Having been a freelance digital and print designer for 18 years, I have my opinions about certain creative stock and software on the market. Below, I share* my thoughts on what I most love and why (and hopefully helping you steer clear of what not to buy).

*Some of these links are affiliate links. When you click on this link and make a purchase, I may earn a commission. Thank you for your support!

Design Resources I Love

Stickers

Sticker Mule

Sticker Mule is known as the Internet’s most “kick-ass” brand and for good reason. Their customer service is awesome, the poduct is solid, and their shipping times are out of this world. I used Sticker Mule for the first time when producing custom sticker sheets for the 2023 Edition of Planning by Starlight, and I will be going back for more when next year’s books are ready. Use this link for $10 credit toward your purchase.

Books

Edition One Books

Edition One in California is my go-to for printing quality, boutique art-books. ED is also the printer for our small edition runs of Planning by Starlight. If you are a book designer familiar with print language, this is who I would turn to for specialty projects. If you are a writer looking for print design assistance, email me about your project.

KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing w/ Amazon)

I am beyond impressed with several of Amazon’s KDP print-on-demand book options. Their matte hardcovers and softcovers are delicious, as is their black and white printing on cream paper. Their color page options…not so much. KDP is great for works with minimal photographs (in b/w) and lots of text. Their paper also supports coloring book pages and activity book pages. Order one of my coloring books and see for yourself.

Lulu Press

Lulu’s is solid for high-color, glossy page, print-on-demand works. I have not printed nor distributed with them personally, but my book clients have, and I have held the final results in my hands. In my opinion, Lulu’s competitor is Ingram Spark, and nope, no way, never would I send you to Ingram, whose cover and interior print quality is lacking as is their customer service.

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Prints and Photo Books

Graphi Studio

Produced and delivered from Graphi Studio in Italy are some of the most gorgeous photo boxes and books I have seen! (See previews in my Instagram reels.) Custom linen, suede and leather portfolios and boxes of your image collections make perfect gifts to yourself and your family. Proudly display in your home or on social media. Graphi is only open to the trade, so we will need to work together in creating a gorgeous home for your photographic art. Please email me to inquire about book and box design.

Richard Photo Lab

Richard Photo Lab in California is my default for printing high quality deckled edge, fine art and photo prints for at-home enjoyment and family gifts and heirloom client product. Price points are on-point for the quality of product delivered. Their customer service is great as well. I also prefer their range of black and white prints with richer, warmer tones than that of Graphi (listed above).

Griffin Editions

Griffin Editions is a “full-service fine art printing and processing destination for international artists, photographers, galleries, and museums…offering many photographic services including film processing, roll scans, silver gelatin prints, c-prints, dye sublimation, framing, and mounting.” As an indie artist, I printed several large photographic prints with GE back in 2010 when I didn’t know anything about photography, and certainly nothing proper photo files. The team was so kind. They brought me over to their computers and helped me get the images just how I wanted them. I’m a lifer if they’ll ever have me back in the future.

MPix

MPix is great for economical coffee table books and cutsey photo product like blankets. I always recommend MPix before other, more popular printers (such as Artifact Uprising) because of their competitive pricing and products clean of corporate logos.

Newspaper Club

Ditch the magazines and wow your clients, subscribers and loyal readers with a custom newspaper! The printing, customer service and variety of product at Newspaper Club is great. I encourage anyone on a print budget to go this route. (Glossy mags have their place of course, but if you are selling food, alternative fashion, historical information, or non-digital-photographic art, the newspaper could be a great route for you.)

Vista Print

I’ve produced quite a few stacks of toss-around flyers and promotional cards with Vista Print over the years, and while shipping is slow, their prices and promotions are very competitive, and the product is good enough for my needs. I advise using Vista Print for mass volume, low expense, standard product like gallery cards, post cards, and rack cards.

Digital Resources

Creative Market

Creative Market is the hot-spot for high quality design goodies. You can find everything from book layouts to clip art to digital brushes to stock photo (including mine!) Whatever you need to make your design dreams come true, head on over to Creative Market.

Public Domain

The Public Domain is YOUR BEST FRIEND. It is an amazing resource of primary and secondary source material for designers and teachers with no commerical fees. And, it makes a wonderful substitute for trips to the museum when living far away from one and/or stuck at home because of life. Listed below are a few of my favorite sources for art in the public domain.

Cameras

Disposable + Insta Cameras

Amazon all the way. Here is my personal favorite for black and white shooting. I’m big on price shopping the disposables and always go to Amazon first. My next stop is Richard Photo Lab as they carry a variety of one-time use cameras as well, but not all are consistently in stock.