Zno Designer Review

Zno Designer is one of the cloud-based tools Zno offers as part of its comprehensive collection of photography-based apps and we’re putting it to the test to find out how easy it is to go from a collection of photos to a produced ready for printing. 

Zno Designer Features

Zno Designer is an easy-to-use cloud-based photo product designer that can be used to create photo books, albums, prints, wall art and more. It’s compatible with other Zno apps such as Zno Gallery and if you pay for the premium version, you get access to third-party order fulfillment and when using the Gallery, you can send photos to external software such as Adobe Lightroom. 

Zno Designer is available as part of a ‘free to use’ plan that gives you full access to all of the tools, templates and features available, along with unlimited album creations (you just pay for the finished product and delivery). You will have to use Zno for your order fulfilment so if you want to use a different lab, you’ll need to upgrade to the Pro Plan which isn’t expensive by any means. 

As Zno Designer is cloud-based, you don’t need to download any software and all designs are created in your browser saving you hard drive space and the need to update software when a new version is released. 

You can design, order and send to print from one place and with so many design options available, you really can make a product that’s special to you. 

The Zno Designer app can be used for free but if you did upgrade to a Zno Designer Pro Plan, you’d get access to various benefits including the in-house Zno Lab products, free shipping on orders over $200, store credit when you spend certain amounts and more. There are other subscription options, too, which include an umbrella option that gives you access to all of Zno’s products. You can find more information on pricing in our ‘value for money’ section. 

Zno Designer Features:

• Cloud-based working
• Smart layout options
• Huge template selection
• Full creative control – edit to your heart’s content
• Pre-designed themes
• Online proofing
• Export to third-party labs (Pro version)
• Integration with other Zno apps

Zno Designer Ease Of Use & Performance

As we’ve previously taken a look at the Gallery part of the Zno platform (of which we awarded an ‘Editor’s Choice’ accolade) the overall interface of the workspace will look familiar as you access all of Zno’s products from the same space. What this means is everything is easy to navigate and find exactly what you’re looking for. Plus, all of the apps work seamlessly together and if you pay for the premium level of membership, you also get compatibility with external software such as Adobe Lightroom. 

When you first click on ‘Projects’ under the Designer tab, you’ll see a message telling you that you’ve not started a project yet and a handy link to tutorials is made available that clearly talk you through the process (should you need them). To start your new Project, you can create a custom product or use one of the many pre-existing designs that are available. You can select to work with a Zno product or if you want to work with an external printing lab whose name is on the ‘Lab’ list, you just select their name instead. 

For the purpose of this review, we’ve gone with the option of designing a Layflat Photo Book from Zno but there are many photo albums/books to choose from along with photo prints, calendars, wall art and more. All of these then have their own subcategories with even more design options so you’re certainly not limited on choice. 

Click ‘start’ and your options are collated into the Designer window so you can begin working on your photo product. Handy information bubbles pop up to talk you through the process which we think is a really useful feature for those new to the software but you can skip these mini tutorials if you like. 

You obviously need photos for any design and these are easily added via an ‘Upload’ button where you can add photos from your computer or from other Zno apps such as the Zno Gallery or Retoucher which is a real-time save as it means you don’t have to upload image files a second time to create photo books etc. Photos can be ordered in a variety of ways and you can select ‘Hide Used’ images which is worth doing so you don’t see duplicates in your layout. 

Once your photos are uploaded, you then need to select a layout you want to use. As we’re designing an album, this needs to be done on every page featured and you can design your own layout or use one of the Smart Layout options provided by Zno. 

Above the album/photobook layout is a toolbar that features all of the tools you can use to edit your product. The possibilities are almost endless with various background colours listed, you can add text, add frames, retouch images and more. There’s also a useful ‘show bleed lines’ button so you can ensure your images won’t have edges cropped.

A nice touch we’ve not seen in other album designers is the introduction of a lining at the front between the cover and the first page of images which adds a level of luxury to the product.

Adding various layouts (over 650 pre-made to choose from) and then your images to pages couldn’t be easier and is rather self-explanatory. If you like, you can add various decorative options which come in the form of backgrounds and stickers such as corner flourishes. If you’re struggling with design ideas, you can select one of the many themes provided by Zno. 

You really can go down the rabbit hole with options and designs available so you can find yourself spending quite a lot of time playing around with the final product but as it’s so easy to create and actually fun to do, it doesn’t feel like a chore. On a side note, do remember to hit the ‘Save’ button regularly so you don’t lose your work. 

Once you’re happy with the design and have checked it, you can click ‘Order’ to add it to your shopping bag where you can then create and add more products or complete the checkout process. 

If you’d prefer someone else to design the album for you, you can use Zno’s Design Service where a team of professional album designers are on-hand to assist. 

You can also send an online proof of a finished album to clients by entering a few details into a pop-up window you access via ‘Proof’. Once your client sends feedback, you’ll receive an email and then you can see what pages they have made comments on so you can make necessary changes. If clients want to see what a particular album may look like or how a certain paper feels, you can also send custom samples and swatch sets (costs vary). 

Value For Money

Zno Designer is available as a free plan (you just pay for the products you order and shipping with prices for a Layflat Photo Book starting at $34 USD) or you can upgrade to the following plans:

• Pro Plan – $ 5 USD/mo Billed annually or $7 USD monthly (Zno Designer)
• Premium Plan – $10 USD/mo Billed annually or $14 USD monthly (Zno Designer)
• Power Plan – $20 USD/mo Billed annually or $28 USD monthly (Zno Designer)
• Fulfilment Apps Bundle –  $30 USD/mo Billed annually or $42 USD monthly (access all of Zno’s apps)

Each of the above options feature various added value options so do take a look at the Zno website to see how each level differs. 

Other alternatives, you may have heard of, include Milk Books, Fundy Designer and Light Folio. 

Limited Time Offer: Until the end of 30 September 2023, you can save 50% on Zno Designer (Pro Plan excluded) with the code: ZD0930. 

Zno Designer Verdict

Zno make it easy for photographers to create photo books, albums and other photo products for themselves or clients at an affordable price. The Designer app couldn’t be any easier to use and with so many options available, you can really customize your designs to make something that’s exclusively yours. 

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