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An interview with Pete DeLuca Founder of Bound 2 Remember:

Hardbound Books are Taking the Scrapbooking World by Storm

Share it in a Hardback Book!

You Create It...
They Help You Share It...
It's a Gift that Your Family & Friends are Bound2Remember!

An Arizona based company is offering a personal book printing service that is tailored specifically to the scrapbooker and stamping enthusiast.

Bound 2 Remember takes your creative layouts and makes exact reproductions in the form of a hardbound coffee table or mini brag book that family and friends are "Bound 2 Cherish" for years to come.

Whether it's a hand-scrapped or stamped layout, photographic prints or digital scrapbook files...this innovative company can help you create an heirloom that can be shared for years.

Recently we had the President and Founder of Bound 2 Remember on-board with us. We asked him some questions about his company, the services they provide to our industry, and much, much more.

SS Reflections: Tell us how you came up with this idea?

B2R: This is a good story. Believe it or not, I was not very familiar with scrapbooking until about a year or so ago. A friend from my college baseball team and I reconnected after 15 years and started talking about what we've been up to since the "glory days." I told him I was in the printing business and that's when he asked me to do him a favor. Little did I know how it would change my life and lead me into creating Bound 2 Remember.

Here's what happened. Like I said before, I played some baseball in college at Arizona State University where my major changed three times over the years I was there. I had always loved photography and collecting sports memorabilia, but my passion was creating art. I first studied Graphic Design. However sitting in front of my computer all day didn't satisfy my desire to interact with people… so I changed my major to Photo Journalism. That only lasted a semester because I lost my camera and was too embarrassed to tell anyone. I wound up following in my brother's footsteps and graduated with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. The baseball career never amounted to anything. I was just too slow of a runner, so I decided to make a career talking about sports instead of playing them.

After working on-air as a sports anchor/reporter in television markets such as Hattiesburg, MS; Tupelo, MS; and Tucson, AZ I realized that TV News was too "cut throat" for my blood and made the decision to plant my roots back home in the Phoenix area where family was, and look for a "real job."

That's when a friend suggested I work for him selling printing. I agreed to give it a shot, hoping that it would satisfy my need to be creative, make me some money, and start a family of my own. I soon became known as "Pete the Printer!"

Over the next 12 years I had some good days…and some real tough days working on printing projects for other people. It seemed like everyone came to me for ideas…and I always helped them make their idea into a reality. Well, when my old baseball buddy came to me with his little favor… I had a weird feeling that this particular project would change my life. It sure has! You can say… it's a day that I am Bound 2 Remember.

His challenge...He wanted me to figure out a way to take his wife's scrapbook pages and re-create them in a way that he could share them with his family back home without his wife having to part with her precious creations. Since good old photocopies just wouldn't be classy enough, or hold up to the test of time, or for that matter capture the full 12"x 12" works of art that his wife worked so hard to create in a 3-dimentional way I had never seen before…I knew this was going to take some ingenuity and creativity. I was up for the challenge!

"I experimented with all types of scanning, and digital printing techniques. You name it… I tried it. After all this hard work and research I became pretty familiar with the archival qualifications of scrapbookers. However, what became more interesting to me, were the scrapbookers themselves."

Pete DeLuca
Bound 2 Remember
Founder and President

After solving my friend's problem, I showed the results to a group of scrapbook artists attending a scrapbooking tradeshow not too far from my home. Everyone I showed my book to was amazed at the detail of our reproductions, and the quality of the bookbinding. Hearing time and time again, how great the idea was...and how they wanted to have a book made of their favorite layouts I decided to make a business out of doing what I've coined "scrapbook reproductions."

Bound 2 Remember was born!

SS Reflections: How long have you been doing this?

B2R: That first prototype book of my friend's layouts was created in August 2003.

Bound 2 Remember was incorporated in October 2003.

Our website www.bound2remember.com was launched in December 2003.

Over the past year, we have continued to refine our printing process and we keep figuring out ways to reduce costs to the consumer while still giving them a quality product in return.

SS Reflections: Whom would you consider a perfect customer?

B2R: When I first made the decision to make a business out of offering our book printing service to the masses, I made a conscious effort to target the scrapbook enthusiast. We knew there were others companies out there who were much bigger than we were, offering a similar product but targeting a different audience. I wanted our company to attract someone who wanted an heirloom, not a novelty item that wouldn't stand the test of time.

We figured traditional paper and scissors scrapbook artists and stampers had several albums full of layouts that they might want to share with family and friends, but didn't know how to do it without giving up the originals or taking the time to make a "copy cat" album. So we designed our business plan to accommodate that specific demographic. Little did we know how the word would spread in the scrapbooking community to those who call themselves "digital scrappers." Boy was that a great day when we discovered that underground world!

"Maya" aka Janice Dye-Szucs, Designer and Owner for www.scrapbookgraphics.com and Design Team Member for www.scrapbook-bytes.com, was the first digital scrapper that we worked with and she continues to endorse Bound 2 Remember as the only book printing service she will ever use.

"You are truly offering the scrapbooking community a product of true value and quality here. As a digital scrapbook artist, I am grateful to have found the perfect solution for printing and displaying my layouts in a manner that is befitting to the love and energy that was put into creating the art to begin with. There will be no more albums, no more page protectors, no more clumsy rings, posts or other unnecessary hardware. Expect more business from me. I scrap A LOT!" - "Maya" aka Janice Dye-Szucs

So to answer your question, we really don't care if you send us your paper layouts…or digital files. It doesn't matter to us whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced scrapbooker. The printing and binding process is the same for all type of consumers, however the pre-press procedures are very different. The only requirement - you are looking for a great way to share your memories with loved ones…and want a classy way to do it.

