When it came to choosing a subject matter for the first photo book I was gong to make with Saal Digital, Japan was the obvious choice – my partner is Japanese and weve been back many times. How did I get on?

　　Saal Digital Professional Line Photo Book at a glance Mac and Windows compatible Lots of book creation options via online template software, or design your own book and upload as PDF Wide range of cover materials and choice of silk, matte or gloss pages Turnaround time approximately five days including shipping Pricing The 4030 Professional Line Photo Book I chose costs £159.29, with a time-limited discount bringing down the cost to £120.93.

　　Features Saal Digital is headquartered in Germany and shipping its products across Europe, the UK and the USA, so its a well-established photo book service. and one which I was keen to try out. So I headed to Saal Digitals UK site to start the process of creating a photo book. How did I get on?

　　The first part of the process involves choosing not only which product line you want to investigate, but also how you want to create a photo book. This involves either using the site’s online designer for what it describes as ‘quick and easy access’ or downloading Windows PC and Mac-compatible desktop software, which is the recommended option for large orders and projects.

　　For my foray into physical content creation, I selected Saal Digital’s Professional Line Photo Book, reckoning its 40x30cm maximum dimensions and offering of either matte, gloss or silk page surfaces would do my ‘Memories of Japan’ photo project justice.

　　Just because it’s my default, preferred option, I selected matte paper which turned out to be slightly less expensive of the three.

　　To give the presentation the impression of luxury, there’s a choice of acrylic or leatherette cover – I opted for a mixture of both, with a leatherette back and spine, yet a primarily acrylic cover – plus the further addition of a gift box if truly wanting to impress.

　　Naturally the box costs extra, but, in any effect, I felt this was a little ostentatious for the clean and direct presentation I had in mind. Pages are printed on Fuji’s Crystal Archive 368 g/m² paper, which is an industry-standard paper of choice for pro labs, with lay flat panoramic binding for double-page spreads.

　　This seemed to me to be the perfect option if wanting to showcase a landscape scene, as it would ensure if I was to stretch a photo – or photos – over a double-page spread, then I wouldn’t be losing any detail in the traditional page crease.

　　For its part, Saal Digital also makes a point of reassuring customers that no manufacturer logos are placed anywhere on the product. I can see this benefitting pro wedding and portrait specialists who want their own images and services to be the aspect that stands out.

　　After all, a professionally produced photo book can act as a portfolio to win future clients. The only piece of text I opted for I positioned on the cover itself, for which I chose the very non-Japanese sounding ‘Hitch Hike’ font from among the drop-down options presented.

　　Naturally the size, width and depth of any font can be adjusted to suit both book and the dimensions of whichever image its overlaid on. The template software is intuitive and responsive, so sizes and fonts can be adjusted in seconds – and you can always go back and change anything before you commit.

　　Photo book design When it came to the design of the photo book, I was offered the opportunity to self-populate an empty template to allow for a unique design, experimenting as I go to see which images work best in sequence, or facing each other across a spread. This was automatically my preference.

　　If you are feeling lazy, the ‘one minute photobook’, will appeal, too. Keen to also try it out, I uploaded my pictures and the photobook is populated automatically. This nevertheless still allows for subsequent adjustments and tweaks to be made.

　　The third option, which will doubtless be the choice for those who already possess design and layout skills, was to design my project using Adobe Photoshop and InDesign and upload the resulting PDF.

　　Moving on, a 4030 cm photo book handily provides a 4:3 image ratio – this was an exact match for my digital files.

　　Uploading images was simply a case of importing them direct from my desktop computer, dragging and dropping them into the double-page templates provided, plus resizing as necessary to fill the expanse at full bleed.

　　This proved so intuitive and user-friendly that I was able to really crack-on with the layout process. Helpfully for newbies, the Saal Digital software also warns you if you are images are not of sufficient quality.

　　While most of mine were deemed ‘very good’, some from a while back were deemed ‘poor’ if stretched, indicating, for instance, that they wouldn’t scale to fit a full page or double page spread without noticeably below-par reproduction with potentially visible pixels.

　　Ultimately, I just went for the pictures that I instinctively felt work best together without over analysing it. Apart from text on my outer cover, I kept the rest of my book copy free, wanting to let the images do the ‘talking’ and at generous 40x30cm scale.

　　Again, there is the ability to go to town and overlay multiple images in a single spread should I choose. Since I was working from my laptop in the creation of the book and within relatively small desktop windows, I found it difficult to fully envisage the scale of the finished product.

　　Delivery times Once I’d done my bit, uploading images and sorting the layout out, Saal states on its website that production time for a Professional Line Photo Book is a relatively speedy two to three days, with a further one to two days requested for delivery. So you should give it a working week in all from submission to receipt, or an actual week if there’s a weekend in between.

　　Also on Saals site is a helpful table, indicating when the book should arrive. I placed my order on a Thursday and received my printed and bound book the Wednesday afternoon of the following week.

　　Saal Digital Photobook – Our Verdict So, how do I rate the finished Saal photo book? I am very impressed. The first thing to say is that the acrylic cover helps colours really pop. Indeed, the acrylic surface, particularly when it catches the light, gave my chosen cover shot an almost 3D-like depth.

　　I felt like I could reach out and run my fingers across the Japanese characters on the wooden posts and feel the carved indentations.

　　To be honest, I was slightly regretting my choice of matte pages in advance of receipt, but thankfully my selection hadn’t dulled the result, as to my eyes the paper still possesses a slight silky sheen.

　　Yes, I’d tweaked some of my shots beforehand, but colours look well saturated and contrasty, displaying a real depth on the page to draw the viewer in. They’re also faithful to what I saw on screen at the layout stage.

　　Is it worth the money spent on the book? Well, that’s subjective, but Id say yes –I’m left with a high-quality, classy product that speaks for itself. The photo book-creation options are very straightforward and easy to use, even if youve never made one before.

　　Incidentally, the process of image curation and photo book layout inspired me in a way I did not expect; the quality of the printed output has now motivated me to try and up my photographic game, so my images are worthy of the lush treatment a Pro Line Photo Book from Saal can deliver.

　　That said, I find some comfort in Japanese philosophy of ‘wabi sabi’; namely letting go of perfectionism… while simultaneously vowing to try harder next time!

　　Related reading:

　　How to make your own photo book The best travel cameras in 2026 Do you want to win some great prizes for your photography? Enter your photos in our International Amateur Photographer of the Year competition. Free entry for photographers aged 13-21.

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