My Review of Viovio

This summer I had an AMAZING wedding that happened very much in part because of my dad – who also happens to be my source of inspiration for this post.  Of course I wanted to thank my dad in a special way, so I decided to create a personalized scrapbook, cataloging all of his visits and of course, my wedding.  This post will serve to overview my experience with viovio, from uploading my book, placing my order, to receiving my order and beyond…Uploading My Pages

For my book, I decided to order a 8.5″x8.5″ square photobook.  My reason for this decision was two fold.  One, the digital scrapbook backgrounds I used were 12″ x 12″, so a square book would be the easiest to create from my photoshop files.  Two, this was the largest book size that had a casewrap (wraparound) cover.  I really wanted to have a full color custom cover, so I went with this size option.

To get my files ready for upload, I simply exported all of my photoshop pages to a 8.75.25″x8.75″ jpeg image.  The site claims to resize images for you, but I am paranoid.  I wanted to make sure that none of my images would be clipped or cut in a way I did not want.

The viovio site is fairly easy to navigate (most of the time).  I uploaded my files in the order I wanted them displayed, which worked well, because viovio automatically put them into this same order.  To get my book ready for printing, I just dragged and dropped each exported jpeg onto the page I wanted it to be on the photobook.

Placing My Order

Placing my order was quick and easy. For pricing, I had assumed that one page would consist of a front AND a back, but it turns out that every front and back are considered one page.  By this calculation, my book was 44 pages long.  With the full color cover, the upgrade to what viovio calls “pro binding”, and shipping/handling/taxes, my order came to 42.43.  I considered this a small price to pay for a personalized keepsake and also considering many competitor’s pricing.  Shutterfly’s pricing for an 8″x8″ book (which is smaller than what I ordered) would have been about the same price I what I paid, but that is not including their $8 shipping cost or tax.  I really had wanted to go with Inkubook, but their hardcover options are currently fairly limited.

Waiting for My Order

I placed my order on Tuesday, August 4th, 2009.  The next day I received an email stating that my order had “been sent to manufacturing. We expect it to ship by Wednesday, August 19, 2009”.  I was so excited, I could hardly stand it.

Still Waiting for My Order

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009, came and and went.  Once it hit Friday, August 28th, I realized that 9 days had passed since my book was supposedly shipped and I had paid for 2 day shipping.  I decided to email viovio to find out where my book was!  The very next day viovio replied.  That same day my book had also arrived!

Finally Receiving My Order

Once I received my photobook I was enamored by its size.  It is portable enough to carry anywhere to show off or fit nicely on a bookshelf or table.  It is big enough to show off details in pictures.  The full cover cover turned out beautiful.

I was also in love with the binding.  The photobook looks just like a book you would buy at the book stores.  I am in awe of the transformation that the book making industry is undergoing!

Just like a new book, the pages are crisp when you first open your book.

The coloration matched very well in comparison with my original files.  The quality of the printing was also very clean.

Some of the better photographs used especially popped from the pages.

I thought that my pages would be full bleed, but the center of each page was marked by a white stripe.

There were a few pages that are of concern to me.  It seems as though the glue from the binding splurged up into some of my pages, creating an uneven seam.

I did not find this out until after I was almost done ordering, but viovio adds a logo to your back cover.  It is a lot less invasive that I expected it to be.

My Experience (Thus Far…) with Customer Support

Since I was already in touch with customer support, I mentioned the glue splurges.  The representative asked that I send photos of what I was talking about.  That was today.  I will update on the outcome of my contact with customer support.  Overall, I love my book and customer support has responded quickly (so far).  It it were not for the glue splurges and very slow shipping, I would give viovio 5 stars.

**Update** Overall Viovio Experience

After 3 short and speedy emails with viovio,  I did not recieve any word about whether or not the glue splurges were “normal”.  What I did recieve about 3 weeks later was a whole entire new book!  It was a surprise when I recieved it in the mail because they did not tell me they were sending me a new book.  Although their communication was a bit lacking, I am definitely impressed with Viovio’s products and quality.   5 stars to Viovio!  I anticipate in using their services in the future and will share future experiences :0).