Located in New Zealand, MILK Books strives to satisfy its customers by offering a small range of products and editing tools that are unmatched in their quality. MILK stands for moments of inspiration, love, and kinship, and the company excels in capturing this in a handcrafted photo book made with the utmost care.
MILK photo books come in soft and hard covers, and the latter can be made of superior quality linen, buckram, and leather, in varied colors and textures. Plus, the wedding magazine and Moleskine books are the company’s finest products, combining your most cherished photos in formats that look like true artistic masterpieces.
The most affordable option – 7×5.2” hard cover classic photo book for $35 – gives away the fact that the MILK photo books are more expensive than average. Still, when considering the exceptional quality of the product, you get what you pay for. Plus, there are ways to get your photo book for less, as MILK runs occasional promotions and offers 20% off for newcomers.
20% off MILK Books for newcomers
Subscribe to MILK's email newsletter and get a 20% discount code to use on your first order.
To use MILK Books and start crafting your photo album, you first need to determine its main characteristics, such as type, size, format, paper quality, page count, and cover style. Some of these attributes can be modified later, but only the cover and the paper type are changed directly from within the editor.
The editor is rather simple to use, but this is mostly due to its limited capabilities. During our test, we found the photo book builder to be quite uninspiring with an absence of creative tools that you would expect from this type of product.
Still, it’s worth highlighting the tutorial videos available directly from the editor. They explain how to navigate the tools, such as using the drag and drop mode with autofill, identifying images that aren’t high quality, and rearranging or customizing spreads.
Built-In video tips
Autofill tool
Editor overview
Photos upload
Photo editing
With some practice, designing photo books eventually becomes easier and easier – especially because many editing tools are self-explanatory and simple to use. For instance, choosing the appropriate layout can be done either by selecting one on the left panel or by pressing the page up or page down keys on the keyboard.
Plus, it’s possible to flip pages and rearrange their orders, hide or reveal text boxes, and change fonts. Interestingly, it’s also possible to create text-only spreads, which can be useful to tell a story alongside its photo.
We found it convenient that MILK Books has a tool called checklist, and you can’t move forward to ordering the book unless you complete the checklist warnings. The tool alerts about low-resolution photos, empty text boxes, and whether the book has reached the minimum or maximum number of pages.
What’s more, the platform is mobile responsive, so you can craft your book from browsers on mobile devices. Unfortunately, a dedicated mobile app isn’t available.
Checklist
Built-in video tips
Autofill tool
Designs
Platform support
Web app
Mobile optimized
macOS
Linux
Android
Windows
iOS
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Unlike most photo book builders, such as Mixbook and Printique, MILK Books doesn’t offer pre-made thematic designs for you to choose from. All photo books are blank by default and have to be designed from scratch.
Unfortunately, the design options are limited to just choosing a layout for the book’s pages and cover, with the latter being the only design-related attribute that can be preset before starting the building process.
Although switching between different layouts is easy as pie, the more pictures added to a single two-page spread, the less layout variety is available. As these layouts are all preset, there is no option to customize them to your liking.
Layouts
Text
Text editor
When it comes to adding text, there are seven font types to choose from. You can also change the size and alignment of the text, as well as make it bold or italic. However, one disappointing aspect is that you can only add text to blank spaces – it can’t overlap an image.
So, the only way to truly customize the photo book is by toying around with options like size, format, paper type, and cover. No other embellishments like stickers and shapes are available – which almost every other photo book builder offers.
Types
Book options
# sizes
11
5x5
8x8
8.5x11
10x10
11x11
12x12
11x15
# cover types
5
Softcovers
Hardcovers
Leather covers
Fabric covers
Layflat covers
Square shapes
Landscape shapes
Portrait shapes
Flyleaf
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Considering the limited design capabilities, the variety of photo book types available at MILK is a breath of fresh air. There are softcovers, hardcovers, Moleskine, and wedding magazines. The formats available are landscape, square, and portrait, and the books can range from 24 to 200 pages in total.
The softcover books come in French fold covers that allow printing inside and out. They’re the perfect lightweight option to collect everyday moments.
Hardcover classic and premium photo books are the ones with the most varied design cover options. They can come in several types and colors of linen, buckram, or leather.
The main difference between classic and premium MILK photo books is that the classics can only have linen covers, landscape formats, and two paper types, while premiums can be created in linen, buckram, and leather covers, all formats, and four paper types. Plus, extra pages in premium books can only be bought in two-page bulks.
As for the special Moleskine books, these are produced in four sizes, in three shapes with the namesake cover and with the top-tier paper type. The wedding magazines are the most luxurious products and are only available in portrait format with 100 to 200 pages.
Printing
Regardless of the limited editing tools, the final product’s high quality deserves praise. Touching the linen-covered book for the first time after removing it from its paper wrapping immediately creates a feeling of the highest quality, but it’s not just surface deep.
