Hey there! If you‘re anything like me, you‘re always on the hunt for thoughtful gift ideas that will really wow your friends and family. That‘s why I‘m excited to share my experience with Collage.com, a website that lets you create custom photo gifts for any occasion.
I‘ve ordered several photo books, canvas prints, and blankets from Collage.com over the years. I‘m consistently impressed with the quality of their products and how easy the whole process is. Today I‘m bringing you my complete Collage.com review with all the juicy details you need to decide if it‘s the right photo gift site for you!
What is Collage.com?
First, a quick overview for anyone who‘s not familiar. Collage.com is a website where you can upload your own photos and turn them into personalized gifts and decor. They offer a huge selection of products ranging from photo books and calendars to pillows and phone cases.
One of the best things about Collage.com is how user-friendly it is. Their design tool works right in your web browser (no extra software needed) and makes it super simple to create a gift covered in your favorite photos. Just pick a product, upload your pics, and play around with the layouts until you have something you love!
Collage.com has grown like crazy in popularity over the years. The company was founded in 2007 and has now served over 3 million customers and counting. In 2019 alone, they printed over 10 million photos per month and shipped nearly 2 million orders!
So it‘s safe to say a lot of people are catching on to how great Collage.com is. But let‘s take a closer look at what makes them stand out and why I personally choose them for my photo gift needs again and again.
Why I Love Ordering From Collage.com
There are several key reasons why Collage.com is my hands-down favorite place to shop for custom photo presents:
1. The quality is top notch
I‘m always blown away by how professional Collage.com‘s finished products look. The printing is crisp and vibrant and the materials are really premium. For example, their hardcover photo books have a nice weight to them and the pages are thick and glossy. And their canvas prints use archival-grade inks on artist-grade canvas. You can definitely notice a difference compared to cheaper photo gifts I‘ve gotten elsewhere.
2. The customization options are endless
No matter what you‘re envisioning for your photo project, Collage.com probably has a way for you to bring it to life. Want to make a photo book entirely of your dog with a paisley background and lime green embellishments? Go for it! Feel like printing your family photos on a fleece blanket or a metal print? Easy. The creative freedom is unreal.
3. They run sales constantly
I‘ll dive more into Collage.com‘s pricing in a bit, but one amazing perk is that they always have discounts available. Seriously, I don‘t think I‘ve ever paid full price for anything on their site. If you keep an eye out for coupon codes and plan ahead for big sales (like 60% off everything!) you can score some sweet deals.
4. The shipping is fast and affordable
Nobody wants to wait forever for custom gifts to arrive, especially if you‘re trying to get something in time for a special occasion. In my experience, Collage.com has crazy-fast processing times and my orders often show up even sooner than promised.
For example, this past Christmas I ordered a photo blanket for my parents on December 15th and selected standard shipping. It was at my doorstep 5 days later on the 20th with plenty of time to wrap it and get it under the tree. And I only paid $4.99 for shipping!
5. Their customer service is great
The couple of times I‘ve had to reach out to Collage.com‘s customer support, I‘ve been really pleased with how responsive and accommodating they are. Once I found a tiny typo in a photo book I ordered and they reprinted the whole thing for me quickly and at no extra cost. It‘s clear they stand behind their 100% satisfaction guarantee.
So those are some of the big-picture perks I‘ve experienced first-hand with Collage.com. Now I want to get into the nitty-gritty and share my thoughts on the specific products I‘ve ordered. To give you a sense of pricing, I‘ll also include how much I paid for each item and the discounts I used!
Collage.com Product Reviews
Photo Books
I am downright obsessed with the photo books I‘ve gotten from Collage.com. I started out ordering their classic hardcover books and have since gotten a lay-flat album and a premium flush mount album too. They‘re perfect for commemorating vacations, making wedding albums, or creating yearly family yearbooks.
Collage.com Photo Book Specs:
- Softcover, hardcover, lay-flat, & flush mount options
- 30+ cover designs & customizable colors/backgrounds
- Fully customizable page layouts, captions & embellishments
- Professional press printing & binding
- Archival-quality, acid-free paper in matte or satin finish
I‘m always so impressed with the vivid color reproduction and razor-sharp image quality in my Collage.com photo books. The pages are weighty with a subtle sheen and the printing goes right up to the edge. My family and I love flipping through them and I know these albums will last a lifetime.
My favorite photo book I‘ve made so far is a 12×12 premium flush mount album of my wedding photos. The pages are extra thick and lay completely flat, and there‘s a translucent vellum first page for a romantic look. I was able to customize literally every detail, from the cover material to the fonts and photo layouts. It‘s a work of art!
