Frequently Asked Questions

Product & Service

What book sizes do you have and how much are they?: Please see our Rates here.
Do you have hard bound books?: Sorry, we only have soft bound ones. But our book pages are twice as thick and harder than the pages used in hard bound books or magazines.
Where are you located?: We are based in Quezon City, Philippines. Ordering is done online.
How can I get in touch with you?: You may reach us here or through:
email > fotograbooks@gmail.com
facebook > FotograBooks
instagram > @fotograbooks or @fotogra.ph
We try to reply within 1-2 days, unless we're on holiday. Sorry, Viber or SMS contact number not available.
Do you offer discounts for bulk orders?: Only for copies of the same book. Minimum order of 10 copies.

Placing an Order

How to order a book?: Please see our How to Order guide.
What are the payment options?: We accept BPI deposit/fund transfer, GCash, or Maya.
Is there a deadline for submission of photos?: Yes, please submit photos within a year of purchasing your book. We forfeit orders that aren't completed within a year. If you could send your photos within a month that would be awesome. Wouldn't you like to enjoy your Fotogra Book right away?
What image format and size do you accept?: We accept JPG, HEIC or PNG files only.

For good quality prints, please submit photos that have at least 600×600 pixels at 72 dpi resolution for the 2x2 and 5x5 books, and at least 1200×1200 pixels at 72 dpi resolution for the 8x8 books. Submission of higher resolution photos is encouraged.
How many photos can I send?: We print 1 image per page. So for a 60-page book, you may send 60 images plus 1 for the cover. An image can be just a single photo or a collage. If you wish to include more photos, either add more pages or do collages.

We can print a minimum of 20 pages. It costs the same as a 60-page book.

We have a layout service if you want us to do the collage for you. It includes basic processing of the photos. You may send photos up to 3x the number of book pages.
How can I send my photos?: You can send photos via your computer, tablet or phone. Either upload directly to our server or use a cloud sharing platform like Dropbox or Google Drive and share the link with us.
How will I know if you got my photos?: If you saw a confirmation message after submitting your photo set, then we got it. You will also get an email with the details of your submission. Sometimes the email goes to a different folder, so search for Fotogra Books in your email if you don't see it.
Can I submit a Facebook album link instead?: Yes you may, but Facebook renames the photos you upload, so if we print from your album, they would be in random order. Also, most of the time Facebook photos are only printable into 2x2s or 5x5s.

Print Quality

What type of paper do you use?: We use 220 GSM paper in matte finish for the inside pages and 260 GSM photo paper in satin finish for the cover.
Is the paper acid free?: The supplier markets it as photo paper so we assume it is, but we cannot guarantee it's 100% acid free. Always best to keep your Fotogra Books in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.
What printer do you use?: We use a 6-color dye ink printer specifically geared for photo printing.
Will the prints fade?: Based on a printer industry report, the inks we use resist fading fairly well and may reach around 30 years before showing discernible fading under regular direct sunlight. Since the images are in book form and not exposed, they'll resist fading much longer.
Are the prints waterproof?: No. If your book accidentally gets wet, dab off the excess water with an absorbent cloth. Pages with less black ink resist water better.
Will the prints match the photos on my monitor?: Not exactly — there will be slight shifts in color and brightness. Photos usually turn out a little darker on print than on screen.

Book Design

What do the pages look like?: The books start with page 1 on the right and page 2 at its back. All pages have white borders, added prior to printing, so send your layouts/pages without borders.
Do you edit the photos?: No, we print the photos as is — we just resize and sharpen them for printing. Our layout service includes basic brightness/contrast adjustment.
Can I do my own layout?: Yes. But you still have to send them per page, not per spread — pages print with borders all around, so seamless spreads aren't possible.
Can the pages be printed with no borders?: Unfortunately no. Only the covers can be printed full bleed.
Should the photos be in square format?: Only if you want to maximize page space. We print photos as-is, so rectangular photos print as such and aren't cropped to fit a square format.
What's the order of the photos when printed?: By default, pages print according to filename in ascending order, or by capture time if that data is embedded. Rename files 01 to 60 for a specific order; the cover photo as 00.jpg or cover.jpg.
Can I put text or captions?: Yes, but text has to be part of the image when submitted (e.g. photo on top, text at bottom, saved together as one image).
What size should the cover photo be?: At least 1500×1500px at 300 dpi for a 5x5 book, or 2400×2400px at 300 dpi for an 8x8 book, with about ½ inch bleed space around the image.
What do I put on the spine?: You can leave it blank or put the book title on it. 35 characters max for the 5x5 and 8x8 (including spaces and special characters), 12 characters for the 2x2.
Can I customize the back cover and the spine?: Yes — the Custom Cover add-on is ₱100 for the 5x5 book or ₱250 for the 8x8 book. Front & back: 5.75×5.5 in (5x5) or 8.75×8.5 in (8x8), with bleed allowance. Spine thickness: .9cm (60 pages), 1.2cm (80 pages), 1.5cm (100 pages).

Production & Delivery

How long until I get my book?: Non-rush: 28 days. Rush: 7 days. Layout service: +1 week. Culling service: +2 weeks. (Excluding holidays and shipping.) Production begins once we've received both proof of payment and photos. Books ship on the next scheduled shipping day — Tuesdays or Fridays.
Do you have rush service?: Yes — ₱300 (5x5) or ₱500 (8x8) per book, for one-week production (holidays and shipping time not included).
How do you ship the books?: We ship via LBC for both Metro Manila and provincial areas, on Tuesdays and Fridays.
How will I know if my order has shipped?: We send a notification email with tracking information once your order ships. Check your Spam folder if you don't see it.
Can you ship to a different address?: Yes — you can enter a different shipping address, e.g. to send a Fotogra Book as a gift directly to the recipient.
What if I entered a wrong shipping address?: If undeliverable, the package is returned to us. We'll reship to the correct address, but you'll shoulder the reshipping fee.
Do you ship outside Metro Manila?: Yes — provincial shipping is ₱250 per order, free for orders ₱6,500 and up. International shipping is currently unavailable.
What do you do with the photos after printing?: We delete them from our system 2 months after submission. We sometimes keep backups of print files for a year in case of reorders.
What if I'm unhappy with my book?: We check files for print layout concerns before production, but not for misspellings, image quality, or color — we assume submitted files are of the intended resolution and color. If your book doesn't arrive in excellent condition due to shipping mishandling, let us know.