FAQ

Choosing Your Pictures

You probably have hundres of photos of a special event and selecting which ones to print can be overwhelming. Try to limit your selection to include those that truly move you or bring you back to the day. Sound impossible? Not to worry. We recommend first going through and picking 20 absolute favorites: the photos you couldn’t live without, key moments, and shots of the most important people in your life. Next, select another 40 – 50 favorites that span the gamut of the day. Think: scene-setters, a few of your favorite details, that portrait you gush over. This approach to selecting images will help you to create a photo book that’s thoughtfully curated without missing a favorite.

JPG or PNG format. PNGs should be 8-bit and non-interlaced. SRGB color (no CMYK, Grayscale, and Adobe 1998 RGB). 150 to 300 DPI (dots per inch or pixels per inch). For instance, a 5×7 image frame should be filled with an image that is at least 750×1050 pixels and no greater than 1500 to 2100 pixels.


When scanning your images, ensure they’re free of dust or dirt otherwise these imperfections will turn up in the final product. You may also need to crop your photos after scanning to ensure there are no white edges.

If you have the computer resources it would be beneficial to scan all your photos at a high dpi value (300 – 600 dpi). This will allow you greater freedom when deciding where and how to display your photos in your layout.

We recommend that you do not scan your images higher than 600 dpi as this won’t introduce any greater quality but it will slow down your computer as the files will become very large. This may also introduce file processing issues if the files are too large, our software won’t be able to process images with a file size larger than 15 mb.


Ideally pictures used in our software should be 300dpi. Most digital cameras won’t allow pictures to be taken at 300dpi, though some will offer a higher quality image through a setting on the camera such as “High” or “Fine”.

The golden rule is that if you put quality pictures in, you will get quality pictures back. Neither our software nor print processes will add any more detail to your pictures that is already there, so you should note this when using pictures that are of inferior quality.

We do not recommend using images from social media.

Choosing Options for your Photo Book


Think about the purpose and usage of the book you’re creating. Is this book going to be displayed on your coffee table? Or is it a gift for friends and family? Here are some tips from us:

Flush Mounted Photo Book

Best for: panoramic wow factor
Why we love it: thick unbending pages

Layflat Photo Book

Best for: showing off that amazing photo
Why we love it: no fold when the book opens

Standard Photo Book

Best for: telling stories
Why we love it: really affordable

Hard Cover

Best for: building a collection
Why we love it: looks amazing on your bookshelf


Choose a cover title with timeless appeal. Simple titles can have great impact, but that doesn’t mean you need to stick to the basics. Consider a title that speaks to your wedding for example in a unique yet timeless way. Some of our favorites? Est. 2015, MMXV, Volume I, 28 August 2015, or simply your last name.


It’s not possible to increase the quality of your photos as the resolution of each photo is determined by the camera used to take the photo. As such, there’s no process that you can apply to photos you’ve already taken to improve their quality.

If you received the photos in an email from another person, it’s possible they may have sent you a lower resolution version. In this case it might be possible to obtain the original photos (which are greater in size and quality). Similarly, if you’ve pre-processed your photos to a smaller size, it would be worth sourcing the original photos directly from the camera.

For more information on resolution and printing results read
this article:
https://www.photoshopessentials.com/essentials/image-quality/

General Questions About your Photo book


Once we have received your images it takes 10 working days for us to design and print your photo book. Allow an additional 2 to 3 days for courier delivery to your door.


The moment we receive your order we start working on it in in order to deliver it to you in the fastest time possible.

Our team starts very early in the morning and we have highly automated printing presses and workflows in our 1 600 sqm factory that do not allow for interruptions.

So unfortunately as a rule we do not accept cancellations and changes to orders.


The moment we receive your order we start working on it in in order to deliver it to you in the fastest time possible. We understand that mistakes happen, so we will accept changes to your shipping address within 24 hours of placing you order.

You will need to phone us immediately and confirm your shipping address changes with a follow-up email. If you placed your order when our Client Care was closed, please phone us as soon as we are open and we will try our best to assist you.


Changes to shipping instructions will be charged an administration fee of R150 over and above the courier costs if any.


After production, delivery to your doorstep can take anywhere from 2 to 3 working days. However, during peak seasons please allow for up to 5 working days.


The courier will contact you up to 3 times, if you are unavailable and they cannot make delivery, the order will be returned to Q-Photo. We will contact you for delivery arrangements which will be for your cost.


Yes, your waybill number has been sent to you by Q-Photo via SMS and email.


Import Duties apply to customers who reside in another country receiving orders from Q-Photo. Depending on your country and the products ordered import duties range from 10 % or more than 40%. Please check with the relevant authorities or any international shipping company.


Unfortunately, not, Q-Photo does not allow any other courier companies for shipping and work exclusively through our preferred provider(s) to bring you the best service.


We aim to delight you, so please let us know if we fall short of our ambitions in any way. If you are unhappy with your order for any reason, please contact us within 14 days and we will do our best to make it right.

You will be required to return the defective product with the original tax invoice for our inspection. Our management team will review the situation and respond to you with an outcome within 24 hours.

Build My Book will only provide a refund or a replacement of a product if the defect is due to a manufacturing error that was caused by Q-Photo. We will also correct any spelling or grammar errors free of charge.


Build My Book does not provide refunds or replacement for damage to products caused by normal wear-and-tear, unusual handling, usage or treatment.

Failure to adhere to Care Guidelines as published on this website will also void the quality guarantee.


Keep your photo book out of direct sunlight. Clean it with a slightly damp cloth. High rainfall at coastal areas may cause the pages to warp however they will return to the original shape over time. Guaranteed. Page carefully through the book and if you have standard photo book to not push down on the open pages to flatten the binding, rather order a layflat photo book.