I have wanted to take my photos and immortalize them into annual photo books for a long time, but it’s just been one of those lingering to-dos that’s never actually made its way off the list. So, I made it a formal goal for this year. Along with being overwhelmed with the volume and years of history I have to wade through, just knowing how many photo book companies there out there (and not having a clear place to start) has been daunting. So, my first step was deciding which publisher to use so I could have a defined way forward. The best way I knew to do that (and to hopefully be helpful to all of you in the process since so many of us are in the same boat) was to do some real life testing. Today, I have several books printed from multiple photo book companies and I know how I plan to proceed. And, I’m going to break it all down and share it all.
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The Photo Book Companies I Chose
I chose the photo book companies based off of your input on IG stories, my personal experience with the companies, and general reputation. There are plenty of popular companies — like Shutterfly — that I wasn’t as interested in attempting but of course, if you’ve done your own comparisons, please share with us in the comment section at the bottom of the post!
- mPix — I have used them for photo printing for probably 15 years. I love everything about my experience with them and their photo quality is always incredible. I felt their books would likely be to the same caliber.
- Mixtiles — While photo art for walls is their primary service, I had seen and saved their cool location-based photo book covers a while back and was dying to try them.
- Artifact Uprising — Known for its premium quality, this one was most recommended by you all for “nice albums”.
How I Conducted the Experiment
Admittedly the easiest way to compare apples to apples would have been to select the same photos and basically publish the same book across all three publishers, but my funds aren’t unlimited — even for the sake of experimentation haha — and on a personal level, if I was going to DO these books, I wanted to be able to be able to take away three actual different books I loved.
I also didn’t want to test them with an annual book because I knew once I decided which publisher I wanted to use moving forward, I would want all the annual books to be uniform. So, I tried to decide on three different books that all made sense being published in different ways. Here’s what I chose.
- I used mPix to print mine and Dave’s 2024 trip to Italy since it was a special experience I would love to have memorialized. I felt confident that whatever the book came out as would be sufficient.
- I used Mixtiles to print our family adventure to Maine this year. I wanted to use a place to experience the cool Mixtiles geographical covers and iconography and while I love the idea of having that trip printed on its own, separate from the forthcoming annual book, the stakes were pretty low. If I liked it, I was hopeful that I could do a family adventure series with our primary annual family trip getting its own book each year.
- I used Artifact Uprising to finally print a wedding album. We just celebrated 14 years of marriage yesterday and we never did get a commemorative recap of the day in physical form. If I was going to be spending a lot, I wanted it to really count and be something more precious.
In my photo book comparisons, it’s important to note that not only are the books not apples to apples, but the photos themselves are different, too. My mPix and Mixtiles book consists exclusively of iPhone snaps while Artifact Uprising got the high quality digital images from our wedding photographer, Ed Hetherington.
Let’s get into some of the categories I came up with to compare each book…
Shipping, Handling, & Logistics
I hate paying for shipping. I’d rather a product be more expensive with the illusion of free shipping.
Both mPix and Mixtiles had free shipping, while Artifact Uprising had a hefty shipping fee of more than $30.
In terms of processing, production, and logistical speed, Artifact Uprising and Mixtiles shipped about five-ish days after I placed my order while mPix shipped the next day.
Price & Value
I am all about value — I don’t have to have the best or the cheapest but I need to feel sound about the expense for the quality. I am thrilled to report that from my standpoint, the value in all three companies holds up — it’s more of a matter of what is the most important between cost and quality. So, I’ll share what I ordered and the cost for each. Again, each book is different in terms of pages used and premium level of publishing.
- 10″x10″ Premium Book on Matte Book Stock with Linen Cover on Linen Cover in Sand
- Additional 22 Pages on Matte Book Stock
- Gold Debossing on the Cover
Item Subtotal: $144.99
Promotional Discount 40% off: $58 Discount
Free Shipping
Grand Total After Tax: $93.08
2. Mixtiles
- 10″x10″ Photo Book
- Up to 200 pages with no extra fees
- Free Shipping
Grand Total After Tax: $71.85
(NOTE: I secured a new promotion that made my additional photo books $38.04 each after getting the first published!)
- 12″x12″ Laflat Photo Album in Oatmeal Fabric with Gold Foil and Lustre Paper
- 27 spreads
- Up to 200 pages with no extra fees
- Free Shipping
Item Subtotal: $478.50
Promotional Discount $95.70 Discount
$33.99 Shipping
Grand Total After Tax: $445.96
Value Winner: Mixtiles. The quality for what I got for what was ultimately $38/book in my subsequent orders is pretty wild. I LOVE that you can print up to 200 pages without additional page fees and the covers for travel are SO fun. Best value doesn’t mean best quality though and while I am thrilled to move forward using them for trips and occasions, I wouldn’t necessarily use them for the most special keepsake books now that I’ve seen more premium books. Honestly, I felt the value for each book was worth it for their individual designated projects, but it’s relative because I wouldn’t spend Artifact Uprising money on an everyday travel book.
