| Editor's Rating | |
|---|---|
| Overall | |
| Features | |
| Price | |
| Support | |
Positives
- Advanced photo adjustment options
- Theme selection and modification
- Simplified mobile browser-based editor
- Video tutorials for each function
- Support in 11 languages
- Seven-day replacement policy
Negatives
- Bizarre, inconsistent size/cover categorization and display
- Fixed page quantity
- Slow production and shipping
Nowadays there are two important aspects of a good photo book company: a simple and straightforward (hopefully mobile-friendly) editor and outstanding quality. Printerpix, a Florida-based photo company that started its business in 2011, easily passes both of these tests, and even manages to up the ante with some surprises of its own. Aside from being available in an astonishing 11 languages, the company sports plenty of photo customization options and designs with which you can easily create the photo book of your dreams in a jiffy. Furthermore, you can also build your books via mobile browsers in a simplified editor, choose between various sizes and covers, and enjoy modest prices with affordable shipping. And to top it all, Printerpix makes sure every customer leaves with a smile on their face by providing temporary coupons and discounts, a week-long return policy and, of course, quality photo products with which you can preserve your most cherished memories for a very long time.
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Features
Video Tutorial for the Editor
Online Editor
Once you are through the initial shocks – in particular the abysmal book selection process and the need for Adobe Flash Player – you are greeted by a rather interesting photo book builder. Granted, the editor itself works pretty well, but it is a little choppy, there is no exit option, deletes untouched projects after 30 days, and it can interrupt the editing process with auto-saves that do not run in the background.
However, Printerpix provides all the necessary features that customers are looking for, while adding extras like the option to share your work, an interactive help guide and video tutorials all directly from within the editor. Pictures can be uploaded from hard drives or online storage, after which they can be auto-filled into the book or be placed into it manually. Each picture is “rated” by the editor: if it deems a photo to be of low quality, it warns you and gives you tips on how to make the culprit printable. As for other adjustments, photos can be flipped, rotated or resized but you can also apply effects, too, by tweaking the colors, adding shadows, borders or changing the image containers. Speaking of which, by choosing either the Borders or Mask tabs on the right-hand side of the screen and downloading some extra content, you can transform your included photos even more. It’s also possible to change the layout of each page, but you can apply the modifications on two pages at once, too.
Low Resolution Warning with Rating
Advanced Photo Adjustment Options
Application of Photo Borders
Printerpix's Layouts
If you are not satisfied with the appearance of the book, you can still add clipart (stock images), extra photo containers or text boxes manually, and you can create working QR codes leading to any website you like. There’s also the option to change the background in various ways: by replacing the preset theme with a picture you upload, accepting those offered by the editor or by simply adjusting the ones you are using. But if you want a ‘radical’ change, you can apply a different theme to your book; in this case, however, the editor automatically arranges your pictures in a new way, meaning that some of the customizations you have worked on might be lost. To prevent losing your previous settings it is highly advised to copy the book and make changes on the new one or use the undo button and simply discard the new theme.
Text Boxes and Editing
Customization of QR Codes
Selecting Backgrounds During Editing
Adjusting the Background
Mobile Editor
Quite surprisingly, Printerpix is also available from mobile browsers – but in a more primitive form. Even though the selection of book sizes, covers and themes is a bit easier to choose from, the editor requires a device with a larger screen. This is more significant than it sounds, because rotating and resizing the pictures or texts is a true nightmare, not to mention the addition of embellishments and layouts. The only true benefit of the mobile editor is that it can be used without requiring an account up until the ordering process, but aside from that you’d better be off with the full-featured desktop version.
Selecting Styles in the Mobile Editor
The Mobile Editor
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Picking a Layout in the Mobile Editor
Adding Clipart in the Mobile Editor
Designs
Even though the quantity and quality of available themes is more than satisfactory, there is one major annoyance to face when picking a style: it’s only possible do so after you have selected the cover and size of your photo book design. With that said, here are the numbers that matter: the 146 styles are divided into 13 categories, out of which the biggest category is Everyday with 28 different themes. However, the total amount of Printerpix designs is a little deceiving, since many themes reoccur under several categories.
