Epson StoryTeller Photo Book Creator - 8in x 10in (20 pages) Reviews

• Easy to use, until you have to print it out!

  
  By ATE8JKSI8W00R on 2005-11-13
  I love the idea of this product, and I loved working with it. I created a great layout that looked fabulous on screen. But unless you have an Epson printer, it is very difficult to print out a great copy. My hp deskjet could not handle the supplied photo paper, so a friend printed on his Lexmark for me. It worked better, but still had a few problems. More paper should be included in the package in case of printing problems because after several printing problems, we ran out of paper and I could not find the same photo paper in any store; I ended up buying a second package just to get more of the same paper.
  
  Next time, I will make a book using the ofoto site -- much more professional looking (2-sided) and just as cheap.
  
  

• Very simple to use, good results

  
  By A34G3Y5H64A7YM on 2005-11-29
  Storyline can be created easily. Captioning is easy. Took about 3 hrs to put togther a 20 page storyline, caption and print the pages. Ability to zoom and pan photos is useful. The resulting book looks very good and vibrant.
  Negative - Software uses a lot of system resources. Wish the sheets were double sided rather than single sided. Would like to see more themes and the ability to have an introduction page primarily based on text. Refill kits (without the s/w) would be great as well.
  
  

• Epson Storyteller Photo Book Creator

  
  By A3KBPX2DRN6TTM on 2005-09-07
  This is an extremely easy to use program and it's quite a lot of fun to work with! The end product is a stunning library type book that you are more than proud to share with family and friends. I chose not to tear out the extra mounting pages but used them to display extra photos. I have purchased a second one to use for our next vacation.
  
  

• Great book but could still be better

  
  By A2LM0I31H5XXRP on 2005-11-13
  I recently purchased and completed my first book using StoryTeller. It was fun to produce, a bit tedious and labor intensive but the result was a beautiful book.
  
  It would be nice if the book could use two-sided paper and thus look more like a real book. That might be difficult to accomplish. On the other hand it would be easy to offer more than one font for captions, titles and such. It would also be nice to have more control with captions such as italizing or underlineing individual words. The buyer should be aware that this produces a very large file and even a fast computer is slowed considerably.
  
  Regardless of minor drawbacks, I think it is a great product and I'll probably buy several to use as very personalized Christmas gifts.
  
  

• no room for creativity

  
  By A3AXDQD8GWJFO8 on 2006-05-19
  The idea of this book is great, but there is no room for creativity whatsoever. If a page has space for 11 photos, you have to put in 11 photos. If you like the layout, but only want to put in 9 photos, it won't adjust itself. If you're supposed to put a date somewhere, there is no room for more characters than a date would require, and it is not adjustable. You want to move a photo up a bit, out of luck. I got so frustrated using their software, that I will be doing most of the layout work (except the cover) in Adobe Illustrator, which is obviously more flexible, but will require more of my time. This is for someone who likes to be told how to design their custom-designed book.
  
  
• a story worth telling
  By AEGFR95AKRZUT on 2006-08-14
  I wanted to make a children's book for somebody, using my own artwork, scanned into my computer with my own text. I downloaded the software but was disappointed that it did not leave me the freedom to compose my own layouts, but rather had a strict format that had to be used. You could use your own photos, but with somebody else's layout design. So the software was of absolutely no use to me. The book comes with glossy paper, so you can make 20 photo pages that are blank on the back side. That was useless too. I never used the paper. Also, I couldn't get the printer to accept 8 by 10 rather than 8.5 by 11.5 paper. I ended up buying double-sided matte paper, printing on both sides and having a 40-page book. I couldn't get the cover to print straight either, so I finally printed my cover design on a piece of glossy paper and glued it on. It looks nice, but I essentially paid the money for the book alone. The software and paper were a waste. I wish the company would make software that can be used by us more creative types for a book of our OWN design. I also wish Epson would make a 25-page book, so I could make a 50-page story.
  
  
• Nice Photo Album
  By A2SYXG07J71OUF on 2007-01-11
  This product was very easy to use. I used it to make a wedding album for our daughter and they were very exicted about it. The only thing that I was not happy with was the lack of horizonal frames to work with. You can only do so much croping to make a horzonal photo fit a vertical frame. I didi appreciate the extra paper that included.
  
  
• Easy to Use - Great Looking - Somewhat Limiting
  By A3DI30USTZROBO on 2007-07-28
  I used the StoryTeller Photo Book to create a keepsake of a family reunion and visit to see my new niece. The StoryTeller Photo Book was very easy to use and created a near-professional looking product. It included simple photo correction capability, wonderful layout templates, and everything you need to make a book in a few hours or more. The long cover and 8x10 pages printed perfectly on my HP Photosmart 2610 printer. I gave the book to my mother and she absolutely loved it. It is a much better than a photo album for displaying photos.
  
  However, the software is somewhat limiting. Even though the book styles and artistic layouts are good, it would be great to have more variety. You cannot limit the number of photos in a given layout or resize the area of a picture on a page. If you need full artistic control, you may find this frustrating. As others have mentioned, you must buy the software along with the book materials for each new project. Limitations notwithstanding however, I intend to buy a few more and then wait for product improvements.
  
  
• Perfect for me
  By A2ZOVZO3I8E3B3 on 2008-04-19
  After my Mother passed away, I wanted a way to create some sort of a tribute to her I could share with my family.
  I had ordered a new epson printer and this product came free with it. I spent the requisite time reading and experimenting with it. My first attempts worked wonderfully, which left me with the extra book cover and sheets. Due to the sober concept of the book, I used no captions or titles, which the product allowed. This is not MS Publisher, and isn't intended to be that type of a product. It IS a product that allows you to import photo's, do some touching up and minor cropping, and leaves you with a very professionally hardbound book of memories.
  I am ordering a couple more now to send to other family members.
  Bruce D. Meyer
  
  
  
• Very Easy...
  By A2QOKEOQOQRUN7 on 2008-07-12
  to make your own memory book. I was able to make one and change some factors to personalize it, easily. I bought another to make for another gift.
  
  

• Epson StoryTeller Photo Book Creator -- 8in x 10in (10 pages)
• Epson StoryTeller Photo Book Creator -- 5in x 7in (10 pages)
• Epson PictureMate Express Printer

• Epson StoryTeller Photo Book Creator -- 5in x 7in (10 pages)
• Epson StoryTeller Photo Book Creator -- 8in x 10in (10 pages)
• Epson 4 x 6 Inch Premium Gloss Photo Paper, 100 Sheets (S041727)
• Epson Premium Glossy 8 1/2 x 11 Inch Photo Paper, 50 Sheets (S041667)
• Epson Photo Black Ink Cartridge (T054120)