Photo book covers are one of the most important design elements to consider when you make your own photo books. When the idea of making your own digital photo books first arrived on the scene, the original books had only one cover option-- your only photo book cover choices were which color to use. It may have been simple, but it wasn't as much fun.

Fortunately, all that has changed. Today, there are a lot more options for covers for a photo book. Depending on the printer you choose, you can make the cover for a photo book from almost any material you can think of.

Common Photobook Cover Materials and Options

There areso many more materials to choose from when choosing a cover for your photobook, including the option of printing on the front cover or even creating a photo book dust jacket.

We only discuss the cover choices here. Interested in reading about the binding and pages? Book Binding describes your photo book binding options.

Cover Choices for Hardcover Photo Books

There are five basic cover types:

Below, I'll talk about these different photo book covers, where to find them, and how to choose the right cover for your photo book project.

1. Die Cut or Photo Frame Photo Books

For many photo book printing services, this one is the original or standard photo book cover design. In general, this kind of photo book is in hardcover cardboard, or covered with linen or leather.

The front has a die-cut rectangle that allows a picture on the inside to show through. It is very attractive and you can have a cover color that frames the picture that you choose to have show through.

There are plenty of different versions of this standard cover for a digital photo book, ranging from budget versions to ultra-elegant ones.

Examples of Die Cut Covers

2. Printed Hardcover or Softcover Photo Books

This is a newer type of cover and the front cover, spine, and back cover can normally be printed with the photo or design of your choice. Some photo book printers will only do the front cover, but many will print all three areas. The cover has a glossy laminate. The first size that had printed covers was the 8x8, but now there are many sizes that have printed covers. These are commonly called "custom covers".

Examples of Custom Photo Hardcover Books

3. Classic Leather Cover Photo Books

When you want the nicest most high quality photo book possible, you'll probably opt for a leather photo book cover.

These special leather photobooks are very elegant and are usually reserved to commemorate a special occasion. Some photo book printers allow a title to be printed on the cover or spine, but others some do not.

4. Dust Jacket or Book Jacket Photo Books

Some people really like to have dust jackets for their books and this is now one of the choices you can have. The dust jacket can be printed with a variety of layouts, including a plain photo or photo with text.

Unfortunately, the number of photo book printers offering dust jackets with their hardcover photo book covers is dwindling. Most of the main ones, such as Picaboo and Shutterfly, don't offer this option.

The only printer I can think of where you can find this sort of photo book is Blurb.

5. Fabric Cover Photo Books

Your last option for photo book covers is fabric. A lot of photo book printing services offer a standard linen hardcover photo book in a bunch of different colors. Many also offer fake suede, velvet, and other options. It's always a pretty and understated option.

Examples of Fabric Photo Book Covers

---

Photo Book Cover and Color Availability

Deciding which type of cover to use for a photo book will help you decide which publisher to choose. Since even the same publisher will not offer all the covers for all sizes it is hard to chart the availability. Here is a basic chart that should help you gauge your photobook cover options.

But please be sure to check on the photo book printer's site to make sure that the cover is available for the size book that you want to use. I try to keep all of this information updated, but it's hard when printers change their product offerings all the time!

For quick links to other photo book questions:

Choosing the Right Size for your Photo Book
Photo Book Covers, Sizes and Prices
Book Binding Methods
Photo Book Feature Set Review
Publishers We're Not Reviewing