My article on 35mmc: Preserving your Photographs – My journey through Self-Publishing ‘BLACK and LIGHT’ books
I was very pleased that Hamish Gil agreed to publish my article on his Camera blog regarding my new books and the Importance of preserving your photographic art. Below is a link to the article plus a copy of the text.
thanks,
Tony
Preserving your Photographs – My journey through Self-Publishing ‘BLACK and LIGHT’ books
7 February, 2026
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I am a long-time photo enthusiast, and I have amassed a lifetime of 35mm black and white photos. These 250,000 photos are stored on my computer and Cloud services. It recently occurred to me that I didn’t have many prints of my photographs. In addition, my computer was aging (my photos could be lost) and my Cloud services continued to increase in price (not practical to continue storing them there forever). I realized I needed to take action or my photos could be lost. I hit on the idea of getting my best photographs professionally printed into some kind of photobook. After researching several potential photo printing services, I ended up choosing Blurb. I chose Blurb because they have a great reputation for high quality printing, fast turnaround, and various book sizes to choose from. I also liked the idea that all my best work could be printed in just a few books.
I followed Blurb’s step-by-step advice on their website and began the process. For additional control of format and placement of photos, I chose to use their free plug-in utility located within Adobe’s Lightroom “Book” section. I chose Lightroom as I already had most of my best images in there, and they were fully edited. Using the plug-in was straightforward. It asks what size book you want and your preferred paper quality. I picked 10×8 inches (landscape) with hardcover and thick-weight paper. Blurb gives you a general price to start. You begin by moving your collection of photographs into blank page templates. The software judges each photo to determine if the resolution is good enough for printing. If not, the program will warn you (some of mine were digitized years ago and did not measure up, so I couldn’t use them). The minimum resolution is around 240 pixels per inch. I preferred using a black background as it looked much better for my black and white work. After several hours I edited (trimmed, cropped, positioned) around 300 images. Once the book is fully edited, you upload it to Blurb, where it gives you the final printing cost. You then purchase the book to be printed. After you buy the book, Blurb gives you the option to make your book available for online sales, which I didn’t originally intend to do, but I liked the idea and chose it because it gave me the opportunity to share my work.
Lessons Learned
I contacted the Blurb help desk to find out if there might be a reduced price for printing additional books. I found out that the price of Blurb’s Photobooks are higher than their “Trade” books. Trade books are less expensive to print than Photobooks. I learned that Trade books are standardized sized books (8×10 portrait orientation) with slightly thinner-weight paper. I used Trade books for printing my four-book series to keep the price per book down. Trade books are also very good for printing black and white photographs. My four volumes series total over 500 pages of my best photographs. If you are interested in creating a permanent collection of your work, consider Blurb’s Trade books, their quality is great and at a reasonable cost per book.
BLACK & LIGHT series of fine art photography books:
Black and Light is my signature photographic series. It is an ongoing body of work that represents my artistic vision. I favor black-and-white imagery because it removes the noise of color and forces the viewer to engage more deeply with the subject. Each edition is meant to be experienced, page by page, allowing the reader to engage with the work in a personal way.
Ultimately, Black and Light is a reflection of how I see the world and how I express myself artistically via highlights, shadows, and contrasts. I have published six books in total. There are four volumes numbered one through four. I also have a Standard edition and a Special edition that are both printed in larger books with thick-weight paper.
“Black and Light” – a 6 book series
For more information on previewing the books and purchasing them, google “Tony Roman Photography,” or go to my e-commerce website, or you can search your favorite online booksellers for “BLACK & LIGHT by Tony Roman.” I am currently on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Thanks to Hamish and 35mmc for allowing me to introduce these books to you.
Kind regards,
Tony
Tony Roman Photography
Tony Roman’s BLACK & LIGHT series
Books by Tony Roman
What is an artist without tools?
