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Nations Photo Lab Review

Sunday, May 18th

2025 Photo Book Company Reviews

Nations Photo Lab Review 3.5 Star Rating

Nations Photo Lab

3.5 Star Rating
  • Prices start at $19.99
  • 150+ themes available
  • Allows TIFF file formats
  • Free shipping on $79+
  • "A+” rating from the BBB

Nations Photo Lab offers customers a diverse range of options to transform their cherished memories into art. From prints and picture albums to photo books, cards, gifts, and wall decor, Nations Photo Lab has been operating since 2005, with a dedicated mission to deliver the best quality, turnaround times, and prices in the industry. Their innovative products are designed by and for photographers. From professional quality Photo Prints to archival, handcrafted Wall Decor, they aim to give value to precious moments that deserve to be more than just forgotten files on a phone or laptop.

Fewer themes, but lots of customization

While there are 150+ pre-created photo book styles or "themes" to choose from, those seeking a more personalized touch can also start from scratch and create their own. However, it is important to note that this does include fewer styles overall than some photo services in our reviews. The themes available include those for specific people (like Mom and Dad) or for holidays. Some are just seasonal, like a cute theme with pumpkins on it. When creating photo books at Nations Photo Lab, customers have the choice of hardcover made from leather, cloth, or lustre materials. The available sizes include 5x7", 8x8", 8.5x11", 10x10", and 12x12", with the option of selecting either landscape or portrait orientation.

Works with pro-grade photo file formats

In terms of features, especially tech features, Nations Photo Lab doesn't stand out as much. Unlike other services that allow you to pull photos from Facebook, Google Photos, Instagram, or other third-party cloud services, Nations only works with desktop upload for photos. An advantage of Nations is its support for uploading JPG, PNG, and TIFF files, which is more extensive compared to most services that usually limit users to JPG and possibly PNG formats. This TIFF support sets Nations apart as a more professional option, although uploading TIFF files requires the use of Nations' uploader utility, and the files cannot contain layers.

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Prices start at $19.99

The cost of photo books at Nations Photo Lab starts at $19.99 but the final price depends on factors such as size, photo paper, cover choice, and binding selection. All books come standard with the option of adding up to either 21 or 29 photos, depending on the chosen style. If more pictures are desired beyond the base price version, customers can add extra pages for about $1.30 each.

Free shipping on orders $79+

Delivery of your photo books can take anywhere from 1-10 business days depending on which shipping type you choose. There are six different shipping speeds at different prices. The options include:

  • USPS First Class: 2-6 business days, $4.95
  • Economy: 3-10 business days, $7.95
  • Standard: 3-7 business days, $9.95
  • Expedited: 2-4 business days, $14.95
  • Express Saver: 1-3 business days, $18.95
  • Express: 1 business day, $34.95

As a bonus customers can earn free Economy Shipping on orders $79+.

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Mixed reviews raise questions

Despite Nations Photo Lab receiving an "A+” rating from the Better Business Bureau, customer reviews have been mixed. Recently, some have expressed concerns about declining quality, citing issues like crooked printing, incorrect wording, color discrepancies, or duplicated pages in their photo books. While many loyal customers have been satisfied with Nations Photo Lab's high-quality products and exceptional customer service in the past, the recent trend of declining satisfaction should be taken into consideration. To paint a clearer picture, the average rating for Nations Photo Lab is 3.4 stars out of 5, with customers clearly very conflicted about the quality of the service here.

Mid-range option for photography fans

Nations Photo Lab tends to cater to those seeking photo albums that are billed as being more "professional” though there isn't a huge difference in the styling here compared to other photo services. Overall, this service comes across as mostly average. Although free shipping on $75+ is a bonus, with other services out there with more modern features and more themes, Nations Photo Lab sits just above the middle of the pack.

Where is the Best Place to Get Photo Books Out There Today?

Photo books are a fantastic way to keep our special memories in a tangible, beautiful format instead of just storing pictures on computers or in boxes. They are perfect for different occasions, like giving them as anniversary gifts, thoughtful birthday presents, or even creating yearly projects to decorate coffee tables, making it easy to look back on good times.

For example, weddings and engagements have become extra special with the rise of personalized photo books. Couples use their wedding or engagement photos to create these books, allowing guests to sign and leave heartfelt messages during the wedding reception. This makes photo books an important part of people's lives as they become a way to treasure precious moments, experiences, and important events.

