Bespoke Journals: Blurb & Mixam Compared (updated)
For a couple of years, I’ve been making bespoke journals using the demand printing service Blurb, and up to now, I’ve been happy with the results. They're not particularly cheap compared to something like a Moleskine notebook; about £30 delivered. However, I enjoy designing the book using my images, so for me it’s worth it.
When I placed my order for my latest book, the third in the series, I noticed postage was more expensive than it had been in the past. But I had the book ready to go, so I placed the order.
Blurb's strength has been the quality and, importantly, the colour accuracy. However, when the latest book arrived, the cover had a noticeable magenta colour cast, as you can see here in the centre.
Blurb Trade Books - the centre book is the latest printed.
Previous Blurb books were printed by Lightning Source UK, based in Milton Keynes; this latest book was delivered from the Netherlands, possibly explaining the additional postage. I don't know if this is a permanent change or because of some issue with Lightning Source.
I contacted Blurb and got into a long series of back-and-forth emails. One of which took two weeks for them to respond. By this time, the journal I was using was full and not wanting to get out of the journaling habit, I quickly recreated the book in Affinity Publisher and sent it off to Mixam, another print-on-demand service.
To cut a long story short, I finally extracted a refund from Blurb, although it was far from an ideal customer experience. So I have these two journals, and it seemed an excellent opportunity for a comparison.
The journals are Blurb's Trade Books line, which is available in three sizes, 5" x 8", 6" x 9" and 8" x 10". There are two paper types, Economy and Standard, and three cover options: Glossy Softcover, Image Wrap and Dust Jacket. I've been getting the 6" x 9" book with Standard Paper, which is recommended for photography, with a softcover. I sometimes use a fountain pen, which was no problem with the Blurb paper. I’ve carried out a small test using the Mixam paper which is similarly no problem.
The Blurb Trade Book covers come as standard with a glossy finish. I made the mistake of thinking Mixam called this lamination - which adds £6.50 to the price - so I thought I’d try the ‘Uncoated’ cover. It’s only when I looked again did I realise Mixam also offer a gloss finish cover which I much prefer. If I order from Mixam again I’ll be selecting that option.
Mixam Softback Book
Blurb Trade Book
Size: 6” x 9” (150 x 230mm)
Pages: 168
Paper: 105 gsm (Standard colour) *
Cover: ‘Gloss finish’ softcover (200 gsm) **
File type: Blurb Bookwright or PDF
Cost: £21.39
Delivery: £8.99
Total: £30.38
Size: US Royal (152 x 229mm)
Pages: 168
Paper: 120 gsm uncoated, colour printed
Cover: Softcover (350 gsm) matt finish, uncoated, greyscale
File type: PDF
Cost: £23.50
Delivery: £6.50
Total: £30.00
* Blurb Standard colour paper is the best option for photography, although it is their most expensive option. There are three other papers which are fine for graphics, text etc.
** Blurb covers are coated as standard, Mixam offer the choice of Silk, Gloss and Uncoated at the same price.
File Preparation
I use Affinity Publisher to create my own print-ready PDFs (which I’d recommend if you’re looking for a high-quality cheaper alternative to Adobe InDesign, at time of writing it’s £47.99). However, if you don't have a suitable software package, Blurb’s own free Bookwright software is full-featured and easy to use.
If you use Mixam you would need a software package of some sort. However, Mixam do have a range of detailed help articles and print templates (although not for US Royal size documents, as it happens) on their site to help you set up your files in the software of choice.
The End results
I’ve shown a few of the same pages from each journal. It’s difficult to tell here, but to my eyes, they’re very close. The colour shots are almost identical, however, the Blurb black and white shots have better contrast, closer to the original. The Mixam B&W is thin, lacking a little punch.
The Blurb 6” x 9” Trade Book (above), using their Standard Color paper and ‘Gloss finish’ Softcover.
Mixam Softcover Book (above), US Royal size, using 120gsm paper and 350 gsm cover.
The Blurb book feels better quality than Mixam; some of that may be due to the glossy cover, which I prefer. After taking these pictures, I opened both books flat as if I were going to write in them; the Mixam book looked worrying like it could lose some pages with daily use.
Who would I use next time? *
I’ll probably give Blurb another go. I've been using them for fifteen years with very few problems, and I do like the glossy cover - although, as I mentioned, that may have been my mistake. Also, the black and white shots look closer to the original in the Blurb book. Although, if I have another disappointing experience with Blurb, I'd happily use Mixam again - I’d just make sure I selected the gloss paper for the cover.
* UPDATE: I've been using the Blurb journal for a while. I'm about a third of the way through – what I hadn't noticed when I wrote the review is that it is impossible to get this book to lay anywhere close to flat. I have literally folded the book back on itself to try to break the spine, and it's not having it. Whatever glue they use, it's not moving, making writing in it an intensely irritating, unpleasant experience. If I can't get confirmation from Blurb that future books will be printed by Lightning Source, as before, I won't be using them again. Which is a shame, as I was a loyal, happy customer, but it’s just not worth the hassle.
