If youre new to making photo products online, youll enjoy Mixbooks fun and intuitive software.
Mixbooks live tech support was also super handy if you get stuck while creating your photo products.
Whats also nice is the company does not seem to be resting on its laurels.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
Mixbook doesnt get everything right.
A matte cover costs $5.00 more.
Matte pages cost $5.10 more, and low glare “Premium Lustre” costs $10.20 extra.
A softcover starts at $21.38, and lay flat binding starts at $61.58.
Mixbook calendarsA Mixbook calendar costs $34.99 for an 11 x 8.5-inch design.
A 14 x 11-inch calendar costs $49.99.
Mixbook photo cardsMixbook offers considerable discounts the more cards you purchase.
Other sizes include 4 x 8 and 5 x 5 (at the same price range).
Folded cards start at $1.59 ($1.11).
Like several other companies, Mixbook seems to always be offering sales.
One caveat to get the best price: Mixbook cards default to the rounded-corner design.
Meanwhile, there are 139 different options for making a calendar, which can be sorted by color theme.
But dont let all these choices overwhelm you.
Just pick a design preview that catches your eye and start adding your photos.
The wide range of customization will let you make your final product your own.
(Its got even more breathing room if you use the full-screen option.)
Mixbook offers both popup tips and access to live chat support if you get bogged down.
A panel on the right lets you scroll through thumbnail previews of all the pages in your project.
For example, there are Photos, (page) Layouts, Backgrounds, Stickers, and Text.
An edit button gives you access to adjustable borders, drop shadows, and image opacity.
This level of photo editing is rarely offered in these types of services.
Other lighthearted tweaks include the ability to add shapes, such as heart, to place your photo into.
By contrast,Printiquegives you 2,020 options andShutterflyhas 4,751.
(This is not recommended for novices though.)
Text options, however, are limited.
Some rival companies give you options for changing text on calendar pages and tweaking the grid.
Theres an optional collaborative aspect to Mixbooks design process that we liked.
Mixbook also includes a Martha Stewart collection for weddings and births.
However, you might change the color of the logo to match the background so its barely noticeable.
And as mentioned previously, Mixbooks handy 24/7 chat support is built right into the design interface.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
Less successful, in our opinion, are the AI-generated captions that can be automatically added to photos.
The resulting language was too verbose and flowery to our taste.
On the inside, Mixbook’s default Everyday Semi-Gloss finish produced solid, pleasing contrast.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
Both light and dark skintones in our portraits were rendered true-to-life.
Overall, it was Mixbooks image quality consistency across a range of subject matter that we appreciated.
Mixbook calendarsMixbooks calendars were also in the top-tier of all thephoto calendar serviceswe tested.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
Our Italy photos include a variety of landscapes, cityscapes and candid portraits in the Tuscany region.
Mixbook’s calendar are a bit higher priced than some of the competition, however.
Mixbook photo cardsMixbooksphoto cards finished in the middle of the pack in our testing.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
It wasnt a deal breaker but considering how much we liked Mixbooks other products it was a disappointment.
Its software was fun and refreshingly easy to use, lowering the barrier of entry for photographers.
At the same time, novices wont be the only ones who find Mixbook appealing.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
Most importantly, there was little trade-off between useability and quality with Mixbook.
The only downside were Mixbooks photo cards, which were surprisingly only average in our testing.
Thats hardly a deal breaker though.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
We think youll love using Mixbooks service and be even happier with the results.
More from Tom’s Guide
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
