Mixbook Review
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MIXBOOK OVERVIEW
The first time I reviewed Mixbook was back in 2011. Since that time I’ve gone on to make several books with Mixbook and over the years the company has expanded its photo book product lines as well as added other custom photo products such as canvas prints, cards, calendars and prints. This year, (2016 as of this update) the company celebrates its 10th anniversary. It seemed a good time to refresh this page and update my overview of Mixbook.
What hasn’t changed is Mixbook’s focus on collaboration. If you’re looking to work on a photo book project with a friend or family member, Mixbook’s software really lends itself to a collective project. A group of users can individually log in to work on a single photo book project together, easily sharing photos and creative ideas. This could be a fun joint activity for a club, family or group of friends. You can also share your photo books online for free even if you don't print your photo book by embedding the Mixbook player on your website or blog.
Images of the photo book guest book I made with Mixbook are at top right and the group cookbook project are below. I found the program very easy to use and everyone loved their books!
Mixbook offers both hardcover and softcover books in 7 sizes ranging from 8x6 to 14x11. Format options include square, landscape and portrait books. Lay flat hardcover photo books are also available, printed on a thicker and different type of paper than its regular photo books. Check out my Mixbook lay flat photo book here. With Mixbook, you don’t need to download any software as the book building process occurs online. Both Macs and PCs are supported. A real stand out with Mixbook’s software is its user-friendliness. But even though it’s easy to use, it’s packed with a lot of advanced design options and all the main tools you’d look for in a layout program. There are a good variety of layouts and backgrounds available and you can also create your own layouts. For those photobookers who enjoy adding a lot of design elements such as clip art and other enhancements, the well-designed backgrounds and stickers really give Mixbook that scrapbook-look. There are also more than 300 themes to jumpstart creativity so there’s no need to start from scratch. For the more advance digital scrapbookers, the software allows you to upload your own embellishments. If you are a traditional scrapbooker and just getting into the digital world (like I was years ago), Mixbook is a great place to give digi scrapping a try.
The flexibility of Mixbook’s software extends to its other products namely the custom calendars and cards. I make Mixbook calendars every year for my family using all those forgotten photos from the past year. This year will be my sixth year making Mixbook calendars for my family. It’s become a family tradition and it’s a gift that is eagerly anticipated every holiday. What’s very helpful and a time-saver is that all of my family birthdays and special occasions are automatically saved so I don’t have to reenter them each year. I make my calendars every year with Mixbook because of the user friendly software and because of the high level of customization it allows.
Most calendar products by other companies are very limited in layout and restrictive as to where you are allowed to place photos. I don’t have those limitations with Mixbook. Same goes for their custom cards. I like that I can start with a card design that I like and then tweak in virtually any way that I wish.
Mixbook frequently offers discounts and coupon codes on their photo books and other custom gifts, which you can find by clicking on the green button at the top of this page.
Unique Features & Tips
- Not only can you give your photo a frame in any color, you can also add a shadow or reflection for your photo or clip art which is not a common feature.
- You can adjust the transparency of a photo and place a photo into a variety of adjustable photo box shapes such as circles, triangles, stars, hearts etc.
- Images and embellishments can cross over a two-page spread - an uncommon feature in other photo book companies.
- You can customize the book spine with a title.
- All of the fun clip art, backgrounds and digital scrapbooking elements shown here in the books I created, are free within the Mixbook program.
Want to see my detailed review and how I put together my group cookbook project? Check out my detailed Mixbook Review.
The next two screenshots are of my group cookbook that I worked on with friends. All clip art shown is free within the program! Learn how to make your own cookbook!
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Mixbook Reviews from the Blog
Nov 5, 2019: Mixbook's New Premium Lustre Lay Flat Photo Book - Photo Book Girl Review
Mar 21, 2019: (UPDATED) Photo Book Girl's Top Mother's Day and Father's Day 2019 Deals and Gift Ideas
Dec 26, 2018: Holiday Mixbook Giveaway Winners Announced!
Nov 13, 2018: Photo Book Girl's Annual Holiday Photo Card Guide Best Deals & Tips 2018
Nov 11, 2018: Mixbook Holiday Card Review Plus 2 Exclusive Pre-Black Friday Deals 2018
May 1, 2018: Photo Book Girl's Mother's Day and Father's Day Gift Guide 2018
Apr 28, 2018: Mixbook Mother's Day Giveaway Winners Announced!
Apr 15, 2018: Photo Book Girl's Favorite Mother's Day Gift Ideas at Mixbook Plus a GIVEAWAY! (Enter by 4/23/18)
Mar 11, 2018: What We Did Last Summer - Review of Two Mixbook Photo Books
Jan 25, 2018: Photo Book Girl's DIY Art Gallery Wall & Review of Acrylic Print by Mixbook
Dec 21, 2017: Winners Announced! Photo Book Girl's 3 Days of Late Night Snack Deals Giveaway
Dec 11, 2017: Photo Book Girl's 3 Days of Late Night Snack Deals + $300 Mixbook Giveaway
Dec 7, 2017: A 7 Year Tradition: Custom Calendars from Mixbook + Special BOGO Deal
Nov 21, 2017: Pre-Black Friday Photo Book Girl Exclusive! 10 FREE Custom Holiday Cards From Mixbook
Nov 12, 2017: Photo Book Girl's Annual Holiday Photo Card Guide - Best Deals & Tips 2017
Oct 18, 2017: Winners Are In - Photo Book Girl's Fall Giveaway with Mixbook
Oct 9, 2017: Photo Book Girl's Fall Mixbook Giveaway - Enter Today! (Ends 10/16/17)
Apr 23, 2017: Can't Miss Gifts for Mother's Day - Custom Photo Gift Ideas for Mom
Mar 22, 2017: Winners Announced! One Year of Free Photo Books 7th Anniversary Giveaway & An Exclusive Mixbook Deal!
