FAQ

General

How do I get started with Zookbinders?

Click on the “New Customers” link from the home page and fill out the registration form. A sales representative will contact you (usually within one business day) to welcome you and help you learn how Zookbinders may best serve your business.

What if I have a question? Is there a number I can call?

All questions can be answered by our customer service staff at 888-326-0967 or by Live Chat via the button in the upper right hand corner of the site.

How long will it take to make my album?

Services

  • Design orders: 5-7 business days*
  • Design revisions 2-3 business days
  • Selection orders: 1-3 business days

Products

  • Zook Books, Lustre Books and PhotoBooks: 10 business days*
  • Matted albums: 3-4 weeks*
  • Bon a Vie: 4-5 weeks

*Actual turnaround times may vary with order volume and other plant conditions. Regular turnaround times are suspended during holiday periods in November and December. Contact our Customer Service Department for more details.

*Rush service available during non-holiday periods for 30% surcharge.

How is my album shipping?

Learn more on our shipping page. Click here

What forms of payment do you accept?

We accept all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover) through the direct pay eCommerce platform built into our zookie pro ordering system. For ROES orders as well as bind only orders we must have a credit card number on file. Orders will be invoiced once they are ready to ship. Your sales representative will secure a credit card number to hold on file for your first and future ROES or bind only orders.

Can I cancel my order once it’s been submitted?

For design, you may cancel your order at any time, however; the $100 deposit will only be refunded if your order has not started our design process yet. If you cancel the order during or after the design process, you will be given the high resolution JPG files of the completed design. A refund will also be processed for the deposit minus the initial design fee. For print and bind, orders may be cancelled at no charge by the following business day, Monday through Friday between 8AM-4:30PM CST Orders cancelled after 4:30PM CST the day after the order has been received will be charged a flat fee of:

  • PhotoBooks: $20
  • PhotoBook Packages: $25
  • PhotoBook Plus and Lustre Books: $45
  • PhotoBook Plus and Lustre Book with Packages: $45
  • Bon a’ Vie: $60
  • Zook Book and Matted Albums: $70
  • Zook Book and Matted Albums with Packages: $75

Does the album have to be drop-shipped to my client or can I receive it first?

Both options are available to you. We recommend letting us drop ship directly to your client because they don’t want to wait! We’ll drop-ship to your clients for just $5 extra within the continental US.

How much do you charge for shipping?

See our shipping page for all shipping FAQs.

Do you offer rush service?

Yes, 5 Day rush service is a 30% additional fee.

  • Rush orders received by 10 am CST on a regular business start day 1.
  • Rush Orders received after 10 am CST; day 1 will start the following business day.
  • Rush service unavailable for Bon a’ Vie orders.
  • Rush service is limited during November and December holiday period.

What if my client says there’s an album flaw? Do they contact you directly or do I contact you?

The photographer should contact us if there are any concerns with the product.

How do I check the status of an existing order?

Log into your Zookbinders account. You will see all of your orders listed under the “All Orders” tab. If we need something from you (like a design approval, etc.) you will see a status under “What we need you to do” within the “All orders” tab. That status is clickable and will direct you to the right page. You’ll also be able to track all previously invoiced orders by selecting “Invoice history” in the menu.

If you order using our ROES system, updates are not available within your account. You can use our live chat service, email or call to get information regarding your order.

What if my album arrived damaged or is defective?

Zookbinders stands behind all products. Any album received damaged or with any type of manufacturing or material defect will be repaired or replaced at no charge. Please contact our Customer Service department at 888 326-0967 immediately upon receipt of damaged or defective product. Do not discard any packaging or outer shipping carton.

Color and Design

Do you color correct files and/or adjust the exposure of my images?

Color and density correction is the responsibility of the photographer. We do not color correct files or adjust density (exposure). We strongly suggest that you 1) work on a quality, color calibrated monitor. 2) Download and use our soft proofing profile which can be found in the downloads section of our website.  3) New users may contact our customer service department to have test prints made.

Will someone check my files before the album is printed?

We do not check files before printing. As much as we try to catch things such as low res files and design errors, the ultimate responsibility for such things lies with the photographer. If you are unsure of your design integrity or color/density, contact our customer service department prior to finalizing your order.

How do I check my own design files?

Open each spread of your design, enlarge it and examine the entire spread. Looking at thumbnail images will not allow you to spot design errors or low res files. Be mindful of where the center fold will be and be sure you have observed the necessary safety margins so that important parts of your design are not trimmed off during manufacture. See your Design Guide (found in the Downloads section of our website) for specifications.

Do you have templates for design?

No. We offer a full design service whereby you may choose one of our three design styles, upload your images and have Zookbinders complete your design, OR you must do your own design in Photoshop or one any of several design programs and upload your completed design as full spreads for a Print & Bind order.

What is the correct resolution or color space?

We suggest the industry standard resolution of 300 DPI for optimum quality printing. A minimum of 240 DPI is required. sRGB color space is required. Images tagged in other than sRGB color will yield less than optimal results.

What size should my design spreads be?

Design spreads must be exactly the same size as the album you are ordering. For example, a 10×10 album requires 10×10 half panos or 10×20 spreads.

Do you have a bleed or safety margin requirement?

We do not require designers to add any bleed area to design spreads, however we DO insist on a safety margin. The safety margin is the area around the perimeter of each spread where you should not place important parts of the image (heads or feet), text or important design elements. See our design guide found in the Downloads page of our website for more information.

How should I name my files?

File names should include a sequence number with leading zeros (such as 01, 02, 03, etc; or Smith-Jones_01, Smith-Jones_02, Smith-Jones_03). Special characters should not be used.

Should my design begin on a full spread (left side) or half pano (right side)?

Either is acceptable. If your design starts with a right side half pano, we will add a black spacer on the left opposite your first side. Likewise, if your design ends on a left side half pano, we will add a black spacer opposite it on the right.

What size should my cover art be?

See the Design Your Cover page on our website for exact specifications for photo wraparound covers, leather spine covers and Reflectionz / Acrylic covers. Cover cameos scale up and down with the size of the album and are often odd numbers. There are only three crops you need for all cover cameos: 6×6 for square cameos; 5×7 for rectangles, and 9×3 for panoramic cameos. Refer to the Zookbinders catalog for actual size of cameos on each size album.