What I Paid: The 20-page 12×12 lay-flat premium flush mount photo book normally costs $199.99. But I waited for a 60% off sale and got it for just $79.99 with free economy shipping!
Canvas Prints
Gallery walls are a huge home decor trend right now and Collage.com makes it effortless to print your own frameable canvas art. You can either design a canvas collage with multiple photos or simply blow up one favorite image nice and big.
Collage.com Canvas Print Specs:
- 12 sizes from 8×8 to 30×40
- Customize borders, color effects & photo filters
- State-of-the-art giclée printing process
- Artist-grade, poly-cotton blended canvas
- 1.25-inch traditional or .75-inch floating frame options
- Built-in hanging hardware & rubber bumpers
I‘ve gotten several Collage.com canvas prints in various sizes to create a statement wall in my living room. The quality is truly stunning in person. The canvas has a subtle texture that makes the prints look like real paintings and the inks are deeply saturated. My prints have been hanging for over a year now and the colors are still as bright as ever with no signs of fading.
What I Paid: An 8×8 photo canvas is regularly priced at $49.99, while a 24×36 is $149.99. But canvas prints go on sale for 75-80% off pretty frequently. I got a bunch during a "buy 1 get 2 free" promo and paid around $33 per canvas on average.
Photo Blankets
Collage.com‘s custom photo blankets make for super unique and cozy gifts that your family will cherish for years. There are so many fun designs to choose from and these blankets are shockingly soft and plush.
Collage.com Photo Blanket Specs:
- Fleece & sherpa options in 4 sizes from 30×40 to 60×80
- 80+ pre-set design templates for easy creation
- Up to 14 photos on the front & back
- Choose backgrounds, embellishments & text
- Machine washable on gentle cycle
So far I‘ve ordered Collage.com‘s fleece blankets for my niece and nephew with photos of them with their puppy. The fleece is the perfect weight and the photo reproduction is so clear and crisp. I love that there are design templates specifically for babies, kids, and pets. The blankets have already washed up well several times based on what my sister tells me.
What I Paid: The smallest 30×40 fleece photo blanket is usually $64.99, while the largest 60×80 size is $94.99. During sales, you can find them for 50% off or more. My 30×40 blankets ended up being around $30 each with a coupon code.
Collage.com vs. Competitors
Collage.com is far from the only photo gift site out there. You may be wondering how they stack up to some of their major competitors that also offer custom photo products. Here‘s my take:
Collage.com vs. Shutterfly: Both sites offer similar products and pricing. However, I find Collage.com‘s design interface easier to work with and their photo reproduction a bit sharper and more color-accurate. Collage.com also tends to have more sales and discount opportunities.
Collage.com vs. Snapfish: Snapfish sometimes has cheaper starting prices, but I don‘t think their print quality is quite on par with Collage.com, especially for products like canvas. Collage.com also has a much wider selection of gift options and more modern design templates.
Collage.com vs. Mixbook: Mixbook is known for stylish, highly customizable photo books. However, they don‘t offer as many non-book products as Collage.com and their books tend to be pricer. Collage.com‘s photo books are equally high quality in my opinion, and I like having the option to add coordinating gifts to my order.
At the end of the day, I think Collage.com offers the best balance of quality, selection, affordability, and ease of use compared to their competitors. They‘re my top pick for bringing my photo visions to life!
Is Collage.com Right For You?
Okay friend, let‘s bring it all home! By now you know I‘m personally a huge Collage.com fan. But is this photo gift site right for you and your next project? Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- Do I want a huge selection of customizable photo products to choose from?
- Am I looking for premium quality printing and long-lasting gifts?
- Do I want a user-friendly design tool that gives me tons of creative control?
- Would I like to get my order quickly without paying an arm and a leg for shipping?
- Do I appreciate a company that stands by their products with a 100% satisfaction guarantee?
If you answered yes to most or all of these, then I wholeheartedly recommend giving Collage.com a try! Their extensive product catalog and unmatched quality make them a fantastic choice for almost any custom photo gift you can imagine.
To sweeten the deal, I‘ve got an exclusive discount link for you that will save you up to 85% on your first order. Just click below to shop and create the photo project of your dreams for a fraction of the normal cost. You can thank me later!
[Discount Link Button]I hope this in-depth Collage.com review has given you all the details you need to make an informed decision. I truly believe you‘ll be just as thrilled with your order as I have been with mine! If you have any other questions, drop them in the comments below. And I‘d love to see photos of what you create!
Until next time,
[Your Name]
