The Antalis Academy held a workshop on “Digital Photobook and Personalised Printing and Finishing”. The concept of personalisation as a game-changing marketing tactic is a recurring theme in these workshops. Mostly because it is a simple strategy which is in line with the ever-changing market.
The session began with a hands-on practical that got all the participants stuck right in. Lewis Price and Terry Haddock from Ashgate were donned the hat of our practical tutors for the day. The expansive experience that they both held made the photobook-making process look so easy. With an informative demonstration and (a particularly naïve) faith in their audience, we were split into pairs and instructed to create our own basic lay flat photobook.
We started off by creasing the papers which was easy enough, and then it was an intricate process of peeling, sticking, pressing down and repeating before introducing the book to the guillotine. There were multiple steps that needed to be carried out with precision. It would have been easy to get confused, but by having two tutors on various machines, the dynamic of the session worked well.
It’s one thing to watch photobooks being made, it’s another to be told to go ahead and create one after a single demonstration, but we were well guided and supported through this endeavour.
After a well-deserved coffee break, we were then treated to a behind-the-scenes presentation with Neil Bather from Transeo Media about how to design and create the content that is necessary for a photobook. One of the solutions provided by Transeo Media is their Taopix software, which allows businesses to produce and sell personalised photo gifts – i.e. photobooks. Taopix allows you to design and manage your own products, control your production flow and personalise it on any device. It’s an easy to use and comprehensive software, which does all the hard work for you. We were then given an informative demonstration of the software and all of its magnificent abilities.
After lunch, we were presented with a hardback photobook-making demonstration and then set about creating them. This task was slightly more challenging as it had a few more steps than the first. We created the cover, stapled and fixed together with the images before attaching the whole book together. I have to say, it felt like quite an accomplishment – watching all these little elements create a polished product.
We finished the session with another educational presentation on the benefits of using personalisation as part of marketing campaigns. Focusing on the market opportunities and statistics to back it up.
I mean, it’s all great fun to create these photobooks, but knowing why they are on the rise and how to use this as a marketing strategy makes all the difference.
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