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This post will receive the Google Photos Print service.
As someone who has been solo travelling regularly since 2021, I’ve racked up quite a lot of photos.
I’m also always looking for ways to collect and create new travel souvenirs with my photos.
So far, I have fridge magnets, wall prints and miniature landmarks.
While there are only so many frames I can mount in my home, I’m trying to print as many physical copies as possible.
Enter photo books.
As a millennial who grew up with photo albums before transitioning to digital/cloud storage, I feel like I’ve come full circle with photo books.
The question now was where to find affordable printing services with tasteful designs.
The first thought that came to my mind was Google Photos.
A few years ago, I remembered I received a Google Photo book as a gift.
Plus, I already pay £80 annually for cloud storage to store and back up all my digital assets, including my websites and photos.
So it was honestly a no-brainer to go with Google Photos Print service compared to, say, Canva Print.
While I have used Canva Print before, and the quality was excellent, it was just too much hassle to export all those photos and design them from scratch.
So far, I’ve printed three photo books and three 40 x 60 prints, and I’ve been pretty happy with the results except for one which came out blurry, which was totally my fault as I zoomed in too much.
Thankfully, I got a refund, so I didn’t feel too bad about it.
To simplify this post, I’ll break down the review into the pros and cons of the service so you can make a quick, informed decision.
First of all, what is Google Photos Print?
As the name implies, it is a printing service offered by Google Photos, a cloud storage for photos and videos.
Every Google account comes with a free 15GB online storage, which you could use very quickly depending on the number of photos and videos you store.
You also have the option to upgrade to your storage plan via Google One, a subscription service.
I currently pay £80/per year for the Premium plan, which includes 2TB of storage and other perks like mobile VPN, etc.
You don’t have to get that much; you can always get the Basic plan that offers 100GB of storage.
Just ensure you’re choosing the annual plan, as you save about 16% on your subscription.
As someone who uses Google products daily, I find Google Photos Print to be the most convenient service available to me.
There are currently two photo book options you can get:
- A 7×7” soft-cover book starts at £15.99 for 20 pages and goes up to 59p per additional page for 140 pages.
- 9×9” Hardcover book, which is £25.99 for 20 pages and 79p per additional page out to 140 pages.
These prices do not include delivery charges.
What are the Pros of Google Photos Print?
Like everything in life, this service has pros and cons, but let’s discuss the pros first.
- It’s convenient: Perhaps the biggest advantage of this service is its convenience. I already have my Lightroom photos ready. All I need to do is choose, design and place an order through the Google Photos app. It’s so simple!
- The design process is straightforward: Using the app, you can easily create a photo book by selecting the photos you want, arranging them, including captions, and adding a cover photo with a title. It’s even easier if you already have the photos you want to print in an album.
- Google regularly offers discounts + free delivery: In addition to affordable pricing, Google tends to offer seasonal discounts, usually 15%, and/or free delivery. The last few times I placed an order, it was discounted, so I saved some money.
- The print quality is great. Having tested out both photo books and wall prints, I can attest that any lack of quality is from my end. It is essential that you pick the best-quality versions of your photos and avoid zooming in to prevent blurriness. There’s nothing worse than a printed product with a couple of blurry photos.
How about the cons?
While I love this service and the convenience it provides, it definitely needs some improvements.
- The design option is incredibly limited. For instance, there’s only one way to design the cover page. While this is great for uniformity, it honestly gets boring after a couple of books. While I also understand the need to simplify the service delivery, a few options here and there won’t hurt the product or make it laggy. If Google feels limited by the app, they might as well create a separate design and print website that integrates with the photos in the app.
- Delivery can take a long time. I was so upset by the length of one of my deliveries, which took around three weeks, that I sent feedback expressing my dissatisfaction. The next delivery came in 10 days. This tells me the service is not as popular, which is why they’re taking their sweet time to deliver. If you use this service and get a feedback survey, ensure you express your concerns.
- Customer service is almost nonexistent. It is difficult to speak to someone if you have a problem with your order, so you have to hope and pray for the best. While I was able to get a refund for one of my orders that came out blurry, I wasn’t assured that I’d get a response at all. Some effort—like an email address—should be visible for disputes with orders and other issues.
Finally,
While I would like improvements, particularly with the design options, Google Photos Print is definitely a great service for high-quality prints.