Recent Interview with SilverGrainClassics Magazine (my perspectives and additional details on self-publishing surprises)
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About The Author
I am a long-time photo enthusiast living in the quiet countryside of Pennsylvania, USA. I have amassed over 250,000 photos over the years using cameras from my ever growing (G.A.S.) collection of vintage and modern wonders (Leicas, Hassey's, Rolleis, Nikons, SInar, Graflex, ...). I have recently published a series of photobooks from images taken with my vintage 35mm film cameras of black and white photos (6 book in total). They are now available on BLURB, Amazon, B&N, and elsewhere.
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Comments
Andrew Moore on Preserving your Photographs – My journey through Self-Publishing ‘BLACK and LIGHT’ books
Comment posted: 07/02/2026
Wow! A quarter-of-a-million images suggests decades of taking pictures; how come so few have apparently ever been printed?
Tony Roman replied:
Comment posted: 07/02/2026
Hi Andrew, Thanks for your question. I love taking photos but I'm not crazy about the work required to make a good photo print when I print at home. When I talk about printing I am thinking 8x10 inches, almost always printing them myself on my personal photo printer. Of the years I've had several printers (computers, cameras etc) and everythime they require thinkering to get them set up properly to print what you see on a monitor. That is why I usually only go through the trouble to print "a few" of my photos. So usually I just "look" at them on the my computer screen or online somewhere. This practice gets worse over time when things start accumulating (numbers of photos) and time seems to more and more precious not to print them. So now, I'm full tilt, and say to myself, better self-publish and let someone else professionally print those best of the best and avoid the hassle of doing it myself. And so the story :) Hope this makes sense? thanks, Tony
Andrew Moore replied:
Comment posted: 07/02/2026
Hi Tony, yes you make sense. Perhaps I am mellowing with age now but I find myself printing more - in my youth I always processed my own b&w but these days I'm ok with a couple of really good labs I trust. The solution to the 'how many' dilemma? I'm simply more selective abput picture-taking in general, and it seems to work. Thanks for your words and images. Andrew.
Charles Young on Preserving your Photographs – My journey through Self-Publishing ‘BLACK and LIGHT’ books
Comment posted: 07/02/2026
Thanks for sharing your stunning photos and thanks for the tips on self-publishing.
Tony Roman replied:
Comment posted: 07/02/2026
Thank you Charles, greatly appreciate it :) Tony
Charles Young on Preserving your Photographs – My journey through Self-Publishing ‘BLACK and LIGHT’ books
Comment posted: 07/02/2026
I hope you treat yourself to a modern computer. Also backup SSD drives are quite reasonably priced.
Tony Roman replied:
Comment posted: 07/02/2026
Charles, Thanks, I usually do a "tech refresh" every 5-10 years (or sooner if I get a crash). My latest desktop is a nice Mac Mini which I got a few years ago and seems to be ok, but you never know. I've been an early user of computers, my first one was a TRS-80 back in 1980, but as we all know things fail when you least expect it. This Mac Mini must be my 6th computer with most of my PCs dying along the way. I love the cloud, it saved me several times already, but who knows when "they" will have a major failure someday (god help us all if they do). But again as a retiree I now think what can I pass on when all my accounts are wiped clean, and printed photobooks is my solution (not something I plan to do for ever but now's a good time for me personally to do it). PS I also love SSD's, but they can fail also, I've been lucky so far but I don't really trust them, and I always have them powered up as I have learned that the bits can get corrupted when they are not powered (unlike magnetic spinning hard drives or old). Tony :)
Adrian Riu on Preserving your Photographs – My journey through Self-Publishing ‘BLACK and LIGHT’ books
Comment posted: 07/02/2026
Thanks for sharing your experiences and the great photos. At least for those of us born before the internet, a tangible object at the end of the creative process is very rewarding. Aside from that, there is the question of "permanence". Digital data are very fragile, and at some point we will not be around to continue curating them (or paying for cloud storage), and sooner or later they will be lost. That is, unless your work finds a home in the archives of some institution. Printing, framing and displaying is great, but one eventually runs out of wall space, and even if you meticulously record photo information on the framed print, it will likely be thrown out or perish in some accident. Making photobooks and distributing them among our relatives and friends increases the odds that at least some copies of our photos will outlast us amateurs. That's what I've done for my young son's pictures. I make an album every year on his birthday, print several copies, and share them with relatives. This way, even if we lose the master copy, there will be a set somewhere on the planet. As to the rest, I consider the creative act its own reward. As my wife has said when confronted with my ever-increasing archive of slides and negatives, "who are you, Rembrandt?"
