Soft cover book?
Hi!
Has anyone here ordered a soft cover book? If so, what is the cover made of? Cardstock? Glossy paper? I can’t find any info about that on the site! (Maybe I’m not looking in the right place?)
I’m trying to organize a yearbook for my homeschooling co-op, and we’re thinking of doing it through Blurb, but I don’t really want to order a soft covered book and have it fall apart because it’s really just a glorified pamphlet.
ALSO, when Blurb talks about page count, is it talking about physical pages, or spreads? Does that make sense? Meaning, is a 20 page book going to only actually have 10 pages in it because page 1 is the front and page 2 is the back, etc.
Thanks for the help!!
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I’m not sure of the right terminology but if you go to a bookshop and buy a paperback that’s the kind of cover you’ll get from a Blurb "soft cover". The cover image is glossy. It is much much better than a pamphlet, it really is just like a paperback you’d buy in a store. A book with 20 pages that you have created will consist of 10 actual sheets of paper as you surmised. ........Tony
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Thanks so much for the reply!!
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I would be interested to know if you created a yearbook for your co-op. We are considering doing the same for our co-op. If so, did you create a group project and have parents contribute photos and images? Thanks
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my "softcovers" are laminated paper and i have had some problems with separation.. when i open the book the lamination separates from the paper in the fold line.. also the lamination seems to be very vunerable to oil from fingers.
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dragonist, if you haben’t already you should report this to Blurb directly. If you’re not sure how, go to the Help menu at the top of this page and choose Customer Support. From there choose Order Support. Their customer service is very good. ....Tony
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Lisa – I ordered a softcover book with 40 pages. I did feel that it looked like a glorified pamphlet. I had asked the same question as you before I started and people felt that the softcover was OK. The actual cover was OK but 40 pages was not nearly enough to have it feel like a book. If I were to try again I would do it differently – but that is me!
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My soft-cover book (247 pages) does not look very good. The pages have curled very badly after just a couple of days. I would not use a soft cover again if this is the quality you get.
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I just published 162 page soft-cover and am very pleased with quality. Cover similar to what I buy in bookstore. Paper in body may be of just slightly lower quality but I really don’t think so. I am not embarassed at all to share this with others.
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I sent photos of the curled edges of the cover of my book to Blurb support, and they were very quick to order a reprint at no extra charge. The cover on the new book has not curled like the original one. But I still think the cover material is too light/thin for a cover on a thick book. It is noticeably thinner and less sturdy than the cover on other large-format books I have on my bookshelf. No doubt it is suitable for a soft-cover romance novel, but not for a large-format photography book. In my opinion…
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Thanks, CaroT, for your info about what to do for curled covers. I’ve ordered 2 different paperbacks so far and both quickly curled at the corners. Disappointing, but I’ll contact Blurb about it, since they fixed yours for you.
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I noticed that the book I ordered when I was in France (would have come from the European printer in Netherlands) had a stronger and more sturdy soft cover than the flimsy one on the book I ordered from Australia (would have come form one of the AMerican printers)... There doesn’t seem to be a standard that all the printing houses adhere to. But there is no way of specifying a specific printer when you order your book. PS I was happy that Blurb offered to reprint my book for me when the cover curled – but now the pages have started to fall out…
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Good thing I discovered this thread. I got my book today and just two hours after I unwrapped my softcover book, the front cover edges have started to curl. I’ve already contacted support about this. 
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My book is Jewels of Nature Softcover, 80 pages, and the format Standar Portrait, premium paper. And I confess that is very good
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miaboo518, That’s quite a cover curl you’ve got going on. I checked into your order and noticed your book shipped to the Philippines which means there’s a good possibiltity it got hit with some excessive humidty or even moisture (i.e., rain) in transit. Thanks for contacting customer support. They will take care of the problem. – Kathy
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I ordered an 8 × 10 soft cover book and within a few days the cover page started to curl. Then, after a few more days, the inside pages started to curl as well, though less so. The cover is curling up at the edges about 2-3 inches on one side, and approximately one inch on the other. The inside pages have developed an "S" shape.
I have a 40 page book with premium glossy paper. The book was not left in direct sunlight, nor was it exposed to any extreme temperatures. I also ordered a book using iPhoto on my Mac. While the soft cover is not as good quality as the Blurb book, I’ve had no curling problem after several months.
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