Just as much care and professionalism is taken with the contents of the book, which really makes the service of MILK Books shine through.
Unboxing the photo book
Photo book cover
Flipping through photo book
We were especially surprised by the fact that books are handcrafted, and the pages are stitched together instead of glued. This means that, except for the flyleaves, hardcover book pages almost lay flat when the book is fully opened.
Another surprise is how smooth the matte photo paper feels and how well it resists fingerprints, which contributes to photos remaining dirt-free and in top condition for many years. The only slight nuisance is that some of the pages stick together, but thankfully it’s only a minor issue and doesn’t damage the photos at all.
Pricing
Shipping
Processing time
7-21 days
Overnight shipping
International shipping
Store pickup
Considering MILK photo books are handcrafted and extremely high quality, it’s understandable that they’re more expensive than average. Its cheapest product is the 7×5.2” hardcover classic photo book, which costs $35.
Aside from the size and the cover material, the number of pages also increases the price tag. Extra pages range from $0.85 to $2.55 per page, depending on the cover type and size. As for shipping within the U.S., the prices start at $4.99. The production and delivery time ranges from seven to twelve days for smaller books and between 14-21 for larger products.
There are some opportunities to reduce the prices, with occasional coupons and discounts. However, there are permanent discounts, too, such as getting 20% off your first purchase or up to 35% off when ordering a pre-made set of three photo books.
If MILK made a mistake with your book and you notify the company within 14 days, you are entitled to receive a new, corrected copy. If the mistake was on you, then the company offers a re-print with 50% off the normal retail price.
Payment options
Visa
Mastercard
American Express
Discover
PayPal
Wire transfer
Check
Cryptocurrency
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Customer support
Customer support
24/7
Live chat
Email
Phone
Community
FAQs
Video tutorials
Remote desktop
Blog
Facebook
Instagram
X
YouTube
Show all
MILK Books’ customer support agents are available every day of the week via phone, live chat, and email. The company also maintain its own blog where it shares ideas and inspiration for you to craft your photo album. Regarding social media, the company’s channels are used for self-promotion and little else.
If you need basic information about products, shipping, and materials, then it’s a good idea to turn to the company’s comprehensive support center. It contains different topics related to the editor, vouchers, ordering, and printing.
As for the book that we ordered from MILK, these predicted times regarding production and shipping time were trustworthy. Our 8×8 40-page linen cover book was put together within nine days and arrived to our chosen European destination only three days later – a total of 12 calendar days. If you’re thinking of ordering from MILK Books and are a little concerned about the delivery time, then you needn’t worry in this regard.
Bottom line
At the end of the day, MILK Books are worth it if you’re looking for a simple and straightforward photo book builder that crafts outstanding books. Its simplistic nature matches the product’s final sleek design, as the book is all about quality.
Although the online editor is nothing spectacular, it still has useful features, such as the checklist and built-in video tutorials. In addition, the variety of sizes, formats, and cover layouts allow you to create a unique book that tells a story and makes your memories come to life.
What’s more, the diversity of top-notch cover materials and paper types is worth praising, as it directly contributes to the final product’s superior quality.
The slightly higher prices are justified by the excellent photo book that’s delivered to your doorstep. Plus, the cost can be offset by the coupons and discounts temporarily or permanently offered by the company.
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I made a Moleskine photo book with MILK and would like to share my review especially regarding the transparency of the pricing model.
But first of all: the quality of the book is ok and fully met all my expectations. The app itself is ok but often painful and not very user friendly when you configure a 96 pages book.
Why I never again would consider to buy their photo book is the pricing model. For shipping a single book to Europe they charge you more than 20 USD and it takes roughly ten days by Fedex. But the real surprises comes two weeks later when customs send you a letter to inform you that you have to pay another 20 USD for customs duty.
Whilst this is mentioned in the fineprint of milk it really is not transparent when you start your project. A Moleskine book so will cost you around hundred USD +20 USD shipping +20 USD customs duty.
I am very disappointed and would never ever buy there again. The service consultant told me today “ Any import duties or taxes are separate to the shipping cost. FedEx, like any other international transportation company, must adhere to local customs legislation and so FedEx pays duties on the receiver’s behalf to clear shipments on arrival.”.
Please take this into consideration and read all the fine print on their website before starting your project or placing your order.
Hello Marc, thanks for your comment. We’re sorry to hear about your experience, and we appreciate that you left a balanced comment where you included some of MILK Books’ strengths.
Shipping items from the U.S. is usually extremely expensive, not only for photo books. It’s not unreasonable that they ask for $20 and that it takes around ten days to arrive. For instance, if you go to Amazon American website, you’ll notice that they also charge you around that amount for shipping.