Tony Roman replied:
Comment posted: 07/02/2026
Adrian, Thanks for your comment, I fully agree with your points (also being wise in years such as yourself). Now is the time to make sure your "art" survives you if care about it. By whatever means, make a plan and execute it. Your ideas are perfect for doing this. Tony
Curtis Heikkinen on Preserving your Photographs – My journey through Self-Publishing ‘BLACK and LIGHT’ books
Comment posted: 07/02/2026
This article is very relevant to me since I have self published a number of my own photo books. I’m on number 10. I would use Blurb but it is not compatible with my iPad on which I do all my photo work. Their app for mobile devices is not very good as far as I can see. I instead use Mixbook for my books. I don’t think the print quality is as high as Blurb but its compatibility with my iPad and the ease of creation overcome whatever shortcomings it might have with regard to print quality. In general, Mixbook is a solid printer choice for self-publishing.
Your books certainly look quite beautiful. The images reproduced in this article are very nice. Like you, I hope at least some of my books outlast me and will provide somewhat of a legacy after I leave this planet. Also, there is nothing like the feeling of holding a completed project in your own hands. Congrats on your accomplishments! You can be very proud of what you’ve done. Thanks for publishing this piece on this site. Great job!
Tony Roman replied:
Comment posted: 07/02/2026
Thank you Curtis for commenting, I appreciate it. I'm glad you found a software solution with Mixbook for using an iPad. I'm sure others who use an iPad will find this useful also. I came across Mixbook after I had already used Blurb's desktop software to publish my books. Sounds like Mixbook is pretty good? I wish someone could do an article someday comparing the same photos printed on several different photobook services to see which has the best quality and prices (and software). i have been very pleased with Burb's high printing quality and paper choices though the software is a little challenging at times I found. I have tried the publishers "By Book" but found it is really meant for printed text not photographs so I wouldn't recommend them (my opinion only) for photobooks. Others I haven't tried but remain curious. I have used the White Wall services for a large photographic wall print and I was very impressed with their quality, so I imagine their photobooks would be good also, but not sure. I might try them in the future, also, I'm not sure of their editing software to build a "photo-book." If anyone out there has tried them (White wall) or other photobook services for that matter, and are very pleased with their results please let us know. :) Thanks, Tony
Gary Smith on Preserving your Photographs – My journey through Self-Publishing ‘BLACK and LIGHT’ books
Comment posted: 07/02/2026
Tony, thanks for your article on your self-publishing journey. With no prints of my recent work the idea is appealing however with no audience (other than me) I see no point in traveling the same path.
Oddly enough I have purchased several books recently from Amazon that were printed on demand in the Amazon facility that is literally down the street from me. I wonder if they have decided to cater to self-publishing?
Tony Roman replied:
Comment posted: 07/02/2026
Hi Gary thanks for your comments. I fully understand the choice to publish (or not) has to be weighed several ways (cost, time, quality, and benefits (who will enjoy the book after it is printed). As for Amazon, my two cents is that they (Amazon) might be using third parties to print on demand. I know Blurb offers the opportunity to either use Blurb themselves, Ingram's or Amazon to host the sales and then Blurb (in this case) does the printing on demand to satisfy orders. That might be what you saw, it looks like Amazon is printing but behind the scenes some other printing service is doing the job. At least that is my understanding of it as it related to my dealing with Blurb and Amazon (and Ingram's which I have also used for Global sales). So yes, I agree with you, I think Amazon saw an opportunity for sales from self-publishers and bought in. You can go directly to Amazon via their KDC (Kindle Direct) and download Amazon Kindle book software, I tried it, not bad. The result is a downloaded PDF to Amazon which they will sell as either a Kindle digital or as a Printed Book or both. The downside, is their percentage on the selling price is the highest I have seen from anyone, but then again their global reach might offset their costs, not sure. Thanks, Tony
Gary Smith replied:
Comment posted: 07/02/2026
The Amazon down the street is a pretty large distribution center. Books that get printed show that they were printed in Troutdale with the day prior to delivery so I suspect they are actually being printed in the Troutdale warehouse.
