In the era of “all digital”, the storage of photographs in their traditional physical form remains a hot topic. Photo equipment manufacturers have understood this very well, as evidenced by the abundant supply of photo printers, allowing us to keep our favorite pictures on physical media. From now on, whether you have a camera or a smartphone, there are multiple solutions to keep your favorite photos on physical media.
And to preserve these photographs as long as possible, the photo album remains the product of choice. But how to find the product that best suits your needs? And how do you select the album that will fit both your needs and your budget? Are you looking for a cheap photo album or a luxury one? This buying guide will help you answer these questions, by deciphering all the essential characteristics of a photo album. With this knowledge, you will be able to make your own comparison thanks to our site.
The type of page
Among the points to consider when choosing your photo album, the type of page is undoubtedly one of the main ones. There are three main categories: the traditional page album, the adhesive photo album and the pocket album with or without memo. Each of these categories has its own particularities – it’s up to you to decide whether these are advantages or disadvantages!
Traditional photo album
In a “traditional” photo album, the pages are entirely blank and allow you to arrange your photographs as you wish in terms of photo format and orientation. You can thus let your imagination run free and create the compositions of your choice, within the limit of the useful surface of the pages. You can space the photos between them, or place them directly next to each other, according to your taste.
On this type of page, the photos must be fixed in 2 different ways: either with double-sided adhesive pads (at least 2 pads per photo, even 4 to fix each corner of the photo), or by using transparent adhesive corners. The transparent corners have the advantage of protecting the corners of the photos. Of course, you must use 4 corners per photograph.
In order to protect the photos, many traditional albums have crystal interleaves, also called “pergamine”. This very thin and light, but also very protective, sheet is placed between each page of the album and covers the photos.
Adhesive photo album
A photo album is said to be “adhesive” when its pages are pre-adhesive: it is enough to place a photo on the page and to fold a plastic film which will then come to protect and maintain the picture on the page.
The photo album with adhesive pages allows you to arrange your photos freely, within the limit of the usable surface, just like the traditional photo album, except that you have to leave a little space between each photo, in order to keep a minimum of adhesive surface for the plastic protection film. With the same usable surface and photo format, an adhesive photo album has a smaller total capacity than a traditional album.
The pages are self-adhesive, so there is no need to buy additional adhesive pads or corners to attach the photos.
Photo album with pockets
Also very well known and appreciated, the pocket album has, as its name indicates, small pockets on each page, into which the photos must be slipped. This method of storage has some notable differences from the other two previously mentioned.
First of all, the pockets are fixed on each page, their number and their location are fixed. Consequently, this type of album requires you to respect the layout, the number and the format of the photos – although on this last point there is a certain tolerance when the formats are close (for example, an 11×15 photo album can perfectly accept 10×15 formats). It is therefore necessary to pay close attention to the technical description of each album to find out the maximum number of photos it can accept, and to make sure that the format of the pockets corresponds to the photos you own or plan to print (if you have your own personal photo printer, for example).
Once slipped inside its pouch, the picture is fixed and protected: you have nothing more to do!
Another advantage of the album with pockets is the presence on certain models of a “memo” space. The memo is a small free area on which you can write something. Depending on the album, it is either a part of the page or a strip of paper to slide over the page. The memo allows you to put a caption next to each photo: ideal to describe a situation, for example during your vacations or a party.
Summary table of album page types
Traditional album | Adhesive album | Album with pockets | |
Format and layout of the plates | Totally free, within the limit of the useful size of the pages | Free, with required spacing between photos | Imposed (size and quantity of pockets) |
Protection | Crystal leaflet | Plastic film | Pouch |
Attachment | Adhesive pads or corners | Self-adhesive page | Without adhesive, in the pouch |
The cover
The cover of the photo album is the first thing you see in an album, so you should pay special attention to it. There are several types of covers:
The soft cover, usually laminated, is most often found on small albums, or “mini albums”. It is also the preferred choice for travel albums or notebooks, for obvious reasons of convenience, weight and size.
The hard cover is the most commonly used type of photo album. It is available with or without a window. The window allows you to slip in your own photo – this is called a customizable cover. Many wedding photo albums use this process to offer the bride and groom’s photo on the cover, but windowed covers can be found on many other themes.
