Digital BW, The Print

I have limited experience with Lulu.  First of all, I used Open Office
to format my 9x7 book - no professional layout.  Converted to PDF and
uploaded via FTP - 2 hours to upload...  The two "photobooks" I've
ordered from them are fun.  One way mine and it was bad probably due
to my own editing skills.  The other was okay.  The nice glossy paper
cover it just that.  The paper inside is a bright white non-coated,
non-glossy paper.  Here's the spec from the color album I'm waiting for:

"104 pages, 9.0" x 7.0", perfect binding, 80# white interior paper,
full-color interior ink, 100# white exterior paper, full-color exterior"

Cost with shipping is $27.  If I were going to make a "serious" photo
album, I would print out at home and have it professionally bound.  I
wouldn't use Lulu.  I'd look up bookbinders in your area.  They can
give you good ideas on layout and binding options.  There's an article
about making your own book in this month's Photo Techniques magazine.
 You could browse at local bookstore...

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "fjohn1963"
<john@f...> wrote:
>
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "fjohn1963" 
> <john@f...> wrote:
> >
> 
> Hello, I've been and am still under the impression that Lulu (and 
> Café Press for that matter) do not have an option to use that nice, 
> slightly glossy and heavier paper that one normally sees used in a 
> book or high-end periodical primarily dedicated to photography (or 
> other art reproduction). I've looked at Lulu's Help again and it 
> appears that there are still no options for this kind of printing. 
> (Not that they said there would be.) I'm not suggesting that it 
> makes them totally unusable for ANY kind of photography/art oriented 
> book, just that it seems they would be less than optimal, which I 
> can understand considering the per unit prices. 
> 
> A while back I bought a Lulu book called "Streets of New York", by a 
> (non) photographer named "Nitsa". Though I've always admired Nitsa's 
> work (and philosophy) I must admit I bought the book primarily to 
> check out the quality of the printed photos. Unfortunately, I was 
> kind of disappointed. The photos have that low-DPI look, like 
> printing a photo using my HP LaserJet 4L. 
> 
> This is not to suggest that books from Lulu are low quality. For 
> what they cost, they are indeed very nice books. If I were planning 
> to self-publish a novel or my not-so-steamy biography, I'd seriously 
> consider Lulu without any concerns about my book being poorly 
> manufactured. But we're not talking about novels or biographies or 
> any other book whose pages are meant to be read, we're talking about 
> visual art.  
> 
> Can someone please convince me that I'm wrong about this? Is there a 
> Lulu option that provides for a better class of paper? Maybe 
> something closer to MyPublisher.com's output, or something like 
> Aperture or Blind Spot magazine? Am I just not interpreting their 
> options correctly? 
> 
> Thank you for any insight you might provide. 
> 
> John F.
> 
> BTW - Here's a link to the books by "Nitsa" - 
> http://www.nonphotography.com/books.html
>