Asuka books - what do you think of the soft books?

[KeepsakeGirl]

I've ordered the EX hardbacks & love them, but I have a customer whom I took photos of her little girls who wants a coffeebook.

I haven't ever seen the Book Bound Varnish hard & soft cover books they offer. Are they as nice as the hardback EX? I wanted to give her a few options.

[KeepsakeGirl]

so no one offers the other asuka options? i know there has to be a few!

[cmalana]

I'll bite. We offer the Hardbound Varnish and they are not bad. You don't get the jacket (but the cover is fine and is similar to EX). I personally don't mind the varnish finish on the pages. Also has a plastic slip cover (no personalization but it does protect the book)

So far, we've only used this book for non-wedding events (which we cover from time to time) . I have 4 books coming next week so I'll also be able to comment on the stitch bound as well.

[KeepsakeGirl]

Thanks for responding Carlo.

Are the pages of great quality as in the EX? Can you describe to me the diff. between the varnish finish vs. the glossy finish of the EX books?

[cmalana]

Varnish finish is closer to the matte finish of the the EX books. It does not retain fingerprints as easily but also doesn't have the same 'pop' that the glossy books have. Personally, I like the varnish over the glossy of the EX but that's just my preference though I never liked glossy prints to begin with (i stick with luster or matte for most of everything we do).

By the way, you can ask asuka to send you samples of each type of paper. We are about to receive some EX matte books next week so I'll get a chance to compare them side by side, but I really don't mind the hardbound varnish books.

[KeepsakeGirl]

Is that paper thickness just as good as the EX?