Print Version

Reading a blog is fun, isn't it?

The digital format is easy to navigate. You read, scroll down, view some images, scroll down some more, and leave a comment at the bottom if you'd like.

Fun. Easy. You can do it all from a digital device. Sitting in the park. Lying on the couch. Almost anywhere, anytime. And that's great.

But I hope some of you will agree with me when I say that there's nothing like holding an actual book in your hands and flipping through the pages.

Nothing.

And that affinity for printed material is why I decided to put some of the more personally meaningful posts from my first year of blogging into a print version using Mixbook, one of the many photo book services out there. (Other good photo book services include Snapfish, Apple, Flickr, and Shutterfly.)

It took some time to choose the posts I wanted to preserve most, and more time after that with layout, but it was well worth it. Here are some images of the finished product, as well as some tips if you think you might want to try a fun project like this yourself. I'm only familiar with the Mixbook interface, But I'd guess the other services are similar in the way you navigate around and create your book.

Overall, Mixbook's design tool was fairly easy to use. It's not professional publishing software, but it did get the job done without much fuss.

Text boxes can be inserted, dragged around, and resized on the page as much as you'd like, and you can change the font type, size, and color just as you would with any other publishing tool.

Same goes for your images. They can be moved around easily and resized right there on screen. If you do happen to enlarge one too much, a warning icon will appear to let you know that the image might not print at a high enough quality. You can also add features to your images such as borders and shadows. (The shadow feature works great for trading cards, as it gives them a little dimension on the page.)

 
The trickiest part might be reworking the layout for print, because you've only got so much space per page. Very long blog posts that contain dozens and dozens of images won't work well, for example, just for the sheer number of pages they'd take up. (I whittled a couple of my entries down for the book.)

However, once you get the hang of adjusting column widths and figure alignments, the layout goes by more quickly. There's even a built-in feature that helps you align one image with another on the sides, top, or bottom.

 
Mixbook also gives you numerous choices for book size and paper finish, which is a nice touch. Each book comes with 20 blank pages for you to fill, but take note that there's an extra charge for each page after that. (Currently it's anywhere from $0.69 to $2.39 per page, depending on how big and fancy of a book style you choose.) This really can add up if you're not paying attention. However, for the ability to hold a printed version of some memorable, meaningful blog posts in your hands, the extra page cost might really be worth it. 

And the good thing is that Mixbook often runs excellent specials and promotions, such as $20 off your order, 50% off your order, and so on.

Why not go through your blog history, choose 5 or 10 entries (or more) that hold special meaning for you, and consider making a print version? It's a great way to look back on some of the work you've done, especially if you've been blogging for years. You'll be preserving some of that work in print form, and there's nothing like it.