Asher--some answers to your questions...
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1. You wrote that you completed your sample book "in their highest spec product". What did you mean by this? It seems to me there was only one quality of print, just metallic or gloss finished. They are all printed on a 4 color press.
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Yes--they're all printed the same way, but they're not bound or coated the same way. The highest spec product is what they call an EX Laminate--where the paper is coated to reduce scuffing, fingerprints, etc... The image quality looks roughly the same on all, though it's hard to tell without exact duplicates in different sizes.
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2. Have you or anyone else made a book through Apple's iphoto? I'd like to see if someone has compared the various products somewhere.
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Not yet, though we're trying a number of other book makers, especially for proofing. Some are very, very cheap (MyPublisher is the one we're looking into for proof paperbacks).
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3. Also which service make books with individual prints mounted on black paper or white frames etc like the good old days. I showed both Asuka and Graphisoft to one family and they asked for mounted pictures instead.
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Another really good service is Albums Australia. They work with very good labs, take your output and then mount them the way you want them, from traditionally matted and bound to digital. No Art Leather "pin album" types, which we're trying to get away from, actually. And you don't have to create them yourself (though you can design them--they assemble). Oh, and their dollar is economical right now in relation to the US and Canadian dollar.
http://www.albumsaustralia.com.au/index2.html 
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