Nic's Storefront

Nic's Blog

• Lulu Experience...

  2007 Dec 10

  *wrote this before, really good, but was deleted when pressed review so this is my second attempt...*
  
  Overall, I eventually enjoyed using lulu as a self-publishing website. Although it was initially difficult to use, with more practice it became easier and more features opened up to us.
  
  Using InDesign was also initially difficult, as any new program is. I'm sure had we had previous training with it, or more time to be shown the features, it would have made creating the photobook easier, but in the end, I think we learned to use it well as we practiced more and more - a similar way that I learned PhotoShop inside and out.
  
  I was pleased with the amount of choice we had with the design of our book (or at least I did as I created the TIFFs in PhotoShop). I was able to chose what I wished to include and where. I thought we were limited in Lulu with the choice of templates - my final template wasn't even under photobooks, it was in paperback books (as mine was square).
  
  The POD feature of Lulu was very useful though, particularly because I'm a student. It saves money on printing 1000s at once by just printing what is required, and it also creates a social circle within Lulu for your work to circulate. I liked the fact that lulu is POD because it means we have more freedom over our own work, rather than someone else telling us what is good and what has to be deleted.
  
  I couldn't confidently compare Lulu to another self-publishing website at the moment, as this is the only one I have fully used. From what I have briefly glimpsed from other POD websites, Lulu has a much wider range to offer, and is relatively cheaper. The only main downside with Lulu is the quality of the final product (which I have not yet received so cannot fully comment on). The small deatils required are often overlooked - such as full bleed. However, I think that as a website, Lulu is, at least a good starting point for self-publishing.