Where Is the Best Place to Print a Custom Cookbook? Good Questions

Q: My brother just finished a family baking book. He did all the work himself including the photography. He's printing it via Blurb as holiday gifts for the family. We feel that it's quite beautiful and practical and was wondering if anyone knew of a cheaper place that might be willing to print a cookbook that we might encourage him to sell in local shops or at the farmers market.

Sent by Charles

Here is a link to the book on Blurb...

• Waiting for Gateau at Blurb

Editor: Charles, there are several options out there. One, Tastebook, has become quite popular in the custom cookbook space. Tastebook can help you create a good cookbook, but they have some inherent challenges with copyright protection. (Users can upload any photo or recipe they like and print it, for a price, and some blogs, including The Kitchn, have objected to the use of material used without permission or acknowledgement.)

You could also use Apple's printing service. I can't speak to the relative price and quality differences, though. Readers, have you ever printed a custom cookbook? Any recommendations?

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Related: Tastebook from Epicurious

(Image: via Blurb)

Comments (12)

I printed a family cookbook using Shutterfly photo books - it was super easy. I filled it with family photos and recipes from my mother-in-law. Turned out beautifully. Shutterfly does have quantity discounts, plus lots of coupons floating around.

Wow, that's a beautiful book! I did something similar a couple of years ago (on a much smaller scale) for my mom and sister-in-law at lulu.com: http://www.lulu.com/product/lulustudio-photo-book/sugar-and-soy-sauce-a-collection-of-recipes-from-my-mom-%28and-other-recipes-i-like%29/4214955

I'm not sure how the price would compare for a 320 pg. book, but I was relatively happy with the results.

In terms of books, I find both Blurb and Lulu to be the best, they make ordering easy for family members, and there are coupons for both of those too online if you look.

If you're looking for a more budget option, there's also MagCloud (magazines at about 10 cents/page). I've enjoyed the product, but of course it's a magazine as opposed to a book!

I absolutely love this idea and am inspired to start now on a cookbook for my family for next year. Your book is beautiful Charles!

I have used Blurb and Lulu in the past with great results, but I'm not sure about any other discounted printers. Best of luck!

If you would be interested in a cookbook "magazine," check out Magcloud (www.magcloud.com). They print high-quality, small-run magazines of your design for like $1.50 an issue and will even mail them directly to the folks of your choice.

You can also open up the subscription of your "magazine" for anyone to purchase.

Disclaimer: I've never used Magcloud, just heard good things about it.

I'm currently working on two books (one being a cookbook) using blurb's own software and it's great! I can't wait to submit both and get the real thing.

Blurb also sends out a lot of discount codes, so if you sign up for their newsletter, you'll occasionally get a 20% off coupon here and there...

I don't think I would recommend Shutterfly for anything but the most basic homemade cookbook. It was very easy to use and the end product was lovely, but Shutterfly books are definitely designed for photos and fitting recipes into the relatively small textboxes was a nuisance.

What an awesome idea! Chris's book looks wonderful. This really inspires me to try writing my own cook book! I had never heard of blurb or lulu and I'm excited to check them out!

I've used Lulu as well, with great results. They also can post things directly to Amazon.

I've used My Publisher to do several books - not a cookbook, but various photo books (including my wedding album) and they always turn out incredible. They offer lots of discounts (recently 50% off any photo book!) definitely worth checking it out

I've used Blurb a few times and have been happy with the quality of the printed book. But, as mentioned, it's too pricey to print a larger qty for sale.

Amazon has a self-publishing service which will also get your book on amazon.com, and distribute to brick-n-mortar stores too. It was a bit cheaper than Blurb. This might be your best bet if you go the self-publishing route.