SS Reflections: How do you do it?

B2R: The short answer is… we do it very well!

If you want to know our process, well that is our little secret. We take great pride in our "image capture service" we offer to the traditional artist who most of the time has very detailed, 3-D embellishments and fibers on their layouts. I will tell you this about our reproduction process…we don't use a scanner.

The main reason we don't scan your layouts is because we don't get the quality from a scan that will allow us to reproduce your layouts at the level we need to, to print your book the way it should be printed. We have developed a proprietary system of capturing the full 12" x12" scrapbook layouts that so many scrappers use today. We also capture layouts that are scrapped as 8.5" x 11."

To make the procedure safe and easy we have developed a "scrapbook reproduction kit" that paper scrappers can use to send in their layouts for reproduction. The kit includes everything you would need to send us your order, and features a pre-paid FedEx label that helps you track your layouts at all times. The layouts are back safe and sound in less than a week. A week later, your hardbound book is delivered to you, ready to show off as your new creation!

If you are a digital scrapbook artist, you can either send in a CD of your files or use one of our partners' (File Transfer Protocol) FTP sites to upload for printing. These authorized distributors are trained to "print ready" your files, and do a great job marketing our services to their customers.

Another important feature of our book making process, regardless of who we make it for, is our binding method. Our books are hand-sewn signatures cased into a hardback cover. Beware of any book that is constructed without the pages being sewn together first. Our books are made to last.

SS Reflections: What about a book of photography?

B2R: Absolutely!

We have done several books of just pictures. Photographers of any level can either send us prints, negatives or digital files. We typically print their photos full size on the page, bleeding the image off the edge similar to a magazine. It really gives your photos a professional look. We typically don't like to get involved in any photo manipulation or enhancement work, but can do so if need be. There would be an additional charge for this service, but we would be more than happy to help you get the best possible product from what you provide us.

As a matter fact, because of photographer's request, we are now offering the option to have your books printed on a synthetic printing sheet that resembles the look and feel of Photographic paper. Faux2Paper TM as we call it is a water-resistant, tear-resistant sheet that is actually made of archival safe plastics. The images just pop off the page and work perfectly as pages in a book. The best part… we can print on both sides of this sheet for that professional look and feel our customers have become accustomed to.

If the upgraded paper is more than you need, our standard printing sheet is nothing to balk at either. This extra bright acid free sheet is much heavier than what our so-called competitors offer. If you know paper, we use a 100# Coated Cover stock...as compared to a "book" weight stock. Again, we want our product to be rich and last for decades.

SS Reflections: What type of covers do you provide for your books?

B2R: We can use just about any type of fabric to cover your personal hardbound book.

We once had a request to cover a book with a lady's husband's old sweatshirt. Her book was a tribute to her spouse's "infamous" sports career. She wanted to send us his favorite sweatshirt to use as the cover of the book. We were about to do it, until he caught wind of her creative idea and vetoed the project. Needless to say we were ready if we had gotten the final word to do so.

Instead, we actually convinced her to choose one of our beautiful 12 standard cover options. She wound up choosing our Brown Faux Suede cover. I heard her husband just loved it. Personally, I think he was a little attached to his college sweatshirt and anything would have been better than parting with that.

In addition, we include a line of foil stamped type or we can affix an image of your choice on the front of the book. By popular demand, we now also offer the ability to foil stamp the spine of your book as well. Everyday, we're asked to do special decorating. If it's physically possible, we'll do it!

SS Reflections: Does size matter?

B2R: That really depends on whom you talk to?

I'll try to be politically correct in my answer. Yes and No.

Yes... size matters if you want an exact reproduction of a 12" x 12" layout. We are the only company to my knowledge that will not scale down your original image, and we offer a true 12" x 12" book. As a matter of fact, we can produce a single book if you so desire as large as 12" x 18." It's not a standard size, and might cost you a little more, but its possible and we will work with anyone who has a special request.

No…Size doesn't matter... if you want to send us layouts of any size and have us scale them down to create a mini brag book. Paper scrappers, who make reproductions of their favorite pages for themselves, usually ask us to make a mini version of their 12" x 12" originals. This way they can carry their scrapbooks in their purse.

In short… we can work with just about anything you dream up… regardless of the size.

SS Reflections: What is the strangest request you've had?

B2R: Other than the initial request my baseball buddy made which started his whole thing, the lady that wanted us to cover her book with her husband's sweatshirt about takes the cake.

I can however share with you a couple of my favorite books that we actually did do for people.

We once were given 375 pictures of a home being built from beginning to end. A general contractor wanted to give his client a house-warming present that he was Bound 2 Remember (a little shameless plug). We ended up producing a fabulous seven-volume collection of this awesome 35,000 sq. ft. house being built from the ground up.

Another memorable order we received was from a lady who wanted us to help her with a very special Father's Day gift. Her parents were divorced at an early age and her dad never got to keep any pictures of his children from their childhood. She told me that one night she snuck into her mother's house found some precious snap shots, sent the "borrowed" pictures to us and was able to give her father a memorable gift with her mother not having to give up her cherished keepsakes.

We've done multiple books for family reunions, weddings, vacations, books for sports teams and of course many baby books. It really is much more rewarding to print something that means so much to people. It sure beats printing a box of envelopes. You might say that "Pete the Printer" has now become "Pete the Memory Book Guy." I like the new moniker.

For more information about the Bound 2 Remember personal book printing services you can contact Pete DeLuca via e-mail, or visit the company website www.bound2remember.com