The material used for the cover is also important. As we said, a mini album will have a soft plastic cover, but the higher you go, the more important the cover is in the prestige and luxury of the album. Some covers are made of leather, while others are padded. In general, an album with a strong theme, highlighting a special event, uses this kind of high-end technique: this is the case for wedding albums of course, but also for birth albums.
Binding
There are different types of bindings with very different characteristics. The way in which the pages and the cover are fixed has aesthetic consequences. It is therefore necessary to know some main principles in this field.
The bound album is the most common of all, it constitutes the vast majority of albums found in the market. This manufacturing process, also used in the field of books, is also called “glued square back binding”.
The spiral binding is one of the most popular on the market, there are two variants of spirals: the visible spirals (therefore visible from the outside of the album) and the hidden spirals, which as their name suggests are not visible and are located inside the cover.
The accordion binding allows, as its name indicates, to unfold an album like an accordion, being understood that it is necessarily albums of small capacity and a small number of pages.
The ring binder is similar to the one found on binders. This binding allows you to add pages to an album.
The welded binding is mainly found on mini albums, the cover and pages are welded at the binding.
Removable pages are an uncommon type of binding, the purpose of which is to be able to remove pages.
A photo album … for what occasion?
There is a great diversity in the themes addressed by photo albums. Some are designed to be relatively neutral and have a plain look, while others are more themed, even original! Here are a few tips on how to choose your photo album based on a theme.
The wedding photo album
The most famous album is without a doubt the wedding photo album. For a special occasion, the bride and groom want to keep the memories of a memorable day in a high quality case. It is in this category that we generally find the most luxurious models.
The wedding photo album, a prestigious product, is usually equipped with a padded cover, a specific decoration, and a light color, mostly white or ivory.
Often, this kind of album offers a cover with a window, allowing to personalize the photo of the bride and groom.
The wedding photo album is generally a large album, allowing to put forward pictures of an important format.
The models prized by the photographers thus make it possible to preserve the photographs of the bride and groom of course, but also of the witnesses of marriage, the family and the friends.
This is the kind of album that we keep for a very long time, so their manufacturing quality is of a very high level, in order to resist the wear of time, just like – we hope – the union from which it preserves the genesis.
The birth photo album
The birth of a child is also a golden opportunity to take many pictures, and keep these precious memories in a baby photo album.
This type of album can propose a neutral color or more oriented on the sex of the child (thus very often blue for a boy or pink for a girl, even if some manufacturers show more originality than others and propose various colors).
The range of photo albums offered by Panodia / Moulin Roty is very popular with parents and more generally with people who are looking for a baby photo album to give to their loved ones.
Most of the time, a birth photo album is a “memo”, that is to say that it also offers free spaces to write inside (typically in this case: first name of the baby, weight at birth, but also the various events of the first months – the prankster parents will also be able to keep the memory of the most funny moments).
Of course, there are many models of albums themed “childhood / baby / birth” whose pages are traditional (so without pocket, and without memo).
Their colors and illustrations are however perfectly adapted to this type of photography.
The school photo album
Keeping school memories is also a great opportunity to acquire a photo album.
Just like the birth album, there is a specific range for schools: the school photo album.
This type of album allows you to keep the pictures taken during your child’s school career, always with this “memo” space adapted this time to the school world (name of the class, school year, school friends, etc.).
The class photo album is, like the wedding or birth album, one of those albums that we keep for a long time, and that we take pleasure in looking at after a few years, with the family. For children who have become adults, it is often a great pleasure to look at these pages and recall memories that are sometimes distant.
Most school photo albums offer childish designs and texts, which is explained by the fact that they are mainly intended for younger children: you will more easily find a kindergarten photo album than one dedicated to high school students!
The travel photo album
The adventurers also have their own category of photo album: the travel journal!
The latter is generally based on a small format and a light weight, to be forgotten during your travels. However, there are a few models that are a little larger than the others, and have a hard cover. It all depends on your travel conditions, your constraints and your desires!
Some are equipped with a “memo” space to take notes during your vacation, and a zip pocket to keep it safe from harsh weather conditions.
Many more traditional albums are also themed “travel” or “vacation” and allow you to store your many vacation shots, previously printed online or with a photo printer (such as Canon Selphy, for example), when you return home.
