Solentro - make your own photo book or posterReviews of solentro.com

They processed and shipped my order quickly

I found the Solentro experience of making my own, personal photo book a positive one. The site could have had a little better functionality but as far as sites go, it was relatively easy to navigate. I appreciated the templates and the fact that I could easily import my own photos. The cost was a bit high but after receiving the book, I felt the quality was worth the expense.

I used Solentro to create a hardcover book for my daughter chronicling an imaginary world we created over three years as part of a bedtime routine. Solentro let me pull in photos and illustrations, lay out text in various ways, and use color. The interface does have a few limitations, which is why I've rated Solentro four stars instead of five. One is that layouts are modified and applied independently of where they are filled in, so it's tricky to make small changes to a layout to correct problems in spacing you see as you're filling it. You need to go back to the layout screen; create a new, derivative layout; make the changes; apply that layout to the book, which in turn adds a page and pushes everything forward; drag each content element from the old page to the new one; and finally delete the old page. I went through this numerous times. I also wish page numbers were easier to add and customize, that there was an assisted function to create an index, and that multi-page images were more predictable in terms of center binding. Despite these limitations, I enjoyed the way that Solentro helped me bring my vision into reality. The finished book came out quite well, and my daughter and I were both delighted with the quality of the printing. I did encounter some glue breaking between the very first page and cover and again with the very last page and cover. I fixed these by running a strip from a Crafter's Tape gluerunner down the inner edge of both pages. I found no other issues. A note of caution: Solentro is a way to print something special, not to make something for sale. The book I made was an 8x6 hardcover spanning about 50 pages in full color, and the price was a little over $100. For a special gift, this was just fine. It wouldn't be viable to use this system to create books at a saleable price.

Good Product. Delivered at the time promised. Would recommend the service.

The product was very good, better than expected. The price was a little high, and the breakdown for buying more copies isn't very good either. If I could get a better price I would buy more, sadly I only purchased a few because of the price.

The only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars is the lack of customer service. Other people said the same thing on their review but that the end product was great, so I crossed my fingers & went with it. You're on your own, but if you can figure it out it's worth it. Our project was a birthday book for our 85 year old mother/grandmother, but not a picture book/photo album so this company fills a niche no other company seems to fill. Fun backgrounds, colorful pages & fonts. I like that I could preview the book while working on it. Turns out the company is out of Sweden so that might explain the lack of customer service, but the book made it to me ok and shipping cost was not out of line.

I created a lovely book of poetry with vibrant colors. The book is high quality and beautiful. I will definitely use Solentro for all my projects. The only issue I had, was that it was some what difficult to correct any page errors that I made. It is not easy to access tech support. However, after much persistence and patience it was all perfect. Thank you.

UK CUSTOMERS: When the book is delivered you may get a batch of slightly confusing paperwork relating to import tax. I was a bit freaked out by this as I’ve had to pay a lot for other deliveries from Europe since Brexit. Thanks to Solentro for sorting this out and reassuring me- it’s safe to ignore. As far as the product is concerned, it’s very nice. A few contributors seemed to find it tricky to upload photos as well as their messages, also it would be worth telling people not to use emojis as the text section can’t accept them. Overall we have a very nice memento and the recipient is delighted with it.