Review of Chatbooks photo books - image of a Chatbook

Quickly Turn Digital Photos into Photo Books with Chatbooks

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Hello. My name is Elizabeth, and I have Photo Guilt.

There are literally thousands of photos on my phone, computer, tablet, and in the cloud. They’re all just sitting quietly in Pixel Land where nobody can see them.

I think they’re sad.

But I don’t have time for scrapbooking. I don’t even like scrapbooking. Printing the photos, buying a book, figuring out how to create a pretty display… it’s all too much for me.

I need a solution that’s fast, easy, and affordable. And I’ll bet you do, too.

Chatbooks can help.

We Need Our Photos

A couple of years ago, I created a Chatbook for the trip my daughter and I took to London. Honestly, I was like a kid at Christmas when I grabbed the package out of the mailbox and ripped it open.

But the best part was spending time with my daughter looking through the book page by page as we relived our memories and remembered how much fun we had on our trip. Moments like that with our teens are special. And rare.

Back in the day, photographs were a big deal. Few people owned their own cameras, so they had to go to a photographer’s studio to have professional portraits made. A photo session was expensive, and not everyone could afford one. Family photographs were special because they were scarce.

These days, nearly everyone has a smartphone with a camera in their back pocket or purse. Many of us take photos every single day, even multiple times a day. We document the special moments, the silly moments, and the routine moments. And let’s not forget the selfies.

The sad thing is that most of these photos will never get out of our phones.

In fact, my teenage daughter is part of the most photographed generation in the history of humanity. And I worry that she won’t have any pictures to share with her children and grandchildren.

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Why Chatbooks?

Here’s why I think Chatbooks is a great solution.

  1. You have tons of photos on your phone, Instagram, Facebook, or computer that you need to get out and onto paper (paper lasts longer).
  2. You’re too busy for scrapbooking – or you just don’t like it – and you want something quick and simple. And automated!
  3. You want something attractive and durable that can stand the test of time.
  4. You need a solution that won’t break the bank.

What are Chatbooks?

You’ve probably seen the videos and TV commercials featuring Real Mom. She’s busy, her life is far from perfect, and she’s hilarious. Basically, she’s me, but with a much better sense of humor.

But she understands the importance of family photos.

Founded in 2014, Chatbooks was created as a “small family affair” by Nate and Vanessa Quigley. As the parents of 7 children, they were also too busy to make scrapbooks. Their company’s mission is simple: to strengthen families.

Photos can help do that. Take a look at the Photo Impact Study conducted by Chatbooks and HP which shows that printed photos help strengthen families.

Basically, Chatbooks are photo albums made from your digital photos. The original premise was to automatically pull photos from your Instagram account, but you can also add photos from Facebook, Google Photos, Dropbox, and Flickr, as well as upload directly from your computer or from the camera roll on your phone using the Chatbooks app.

Formats, Sizes, and Prices

  • Monthly Minis – $7 per month, including free shipping with your subscription. The book size is 5″ x 5″ which is perfect for little hands. Soft cover only. You’ll get a FREE Monthly Mini when you subscribe.
  • Monthbooks – Prices start at $10 for soft cover or $15 for hard cover. These are 5″ x 7″ books with 30 pages. Free shipping is included with a subscription.
  • Instagram Series – Prices start at $10, and free shipping is included with a subscription. A new book is created each time your Instagram account accumulates 60 photos. You only pay for books when they go to print. Book sizes are 6″ x 6″ or 8″ x 8″ with a hard or soft cover. You can cancel your subscription at any time. Note: There is also a Facebook Series with the same options.
  • Yearbooks – Wrap up your year with a beautiful book! Prices start at $20. Sizes are 6″ x 6″, 8″ x 8″, or 10″ x 10″. Hard cover or soft cover.
  • Classic Photo Books – Prices start at $20 for a 30-page book. Add up to 366 pages for an additional fee. Various sizes are available. These books are perfect for standalone events like family vacations, holidays, birthdays, etc.
  • Premium Layflat Books – Prices start at $80 and are a high-quality option for weddings, baby books, special occasions, and gifts. These include 20 pages, but you can add up to 100 pages for an additional $1.50 per page. Books are printed on premium archival Mohawk Matte Paper and flush-mount with 5x thicker pages compared to Classic Photo Books. Size is 10″ x 10″.

