When I started as a Photo & Story Treasures consultant in 2005, nobody asked me this question! EVER! That's because nobody had ever seen a personalized hardbound book before! It was UNIQUE.
But nowadays you can make photo books at drugstore and big box company websites, so people want to know:
What's the difference between Photo & Story Treasures (feat. Forever) and other seemingly similar options?
Here are EIGHT things my clients have told me over the years that make Photo and Story Treasures better than anything they've seen before:
What's the difference between Photo & Story Treasures (feat. Forever) and other seemingly similar options?
1. QUALITY
Why waste time and money on something that won't last? While freebies and gimmicks can be tempting when looking to preserve photos, memories, and stories, the most important thing you should know about what you're getting is the quality. Never settle for anything less than what you can get with Forever: heirloom-quality products that can be passed down to the next generation and the next.
All products are printed on high-quality papers that are acid-free and lignin-free. The hardbound books have a stitched binding. (Beware of companies that glue pages in books because regular glue yellows and cracks over time, causing the pages to fall out.) Softbound books (and Forever hardbound books over 60 pages) use a binding method superior to glue called the PUR method, also called "perfect binding" in publishing circles, which acts like glue but is actually a chemical bonding process. These bindings are the best there are.
I have several clients who came to me after trying something else that didn't last very long. Quality is a big deal to me--and a big deal at Forever. With Photo & Story Treasures, we're not out to offer a product or make a sale--we aim to offer heritage.
2. HERITAGE and PROTECTION
My job isn't saving people from burning buildings--it's saving people from having to run INTO burning buildings after their photos!
With Forever, your projects stay in your account indefinitely (unless YOU delete them). In addition to photos and photo projects, you may also store videos, PDFs, and audio files, all of which are guaranteed to outlive you by at least 100 years. (See more at #5.)
3. FLEXIBILITY
To meet a variety of needs and preferences, you have three options for preserving your precious photos and memories with Forever.
- AutoPrint will auto-populate a book (or other project) with your photos and a simple background of your choosing. From there, you can adjust the photos as desired and add captions.
- Design & Print has designer pages with a simple digital scrapbooking look. Choose a template, then choose a pre-set design for each page that will fit your needs. Add text in designated locations to tell your story and preserve the memories.
- Artisan is Forever's digital scrapbooking software. Some say it's similar to PhotoShop or Canva. It's full creativity and the ability to place photo, text, and embellishments anywhere you want on a page and covers. Artisan is a program you purchase and download to your computer. It currently operates on Windows 10 and 11, and can run on Macs with partitioning. A Mac version is in the works, but no release date is announced yet. Something some people really like about creating with Artisan is that the program automatically saves a PDF version of your project right to your computer. You own the PDF, so you can print it anywhere, share it digitally, and have a digital backup of your project.
4. CHOOSE-YOUR-OWN DIGITAL ART with DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING
All designs and digital art in Design & Print templates are already included in the price of the book (or other product) and do not cost anything extra.
If you use Artisan, there are several free art collections, but you'll most likely want to buy some digital art collections. With Forever, art collections are purchased and downloaded to your computer. In Artisan, you don't have to sort through digital art that isn't your style or preference while looking for what you do want--you just buy what you like. Because you download the digital art, it's on your computer and you can use it for anything you want to create, even if it's not a Forever project (personal use only).
Also, Forever has a digital scrapbooking group called Pixels2Pages where Forever Artisan specialists called "Pixies" give you ideas, videos, and trainings.
NOTE: In addition to Club, one great way to save money on digital art (and everything else at Forever) is to make sure you click the yellow Deals tab. Almost everything is on sale every 2-6 weeks. Another great way to save money is to use your referral link. When you open your (free) Forever account, you'll have a referral link that you can share with friends. Each time your friends open a new Forever account using your referral link, they get a $20 coupon and so do you! So if you love Forever and you have 3 friends you think will love it, too, (and they open accounts), then you've just earned $60 free! (I've bought a lot of digital art that way!)
5. PHOTO SECURITY & PRESERVATION
Forever reserves NO rights to your photos. (Imagine my surprise when a client told me that this is not true with all "photobook" companies--some retain rights to your photos to use as they wish! Read this scary article for more details on companies using your photos.)
Your photos are stored in full resolution in your Forever account. Because photos are stored in full resolution, you can download them back to your computer or hard drive at any time and retain the original quality. (I was also surprised when another client told me that some "photobook" companies actually charge a fee for you to download your own photos!)
All Forever account holders have 2 GB free photo storage. One of Forever's unique goals is to give people access to free, full-resolution, private photo storage. Beyond 2 GB, you buy photo storage, which means that you OWN it! You don't rent it or pay a fee.
You can share photos with others, even set an additional administrator to your account, and store not only photos but videos, PDFs, and audio files. Photo storage owners also have the amazing benefit of updated file formats. That means that if a file format (like .jpg or .mp4) ever becomes obsolete, Forever will update them. You may download your photos back to your computer for free, 50 at a time. Forever storage also allows for tagging of photos and other organizational options.
Learn more about Forever Storage here:
NOTE: Forever also offers digitizing services, so if you have VHS tapes you want made into DVDs (or just digital files) or film you want made into prints or 12x12 scrap pages you want scanned, you'll get white-glove service through the Forever Box. Forever offers video streaming plans as well (like your own private YouTube).
6. PRICE
Forever is committed to not skimping on quality while retaining competitive prices. Best prices are through Club and sales. Here's how each one works:
- Forever Club saves you 5% on everything at Forever from printed books and photo storage plans to Artisan software and digital art. Forever Club is also FREE to join! Forever Club Dollars never expire. You may join and quit Forever Club as you like--there's no minimum commitment--but if you stay on the same level for 3 consecutive months, you earn free storage (as long as you have purchased some storage). Forever Club has four levels: $25, $50, $100, and $250, each with their own amount of free photo storage included. You can also mix and match (like $25 and $50 if $75 is your sweet spot). I like that I can use my Forever Club Dollars for anything--trying out Pixels2Pages for a month, buying digital art, ordering a mug or calendar or book, etc.
- Deals on Forever products and services are at the yellow Deals tab at the website. Just about everything is on sale at Forever just about all the time, so if something you want isn't on sale, just wait a couple of weeks. Check back at the Deals page often, too, because there's a Daily Deal every day as well.
- This video covers both Club and Deals, but also a third excellent option, the Referral Link.
7. A CONSULTANT
The benefits of having a real-life person to consult any time is very valuable! From just asking basic questions to bouncing ideas off of, a consultant (ME!) can help you have a fabulous Forever experience. Your consultant is your go-to person--not customer service on the other side of the world. (And if you're curious, both Forever has wonderful customer service called Client Care, but it's here in the U.S.) Here's my contact information.
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