Mar 9, 2017: Win a Year of Photo Books! Photo Book Girl's 7th Anniversary Mixbook Giveaway
Dec 21, 2016: Winners Announced! Photo Book Girl Mixbook Holiday Giveaway
Dec 12, 2016: (EXTENDED 12/19/16) Photo Book Girl's 5 Days of Mixbook Deals & Holiday $200.00 GIVEAWAY!
Nov 21, 2016: My Custom Holiday Cards with Mixbook & FREE Card Offer for PBG Readers!
Nov 3, 2016: Custom Calendars from Mixbook Plus BOGO DEAL - A Photo Book Girl Tradition Lives On
Mar 10, 2016: 6th Birthday Photo Books For a Year From Mixbook Winner Announced!
Feb 28, 2016: Photo Book Girl's Sixth Birthday "Photo Books for a Year" Mixbook GIVEAWAY (Ended)
Dec 8, 2015: Custom Photo Calendars - Exclusive Mixbook Coupon Code for Photobookgirl Readers
Dec 8, 2015: Custom Photo Calendars - Exclusive Mixbook Coupon Code for Photobookgirl Readers
Apr 30, 2014: Mosaic Mother's Day Giveaway Winners Announced
Apr 29, 2014: (WINNERS Announced) Mixbook Mother's Day Flash GIVEAWAY! 5 Prizes (International) ENDED
Apr 21, 2014: Mother's Day Giveaway - 12 Prizes! Make a Photo Book in Minutes with Mosaic (ENDED)
Apr 16, 2014: Mixbook and Photo Book Girl Mother’s Day Exclusive Deals
Mar 16, 2014: PhotoBookGirl's Fourth Anniversary Mixbook Giveaway Winners Announced (Plus a Tour!)
Feb 28, 2014: Photo Book Girl's Fourth Anniversary Giveaway! Win a Mixbook Designed by Photo Book Girl
Feb 26, 2014: The Ultimate Lay Flat Photo Book Comparison Guide - A Book for Every Budget (Updated 2017)
Feb 6, 2014: Mosaic Photo Book Review and Valentine's Giveaway Winners Announced
Jan 26, 2014: Valentine's Day Giveaway and Mosaic Photo Book Review (12 prizes!)
Jan 9, 2014: Behind the Scenes at My First Photo Book Party - Part 2
Dec 31, 2013: Year In Review Photo Books - Happy New Year!
Dec 27, 2013: Behind the Scenes at My First Photo Book Party - Part I
Nov 15, 2013: Mixbook Calendar Review 2014 + a Special Promo for Photo Book Girl Readers
Nov 8, 2013: Mixbook $300 2013 Giveaway Winners Announced
Oct 27, 2013: Mixbook Lay Flat Photo Book Review Plus a GIVEAWAY! $300 in prizes (ENDED)
Oct 20, 2013: 10 FREE Holiday Cards from Mixbook & How to Create that Vintage Look For Your Photos
Aug 8, 2013: Make Your Own Family, Heritage and Genealogy Photo Book
Feb 3, 2012: Mixbook Calendar 2012 Review
Jan 9, 2011: Mixbook Review - Make Your Own Cookbook
Nov 3, 2010: Mixbook Group Photo Book Project - Make Your Own Photo Book with Friends
Quick Specs for MixbookNew to photo books? Learn the lingo
| Book Type | Hardcover & Softcover |
| Book Shape | Portrait, Landscape & Square |
| Types of Covers | Full Photo Cover |
| Min/Max Pages | 20 - 399 (lay flat 99 pages) |
| Paper | 100 lb. archival quality silk, semi-gloss, acid and lignin free |
| Binding | Hardcover - saddle stitched; Softcover - perfect bound; Dust jacket; Leather |
| Lay Flat | Yes |
| Fully Customizable Layouts | Yes |
| Themes | 300+ |
| Layouts/Templates | 200+ layouts plus themed pages |
| Backgrounds | 190+ themed backgrounds |
| Image as Background | Yes |
| Full Photo Cover | Yes |
| Customizable Spine | Yes |
| Full Photo Back Cover | Yes |
| Full Page Bleed | Yes |
| Captions/Fonts | 50+ fonts; Color wheel and custom color matching w/eyedropper tool |
| Embellishments | Stickers, shapes; Add shadow, reflection to photo boxes; Import own stickers (PNG); Control transparency |
| Mac/PC | Both |
| Download or Online | Online |
| Special Photo Importing | Instagram, Flickr, Facebook, Photobucket, Picasa, SmugMug |
| Share Online | Yes |
| Sell Online | No |
| Collaboration | Yes |
| Logo | Yes - on last page, not removable |
| Photo Editing in Program | Rotate, Zoom, Transparency |
| Digital Scrapbooking Compatible | Yes |
Mixbook Photo Books
Thinking about designing a photobook on Mixbook? You can view a detailed chart of every Mixbook photo book, including sizes and pricing. See the full list of Mixbook photo books.
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