As already mentioned, you don’t have to worry if you change your mind during the design process and want to see your photo book with a different style, you can change it any time or even mix the existing one with any themes you download to the editor or pictures from your computer’s hard drive.
Types
The selection of books types is an utter catastrophe. The problems start with the available sizes where you can choose from 6×8, 8×8, 8.5×11, 11×8.5, 11×11, and 12×12, except sometimes the books’ external attributes are given in centimeters or in the A-number format. But this is nothing compared to choosing the right cover for your book; even though the different types are somewhat distinguishable, you will still have to check out each one in turn to know which size goes with what cover. Thankfully you can cheat a bit: you just have to start creating a photo book directly from the editor or change the book’s type during editing and the full list of covers with sizes is revealed.
There are leather covers split into seven different products, three hard covers (with the Instagram book treated separately), one soft cover and a vinyl cover, which is the only one with a spiral binding. And to make things even weirder, the number of pages is also fixed to 20, 26, 40, 50, 60 or a 100 with no option to add or remove extra…
Pricing
If you thought that the size/cover combination is a nightmare, then you’ll struggle even more when trying to find out the prices of Printerpix photo books. Admittedly the same cheating method can be used to reveal the prices as well, but being unable to compare prices properly is anything but customer friendly.
With that said, the cheapest product is a hard cover notebook for $16.95 – which is not even a photo book, but that’s perhaps great proof of Printerpix’s bizarre categorizing – while the photo books with the best prices ($24.99) is either the 6×8 hard cover or a soft cover book in 8×8. Like we briefly touched upon, you cannot buy extra pages for your books, so it is important to determine in advance what number – with choices from 20, 26, 40, 50, 60 or 100 page-long books – will be sufficient and pick that choice accordingly. What you can do for an added fee is upgrade to premium quality photo paper or include extra copies of your book – something that is shoved into your face every single time you want to order a book. The only thing that is more or less consistent is the shipping policy: prices range between $4.99 and $7.95 per copy, with the exception of rush delivery which is always $40 per item.
Support & Shipping
If you need help from Printerpix’ staff, contacting the company is managed via email, live chat or phone on each business day from 9am to 5pm. Aside from that, the only option to get proper help is if you check out some useful photo tips, go through the company’s FAQ or, as we mentioned before, watch the tutorial videos within the editor or directly on YouTube. Sadly, you need to forget about Printerpix’s social media as a source of support: both the Facebook and Twitter page have been dormant since March 2016.
Printerpix's Support Options
Printerpix Photo Tips
The Company's FAQ
Video Tutorials
If you have problems with your order, the service offers a couple of options: first is to terminate the order within one business day from placing it – via phone and for a $30 cancellation fee – or make use of the seven-day replacement policy upon delivery. Speaking of shipping, prepare for a rather long wait: books are produced within 6–8 business days and are delivered within 3–12 days. And if you think the rush shipping is faster, think again: even that takes 3–5 business days…
Bottom Line
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Overall Printerpix is not a bad photo book company, but there are certain things that can make its use almost unbearable. The biggest and most obvious problem is how inconsistent the size-cover pairings are, which is topped by a pricing chart that can only be revealed in its fullest if you are already editing the book. Moreover, the books are bizarrely categorized, the production and shipping time is slow while the inclusion or exclusion of extra pages is non-existent.
Still, there are plenty of pros, most of which are related to the online editor that, despite requiring Flash, is a surprisingly good, versatile tool. Not to mention there is also the option to choose from plenty of designs (even retroactively), and you can create photo books on the go through the mobile browser version. So if you can survive the above faults with Printerpix’s photo books service, then this is definitely a worthwhile choice.
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Travis Hall says
They printed the picture in the wrong orientation then refused to fix it. We submitted 2 photos total. 1 was correct and the second one was a landscape/sideways photo and they printed it with the metal vertical. its a little picture in the center of a big piece of metal.
Ms Louise Schaefer says
VERY poor customer service when coupon purchased for items did not work, missing Christmas all together. Issue took 19 DAYS to resolve… seriously? Previous experience with company was positive, nice product, but this experience killed any possibility for redemption.
