Daily Review - Winkflash photobooks

I've been using Winkflash for a photo printing service for many years now.  They used to offer 6 cents for a 4x6 print, with flat rate shipping of $0.99.  Over the last couple of years, their pricing has increased to 8 cents a print (which is hardly a big deal), and the shipping costs are now based on how many prints you order.  I've always been happy with the quality of the prints though, and at $1.99 for an 8x10, it's hard to beat.  Recently, I got a coupon code for a flat rate on the photo books, up to 100 pages, so decided to order one to see how I like it.

Book creation:
To start putting photos into book format, you are given the option of uploading the photos straight from your computer, or opening an existing album in Winkflash to select pictures from.  Personally, I found it easier to just upload into existing albums and it was pretty easy to navigate between albums.

There are a lot of different patterned or themed backgrounds to choose from, plus you can choose from a selection of plain colored backgrounds. The layouts are based on how many photos you want to include on the page.  I did find this somewhat limiting as there were layouts that I'd be envisioning that don't exist.  It would be great to have some kind of custom layout creator, or at least the ability to resize the boxes within the layouts.  Outside of that, it's a simple drag and drop onto the page to place photos.  I also liked that there were framing options for the photos - from simple frames to vignettes and other effects.  There's only a few that I ended up using, but I enjoyed having the choice at all.  The only thing to be aware of while creating your book is that you need to make sure you have the correct page selected (i.e. left or right).  On occasion, I'd have the wrong page selected and make changes to the wrong side, which could be frustrating.  There's also the option to create your own pages in Photoshop (or other editing software) and upload the full page to Winkflash, which is definitely a method I would consider in the future.

Pricing:

I ordered the 8x11 custom cover book, which was $28.95 for the 100 pages plus $6.99 for shipping.  Regularly, that is the price for up to 20 pages, with each additional page costing $1.00.  I don't think I would pay the regular price for the book as what I ordered would have been over $100.  Without the coupon code, I would probably have tried Blurb which has more competitive pricing for the number of pages.

Shipping:
When I ordered the book, the estimated arrival date was March 14.  Guess they got that right, as it arrived just before lunch!  It was about 10 days from the date I ordered to the day it was in hand.

Cover and binding:
The cover is a glossy finish and overall looks very nice.  I would have loved an option for a matte cover though.  The binding appears to be very secure, and overall presentation is really nice.  The only thing I'm disappointed with is that they didn't print the title of the book on the spine, which means it could easily get lost in my rather extensive bookshelf!

Photo and paper quality:
I was actually very happy with the thickness of the paperstock used to print the book.  It has a nice feel to it, and isn't too thin, which would have been my primary concern.  The colors of the photos are nice and rich, and in general very true to the uploaded photo.  There were a few that appear to be slightly darker than I anticipated, but not enough of a difference to be a problem.





Overall, I'm very happy with the photo book and would definitely order another through Winkflash's service, although not without a coupon code for the flat rate.  I definitely have plans to put my photography portfolio in book format and, if the pricing offer is there, I'll be happy to use Winkflash to do it.

FYI, Winkflash is still running the flat rate on their photobooks until March 17, 2011.  The coupon code is ALLBOOKS in case you want to put one together in the next couple of days!

Also, if you sign up with them, you get 50 free prints for your first order.  Use code 50FREE.

Daily Review - Finding the perfect cat food!

Our baby cat Deuce is now a little over 7 months old. There are a million different opinions out there as to the best diet for cats and which foods are best. When we first got the little guy, I had looked around for some tips as to how to read a cat food label, whether dry or wet food was better (naturally finding arguments for both), how much to feed him etc. We opted for a mixed dry/wet food diet and he gets around a quarter can every morning and evening of Hill's Science Plan Kitten wet food, plus Purina O.N.E. Healthy Kitten Formula as his dry food during the day.  Our vet said he's incredibly healthy and he's obviously done well with what we've fed him so far.  Now it's time to look for the right adult food for him.

Our vet suggested we switch him to adult food around the 9-10 month range.  The question of course is which one?!  The choices are really pretty extensive and, while he's not a picky eater (the only thing he doesn't like are fish flavors), we do need to find something that he agrees is good as well as good for him.  One of the best things to look for in cat food is that there is a good amount of proper protein and not an over-abundance of unnecessary grains.  For example, if chicken is the first ingredient that is good.  Chicken meal is even better as it's already been baked to remove bacteria and excess water, therefore the actual chicken quantity that is in the food is increased.  I also found this interesting article from the FDA regarding pet food label requirements.

Premium cat foods, such as Innova and Wellness, can be very expensive.  I feel like we're looking for something in the middle, but I'll tell you that it's ridiculously overwhelming.  It's amazing how Hill's Science Diet is so popular because looking at the ingredient list, it doesn't seem to be the most appealing.  In fact, animal by-product is the number one ingredient when I'd much rather be feeding him the more wholesome bits.

There was a Nutro representative in-store at Petco today, so I took a closer look at their products, both Nutro Max and Nutro Natural (the more premium grade food).  They certainly have the benefit of using chicken meal.  The other product that I think is my first choice, although definitely on the pricier side, is Blue Buffalo Spa Select, which has both deboned chicken and chicken meal as the first two ingredients.

After all this, I still haven't truly made a decision and I haven't even started to look at wet food yet as those labels are even more confusing to read due to the "moisture content" equation!  I think it's worth looking at though.  How could I not give my furry little boy a good diet to keep him healthy and happy?

What do you use?  Do you have any suggestions?  I would love to hear them!