Best Photobook Sites for Canadians

Best Photobook Canada Options - SavvyMom

We love photo books – and the great news is, there are photobook creation options for everyone, depending on your budget, how much time you want to spend on the project, how much customization you require, and how polished you want the finished product to be.

The bad news is, not all sites work for Canadian shoppers, so we’ve compiled a list of some of our favourite Canuck-friendly options to help you get started. We’ve also included a few US options at the bottom because they’re big-time fan favourites, but keep in mind you’ll likely get dinged for extra shipping and custom/import duties upon delivery.

Best Photobook Sites for Canadians

Blacks Best Photobooks Canada

Black’s

Blacks makes photobook creation pretty straightforward, which is great for those who are intimidated by the book-making process or who don’t want too many options. With Blacks you can choose from a few different themes, colours, and sizes and build your book from there. Nice and easy.

Black’s Photobook Highlights:

  • Starting price: $12.99 for 20-page, softcover book
  • Delivery within Ontario between five and nine business days depending on shipping method
  • Photo wallets, magnets, calendars, and ornaments are also available

Costco

Update Jan. 2023: Costco’s photo service is transitioning to Shutterfly’s new Canadian site. On January 28, 2023, products and services previously available from Costco Photo Centre will no longer be available. Projects saved on CostcoPhotoCentre.ca will not be available on the new Canadian Shutterfly site. If you’ve started a project at CostcoPhotoCentre.ca or would like extra copies of earlier projects, your order must be placed prior to this January 28th, 2023.

Costco’s online photo centre offers a wide range of products including photo books. Select a cover style and add your own photo(s) and text to be featured on the front. With each option you can choose from a variety of layouts and templates, conveniently drag and drop your photos, and easily add captions.

Costco’s Photobook Highlights:

  • Starting price: $25.99
  • Delivery in five to 12 business days
  • Books start at 30 pages and you can add up to 30 more for a total of 60.

Photoinpress Best Photobooks Canada

Photoinpress

This site offers Canadian-made, affordable, traditional photobook looks. There’s nothing fancy here, but they have some nice, classic options and offer five different book size and cover design options.

Photoinpress Photobook Highlights:

  • Available in traditional or square formats with the option to customize the cover and spine of your book
  • 20-page softcover books start at $12.99, hard cover at $29.99. Additional pages are extra.
  • Free delivery across Canada

Pikto best photobooks Canada

Pikto

This Canadian company designs and manufactures premium photo books in Toronto and offers a design service option for extra cost, which might be worth it if you’d like a team of designers to create your book for you (with your input, of course!)

Pikto Photobook Highlights:

  • 10 size options (starting at $9.95), and seven printing material options.
  • Design-conscious upgrades include Imagewrap Hardcover (from $30),  Textile Hardcover (from $50) and Slipcase (from $95)
  • Newsletter sign up gets you a 15% discount on your first order

Vista Print Best Photobooks Canada

Vistaprint

Photo books are not Vistaprint’s core business so the design options are minimal, but the site is still a good option for those seeking good quality and value for the money. Vista Print also offers fast shipping and has many additional custom photo gifts and ideas to choose from.

Highlights:

  • Photo Books starting at $13.
  • Seven size options in portrait, square and landscape formats.
  • Finishing touches include personalized covers, glossy photo finish, and additional pages (up to 120) for extra cost.

Henry's Best Photbooks Canada

Henry’s

Henry’s is well-known in the Canadian photography industry and they have some decent, but not overly sophisticated, services for photo book creation. They also offer many other services, including prints, cards, calendars, canvas and more, if you’re looking for a one-stop shop for custom photo ideas.

Henry’s Photobook Highlights:

  • Books start at 20-pages and come in a variety of sizes along with hardcover, softcover and hardcover leather options, as well as horizontal, square, and vertical orientations.
  • 4×4 in softcover books start at $13.99
  • Production time is nine-13 business days

Staples

It’s no surprise that the makers of the Easy button take a pretty no frills approach to photo books. Staples offers few creative flourishes but a variety of sizes and finishes means you can still create a lovely and customized finished product without breaking the bank.

Staples Photobook Highlights:

  • Prices start at $22.49 for a 6×8 in book with a linen or leatherette cover.
  • Variety of templates and cover options
  • Free shipping on orders of $45 or more.

