The Semantics of Blurb’s Custom Logo
Too often I make photographs that I never see in print. But that is about to change as I’m designing a couple of self-published photography books. The first is a hand-out to vendors of our wedding photography and the second will be of my work in China.
Blurb seems to be the largest book printer around so I settled on them for simplicity sake. They make layout relatively easy, as long as you don’t want a double-truck. But there is one truly insipid feature in their product. They paste and lock their little blue logo throughout your book. And then bill you extra to remove it.
If you don’t want their advertising pasted all over your book the price of printing increases about 25%. The $19.95 printing becomes $24.95 sans-logo. Removing the logo costs more than printing on premium paper which only adds about 12% to the price.
They are basically giving a discount if you give them advertising space. It is understandable and even smart. But I hate it when companies treat me like an idiot with press releases like this.
Custom Logo Upgrade – This option allows creative professionals to insert their own logos into books. Blurb’s Custom Logo Upgrade is a premium service introduced in response to demand from professional photographers, who will now be able to insert their own branding into Blurb books. Custom Logo Upgrade is available for an additional fee under an alternative pricing schedule.
Blurb just went from being my printer to being my prototyping software, which I’ll then get printed somewhere else.