Katelin Barson says
I’ll start by saying I have made 5 photobooks in the past through Printerpix; I love the services this company provides, but lately I am extremely disappointed and turned off by the service I have received. I have felt very demeaned and as though my intelligence has been insulted due to Printerpix. They have all but refused to help fix the problem I have been having for a month now.
I have an open Printerpix order and I have been having a few problems with the photo uploader. Lately they have been having a problem with the uploader, but I have called and emailed quite a few times since early December to no avail. Every time I contacted the customer service department to check how I can get the issue fixed I get the same response: “restart your computer,” “clear your browser history/cookies,” “use Google Chrome,” “use a desktop computer,” or “wait 24 hours.” Obviously I already tried these solutions and none of these solutions work and I am tired of my intelligence being insulted. None of these solutions work, otherwise I wouldn’t be calling to get it fixed.
More recently, I have called 5 times since Friday. Each time you say that the upload servers are down and I need to wait 24 to 48 hours and you “promise” it will work again. It doesn’t. This solution is entertaining because your entire business relies on uploading pictures. If the uploader hasn’t worked for the last week this seems like it would be a huge issue.
Do not use this company. They produce great results, however there are many other companies that do the same thing that have much better service.
Dixie Daimwood says
Do NOT order from this company. Horrible product and even worse customer service. I made a photo book for my friend’s father after his daughter passed away through PrinterPix. It took me forever to design it due to PrinterPix subpar design software. Once the book was complete, I gave the family the photo book. They only had the book for 4 months and the binding from the pages detached, which made the pages become loose. The family contacted me and asked if I could get the company to send a non-defective book. I immediately reached out via email to PrinterPix and requested they remedy the issue. No response. I sent a follow-up email to the company. No response. Then, I called the company. The representative was unhelpful and informed me there was nothing they would do because they had a 90 day return policy. I explain the situation, told him I was dissatisfied with the product and the customer service, and told him I would leave bad reviews. In response, the customer service representative told me to “do what I need to do.”
This was a gift to a grieving family. I am mortified that my gift looks cheap, when it was not. Do not order from this company.
Laura Rutledge says
My order was made incorrectly and after several weeks of trying to get help from customer service via email or by phone I was finally told they couldn’t help me. When I asked to speak with a supervisor they finally agreed to remake the order but wanted to charge me outrageous shipping cost to send the corrected order! I requested refund and they refused. DO NOT USE PRINTERPIX.COM !!!!!
Sharron Smalls says
I originally purchased a Groupon for $27 for three metal photo plates but due to its expiration Printerpix charged $204.96 dollars for the product. The samples on the site did not match what was received. The metal plates were thin, flimsy and the pictures were poor quality (one picture wasn’t clear and the other two did not fill the plate as was advertised. Note that the actual pictures submitted for printing were professionally done). The product received was not worth the price.I sent an email requesting a refund and received a call to contact customer service at a number provided. I spoke with Adam, the customer service representative; he stated that the terms and conditions states the time limit for refunds was 30 days and my request was beyond the return time allotted. However, the ‘return, refunds and exchanged conditions’ states, “For personalized merchandise which is at fault or differs from that ordered please return them to the Company within 7 days”. ‘Please’ is polite consideration, not a stipulation. As such there is no concretized return policy. I called customer service again and spoke with Adam, he stated that the company’s policy is flexible and 30 days is a customer courtesy. Again, I stated that the terms in writing does not indicate a concrete time window. He replied that his manager already stated he will not honor the refund. I asked to speak with his manager and he transferred the call to his supervisor Mike. I restated the terms and complained that the terms are misleading. He said he will speak to the ‘higher team’ to change the verbiage but will not grant a refund. By their own admission, the terms are misleading and yet were adamant to keep payment for a shoddy product. They changed the return policy on their site the same day of my complaint, however I made a copy of the original policy. I filed a complaint with the FTC and BBB. BBB has multiple complaints on file for this company.
Ian says
I ordered a 8×8 book received a 8.5×11 with a bunch of blank space and the print was not of the latest saved version I saved before I ordered. The customer service would not print the updated version, but they offered to reprint the book in the right size and promised that I pay 30 dollars extra for 1 day shipping. ( I wouldn’t have needed 1 day shipping if they got the order right in the first place). After they promised for 1 day shipping, they sent me an invoice for 50 dollars…. disregarding the promise they made earlier. Overall the quality of the book is ok, but the company is really careless, and does not take full responsibility for their errors.