Walmart Photo Centre

Cheap and cheerful, Walmart Canada’s photo books include soft and hard-cover options, along with an Express Book that can be ready in as little as 2-4 business days. Prices start at less than $10 for 4×4 in soft cover book and go up to $28.97 for a 9×12 in hardcover book.

Walmart’s Photobook Highlights:

  • 20 page with more at additional charge
  • Room for up to 300 photos in hardcover books and 150 in softcover books
  • Available for free in-store pick up or ship to home
  • Express Books have room for 20 photos, are printed on Kodak Professional Photo Paper and come in 3 sizes.

U.S. Photobook Options
That Offer Great Quality

We couldn’t pass up including a few of these fan favourites. These photobook companies offer great quality as well as more options and variety—but you’ll have to pay the shipping and might get dinged with custom and import duties upon delivery.

Blurb

Blurb

Blurb is well known in the photobook scene and has some really sleek, polished, high-quality books. The creation process is user-friendly and Adobe plug-ins are available. Blurb is great for anyone who doesn’t mind paying a little extra for a plethora of options and creative flexibility.

Blurb Photobook Highlights:

  • Save 35% on your first book purchase with email sign-up.
  • Five book sizes available.
  • In addition to photo books, find templates for e-books, cookbooks, children’s books, graphic novels and more.
  • Price for a small square, 7×7  in 20-page book starts at $32.99 CAD for 20 pages. Each additional page is $0.35 CAD.

Chatbooks

Chatbooks

Chatbooks has gorgeous options for covers that are as stylish as they are unique. Chatbooks are affordable and simple to create, and the “Series” option allows you to automatically create a new book with the upload of 60 photos.

Chatbooks Photobook Highlights:

  • 6×6 in or 8×8 in sizes
  • 6×6 in softcover photo books start at $10 USD
  • Add photos from multiple sources including Facebook, Instagram, Flckr, Dropbox or computer.

Forever

Forever’s main point of difference is how quickly books can be made. The “just enough” approach to customization options will help you customize to your satisfaction without getting overwhelmed, and the layflat binding option (premium add-on) makes for perfect presentation.

Forever Photobook Highlights:

  • 21-page books start at $19.99 USD
  • Available in two sizes and styles: 8×8 in and 12×12 in, hard and softcover. (Leather cover is a premium add on).
  • Archival-quality materials ensures the life and quality of your book for future generations

Mixbook

Mixbook

Mixbook has plenty of beautiful options for customization including templates and fonts. Users can choose from 359 photo book themes.

Mixbook Photobook Highlights:

  • Rated #1 in 2014 by Top Consumer Reports in the U.S.
  • Landscape photo books start at $21.99 CAD
  • The “Get Inspired” tab will help kickstart your creativity for all photo projects, including books.

Shutterfly

*** coming soon to Canada in 2023

With no shortage of size, customization, and embellishment options, Shutterfly is a pioneer in the photo book space. And they offer three different ways to make your book: have their designers make it for you; make it yourself using Simple Path (automatic photo arrangement on the template of your choice), or Custom Path (layouts are professional and predesigned, or designed by you).

Shutterfly Photobook Highlights:

  • Excellent image and overall book quality
  • Popular design templates include Disney, Sesame Street, and Star Wars
  • Square, 8×8 in books start at $19.99 USD

Snapfish

Snapfish users love the easy-to-use photo editor and step-by-step instructions, not to mention the number of customizable options including more than 120 themes, backgrounds and templates. But Canadians beware, you’ll wait a lot longer for delivery!

Snapfish Photobook Highlights:

  • 20-page 8×8 in hardcover books start at $29.99 USD.
  • Square, portrait, and landscape options.
  • Delivery estimates to Canada are between eight and 30 business days

5 Pro Tips for Creating Your
Photobook Masterpiece:

  1. If you’re making multiple books for different people, start by creating one master version that can be tweaked for others using dates and images that are meaningful to them.
  2. If you do photo books annually, create a file on your phone or computer every January that you can transfer your favourite photos into throughout the year. And if you’re including photos from other family members, be sure to give them plenty of time to share their favourite images with you.
  3. Consider attaching a theme to your creation, like “Our Summer Vacation,” “Favourite Family Moments,” or “Being Silly in 2021.” This helps create a more structured and cohesive finished product, and you can change the theme year to year.
  4. Pay attention to how your photos are organized and ordered. A great photobook is like any story, so consider how you want yours to flow and unfold.
  5. Before you buy or decide on a service, search online for sales. It’s not uncommon to find a promo code for 40%, 50% event 60% off especially around the May and December holidays, as well as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

Related Reading:

Best Subscription Boxes for Moms That Ship to Canada

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51 Comments

  1. Michelle Roth on November 7, 2017 at 8:39 pm

    Love the ideas. I have been considering Walmart and Staples for a photo book. Any experience with either of them and how they compare to the ones you selected for this blog? I like the idea of going Canadian, but these ones are pretty quick and close to home. Still debating.

