items to the local store of their choice, or they can print their product in-house. both have their own advantages and disadvantages to consider.
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Regardless of which option you choose, Walgreens allows you to pick up in store, rather than relying on mail delivery. For one thing, it’s a little less convenient than having the product delivered right to your doorstep. rather, it’s a more streamlined process that avoids many potential mail delays.
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bluntly, you won’t find a faster turnaround time than walgreens in-house printing. the store guarantees a physical book within a 24-hour production window. other on-demand printers obviously can’t compete with this. And, in our experience when ordering, Walgreens stands by that promise. however, if you really need your book the same day, be sure to place your order as early as possible. Please note that some locations may be short-staffed or less knowledgeable about printing, which may affect production times.
You can expect more consistent results if you choose to ship your book to a location of your choice. Plus, shipping to the store gives you more sizes and styles to choose from. while walgreens doesn’t offer a huge variety of options, at the store the only option you’ll have is the 8.5×11″ hardcover. however, shipping to the store instead of ordering in-house doesn’t take advantage of walgreens’ fast turnaround times.
unconventional printing and binding
When I was placing my order, I was surprised to see that Walgreens offered flat-binding options at no additional cost. Of course, wanting to display my images as prominently as possible, I opted for this over your standard bound book. unfortunately, the build of the final product didn’t really impress me.
Instead of being a true flat book, Walgreens uses perfect binding and perforates the edges of the paper to create a flat look. frankly it’s pretty weird looking and I can’t imagine it’s great for the longevity of the book itself. at some points you can’t even see the random staples holding it all together. this binding is so unusual and inefficient that the book does not even close completely.
Another strange aspect of this photo album is its exterior. Instead of printing directly on the cover, it’s clear that Walgreens printed the back, front, and spine in one long letter and then used an adhesive to attach it to the front of the book. this technique gets the job done, but makes the book look cheap and rushed.
I don’t want to be too harsh. I know that the person who put this book together probably came in with no bookbinding experience and did the best he could. But if Walgreens wants to impress with features like flatbed printing, they should make an effort to teach employees what the process entails.
image quality issues
As if binding issues weren’t enough, there were some serious image quality issues throughout my book.
first of all, there was a cyan color cast on all the images in my photo album. I usually don’t complain too much about color balance, as I know from experience that calibrating it perfectly isn’t easy. That said, this cyan hue was extremely annoying.
Of course, not all Walgreens locations will give you extreme color issues. but what this tells me is that employees may not be trained to detect major faults in their printers. alternatively, if they encounter problems, they may not know how to resolve the printing problem at hand. printing at walgreens is like a bit of roulette in this regard.
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Also, I found that many of my images lost detail in the shadows. a lot of my blacks ended up looking inky and lacking in depth. To be on the safe side, I recommend using bright, contrasty images for best results. I also recommend enhancing the images a bit before sending them to print; some of my shots seemed to lose clarity during the printing process.
Although I don’t have many positive notes to share, I will say that the paper used was fine enough. a nice subtle gloss finish, it didn’t detract from my images or leave them vulnerable. They also did a good job of keeping the colors, although not quite right in this particular case.
Is the price correct?
Coming from a pharmacy rather than a professional print shop, you can expect Walgreens to offer their photo album at a reduced price. unfortunately, this is not the case at all.
Of course, it’s less expensive than high-quality boutique printing operations. but, at $39.99 for a 20-page 8.5×11″ book, it’s on par with vendors like snapfish and shutterfly. By charging an extra $1.99 for margin, your purchase price can add up quickly if you’re not careful. Considering Walgreens doesn’t have the resources for even a low-end printing operation, you’re better off investing elsewhere.
Anything Walgreens has going for it? frequent discounts and savings. Keep an eye out for coupons and limited time offers to slash your photo album production costs. I was able to easily find a 50% discount coupon when I placed my order; With savings this big, you can drop the price below most online retailers.
at the same time, you can’t trust walgreens to offer low prices at any given time. prices and offers are constantly fluctuating, so keep an eye out for savings whenever possible.
shall we order again?
As much as I would love a product ready for me within 24 hours of ordering, the flaws that come with the walgreens photo album are too much to ignore. they can move faster than your favorite on-demand printer, but they can’t match the quality.
Although I’ve mentioned it several times, it’s possible that my particular location failed my photo album. ultimately, some of the staff will be better equipped to take on the task. Still, any customer considering Walgreens should be aware that inconsistencies between locations can mean a failing photo album.
Similarly, our current coverage only covers Walgreens in-house printers. You may get better results by having your order printed off-site and delivered to a location of your choice. but with the bugs we found and the increase in production time, you’re better off just choosing a different printer then and there.
Not everyone can be a winner. but hopefully this will serve as a catalyst for walgreens to step up their game in the future!
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