Rae Gajadhar says
I agree with all the negative comments! I have used several another photobook companies in the past and they were excellent. I have nothing good to say about PrinterPix. My advice….do not use them. Look for a different company that actually answers your concerns, answers your texts and cares about the customer. They are a scam and only in it for the money. You spend hours upon hours to develop a photobook for lasting memories and they make it very difficult. I will be putting a review on Google and Facebook as well warning people not to use them.
Daniel (Best Reviews Team) says
Hello Rae! Thanks for your feedback, and we’re sorry to hear about your experience with Printerpix. Could you further explain what happened to see if we can help?
In any case, we always suggest contacting Printerpix’s customer support and ask for a refund or a reprint. We hope you the best!
MARY HEATH says
I ordered 3 photobooks and for one I paid a fairly significant amount extra to upgrade it to premium paper. There was no discernable difference in the quality of the paper. I raised it with customer services by email and it took them 4 days to reply with a fob-off answer. I still do not believe there is a difference in the paper quality so don’t bother with that upgrade!
Daniel (Best Reviews Team) says
Hi Mary Heath, and thank you for your comment.
We’re sorry to hear about your experience with Printerpix. The company offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Since you paid extra for the high-quality paper, we recommend contacting customer support again to ask for a refund or a reprint of your photo book. You can reach out to the support team via email at contactus@printerpix.com or on its social media pages.
We hope that this resolves your issue.
Have a nice day!
M Pomfret says
My two photo books arrived damaged. It appears they have been thrown so that the cardboard corners are not sufficiently protected. Better protection like parcel tape around the outside could / may have help? I complained to EVRi who told me to let Printerpix know, which I did. Emails over one week —worse than snail mail and eventually they told me to phone to get an answer? I was on the phone for over 2 hours late afternoon, when they say the best time ring. I GOT FED UP WITH LISTENING TO THE APLOLOGY MY CUSTOM IS APPREICAITED FOR TWO HOURS!!!! I GAVE UP……
Why did I not read the reviews FIRST before subjecting myself to this.
I also paid extra to have one book on better quality paper and print……couldn’t see any difference???
Can I have my money back please as that is an option according to your terms…..oh and please put
someone in charge that can manage your company PLEASE?
The review above this says ‘You can reach out to the support team via email at contactus@printerpix.com …….really !
Daniel (Best Reviews Team) says
Hello, M Pomfret, and thank you for your comment.
We’re sorry to hear about your experience with Printerpix.
The company does have a returns policy that you can find by visiting the company’s Returns Policy page. To sum up, Printerpix advises customers to contact its team if you’re not 100% happy with your order to ask for either a reprint or a refund.
So, for problems regarding damages caused by transit, or the quality of the product, we encourage you to try to contact customer support again, either via email or phone. It’s important to keep photographic evidence of damages and quality issues to provide when requested.
Also, you can find more information about Printerpix’s terms and conditions on this page.
We hope you’re able to solve your issue soon. Have a nice day!
Bob Heyman says
I ordered 6 photo albums from PrinterPix via Groupon. (Without their discount, PrinterPix would have been ridiculously expensive.) Online preparation of the album was fine except that I was bombarded with manic, irritating spam several times per day. PrinterPix were less enthusiastic, to put it mildly, when I only received 2 of the purchased 6 albums. I went round in circles with long waits for a hostile and unhelpful support desk and unanswered emails. I eventually received 5 of the 6 albums, but only through advice from Groupon. I have now asked them to pursue PrinterPix. My albums were designed as Xmas gifts and I had spent may hours designing them. I don’t know whether other companies are better, but would advise avoiding PrinterPix as customer service couldn’t be worse.
Daniel (Best Reviews Team) says
Hello, Bob Heyman, and thank you for your comment. We’re sorry to hear about your experience with Printerpix.
If you’re not 100% happy with your order, the company advises contacting support to ask for either a reprint or a refund. About the album you haven’t received yet, we encourage you to keep on trying to contact customer support, either via email or phone. You can find more information on Printerpix’s Terms and Conditions page. We hope you’re able to solve your issue soon. Have a nice day!