PRODUCT: JOURNAL ARTBOOK FROM QT ALBUMS
Overall Style: Modern, Minimal, Fine Art
Album Type: Layflat
Cover Style: Rustic Leather Wrap
Cover Options: One Style
Look of the Colour Prints: Vibrant and Bold Colours
Look of the BW Prints: Deep and Contrasty
Paper: Soft, Textured, Matte
Standout Feature: Hand-torn edges
Price (10x10 - 15 spreads): $480
OVERALL APPEAL
I was drawn to the QT Albums Journal Artbooks for many reasons. First, it’s visually striking, it really stood out as a unique offering from QT Albums. Although other companies offer leather cover albums, the Journal Album really differentiates itself with the Cotton Rag, torn-edge pages. These hand-made, custom albums are a perfect balance of modern meets rustic, the uniqueness of the binding and the cover really make it a stand out album, one that is eye-catching for photographers and clients alike.
PS. Looking for a free sample album from QT Albums? Find out more here.
HOW THE IMAGES LOOKS
QT Albums uses archival pigment inks on the archival acid-free natural white cotton paper which means the colours are vivid and really rich. If you like bold, deep colours, you’ll love the look of your images printed with this combination of ink and paper. The images print really true to the edits, I’d say they almost add a bit of saturation and vibrance to them, really bringing them to life. I like to keep these things in mind when I’m adjustment my final selections for print to ensure my images print as closely to the delivered digital edits I provide my clients.
THE PAPER
The archival acid-free natural white cotton paper is soft to the touch, it has a really delicate, matte look to it. The feel is very unique to the product, it’s smooth but it has a slightly textured surface which is a really stunning combination with the matte finish of the paper. The real standout of the paper is the hand torn-edges. It makes it feel like a lot of care and meticulous work went into creating the album, giving you and your clients an instant wow factor when flipping through the pages. You’ll find yourself rubbing yourself rubbing your fingertips across the edge of the paper at every flip of the page, this sort of tangible experience really elevates the album especially when its in your client’s hands.
The album is not attached to the cover, which gives off the vibe that the pages are a stack of hand-torn prints. Instead of looking and feeling like a more traditionally bound album, it’s unbound and completely untraditional - making it truly unique as a wedding album offering in your arsenal.
THE COVER
The design of the Journal Artbook comes with a cover page and a gold foil embossing for your title. It’s clean, minimal, and the pop of gold really stands out on the white cotton paper. The other beautiful feature of the cover is the rustic leather wrap that encloses the album. It’s high quality without being too thick or bulky and a really nice way to present the album to your clients. Instead of having multiple albums with linen covers, throwing one of these one of a kind albums into your offerings will really stand out and catch the eye of clients who are looking for something different that screams artistic craftsmanship.
SIZES AND SPREADS
The Journal Artbook comes in the following sizes:
4x4
8x8
8x12 (Vertical)
12x8 (Horizontal)
10x10
12x12
The quantity of spreads ranges from 10-25.
PRICING
The average QT Albums Journal Artbook (10x10 with 15 spreads) costs $480.
TURNAROUND TIME
Because the products are custom and hand-made to order the turnaround time is up to 25 days + shipping time. They do offer Rush Services if needed so you can satisfy any urgent orders without hassle.
WHO IS THIS ALBUM FOR?
After seeing how the images print on the paper, I think photographers with any editing style could use this album and include it as an organic fit in their product offerings. If I were to recommend one type of editing style, I think it works best for “true-to-life” edits that have accurate exposures and aren’t desaturating specific colours or the images as a whole. But after seeing how my night portraits and brightly backlit ceremony photos looked in the album, I’m confident that anyones editing style will look good with this printing / paper combination.
If you are editing for more muted, subtle tones - then I think this album isn’t going to give you the look you want. The printing of this album really accentuates the vibrancy of the images so that has to be something you want highlighted in your prints.
If you editing only black and white images - I think this is a good album choice for you. The rich ink gives you deep blacks and adds some contrast. Punchy is definitely the way I would describe how the black and white images print in this album
This album is modern, minimalist, and high quality fine art. The leather wrap also adds a little bit of rustic charm and warmth to the presentation of the album. So if those any of those words resonate with your style, then this album will fit seamlessly into your brand and your product offerings. It’s certainly a show stopper and I can see it being a favourite for clients. I always find that clients are drawn to a product that stands out, so I really think this once could be your potential best-seller and a go-to album of choice for many couples.
FLIP THROUGH THE ALBUM
TIP: Before you order an album for you sample or for your clients, I recommend getting test prints from your supplier to ensure the printing and paper combination compliments your shooting/editing style.
I look forward to doing more album reviews going forward to help wedding photographers find the perfect products to offer their clients.
Stay tuned as next time I’ll be reviewing the Queensberry Flushmount album!
GET YOUR FREE SAMPLE FROM QT ALBUMS
QT Albums is currently running an incredible promotion until the end of March 2021. If you purchase any sample album from them (their samples are 50% off) you’ll receive your investment back in the form of coupons to put towards your client orders. So basically you get a FREE SAMPLE album.
For more information, head to their website:
www.qtalbums.com
READY TO LEARN HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY SELL AND DESIGN ALBUMS?
I know that as a photographer you may not inherently have the skills to sell and design albums, that's why I created the Album Workshop.
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Albums can be the key to a sustainable business and to providing your clients with the ultimate experience.
In the course I guide you through all the ins and outs of offering albums to help you avoid COSTLY MISTAKES and learn to sell albums in a GENUINE WAY that isn’t off-putting to your clients.
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