Libertymanor replied:
Comment posted: 07/02/2026
Thanks Gary for letting us know. Tony
Omar Tibi on Preserving your Photographs – My journey through Self-Publishing ‘BLACK and LIGHT’ books
Comment posted: 08/02/2026
Tony, first of all, I am amazed by how many photos you have! Sounds like a very rich photographic journey, I hope to accumulate many as well.
Thanks for this great article, I've made lots of photos that I like but no prints, and a recent scare with my laptop made me realize how vulnerable my photographs are. I also would love to have a book of some of my work, but I hadn't really done any investigation into it yet, so your article definitely helps. Really like the options they have!
Regarding selling, I get that Blurb allows you to sell via Amazon directly, but how did it work out with B&N, is it through Ingram or did you take it directly to them? Apologies if the question betrays my lack of knowledge on the subject. Happy shooting and congrats on your books!
Tony Roman replied:
Comment posted: 08/02/2026
Hi Omar and thanks for your comments, I appreciate them. Glad you liked the article. I'll try to answer your questions below. Regarding Blurb, yes it has worked out to ask Blurb to send information to B&N and many others through picking the "Ingram's Global Network option n checkout." Ingram's is only given as an option to be the distributor if (and only if) you are selling your books with the "Trade" book option which you must pick up front when creating your book in Blurb's software. "Trade" does limit your choices of page size and paper quality. but as I wanted to worldwide distribution (besides Amazon), I opted for the trade option. I found the trade limitations not to be a problem though, the paper weight is still pretty thick (heavy) and the black option (versus color printing) gives high contrast and almost photographic images on to the paper. All of this, at a much cheaper price per book (compared to the Photobook option). Every now and then, I ask Google to tell me where in the world (and what stores) are now selling my books online. And I continue to be amazed by the large distribution that Ingram's has by allowing lots of independent bookshops to access and make available online your books. For example, I have several stores in Germany, England, Australia, USA, and probably more countries by now, with my books on their web sites. Also I found Blurb customer service is ready to help, if for example, a store has a poor cover image quality being shown, they intercede with Ingram to fix it, nice touch. So, yes B&N and others, now have all my books available on their online book web sites all thanks to the Ingram distribution system. I hope this helps answer your questions. I was lucky to get this information from Blurb customer service who explained all of this in an email to me, as I didn't see it mentioned on their web site and was unaware, just looking for cheaper book prices. I wish you all the best with your future photo ventures and your self-publishing efforts. Let me know if you have any questions along the way as I might be able to help. Thanks, Tony
Alexandre Kreisman replied:
Comment posted: 08/02/2026
Dear Tony, Very nice Article/photos! I'm amazed by the simplicity of the process, having books in mind myself, this might be avenue worth being explored. Do you sell often ? Cheers Alex
Tony Roman replied:
Comment posted: 08/02/2026
Hi Alex, Thank you, I appreciate it. I have sold a few dozen copies so far, mostly in the U.S. but as more and more stores pick up on the Ingrams distributions, I think my over seas sales will pick up some. I was pleased to see Singapore and the UAE are now selling them. To remind everyone, my main rationale was to have physical professional prints to hold in my hands and give to others, not for book sales, but it is flattering to see interests beyond my immediate circles and I am glad for Hamish to allow me to spread the word to you wise readers of 35mmc. Good Luck (Bon chance) Alex on your future books!! Tony