    • Heather Dixon on November 7, 2017 at 8:41 pm

      We actually haven’t tried Walmart or Staples… If you end up trying them out, let us know what you think and we could add them to the list! 🙂

  2. Valerie on November 7, 2017 at 10:28 pm

    Hi…you forgot *Snapfish*….a stellar, very user-friendly US company… Have used them for a nbr. of years and bought many things…made 4 books, purchased photo ornaments, photo stickers, photo mouse pad. All of my projects are stored there….very quick to load my pics on their site….excellent customer service, lots of sales, with no duties charged to me……therefore, no need for me to go anywhere else…(a very satisfied customer…)

  3. Theresa MCullough on November 7, 2017 at 10:33 pm

    You missed costco for thier photobooks. You can get a 20 page book for 10 bucks. There is even more choices in the website. And cheaper than the ones you posted..

    • Heather Dixon on November 8, 2017 at 8:40 am

      Good to know about these! We’ll have to add them to our list! Thanks!

  4. Kristie on November 21, 2017 at 4:28 pm

    I also like Shutterfly out of the States…they have a lot of options, different layouts

  5. Michaela on March 21, 2018 at 11:11 am

    FOREVER Print should be on this list! It offers the best photo book quality I have found in the US. It prides itself on using archival-quality materials that will last for generations without fading or deteriorating in any way. I have been FOREVER Print for over a year and highly recommend!

  6. Katka Selucky on October 5, 2018 at 7:31 pm

    I have just this week (October 2018) tried to use Vistaprint to make a photobook. Big mistake! Their software crashed on me, pages disappeared, the phone number for customer support on the website was out of service and when I tried to get assistance at the main Vistaprint phone number, their representatives did not know how to contact the photobook department. I ended up sitting on the phone for about 40 minutes as they tried to figure out how to reach the photobook department and when they finally did and connected me with it, the connection was cut off before they could be of any use. Stay away from this company!

    Walmart, by the way, does not seem to offer the photobook service in Canada – I tried but, as is often the case, could not reach a live human being at the Canadian web site to tell me if it is or is not available here and there was nothing online about it. Maybe the U.S. Walmart would deliver photoboks to Canada, but I doubt it as they don’t deliver anything else to this country – if it isn’t available from Walmart Canada, they won’t ship it here.

    • Heather Dixon on October 9, 2018 at 7:26 am

      Interesting! Thanks for letting us know! We’ll look into it and adjust our post. Thank you for the feedback!

  7. Manon on November 16, 2018 at 8:03 pm

    I just built an album with Photobook Canada and am ready to order. There is a discount at 50% right now. should I order or is there usually bigger discount offered before Christmas?

  8. jasmine on December 11, 2018 at 7:11 pm

    I’ve used Photobook Canada a few times now and I can confirm with others that their books always come from somewhere in Asia. Although, their office is in Markham, you can’t pick up your product at all. I do like the fact that you can install their software locally on my computer and so I can work on my album without any internet connection. However, even after a few books, I still have problem with pictures printed outside the edge.
    I really like the photo colour and the software by Shutterfly. Too bad they are in the US otherwise they would be my choice for photobook.

  9. Emily on January 2, 2019 at 4:32 pm

    Katka, I did my photobook recently with Walmart Photo Centre Canada (not Walmart) and they do ship to Canada.

  10. Marie on January 8, 2019 at 10:21 pm

    I have created over 15 books with photobook Canada. I recently ordered three photoboks and had to pay extra custom fees/taxes so my books would be delivered. I paid as much for shopping as I did for the extra custom fees. This is news and I have read a lot of negative reviews since. Their customer service won’t explain why the change and why this was never communicated to client.

    Along story short, I will never order from them again, which is too bad because I love their readybooks but my recent items ended up costing me over 60 dollars for 40 pages and I had coupons… not competitive!

