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Spending half an afternoon arranging photos of your holiday, your dog, or your children (in that order, depending on priorities) into a hardbound evidence of memory is, somehow, a wildly satisfying exercise. Rarely urgent, occasionally therapeutic - and never entirely necessary. But making a photo book has become its own…Spending half an afternoon arranging photos of your holiday, your dog, or your children (in that order, depending on priorities)…
Ends: 1+ month
Terms & conditions, exclusions may apply.
Ends: 1+ month
Terms & conditions, exclusions may apply.
Ends: 1+ month
Terms & conditions, exclusions may apply.
Terms & conditions, exclusions may apply.
Terms & conditions, exclusions may apply.
Terms & conditions, exclusions may apply.
Terms & conditions, exclusions may apply.
Terms & conditions, exclusions may apply.
Spending half an afternoon arranging photos of your holiday, your dog, or your children (in that order, depending on priorities) into a hardbound evidence of memory is, somehow, a wildly satisfying exercise. Rarely urgent, occasionally therapeutic - and never entirely necessary. But making a photo book has become its own kind of digital-age scrapbooking: a slow ritual in a fast world. Pixum, a Cologne-based company you’ve possibly scrolled past during a search for "photo gifts that look like you tried," wants to be your go-to for exactly that.
Pixum has been making photo products - books, calendars, prints, mugs, phone cases - since the early 2000s, a time when software still came in CD-ROMs and the word "app" implied mozzarella sticks. Today, they lure you in with tidy design tools and the promise of turning digital clutter into tangible keepsakes. The concept is simple: upload your photos, choose a product, spend anywhere between five minutes and four hours arranging them, and voilà - you’ve gift-wrapped nostalgia.
The highlight here is the Pixum Photo Book, which ranges from petit and unthreatening (A5 softcover) to coffee-table-serious (large landscape with layflat pages). The print quality is good - reliably sharp without oversaturated drama - and the FUJIFILM photo paper stock they favour helps avoid that too-glossy look you get with cheaper print services. It won’t fool a professional, but it won’t embarrass you either.
There are three routes into Pixum’s world: A web-based editor for the casual user, downloadable Photo World Software for those who enjoy fussing with layouts at 1am, and a mobile app, which recently won a TIPA World Award for "Best Consumer Photo Print App" - a title perhaps more flattering than it is competitive.
The app is, to be fair, fairly intuitive. It leans more toward functional than fun, but "fun" tends to come in short supply when aligning captions by pixel anyway. The benefit: You start and finish on your sofa, with a drink in one hand and minimal risk of flaming out halfway through - something that happens more often than we admit with DIY projects.
Do the tools work? Mostly. Drag-and-drop layouts are generally co-operative, and there’s a healthy if uninspired stock of templates. Text placement can be hit-or-miss (one poorly aligned caption might haunt your dreams), but for the average use-case - memorabilia vaguely disguised as a gift - they’re capable enough.
Pixum regularly dangles coupons, newsletter sign-up offers, and scattered seasonal discounts - often in the realm of 10–20% off or free shipping. There's a welcome voucher floating around if you’re new, and the site encourages newsletter sign-ups with promises of exclusive promos. The deals are modest but frequent, and - crucially - not wrapped in fake urgency. Nobody here is yelling "LAST DAY," which is oddly reassuring in itself.
The rest of Pixum’s product suite includes the usual suspects: mugs, phone cases, wall art, calendars, and puzzles. Quality varies. Photo mugs are exactly as thrilling as they sound (a staple of last-minute Secret Santas everywhere), while the photo prints on FUJIFILM paper rough it close to genuine old-school prints - which is to say, they don’t feel like they’ll fade under mild sunlight.
Wall art options, like canvas or acrylic prints, skew towards "home office upgrade" rather than museum-quality. But they’re priced accordingly. If you’re trying to memorialise a wedding or a surprisingly photogenic sandwich, they’ll do the job.
Pixum isn’t trying to reinvent memory preservation, and that’s probably for the best. They’re aiming for competency, affordability, and just enough design flexibility to give you control without making you feel like you’re building a website. Most importantly, their platform doesn’t fall apart halfway through uploading 400 photos - a low bar that still trips up some competitors.
If you want to make something personal (but not painfully so), and you appreciate a measured combination of decent design tools, solid paper, and occasional discount codes, Pixum is a safe bet. Not dazzling. Not revolutionary. Just reliably good at turning pixels into paper - at least until someone decides to forget your anniversary again.
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⭐ Rating: 4.8 / 5 (14 votes)