MyCanvas Photo Book Review

MyCanvas is a relaunch of AncestryPress of Ancestry.com. I loved reviewing this photo book printer. The site was easy to navigate and the themes and backgrounds were unique, classy and elegant. If you haven't visited this photo book printer yet, they are definitely worth the time if you're looking for a higher end look to your photo book.

MyCanvas has two quality levels of books. The Standard Photo Books are printed on 100 lb. gloss, archival paper with three different cover options available. The Premium Photo Books include matching end sheets cut from heavyweight fine art paper and each book is individually hand-crafted and made-to-order by U.S. craftspeople. The Premium Photo Books also come with an optional slip case for an additional $50.00. See MyCanvas Covers, Sizes and Bindings for more information.

The photo book software was full of delightful surprises. I did need to disable my popup blocker before I could get the program to work. There is a good text editor, and you can add text blocks wherever you'd like. Pictures can also be added anywhere on the page. Even though you choose a theme when you start your book, you can still choose any background while you are working on it. There are several corners, frames and embellishments you can add. You can also change the order of the pages, which is a real nice feature.

Although the photo book software is not set up to do a 2-page spread, there is a little trick you can use with this publisher and others to manipulate one. Take the picture and edit it into two sections. Make sure you allow 1/4" around the entire pictures that you will not care if it gets cut off. Then, select the Full bleed lay-out for each page. Once you have finished this, you can drop each side of the picture onto the pages. Click Preview to see how well they are matching up. You may need to work with it a little to get it to match up.

MyCanvas also has a relationship with SmugMug, and if you upload your photos to SmugMug, it is very easy to upload your photos to the MyCanvas photo book interface. Adding photos from Picasa is also supported. And, of course, there is the ability to upload photos from your own computer.

Family Tree Posters

Besides photo books, MyCanvas also offers posters and calendars. Wall-sized posters of your family tree are available. Information on your on-line Ancestery tree is used to generate the posters. You can add photos, edit text, change backgrounds and much more. You can choose from 3 up to 9 generations. Sizes range from 20x16 ($14.95), 24x18 ($19.95) and 24x36 ($39.95).

Support is via e-mail or phone and help, tutorials and webinars are also available.

Updated: January 2, 2010

MyCanvas Photo Book Review

Comparative Photo Book Software Review

Background Themes	36 different backgrounds with at least 5 backgrounds per theme. There are 345 backgrounds to choose from.
Layout Variety	Flexible layouts - you can add, resize, and arrange pictures as you wish
JPG as a Background	Yes. You upload any photo in the Backgrounds folder and it can be used as a background on any page.
Digi-Scrapbooking Friendly	Yes
In-book Editing	Only flip, rotate, crop, and filter
Text - variety and Full Page	Yes
Embellishments and Corners	The best variety of embellishments and corners I have seen in any photo book publisher's software. You can even add maps and postcards.
Full-Page Bleed	Yes
Final Grade	A+

For an explanation of the Feature Set Review

Photo Book Sizes

The prices given are based on a 20 page book with printing on both sides of the pages. Additional pages are available for an extra charge. The price given is the lowest price for that size category.

Standard Cover and Bindings
8x8	29.95
11x8.5	34.95
14x11	54.95
Premium Cover and Bindings
8x8	199.00
11x8.5	199.00

For a more detailed pricing, please visit Photo Book Covers and Sizes

Learn about more photo book publishers