Field report Saal Digital
The most beautiful photos are useless if they gather dust on the hard drive. That's what many of my customers think, too, and I'm therefore often asked where the photos can best be finished. So far, my personal experience is limited to two companies from which I have mainly ordered calendars and framed pictures. Of course, I can also only recommend them.
Now the company Saal Digital has given me two vouchers to test their products. A 50 euro voucher for a wall picture and a 40 euro voucher for a photo book. Here now my experience:
Software
To design and order the various products, you can either install special software on your own PC or do the whole thing in the browser. I opted for the software. Downloading and installing is quick and completely uncomplicated. The interface is clearly laid out and offers countless setting options to adapt the design to your own ideas.
When uploading the photos, I noticed negatively that only the JPG format is supported. TIF is not accepted, let alone Photoshop files. However, since JPG only has 8-bit color depth, this can lead to so-called color banding in the case of smooth color gradients if you don't implement countermeasures such as artificial noise or dithering.
When creating the pages for the photo book, an ominous error 1125 occasionally appeared, which then also led to strangely distorted pages. After deleting these pages, however, it went on without a hitch.
Independent of the software, you also have the option of downloading an ICS profile for each product. This makes it possible to perform a color proof and correct the colors or brightness if necessary.
Wall mural
First I was spoiled for choice, which format to take for the mural. After a look at the homepage, I immediately noticed that I do not get far with a 50 euro voucher. But since a mural in my opinion should already turn out something voluminous, I still decided on the format 50x100 cm. The photo for it was found quickly. It is a panorama of my home village with a resolution of 11811x5906 pixels, the ideal size for this format.
The murals are available in different variants from hard foam board to photo canvas. Originally I wanted to take the GalleryPrint variant, but from a certain size you can no longer choose the standard suspension. Possibly the picture becomes too heavy for it. So I decided to use acrylic glass. I have pretty much blown up the price frame of the voucher either way ;-)
The mural arrived just a few days later in an extremely sturdy packaging. The first impression after unpacking and removing the protective film... WOW! Through the acrylic glass, the image looks extremely noble. The processing is perfect and the sharpness is also impeccable. Only the sky has a slight purple cast, which was not visible even in the color proof with the corresponding acrylic ICS profile.
My conclusion: Both the quality and the fast delivery have convinced me. Only the slight color cast would have to take a closer look, whether it is due to my monitor or the processing. Anyway, the picture makes wonderful on my wall and the best thing is, I already have a Christmas gift for my parents! But do not tell :-)
Photo book
Of course, there are also different versions of photo books. I opted for the classic A4 format with glossy, padded cover and glossy inside pages. I would have liked to try the nicer leather cover as well, but I didn't want to use half of the voucher just for the cover. Choosing the photos was already much more difficult. In the end, it just became a best of my photos from 2016.
The delivery was again a few days later. The first impression after unpacking was very positive. Both the colors and the brightness of the pictures fit exactly. The individual pages feel high-quality and also the panorama binding keeps what it promises. Still, there is of course a small crease in the middle of the pages, but it is hardly noticeable, especially with large photos.
I like the padded cover very much. It gives the photo book a certain volume, which makes it comfortable to hold. On the other hand, I find the inside of the cover not so optimal. The photo pages are glued directly onto the overhanging cover pages, which creates small bumps that are especially noticeable when backlit. I would rather leave the inside pages blank and make the photo book one page thicker.
My conclusion: Above all, the color reproduction of the photo book absolutely convinced me. Details such as the margins of the pages also match the template exactly, which is very important for layout. All in all, I can recommend the Saal Digital photo book with a clear conscience.
