Every photo book is unique, so there is no stock to hold: each one is printed after it has been designed and paid for. That is print on demand. What matters is how the order travels from the customer to the press without anyone fixing files by hand.
The path of one order
- The customer designs the book in an online editor and checks it in a preview.
- They pay in your store, with your prices, taxes and shipping.
- A print file is generated for that order, in the format your printer expects.
- The printer produces the book and it is shipped to the customer.
The third step is the one to get right. A file with no bleed, a photo stretched beyond its resolution or a spine that does not match the page count means a reprint at your expense.
What the print file must contain
- The exact page size of the format, plus the bleed your printer asks for.
- Images at a resolution that holds up at print size. The editor should warn the customer before they order, not after.
- The colour profile your printer works with.
- A cover laid out as a single spread, with a spine whose width follows the page count.
Ask your printer for these values in writing and check them on a first proof copy of each format.
Who prints
A print lab prints on its own equipment. A photographer or a shop usually works with a lab. Either works with print on demand, as long as the lab accepts single copies and you agree on a turnaround time.
If the software you use comes with its own printer, check whether you can change it later, and what the customer sees on the book and the parcel.
Costs to check before you open sales
- The printing cost of each format, at the minimum and maximum page count.
- Packaging and shipping, which weigh a lot on a single book.
- Reprints for books damaged in transit, and who pays for them.
- Payment fees and the platform fee, fixed or per sale.
What to promise customers
Give a delivery estimate that includes production time, not only shipping. A photo book is often a gift for a date, so a clear cut-off before the holidays saves a lot of emails.
How Bindl handles it
Bindl does not print. It covers the steps before the press: the editor in your brand, the checks before ordering (photos too small for their frame, empty pages), and a print-ready PDF with bleed for every paid order, built to the print profile you set and with the spine width following the page count. You download the files from your dashboard and send them to your printer. More on the setup for print labs and on white-label photo book software.