Have you ever heard the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words”? The holidays are a great time to take that expression literally—because there’s no better way to show someone they’re loved than to gift them a heartfelt collection of photographs from your treasured adventures together. These five photo services make it easy for you to customize a travel-inspired gift for your loved ones this year.
Simply Framed’s “Print & Frame” service is highly convenient and pretty self-explanatory; it allows customers to upload photos from their device, then edit and crop the photo accordingly. Simply Framed lets the customer know what size print would be best for the photo, then the customer can choose from a selection of 24 frame styles. The photo is professionally printed and shipped (at no extra cost) within five to nine days.
Artifact Uprising is a unique photo service that prioritizes making high-quality printed goods with a thoughtful design. All of its products are printed on responsibly sourced materials—hardcover and softcover photo book pages, cards, and packs are made with 100 percent post-consumer waste recycled paper. It’s also partnered with the nonprofit SKCAC to provide jobs for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, so this holiday season you can do good and gift-shop at the same time.
3. Blurb
Blurb—the world’s first platform for creating, printing, and publishing independent books—aims to make book-making possible for everyone, at every skill level. Blurb lets users make instant books from their Instagram and Facebook feeds, integrates effortlessly with InDesign and Lightroom, and even lets customers print professional-looking books to sell and distribute online. Basically, it’s the perfect service for those who want to disguise a personal gift as professional, no matter their skill level.
4. Mixbook
Mixbook makes it possible to create photo books, cards, calendars, and prints within a matter of minutes from your phone or tablet. The easy (and free) to use service features unlimited photo storage and lets you customize your content from scratch or from hundreds of professional templates. Last-minute holiday gift shoppers, this service is for you!
5. Shutterfly
If Ellen DeGeneres’s ongoing endorsements weren’t already enough to get you using this personalized photo printing service for your holiday gifts, here’s another reason: It only requires three steps to create a beautiful product using Shuterfly. Add Photos, Create, Order. We’re not kidding, that’s all it takes.