Cover & Spine Options
Going into it, I knew I didn’t want a photo cover for any of my books. Each company offers custom covers but I knew I wanted a linen cover for my annual and wedding books and wanted to try the Mixtiles AI generated travel covers for our annual adventure books. Artifact Uprising and mPix offer both hard and soft cover options while Mixtiles is limited to hard covers. That said, here’s my experience based on what I ordered…
- mPix: I LOVE how the linen cover with gold foil came out. One of the biggest negatives though — and I will have to confirm — is that there isn’t a printable spine option which I REALLY want for an annual book.
2. Mixtiles — Not only is the value incredible but the cover options is why I wanted to test this company out. You type in the name of the location and their AI generator comes up with thematic iconography and colors. I generated multiple covers for each trip and then chose my favorite.
Such a cool collection, interesting coffee table books, and cements my plan to continue to create post-trip books for our primary annual family adventures.
3. Artifact Uprising — The cover itself is really nice but the gold foil text against the linen cover I chose is subtle — almost too subtle. Especially with the small type. If you like a dainty look — which I don’t mind since it’s for our wedding — it’s still nice. Definitely a more luxe look.
I do like that they have printed spines but again, it’s hard to read.
Cover Winner: Draw. I prefer the front cover of mPix, the spine of Artifact Uprising, and the overall design option of the travel books I created with Mixtiles. You can make a cohesive collection with each company.
Book Options
With the exception of our wedding album (which I chose in a 12″x12″ size to be a standalone), I wanted all my photo books to measure 10″x10″ so they could all stack together uniformly.
Each company offers multiple size books and while Artifact Uprising and mPix offer multiple page sheen options, Mixtiles only offers a signature standard option.
I went for a flatlay matte page option in our mPix Italy book…
and a lustre page flat-lay book for our wedding album.
The thickness of the pages in the books I ordered is incredible. While the mPix book pages are incredibly thick, the Artifact Uprising book pages are like boards.
Book Options Winner: Artifact Uprising. The pages are a premium and you pay for them.
Design Experience
Artifact Uprising and mPix had very comparable design experiences where you could choose a layout for each page/spread, and then drag/drop photos. Mixtiles is much more basic. Each page only allows for one photo and you can choose whether you want a full bleed (to the edge of the page) photo or a centered photo at its actual size.
For my wedding album with Artifact Uprising, I used all kinds of page layouts.
And the photos that were in the gutter (spine) still turned out beautiful in the flat-lay.
I loved being able to include lots of action and guest shots in later pages too with smaller, uniform collages.
I took a very similar approach with the Italy (mPix) book.
And by the way, I’m including little mementos we collected in the backs of the books, too.
The flat-lay option for mPix makes for gorgeous spreads, too.
In contrast to Artifact Uprising and mPix, Mixtiles only offers one photo/page, but, for our travel books, I actually like that it simplifies the process and makes it much easier and quicker to crank out a book.
And, as I mentioned earlier in the post, you get up to 200 pages included in the price!
The most frustrating part of the design process with Mixtiles is that you can’t work on multiple books at the same time, save drafts, and then check out all at once. You have to complete a book, check out, and then start a new one. Their customer service was great though becuase the promotion I wanted to use was based on a single order value and they recognized that the total value of my orders would put me at the threshold but that it was their limitations that wouldn’t let me us my discount. So, after ordering, they went back in and issued price adjustments for each order.
Design Experience Winner: Artifact Uprising for options and user interface.
Print & Photo Quality
I was impressed with each company’s photo quality, but ranking from my personal experience, I would rank them in this order…
- Artifact Uprising (judged against professional photos)
- mPix (judged against iPhone photos)
- Mixtiles (judged against iPhone photos)
Photo Quality Winner: Artifact Uprising but I am pleased with the photo quality of each book.
Construction & Finish
Artifact Uprising feels like a premium product, from the time you receive the box. It’s also the only one in which you have to pay for shipping. You can FEEL the quality and the heft and the linen.
mPix is also a really nice, luxe-appearing book but falls slightly under Artifact Uprising when standing side by side.
The binding on both is quality.
Mixtiles — while a different concept and kind of product — also feels really well produced and arrived scuff free and well saturated. I still can’t believe that I got this caliber of product for under $40.
Book Construction Winner: Artifact Uprising is the most premium product.
Best For
Artifact Uprising — special occasions and documented memories that call for more regal presentation.
mPix — all occasions, from special to everyday.
Mixtiles — everyday and travel/events.
Would I Order Again?
I would and will order from each again. I felt so strongly about the value for each one, I think they all deliver quality, especially for what they were intended for. So… which company will I be using for my annual review photo books?
mPix. For what I believe is the best of all worlds — the right mix of value and quality while delivering a solid process and design to continue.
But, I also plan to use Mixtiles for our annual family trips. After I got my first book from them (Maine), I didn’t even have my other books before determining that I would absolutely continue using them, and then quickly designed and printed another three previous trips.
DO NOT ORDER PHOTO BOOKS WITHOUT A PROMO CODE! Each company constantly has discounts so be sure to wait and order when you can get them at a discount!
So now, I start the task of creating photo books for each year, backdating to the year Eliza was born in 2019. I can’t decide whether I should start with the present and work my way back or start with 2019. And while I know it will be a process with lots of sentimental attachment (and tons of pics to sift through), I am excited to have a clear direction with some experience with the photo book service I’ll be using.
If you have your own experiences and input, share those in the comment section below!