  11. Vanessa on January 26, 2019 at 12:36 am

    NEVER use Photobook Canada! You should remove it from your list and provide a warning against using it. I ordered 3 photobooks using a deal where I paid $20 each for 3 books ($60 total). The computer added on a $7.99 surcharge for each book for using regular paper, even though it indicates regular paper has no surcharge, and the $7.99 surcharge is supposed to be for silk pages (so an incorrect charge of $23.97). With the cheapest shipping option costing $29 and duty of $25, I had to pay a minimum of $77.97 additional charges on my $60 item! I could not remove the paper surcharge and wanted my books by Christmas so I ordered anyway, and would follow up later on the surcharge. [I sent a message when I ordered with another question. They answered the other question and ignored my question about the incorrect surcharge. I answered again with the question about the incorrect paper surcharge and never heard anything.] When I was placing my order at the end, that’s when I discovered that the cheapest shipping option was $29. I wanted to make sure it arrived on time so I paid $40 shipping to get it faster. (There was an option in between for something like $32.) Then you can track your order online. The books shipped by DHL courier from Malaysia. Then they went to Hong Kong, then Cincinnati, then into Canada. The day before they arrived, I got a message indicating I would have to pay $25 duty to receive my order. After reading emails I discovered that I would have to be home when the delivery was made to pay the $25, otherwise my order would not be delivered again until the next business day (which would’ve been Christmas Eve – and then I’d have to stay at home all day on Christmas Eve possibly to make sure I could receive it – from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. a 12-hour window!). It was a Friday afternoon and I called DHL and they told me the truck had not yet attempted to deliver my package that day, so luckily if I remained home for the next 6 hours or less, I would get my package that day. I arranged to have someone else pick my kids up from school so I could wait at home. It was lucky I did, because that’s when the delivery came. I had to pay the $25 duty. At least I could then leave the house. I could have told DHL I would pick it up myself from one of two locations (one was the airport) the next day, a Saturday. I was worried they might be closed, have modified hours, or it would get lost since it was so close to Christmas, although not likely. So with the incorrect $23.97 paper surcharge, the $25 duty, and the cheapest shipping option $29, I had to pay at least an additional $77.97 on my $60 purchase! The charges cost more than the item I bought! And because I paid $40 to get faster delivery, I actually paid $89 in additional charges on top of my $60 purchase! I had already paid the $60 in advance and was now redeeming. It was NOT a good deal! It is false advertising to call themselves “Photobook Canada” when it ships internationally for large fees and duty is payable. Furthermore, you only learn you have to pay duty AFTER you’ve already paid and placed your order. Even the shipping you don’t know the cost until after you’ve already spent hours creating your photobook and are ready to order. The ONLY reason I chose “Photobook Canada” is because I didn’t want to have to worry about it going through customs and causing a possible delay. Plus, you can only pay by PayPal, so it will probably be harder to get a refund, if not impossible (than if my credit card paid Photobook Canada directly). By the way, I got superb customer service from Shutterfly in the U.S. and highly recommend them.

    • Heather Dixon on January 28, 2019 at 8:08 am

      Thanks for letting us know! We’ll update the list!

  12. Kathy Godin on February 3, 2019 at 4:54 pm

    I ordered canvas prints from Photobook “Canada”. Items shipped from Malaysia. Price was 119.00 and shipping ended up to be 169.00. When I received them they were just awful! No way I was hanging them on my wall in my home! Sent pictures of them to support and they said that is their quality. They were AWFUL and I threw them out. DO NOT order from them.

  13. J Riedel on February 20, 2019 at 2:03 pm

    Has anyone used both Shutterfly and Mixed Book? if so would you share comments about each.Thanks

  14. Lilly on March 13, 2019 at 4:16 pm

    I have used Shutterfly for years and was quite happy & impressed with their work. IThey then started charging extra for the nicer looking embellishments, which could add up quickly (especillay with the difference in exchange rates.)Then I tried Mixbook with a coupon I saw online.
    Wow! So much better. Easy to use, so many “free” options and the quality of the photo, was so much better.
    Now I have seen new posts that Shutterfly picture quality has improved, but not sure if they are still charging extra for embellishments etc. Currently working on a large project with Mixbooks and it’s turning out even better than I laid out my plans for.