Custom duties, on the other hand, change depending on where you live. So, it’s difficult to point out how much will you pay by getting a product from the U.S. Still, MILK Books should warn you about the possibility of paying custom duties when you create your profile and insert an address outside the U.S. Even so, to know how much you will pay for this fee, it’s always better to google your own country’s custom duties percentages. Not only are they completely different depending on the country, but they also apply different rules.
We hope we were able to help, and we wish you a better experience when you print your next photo book!
I received a stranger's photo book. They can't even respond if they sent mine to another person which I think is horrible I do consider my photos as something private. They haven't replied to me. And it seems like a usual problem. I shouldn't have paid attention to the reviews on their website because clearly it is biased. Also, they do not make it clear that you have to pay for shipping!
Hello Mia! We're sorry to hear about your experience with Artifact Uprising. Of course, it's a bit frightening to have our personal photo book sent to a complete stranger.
Has it been a long time since you contacted customer support? Due to COVID, many companies are having difficulties to answer all customer queries in due time. So, they still might answer you when possible. You could also try getting in touch through Artifact Uprising's social media channels. We know that it's a long shot, but you may get lucky and have your issue escalated faster, as the company answers Facebook messages on a daily basis.
When it comes to reviews on the companies' websites – it's best to do your own research. Since they want to sell a product, companies usually show positive reviews only, as negative ones would make you think twice about the product. Finally, it's true that some photo book builders don't speak about shipping right away. Your best bet (with Artifact Uprising or other online businesses) is to read their shipping policy, FAQ, or pricing table. There, you'll always find whether you need to pay for shipping. As a last resort, you can also make a mock photo book and go to the checkout page to see if they charge any shipping fees. This way, you won't have to put in hours of hard work just to find out you're better off with another platform.
We hope your problem is fixed as soon as possible, and that your photo book is sent to you rather than someone else. Happy new year!
Wish I read this review before using Milk Books. I've used many photobook software editors over the years, and this made it to my worst list. For starters you can't Undo anything which is not good when one missed click can reset your page layout. Speaking of layouts they are all geared for people that put text on every page, so essentially I had to painstakingly customized every single page to maximize use of the space for my photos. What wasn't mentioned above is their horrible support. Couldn't get through to them via phone or chat (and I tried more than once), and email support took days of back and forth with them basically just giving me generic answers that they have on their basic knowledge base responses. So after spending weeks designed the 3 book package that I ordered, the checkout process tacked on another $32 for custom cover options that was not mentioned anywhere in the fine print or on the software itself. Haven't even seen the finished product yet, but the quality better make up for the hell they put me through. Worst part is that the 3 book packages have to all be completed and ordered together to a single address (won't even let you pay extra to ship them to different locations). So maybe in a 2-3 months I'll finally get to see my version of the book that I created for my son's wedding.
Experiencing the same issue now. Low quality photos and too much red in skintone. They didnt flag that certain photos should not be included at larger sizes and want me to talk to my photographer about fixing the images (we got married a year ago). Will file a dispute with my credit card company if they cannot remedy.
AVOID IF IN UK OR EUROPE. Milk don’t tell you that you will be charged a 20% import duties fee and £11 admin charge from DHL. The items are made in Hong Kong. Milk refuse to pay these charges. In addition the book contained very dark pictures.
Considering photobook is one of the hottest demand in printing industry, milkbook certainly done a pretty good job in their printing, there are other competitors like artifact uprising.com and flipchap.com should be in your list of review as well. 3 of them offer similar prince range, handmade photobook and boxes. artifact uprising is good at fine artprinting where else flipchap offer a fully customization on your photobook. Common variable such as page, size and color will not be enough, they have fine detail like thickness of the book cover, bookmark ribbon color, end sheet paper color and more. i will still give milkbook and flipchap a like as i think personally both of the done a great job in handmade photobook printing.
I, too, had a terrible experience with Milk Books. I had high hopes, as their website looked great. As saying goes, you can't always judge a book by the cover. There was a promotion going on, so I ended up buying 3 copies of the photo album so that 2 of them could be given to family for gifts. I realize now that there always seems to be a promotion going on with Milk Books. Must be a reason for that, as business can't be good! The issue that I had with my photo albums is the print quality. The digital images look amazing. My photographer did a fantastic job with the photos and color of the images. What I got back from Milk Books seemed like a joke. The color of the images were all too red- some were a little better than others, but the majority of them were awful. The skin tone of people in the images had them looking like they were sunburned. Milk Books did respond to my concern and claimed my supplied images had too much red in them. The images looked perfect before sending them to Milk. It is not an issue with the digital files. It is a QA issue in production on Milk's end. There is obviously not someone reviewing the color of these "handmade" books that Milk markets on their website. After much back-and-forth with their customer service team, they would not work on improving the color in production nor let me send back the books for a refund. So much for their satisfaction promise guaranteeing their product's quality. I wish that I had spent a little more money and gone with a company that cares about quality.
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