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Photo Book Company FAQ

Photo Books are available year-round, ranging in celebration type, shapes and sizes. Photobooks can be used for any life event, keeping the memory within wedding albums, yearbooks, travel adventures, and more. A lot of companies allow the customer to pick a style and size to best fit for the occasion. When it comes to the type of cover, many companies have softcover, image-wrap hardcover, debossed hardcover, flush mount, or deluxe hardcover, to name a few.
Depending on the size, and type, the number of photos can range from 50 to 800 per photo book. On average a typical photobook has about 20 pages that are customizable. Each page can contain several photos and if you run out of pages, most companies will add a page for an additional cost.
Photo books range in value of $15.99 to $39.99 depending on the company, size, material, style, and number of pages. Some companies offer discounts upon first purchase and include monthly free promos. Cover styles can include softcover, hardcover, and leather. Paper type options can range from the base type of semi-gloss finish to premium matte lay flat.
Photo books come in all shapes and sizes. Standard photo books normally start at 8.5-inch x 8.5-inch and can get larger or smaller. The maximum size available is 12-inch x 12-inch. The minimum size offered is 5.5-inch x 4-inch. Some companies do offer layout size options as well.
Delivery can take anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks depending on the what you order. Bulk deliveries may take longer than the normal to receive. Shipping costs vary on the specific service and size of the package.
Most companies have you start out with picking either a theme/style of photobook, whether it is modern, simple, birthday, wedding, you name it they will have it. Then you select the size of the photobook and the type of cover and paper within. Finally, the fun begins, insert photos. For some people it may be easier to have the photos already downloaded on your device before you upload them to the photobook
Customization can differ per company. Customization can include size, style, type, format, color, font, quality, page style, and number of pages. Some companies offer bulk bundles of photo books (like yearbooks for schools).
Depending on the company, if you are not satisfied with your purchase you can return your product with a full refund. Most companies offer a customer satisfaction guarantee and excellent customer service options. Make sure to check the site has a customer satisfaction guarantee before purchasing.
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Continued from above...

In the past, making a photo book was a lot of work. It involved printing loads of photos, getting binders, stickers, fancy paper, and special tools for adding cool borders. Hours were spent carefully gluing the pages together and writing descriptions for each picture. Although some people enjoyed this scrapbooking process, it took a lot of time and resulted in big, bulky books that took up a lot of space.

Thankfully, in today's digital age, photo books are easier to make than ever. Many people opt to create photo books online due to their convenience and endless creative possibilities. With just a few clicks, you can capture family vacations, document special events, or preserve moments with loved ones. The ability to create photo books online has led to a significant rise in the number of people who now choose to immortalize their cherished moments in these beautifully designed keepsakes.

What's really fantastic about online photo books is how flexible and customizable they are. They can be super simple with just photos laid out neatly, or they can be like fancy scrapbooks with fun borders, stickers, and our own text. For example, if you're making a photo book about your beach vacation, some websites even offer special themes that let you add seashell stickers, "sandy" texture pages, and frames with palm trees to match the beachy pictures.

That's pretty awesome, right? So, no matter what style you like or what you want to remember, creating a photo book gives you the freedom to be as creative and personal as you want.

If you're looking for a fresh new way to collect your photographs, or you just have some memories that need to be shared, don't worry. There are so many places to get photo books these days that it can be overwhelming. Fortunately, we've done the research to help you find the photo service that caters to your unique needs and crafts a photo book made just for you.

To help you get started we've put together some tips to point you in the right direction:

  • Cost: Compare the photo book cost with other competitors. Check if you pay per page or for the entire book, regardless of its size. You may also want to see if there are extra costs for delivery, or if that's included in the price of the photo book.
  • Customization: Depending on what you need your photo book for, you may want to look for various size options and choose between softcover and hardcover books. Ensure there are ample choices for fonts, colors, borders, stickers, themes, and photo arrangements.
  • Features: To make sure that you have the best experience creating your photo book, you may want to prioritize user-friendly websites that offer easy navigation and straightforward tools for creating your photo book. Avoid platforms that may cause confusion and frustration during the creation process.
  • Customer feedback: Ultimately, customers like you are some of the best people to check in with when making your decision. They, like you, have a clear idea of their preferences and have made photo books with these companies before. So make sure you check out customer feedback and BBB ratings to ensure that photo service is the one that meets customers' needs.

To help you find the best spot to get a photo book today, Top Consumer Reviews has assessed and ranked different photo services to put together a beautiful collection of your favorite memories. Whether you're seeking a wedding photo book or something to track memories for your little ones, there are options out there for everything (even the DIYers who want to be more hands-on). We hope this takes out the stress of photo book creation and helps you get back to organizing the memories most important to you!

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