  15. Nancy Calder on April 23, 2019 at 7:10 pm

    I have used Vistaprint several times and different years to make POSTCARDS, using my own photo. I have never had any reason to complain about the imagery on the front or my design of the back of the Postcard. I would never make Postcards using Vistaprint because my batches of POSTCARDS were NEVER CUT STRAIGHT. This completely destroyed the professional look of the card as I couldn’t sell them like this.
    I complained and even went so far as to tell them to please mark on my file that my POSTCARDS
    must be cut straight. I continued to receive what I ordered, CROOKED on at least 2 sides and this is why I won’t use Vistaprint. I don’t understand why the company can’t cut this product straight? Wouldn’t they have machines set up to do the cutting? This was total frustration for me.

  16. Amélie on June 30, 2019 at 4:27 pm

    Hi ! how to get the designer service (pitko) ?

    I do not find.

  17. anita Shackleford on July 15, 2019 at 12:06 am

    I have used PhotoinPress and been completely happy with the product. Shipping is fast and not expensive. There are not as many icons as I would like but there is unlimited scope for picture shape and size and placement. Text is just fine too. Very reliable!

    • Heather Dixon on July 17, 2019 at 1:26 pm

      Thank you so much for your input, Anita!

  18. Gloria on August 11, 2019 at 9:40 am

    I have used Photobook Canada for a number of years with very good results. Lots of sales and I have completed professional looking books up to 200 + pages.

  19. Stéphane on August 11, 2019 at 9:45 pm

    Thanks for this usefull info. I would just like to let you know something I just read from another website, saying about Mixbook. Someone said that in their policy, it is said that you are giving them the right to use your photos in their advertisement… People don’t read those “contract”. I found that shocking.

  20. Dianne Longley on September 7, 2019 at 5:41 pm

    I want to do a 11×14 book in Canada. Any suggestions as to who I should use? Is Walmart’s photo center any good?

  21. Ann on October 3, 2019 at 1:37 pm

    You don’t have Treasure-Book.com on your list. Canadian company, Free Software (you’ll need to download the software to a computer), customer service is amazing. Books I have ordered have come in beautifully, amazing color, and quality.

    • Heather Dixon on October 4, 2019 at 3:23 pm

      Thank you, Ann! We’ll look into it! 🙂

  22. Jane on November 14, 2019 at 10:59 am

    Related question for y’all. Any sites that offer basic photo editing? I’d love to spruce up my family photos before making gift books but I am SO bad at photo editing
    Thanks!

  23. Karrine on November 27, 2019 at 5:03 pm

    I’m giving photo in press a try. The shipping seems a bit high but they have a 40% off discount today so I ordered a whole bunch of Christmas photo gifts 🙂

    • Heather Dixon on November 28, 2019 at 7:23 am

      Good luck, Karrine! Let us know how it goes! 🙂

  24. ray on December 8, 2019 at 9:36 pm

    photoinpress has the best software after i tried literally all the ones in this list while shopping. and they had the best price at the time i got it with a 40% discount. however they didnt give me a tracking number or anything and i ordered 11 days ago and its still not here so thats the only downside to it so far

  25. Mel on December 22, 2019 at 11:37 pm

    I have used Blacks.ca for the past 3-4 years (after apple stopped printing) to make calendars for family members and have been pleased with the results. I just used photoinpress for the first time (Blacks.ca website was down from Black Friday through early December) and am quite pleased with the results. Web browser based “software” is the same as Blacks and very easy to use. I placed my order on a Saturday; calendars were received by family members in Montreal two days later, and delivered to West Coast in 6 business days. As Ray mentioned below, my only issue was that I never received a tracking number, but in my case the shipping was very fast. Hope this information is helpful.

  26. Rhonda on December 29, 2019 at 7:35 am

    I have used Nowvel in the past. The quality of the books and pictures were amazing. The books were SO easy to make from iPad photos. Anyone who looked at the books said they were beautiful. Sadly, the book did not take off like Shutterfly or Snap fish so the books are no longer able to be ordered or made from Canada. The site that was recommend to me was Pikto. Has anyone tried it? I doubt I will find a site to make books from my iPad pictures as much as I liked Nowvel.

  27. Tiina on February 26, 2020 at 12:38 pm

    As a photographic darkroom instructor and artist-in-residence, I have been preparing print-illustrated instruction booklets for my students in both Lith printing and Lumen process. I have used both Pikto and Blacks for printing. Pikto is more expensive, but by offering ICC profiles for it’s papers one can achieve quite good colour control. Pikto soft-cover books suffer peeling of the cover lamination almost immediately and binding style requires adjustment of page lay-out not compensated for in the lay-out software provided. Blacks is cheaper but impossible and very frustrating trying to get accurate colour result. Three attempts were required before getting acceptable result. Blacks does not do the printing themselves, they work with third party print service and have no input on result. The Blacks product does have better binding style for it’s soft-cover photo books, and acceptable paper quality.

