Dear Blubarians,
We know you’re a creative bunch with no end of good ideas and we’d like to help make those ideas a reality. So, please take a minute, take this survey, and let us know what you’d like to see – from new book sizes to new features to new ways to deliver your content. We’re all ears.
Have at it, friends. Share your thoughts and ideas, and tell us what’s on your wish list. This is your chance to chime in and influence our product development. It’s also an opportunity for you to get on our beta tester team. So, please, take the survey today.
Thanks so much. We appreciate your support and your creativity.
Cheers,
The Blurberati
26 Comments
No question about this: embossing!
I’ve wanted it for YEARS now, since I started making Blurb books. I love the idea of a jacket, but hate hate hate that there is no printing underneath… because who keeps book jackets?? I have about 7 different books that I’m waiting to get printed, but I’m holding out until I find a company that will do that for me!
I love all the changes you guys make… it’s so exciting to hear about all the fun things that are being developed. :)
Robyn,
Thanks so much. Please, by all means, make you wishes known in our survey. We are loving all the feedback we’re getting and want to let you know that we really do listen to your suggestions, feedback, and wish list items! Thanks so much. This is fantastic stuff.
best,
Eileen H.
I just completed the survey. What wonderful ideas you guys have.
I have been working a lot for the past week about a book, made studies, schedule…. I cannot wait to start finally putting my dream in a blurb book. I am even more motivated to think that some of the ideas in the survey may become reality soon.
cheers,
Karine
Hi, when will the Lightroom Plug-in for BOOKSMART be available?
Hi Annina,
It’s on the product roadmap and should be coming along this year. Other than that, I can’t be specific but we are working on it.
best,
Eileen H.
Karine,
Thanks for taking a moment to fill out the survey. We’re excited — so many good things to come and it makes all the difference to get the opinions and thoughts of bookmakers like you.
best,
Eileen H.
I’d love to be able to edit photos directly in Book Smart (cropping, color editing, etc.).
It would be amazing if you offered leather covers!
Some clients asks me to make portrait books for them in natural leather cover. Yes, it would be a luxury gift. Is it extreme challenge?
Thank you for all your efforts across the ocean and many time zones. It is a pleasure to work with Blurb. Keep ticking) Good Luck!
Aperture plug in. I’ve requested it before and I know there are obstacles, but we need it! :)
be able to make the book in 12 x12 format
Glad to see that you are considering Magazine format; hopefully with either a Bookify or BookSmart design utility.
Would also like to see a backend system in which independent publishers could establish an account managing different authored products. For instance, I should be able to produce a book for a client and establish a percent of sales to go to the author (perhaps even an illustrator or photographer) and a percent to remain for myself as publisher.
As simple as Blurb is to use, there are still writers who approach me – after I’ve recommended your site – and say, “Can you still just do it for me? I can’t be bothered with learning something new. I just want the book.”
I got married over a year ago and still need to order my album I’ve made. I love the thick pages that many Photographer’s Albums show in their studios. It would be great if Blurb offered those think paged options. I ordered a album for my mom I made and used the ProLine w/ pearl photo and loved it! But still wanting the thick pages for my wedding album without spending $500 through other websites.
Thanks, Thi. We’re working on a Lightroom plug-in for BookSmart. Did you know that we already have one for Bookify? If you have Lightroom, give our plug-in a try. As always, keep the suggestions coming.
best,
Eileen H.
Hi James,
Hope you took the survey. We appreciate all your ideas. Leather covers would push the price up quite a bit but we’re looking into a lot of different customization options and your input is invaluable.
best,
Eileen H.
Thanks, Andrey. We will definitely keep ticking. Trust us, the Blurberati are hard at work.
best,
Eileen H.
Deidra,
Thanks for the feedback. Managing the sales and marketing of books is a big subject, and one we vigorously research and discuss. Again, it’s great to hear from someone who tackles these issues and get your perspective.
best,
Eileen H.
Hi Jamie,
Our challenge is to balance cost and quality. We believe our ProLine papers offer superb quality at a good price. We’ll continue to research other paper offerings but in the meantime, we’re pleased to hear that you made a book with the ProLine pearl-finish paper. It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?
best,
Eileen H.
Some of us still miss native BookSmart support for Linux, sadly there were no way to point it out in the survey.
Considering that BookSmart actually works with just some minor glitches on any modern Java installation, and most of the struggle under Linux is related to getting this great app out of Win or Mac install-packages, even simple zip/gzip/7z/… archive would be nice to start with.
Hi Margusl,
You can also join our forums and make your wishes known. Thanks for your feedback. We are really grateful to everyone who took part in the survey. We’re getting some great suggestions.
best,
Eileen H.
The inability to make a local full-resolution print has been a deal-breaker for my using Blurb to produce anything other than personal photo books. I’m not a professional photographer, but I’ve made a few books for non-profits and some events where there was a small market for books. I’ve printed them locally since Blurb could not produce a full resolution proof. Buying an actual Blurb book for proofing isn’t really an economically practical idea.
I do understand that Blurb makes it’s revenue from selling the finished book, but it seems as if a watermarked proof would protect the company’s investment.
We also need to be able to buy a sample of the available papers. Years ago, when DTP just was becoming mainstream, one of the major DTP paper supplies provide (for a charge) a collection all of their paper stock – it was a box of probably 100 different pieces of paper. It made a lot of sales for them.
Joe,
Thanks for your comments. We always want to hear your feedback – positive or otherwise. Just to let you know, a swatch book is in the works. We’ll send out word on the blog when it’s available. We know that nothing compares to holding the actual paper in hand when making a decision about which to use in your books and we’re on it. Stay tuned.
best,
Eileen H.
I just got my first blurb book and I am so very pleased. The colors are absolutely beautiful and vibrant. I too had read bad reviews about the service. But I am very satisfied. It looks just as nice as I hoped it would. The process was easy and enjoyable. It took only 2 weeks for my book to arrive. The people i showed the book to said it is very nice and professional. Thank you Blurb for bringing my dream to a beautiful reality! I can’t stop looking at it!
Jackie,
We’re so happy you’re pleased. Keep the feedback coming — positive or otherwise. We love hearing from you.
best,
Eileen H.
Having made three books now with Blurb there are a few things I’d like to see:
1. being able to mix and match the papers, e.g. I ordered uncoated proline this time and it worked very well for artwork, but I wasn’t convinced as regards my photos and would have preferred a more satin finish. My next project is also photo heavy with a few paintings/illustrations that would work nicely with the uncoated paper. Being able to specify even just a small number of pages in a different finish to the rest of the book would be very welcome.
2. The book preview online is too small to read through the text- I don’t know why because I think it used to fill the screen.
3. Booksmart doesn’t make any allowance for paper tihckness and binding issues. My latest projects were 160 page uncoated proline books. The fact that the book can’t lie flat means that what looks like a nice white border all round a photo on the preview, in reality is only visible on the three exposed sides because the border is obscured by the fold in the book. Which in my view makes the book lok a little messy.
Thanks for reading
Jo
Hey Jo,
Your feedback is absolutely appreciated. I’m not sure about mixing and matching papers, but it’s an interesting idea (it’s something one sometimes sees in museum catalogs). As for Book Preview, we recently made some changes to it, so that it takes better advantage of the full screen view, and most text is a bit easier to read. As for number three, feel free to contact our support team, they can help you work with the issue.
Cheers,
Kent