Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The blank page at the front and back is part of the production process.  The pages are folded into signatures for sewing.  We have one blank page (that cannot have an image) at the front and back so that we can attach the endsheet to that page instead of a page with your image on it.  This process allows the first page to lay flat without image loss.      

We offer 5 different paper types:  silk matte, heavyweight silk matte, recycled, white felt, and cream felt.  All of our papers are made with at least 50% recycled content.  Our Earth Collection recycled paper is made of 100% post-consumer recycled fibers.  If you would like to see your images on our different paper stocks, you can order a paper sample via your account. Here is a brief overview of each type: Silk – This is our most modern paper.  It has a slight shine to the surface, which gives it outstanding color saturation, great shadow details and very deep blacks. It is made with 50% recycled material, and is our thinnest stock. This paper matches the paper you’d see in a fine-art coffee table book in a bookstore. Heavyweight Silk – This has the same surface finish as our silk paper.  You get the same great color and deep blacks, but in a slightly thicker stock. It has the same weight as our recycled paper.  The hand-torn edges option is not available with this paper type. Recycled – This is a 100% recycled stock, and has a flat surface finish.  Due to the flat finish, it has less saturation compared to the silk papers, but it is much thicker.  The flat finish is very flattering on portrait images and skin tones.  Only a thinner version of this stock is available in our Tres Grand sizes (12×12, 12×15, 14.25×10). White and Cream Felt – These two stocks have a really nice watercolor paper like texture, and look beautiful with hand-torn edges. They do have less saturation due to the watercolor texture, but portraits and skin tones look very flattering.  The white felt is a pure white stock, where as the cream felt has a slight warm tone to it.

We offer the following sizes (width x height) in all styles: Square: 6″x6″, 8″x8″, 10″x10″, 12″x12″ Portrait: 6″x7.5″, 8″x10″, 10″x12.5″, 12″x15″ Landscape: 8.5″x6″, 10″x7″, 14.25″x10″

The minimum page (side) count for most of our books is 25, except for the Rivista which is 60. The maximum page count for most of our books is 300, except for the French St. Tropez which is 100. We encourage you to avoid the minimum because our books look better with more pages! We count each side as a page (just like how the pages in a book are typically numbered). If you need more than 300 pages in a book, please contact us.  We’ve bound books up to 450 pages.  There is an additional fee of $1.50 per page above 300.

Due to the unique binding style of our Toscana books, they require page counts to be in certain ranges for the binding to work. Your page counts must fall within one of these ranges: 28-30, 41-46, 57-62, 73-78, 89-94, 105-110, 121-126, 137-142, 153-158, 169-174, 185-190, 201-206, 217-222, 233-238, 249-254, 265-270, 281-286, or 297-300. For pricing purposes, 105 to 108 pages are treated as being in the “up to 100” pages category and 201 to 206 pages are in the “up to 200” pages category.

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When stamping is available (it is for most of our books), you can order up to TWO custom dies up to 15 square inches each at no additional charge.

When you place an order with custom stamping, please email us 600 dpi JPG files with the text or design in black on a white background sized to the exact size needed to production[at]couturebook.com. If any custom die is larger than 15 square inches (or you need more than two custom dies), we will send you a price quote for your approval before ordering the custom die(s).

Yes!  Simply send us your logo saved as a 600 dpi PDF file at the actual size you want it to be.  The design should be 100% CMYK black on a white background.  The cost to make the custom die is $95 for a logo sized up to 3″x3″.  If you need a larger logo, please send us the file and we’ll provide you with a quote.  We keep the logo die on file and each time you want your logo stamped the cost is $20.      

All of our books can be customized to fit your design specifications at the time of your order. Custom options include:

• custom printed endsheets
• printed or blank vellum pages
• custom cover materials
• hand-torn edges
• fitted slipcases, sheath boxes or clamshell boxes
• ribbon enclosures
• customer-supplied material for cover (you can supply your own material, as long as it is appropriate for book binding)

If what you want isn’t on the list, please let us know and we’ll do our best to make it happen.

Because Apple hasn’t supported Aperture for several years, we have decided to stop supporting our Aperture plugin.  If you have it and it works, you can still place orders with it.  You can also design your pages in Aperture, export them (they’ll need to be individual 300 dpi, sRGB JPG files) and upload them to a project in your Couture Book account. You may also want to consider switching to a different design and layout tool.  We recommend Fundy (fundydesigner.com) and SmartAlbums (pixellu.com).  Both are easy to use, have our sizes built in, and offer free trials.    

 

Absolutely!  We can ship to most places around the world.  All of our prices are in US dollars.

Because our books are individually made by hand, please allow around four to five weeks for your book to be completed.  You’ll receive an email with a FedEx tracking number when your order ships. We do not ship the books with any invoices or other paperwork so you can have it shipped direct to your client.

If you need a book by a particular date, it’s helpful to select overnight shipping for your order.

If you need your book turned around in half of the regular time, we offer a rush service for an additional 50% of the price of the book. No discounts can be applied on rush orders.

Because we know how important it is to have beautiful books to show your customers your images, we offer a 50% discount on your first studio sample book each calendar year.  You can order two additional sample books for 25% off each calendar year.  Please contact us to get your studio sample discount code before placing your order.  Discounts can’t be applied to shipping or custom upgrades and only one discount or book credit can be applied per order.

No.  Only one discount or book credit can be applied per order.  Also, discounts and book credits can’t be applied to shipping or custom upgrades.

All sales are final.  However, if you make a mistake when placing your order or need to change your order, please contact us within 48 hours of placing the order and we’ll work with you to resolve the issue.

We guarantee our book’s binding and workmanship. If either is unsatisfactory or needs repair, simply ask us for a return shipping label, return the book to us, and we’ll repair and return it to you at no charge.

 

If you try to change your project from a French Paris to a different book style, it will generate an error message.   The best thing to do is create a new project and re-upload your files to the new project.

Double-check that your files are 300 dpi sRGB JPG files.  If they’re not, resave them in the correct format and try again.  Your files should also be individual sides (pages).  If you saved your files as spreads, you’ll need to split them before uploading them to your project.