This category of album is therefore dedicated to the theme of travel, vacation memories, without having the characteristics to travel themselves (weight, size).
Neutral albums (classic or fantasy)
It also happens – and very often – that we don’t have a precise idea about the themes of the pictures, or that we want to group events in the same album in a chronological way, without real thematic coherence.
A photo album can very well gather some photos related to the birth of a child, the schooling of the big brother or sister, the whole followed by the memories of vacations of all the family!
In such cases, it is common to turn to the two categories of albums that are the classic album and the fantasy album.
A classic album is one that has a relatively simple look, with a cover that is usually a solid color. Classic albums are not vintage, however; their look is actually timeless and suitable for just about any type of photo and audience. This category includes some of the largest and most famous collections of photo albums, including the famous Empire Collection, and the Cordoba line from Panodia.
On the other hand, the fantasy album is a great place for illustrations and colors. The latter are often very vivid and allow to associate an album with its content thanks to a pleasant theme to contemplate: travel, childhood, nature, etc. The “Artists” range from Panodia is aptly named and perfectly illustrates the concept of fantasy albums.
An album stamped “fantasy” is typically the type of album that could please a child or a teenager. You will be able to create your own photo album in total freedom.
Instant photo albums
Instant photography has been making a comeback in the world of photography for a few years.
Terms like Instax, Fujifilm, Polaroid, are now known even by the youngest.
A whole range of products has been developed on this theme – cameras, photo films, frames, and therefore the photo album.
The polaroid photo album, as many people sometimes call it by abuse of language, is an album dedicated to instant photos of 6.2 x 4.6 cm, 6.2 x 6.2 cm or 6.2 x 9.9 cm and these are actually the formats offered by the various Fujifilm Instax cameras.
The albums in this category are mainly small in size and capacity (usually less than 150 photos), with various variations: hard or soft cover, pocketed or traditional pages, hidden or visible spiral binding, or soft binding, and the range is distinguished by very bright colors.
Again, this is a great gift for a child who is new to photography, or a teenager.
How many photos can we put in an album?
The capacity of a photo album is one of the most important elements to consider, especially since it is a point that needs some explanation to be clear. Whether you are looking for an album for 100 or 500 photos or even more (600 photos and more), you should know the following main principles.
In a pocket album, as we have seen, the number of photos is conditioned by the number of pockets: you put as many photos as there are pockets, in the format proposed by the manufacturer (or a very similar format). In this case, the situation is simple because the MB Tech product sheets provide, as much as possible, the formats of the photos and the maximum number that an album can accept: an album with pockets for 200 photos 10×15 allows you to place up to … 200 photos in 10x15cm format. It’s as simple as that.
In a traditional page album, on the other hand, the subject is more complex. By definition, the traditional page is a blank page, offering you the greatest possible freedom. Square photos, landscape or portrait format, you can do as you wish: the only limit is the useful size of the pages, which is indicated on our product sheets.
For example, you can consider that a page of 30 x 30 cm allows you to place 6 photos 10×15 or “postcard size” glued with adhesive pads, as shown in the diagram below. You could just as easily have a large landscape photo at the top, and several smaller ones underneath, on the same page. In reality you can create your own compositions freely. The diagrams below show arbitrary and fanciful compositions to illustrate this notion of freedom: each composition occupies the same space on a 30×30 page.
10×15 | 10×15 |
10×15 | 10×15 |
10×15 | 10×15 |
For example, for a traditional page album, we usually talk about an estimated number of photos in 10×15 format, which is the standard format. This estimated number must be compared to your own needs, for example if you already have photos in a format other than 10×15, or if you intend to print photos in a different format.
Therefore, MB Tech’s product sheets mention, as much as possible, all the elements you need to make your choice: the number of pages of the album, the useful surface of the pages, the estimated number of 10×15 photos per page and the estimated number of 10×15 photos that the album can accept at most.
As for the album with adhesive pages, it allows the same freedom as the traditional page, with one notable difference: the photos must necessarily be spaced from each other on the same page, otherwise there will not be enough adhesive surface left on the page. You can therefore place fewer photos than on a traditional page album, with the same usable surface.
Conclusion
So now you have all the knowledge you need to make your choice, and find the photo album of your dreams.
Do not hesitate to contact us if you still have questions, our team will be happy to answer them.