  28. John Hoess on April 8, 2020 at 5:04 pm

    I live in Saskatchewan. In February, our family went on a trip to Israel. We came back with great memories and hundreds of photos. I would like to make a photo album of these photos. But in looking a various options, I am really confused. What would be the best software to use? If I wanted to make a 60 page album, what would it cost? And people have talked about coupons. But there is also a blizzard of options for those. I have no idea what to do. I am not very good with this computer stuff, so when someone says “it is really easy” that does not help me at all.

  29. Amanda on April 13, 2020 at 4:51 pm

    I need a suggestion for a photo book app I can use on a Mac. Mac has stopped printing their own books. Reviews online suggest 3rd party printers but I think they are all American. I have made a noon using Loblaws photolab and I really liked the book, plus free pick up at the grocery store. Problem is it’s annoying to use as you have to upload the photos to their website, then go online to make your book. I would like something Canadian that works on a Mac that I can use when offline. Any suggestions?

  30. Rick on April 22, 2020 at 3:48 pm

    Thanks for this list. Hadn’t heard of PhotoInpress, but will give them a shot for my next project. Their web interface looks to be an exact clone of Black’s, but I see they do have downloadable software that might be worth a try.

    Every year I make a photo book of the year’s family events, plus calendars for grandparents. Boy do I miss Apple’s print products. For me their main pro was the huge assortment of custom layouts, especially if you wanted more than just five or six photos on a page. I haven’t found anything online that has the same variety that is as quick and simple to use.

    I’ve used Blacks these past two years, had good results with them, and found their pricing reasonable. They don’t have anywhere near the same variety of layout designs that Apple had, but you can make custom layouts. The problem with that is there’s no way to save the layouts, so you have to recreate them for each page, and that can get time consuming really fast. And there’s no way to hide photos you’ve already used in your project, so if you’re making bigger projects (which, for me, is more than 70 pages) you’ll be doing lots of scrolling, looking to find that new thumbnail out of 200.

    I looked at Mimeo, one of the plugins Apple is trying to push as a replacement to their print products, but for the most part it seems to use the exact same web interface as Blacks, and didn’t have the same layouts that Apple’s had, so I didn’t see any advantage to using that over Blacks. Plus Blacks is Canadian.

  31. Maureen on June 13, 2020 at 12:57 pm

    Thank you Jen for your suggestions. I use Blurb and it is great but was looking for another to try as it does get pricey because i like the large 60 page ones for travels. Is there any reason you did not comment on Apple ?

  32. Akel on September 22, 2020 at 4:10 am

    Hello
    Thank you for this useful article
    also I want to introduce you to Dolce Vita : https://dolcevitauae.com/
    Best Company that gives a professional PhotoBooks Digital Albums in UAE and Oman
    I hope it can find the way to your blog
    also there is PhotoMe https://photome.ae/
    it’s for non professionals user to make their pro albums and Gifts with very easy APP for mobile

  33. Timm Stein on October 22, 2020 at 6:51 pm

    Photobook Canada has been a horrible experience for me! I busted my a$$ getting a photo book for our friends done, who were moving. I did that a month before they moved. It has now been a week since they left, and I still don’t have these photo books. Photobook Canada does not inform the customer that almost none of the business is in Canada. The printing and assembly is done in Asia, and then they use DHL for the shipping. DHL has been absolutely horrible in that the shipment has been stalled at a sorting facility for over a month, nobody feels responsible, nobody can tell me why it has been stalled, and now they claim that it has been lost completely. Meanwhile, Photobook Canada does not seem to give a damn. They have not offered constructive help at all. I would never recommend this business to anyone!

  34. Kate on November 21, 2020 at 6:36 pm

    Thanks for making a list of photo book companies that are actually based in Canada!

