Shutterfly vs Blurb

So here's the deal... the first book program I used was Shutterfly to make a book for my MIL of our trip to Brazil. I was very impressed with the quality of the book, but really irritated with the limitations in layouts and design.

Then I started booking my blog and heard Blurb was the best and easiest. And to be 100% honest I LOVE everything about Blurb except the lack of styles and embellishments to choose from (which is fine because I think my pics need to be the focus, but it's still annoying) and the quality of the finished product. Had I never done Shutterfly I would probably be totally satisfied with how the Blurb book turned out, but I know there is better quality out there so it bugs me.

I did go very simple on my blog books because they are mainly for me as a journal with pictures and I don't want to spend too much time and effort on a journal. But when you pay the amount it costs for each book I expect the best. I was really bugged by the quality of my 2007 book. The pages are great and just as good as Shutterfly, but it's the cover I hate. For one it doesn't print centered and it looks really weird. But most importantly it's a very matte finish. The Shutterfly book is shiny and glossy and if fingerprints were to get on it you can wipe them off. But the blurb book is too matte that it would be difficult. The binding also doesn't seem to be as high of quality either.

So I got an offer code for a free premium paper upgrade. It was suppose to be glossier and better then the standard paper so I finished my 2008 book and used the offer code hoping it meant it would be like my Shutterfly cover. Well... if you were to just look at the two books side by side you can't tell a difference at all. It's still a matte finish, but it is a little slicker to the touch. The pages themselves are thicker and better quality, but it didn't up the quality of the pictures or text. So I am not quite sure I would pay the extra $10 for their supposed "premium paper".

For now I will continue to do my blog books with Blurb only because of the ease and freedom their program allows. And when booking the blog there are so many variations in layouts needed that it's important that you have freedom to play around with it. But for my "picture" books or the books we would look at more regularly and show our kids often, I am going to use Shutterfly. For example I am going to make my own book of Brazil and a book of our wedding pictures and I want the best quality for those.

If I was a better photographer and knew how

to use my camera you would be able to see the

difference in the Blurb & Shutterfly books.

Can you tell a difference in quality between the two?

I sure can't!

Here's the Shutterfly book and you can

clearly see how it's glossy and shiny

**side note - I am a HUGE texture person. Everything is about texture, food I eat, clothes I wear, Fabric I sew with... etc so I need good texture! I am the person that doesn't just look through racks of clothes I must touch it all, run it between my fingers and my sense of touch must like the texture or it's a no go. I think that is why the matte is bugging me SO badly! I HATE flat paint I HATE matte anything - It doesn't feel good.

Now if only there was a way to combine the positive things about each program to make a better program! Now I am wondering if there is a way to create the book in Blurb and have Shutterfly print it!? My wheels are spinning... and it is possible I am just not doing something right with Blurb when selecting my cover options and if that's the case someone please tell me what I am doing wrong!?