Pixart Photo Book

Company	:	Pixart
Price	:	From RM 69
Rating	:

If you haven't already tried it, creating a photo book in iPhoto can be loads of fun. Selecting photos from your collection, you can spend hours just deciding which photos to use, how to lay them out and what you want to write for the captions.

However, one of the main features of iPhoto which is not available in Malaysia is the ability to have our photo books printed and bound online directly from Apple. But thanks to a local company called Pixart we now have such a service available to us.

In the selected countries where Apple's online service is available, after having created your book you simply click on the Buy Book button to order it. Unfortunately Pixart currently doesn't have this direct facility for Mac users - Windows users can download Pixart's own PhotoStylist software and pay by credit card.

Instead what you do is save your book as a PDF file, under the Print option, and upload the file to their server. (However, you may have problems uploading your file via OS X's Finder even though you can login into Pixart's FTP server. I had to use Dreamweaver for this. This means uploading files require an FTP software.) Payment is made by cheque or cash deposit and your book should be couriered to you within 5 days.

There are two types of covers: woven fabric which comes in blue, black, grey or maroon, and simulated leather which comes in brown. The cover has a cut-out window in the center which displays the photo you selected as your book cover.

On the inside there are two types of paper options: digital imaging which is very similar to offset print presses - it's semi-glossy with a thickness of 216gsm; and photo imaging which uses the glossy Fuji Crystal Archive Paper.

Currently the book comes in one size: 8.5 x 11 inches. You can either select a minimum of 10 single-sided printed pages for RM69 or 10 double-sided pages for RM89. Additional pages cost either RM5 or RM7 each.

Having ordered my photo book, I must say that I'm very impressed with Pixart's quality. The book came packed in a sturdy cardboard box and has its own cardboard slipcase. The print quality is very good and the binding is superb. It makes you proud seeing your photos presented in such a professionally produced book.

I'm very excited that we Malaysian Mac users finally have the opportunity to publish our iPhoto masterpieces. Pixart is a life saver and not only that, their pricing is cheaper than Apple's service.