Album Review: Zookbinders Lustre Book

This post is the first in a series of reviews of professional wedding albums (and other products) that we plan to offer clients.

We ordered a sample of the premium Lustre Book from Zookbinders, an album company based out of Chicago, Illinois, as a test of the quality for a new wedding album offering we wanted to be able to show our clients. The Lustre Book is one of several distinct offerings from Zookbinder's, also including the Photobook Plus, the Zook Book, and Matted.

The Lustre Book is the middle option from the company in terms of price and quality. The less expensive Photobook Plus is printed on HP Indigo presses (and a press product) while the Lustre and Zook Books are Kodak Endura photographic prints.

This is the first sample we've ordered from Zookbinders, and we're very impressed with the quality. The book comes standard with a wrap-around cover, and features flush mount, lay-flat page designs, library binding, a variety of cover options (7 Japanese silk and 30 leather offerings) as well as both square (8x8, 10x10, 12x12) and rectangular (12x8, 9x12) book options. Samples of any of Zookbinder's products are 50% off for professional photographers. Sample come with printing on one of the inside covers that reads "Studio Sample."

We decided to upgrade to a 12x12 album and pay for a timeless, black leather cover.

Turnaround time for the book we ordered was quite good. The book was delivered to us via FedEx, within 13 days of ordering. Some companies can do this faster, but delivery within 2 weeks is still a very good turnaround window. The album's prints are coated in a protective covering to guard against damage and wear, and are vibrant, high-quality, and true to prints we've gotten through WHCC and Miller's. The construction (all handmade) looks durable, well-made, and should stand the test of time.

We currently offer the Lustre Book to our clients as our premium album offering, with the ability to upgrade to Zookbinder's Zook Book for a nominal fee.

Upgrading from the Lustre to the Zook Book gives you thicker pages, a standard leather cover and rounded page corners, as well as page gilding and a couple different album size options. When we order a sample of the Zook Book album, we'll review it as well.

Summation (TL;DR): The Lustre Book, while being a step below Zookbinder's premium Zook Book offering, is still a high-quality, beautiful, flush-mount, lay flat album, of great construction, and one we'd be happy to offer all of our brides and grooms.

See pictures below for pictures of the album we received!

The book comes in a decorative cloth wrap and a durable, matte-black presentation box.

Quality of construction is second to none. The Lustre book base pricing come complete with a wrap around photo cover. A variety of leather and fabric covers can be selected as add-ons.

The Lustre Book features thin, square pages on photographic prints, and, when stored correctly, can be an heirloom and a great way to memorialize your special day.

The flush mount and lay-flat design allow album images to fill as much of a two page spread as your heart desires!