Get the complete pricing guide on the Chatbooks website.

Image of the inside of a Chatbooks photo book.

11 More Things to Know About Chatbooks

  1. Getting started is easy. Simply create a Chatbooks account using your computer or download the app. Select the product you want to order and then connect your photo source. Follow the prompts to complete your book.
  2. Photos are uploaded chronologically, but you can rearrange them.
  3. You don’t have to use ALL of the pictures in your social account in a book. Chatbooks uses “machine learning-based auto curation technology” to automatically exclude photos that are too blurry or too dark, but you also have the option to exclude and remove any photos you don’t like before your book is printed.
  4. Chatbooks will automatically add a date at the top of each page. This is pulled from the date you added the photo to your social account, but you can change it if that’s not the date you want to be displayed.
  5. Captions are also added automatically and can be edited. If your caption is longer than a few lines, it will be printed on the next page.
  6. You can add multiple Instagram users. For example, if you and other family members take photos of your vacation, you can add them all into the same book.
  7. You choose the cover. Chatbooks will automatically pull the first image for the cover, but you can select a different image, or choose from their gorgeous designer cover selection.
  8. You can customize the spine of your book. Color choices include white, gray, or navy, and you can select any title you like.
  9. There is no monthly fee for the subscription books. You are only charged when you fill up a book, no matter how long it takes. And you don’t have to buy them all at once. Even if your series has a massive number of volumes, you can choose to pay for and receive only 1 a month, 2 a month, or 5 a month until you are caught up.
  10. Chatbooks are more than just books. You can also put your photos on canvas wall tiles to display in your home. You can also purchase accessories, like stands and baskets, to show off your Chatbooks in style.
  11. Chatbooks come with a 100% money-back guarantee. If you aren’t satisfied with your book for any reason, they will either reprint your book or refund your money.
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Wrap Up

Don’t suffer from Photo Guilt. Get your photos out of your phone and into something your family can enjoy. In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with Chatbooks.

Get 20% off your first purchase with my referral link.

Get additional cash back with Rakuten Rewards.

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18 Comments

  1. I need to do this for my RootsTech London trip! Love the new look on your blog! The hard work paid off!

    1. Thank you, Cheri! I even managed to sneak a couple of photos of Donny Osmond in the book. 🙂

  2. Thanks for the Chatbooks tips, Elizabeth. I’d like to try this too. I notice there’s a Flickr connection of some kind. I’d like it if I could make a book from albums there. Maybe in the future…

    1. @M. Diane, you can use your Flickr account to make Custom Photo Books or the Premium Layflat Books. I thought about using Flickr for my London book (since I keep lots of photos there to share with family members who don’t use social media), but I figured uploading from Instagram would be the most widely-used method. For the Ongoing Series and Monthly Minis, you can only link your Instagram or Facebook accounts.

  3. Pixel Land. Ha. Love it! I keep thinking I need to do something with all these photos and this may be just the ticket. I love how your book came out! While I used to love scrap booking, I just don’t have the time for it but Chat books looks like it could solve my dilemma. Love the new site!

    1. Give it a try, and let me know what you think, @kindredpast! I will definitely be making more books… but probably not until after the quarantine ends and we get OUT OF THE HOUSE doing things again! 😀

  4. Linda Stufflebean says:

    Elizabeth, you know there are no photos on my phone! However, the iPad has lots of photo memories. Chatbooks might be the solution to bring back paper photos that people will actually look at and enjoy.

    1. LOL, yes, I do know that about you! But I also know that you’ve taken some amazing vacations, and I’ll bet you’ve got some photos that are dying to get out of your iPad. Check out photo books and let me know what you think! 🙂

  5. mollyscanopy says:

    Great idea, and the finished product looks fantastic! Excellent way to share with family in a lasting way.

  6. What a cool idea for vacation (or Rootstech) memories. Whenever it’s safe to go anywhere again, I’ll have to give it a try.

  7. Never heard of Chatbooks I wonder if they operate in Australia, will have to go an d check them out.

    1. Hi Sandra! The Chatbooks website says they do ship internationally to Australia, and they do their best to “provide exceptionally reasonable shipping rates.” Let me know if you end up giving them a try!

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