  35. Cindy on November 29, 2020 at 10:56 am

    Thanks for the comprehensive list. I have been using Picaboo for the past 7 years. It’s an American company so prices are in US dollars but they always have specials. For the amount of pages I use, the cheapest coupon is the $100 for $35 one. Others they have are “extra pages free”, “40%-70% off”, free shipping etc… these are for the photo books. The shipping is around $12 – $16. No duties have to be paid upon receipt. I do my own books using their templates but over the years I have been able to do a little to a lot of customization. Not sure how it compares but all my books have been different. It takes a bit of time to get used to using their editing functions but that’s for all things I guess. I have always been happy with the results. They have an app as well so you can download photos directly from your phone. But it wasn’t working last time I made a photo book. Another piece of advice I have is to make your photos as bright as possible because we are used to seeing them on a lighted screen but when you get you book obviously they will be printed on paper. The site will tell you if your pictures are of poor quality or too dark. I was hoping to cut costs a bit more by looking for a Canadian company but after reading some comments below…I may stick with tried and true Picaboo. If I change to another American company it would be one with more editing capabilities then.

  36. Cynthia on February 4, 2021 at 8:33 am

    Hey! Has anyone ordered from Costco? But the regular photobook, not the premium. I’m wondering if the quality is any good or if it is better to just pay more and go with shutterfly or picaboo.

    Thanks 🙂

  37. Sonja on February 28, 2021 at 11:17 pm

    Just so you know, Blurb is also in Canada…I’ve been ordering from them for years (since 2009 or 2011 – can’t quite recall). Their warehouse is in Richmond, BC

  38. Grace Anderson on March 17, 2021 at 11:30 am

    I have been working in the photobook and personalized print business in Canada for over 10 years and I can tell you that Blurb is definitely NOT in Canada. They print in the US (and have for many years now) and ship books to their warehouse in BC to be distributed to Canadians.

    Someone commented below about Photobook Canada, which has a very bad reputation for quality and not delivering on time. Additionally, their books are printed overseas and the costs for duty and taxes are exceptionally high.

    Blacks.ca is a great site to make a photobook and their books are manufactured in Canada. They have a great book-builder that is easy to use and tonnes of templates to choose from. Their new lay-flat books, printed on Silver Halide paper (photo paper) are amazing and the print quality is like nothing you have seen. Lay-flat is definitely the new standard for photobooks.

    Photoimpress also makes a great book here in Canada.
    Staples offers simple books but the book-making tools are not that great.
    Costco also has some good options however templates are very limited.
    Walmart Photo Canada is good for a simple “cheap and cheerful” book, editing can be limited.

    To Jen: Please reach out to me if you ever want some insight into the photobook industry in Canada. I really feel strongly that we have some great options here in Canada and that we need to promote Canadian businesses!

  39. Linnea Hansen on July 29, 2021 at 10:41 pm

    There is a lot of negative response about Photobook Canada. I create art photo cards and sell them in stores in Nanaimo so I have some experience and I am picky 🙂 I have done 5 or 6 layflat books 8.5×11 and larger. I use their software and design my own books. I have been very happy with the books, customer service and delivery has been what they said it would be. I have used Adorama out of the States and their quality is better but for the amount of books I do I appreciate the low price of Photobook Canada. With Groupon it has been very inexpensive. July 2021 a 24 page layflat book 8x5x11 cost $18 plus approx $12 for shipping. My only wish is that they offered glossy paper.

  40. Elizabeth on October 5, 2021 at 12:35 pm

    I have been using Costco photo for years to make family calendars for both my husband’s and my families – 14 for my side and 12 for his. Costco shut down its warehouse service and now does not offer the same outline for calendars anymore, and I can’t find anything comparable for the price. Any suggestions?? Most stores are way too expensive for the number of calendars I make

  41. Fiona on November 2, 2021 at 7:06 pm

    Hello, This is an excellent article. I was wondering if you know of a company that offers linen photo books with window that are available in a variety of cover colours? I used to buy them through Shutterfly, but they offer limited linen colours now. Any suggestions?

  42. Nancy Christine Cronkwright on December 3, 2021 at 6:04 am

    Just curious why you didn’t include Picaboo as a photo book option. Did you find it lacking? That’s the one I have been using for years for calendars and photobooks. They are American but I believe they have a Toronto “factory” or outlet. I’m just curious how they compare to others.

    • Corinne McDermott on December 3, 2021 at 8:26 am

      We can take a look!

  43. T on October 1, 2023 at 7:46 am

    I’ve been buying photobooks from Shutterfly US since 2013. I love that they offer “free unlimited pages” sales throught the year because my photobooks get up 100 pages which is pricey. Unfortunately, when I went to order yesterday, they’ve now added an “international tax” which significantly increased the cost. My photobook was $42 and the tax was $37!
    Has anyone seen if Shutterfly Canada offers unlimited photobook pages sales?

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