Instax, Polaroid or printed photos: what fits in a photo guest book

The two book sizes

Those are the outside measurements of the wooden covers; the pages sit a little inside them. Both sizes take instant photos with room for a signature or a note beside each one. Check your print size and plan the layout before you choose the book.

Instant prints

• Instax Mini (print 2.1" × 3.4"): the most common instant format. Fits both sizes with room for a note; two on a Large page is easy.
• Instax Square (2.8" × 3.4"): fits both sizes; on the Small book it takes a good part of the page, so keep the notes short.
• Instax Wide (4.3" × 3.4") and Polaroid i-Type and 600 (3.5" × 4.2"): choose the Large book so the writing has space beside the photo.

Printed photos

Standard 4 × 6 prints belong in the Large book, one per page with the note beside or beneath it. If the book will be filled later from your phone, order the prints before the gathering and leave them at the table with the tape.

How to attach them

The pages are plain cardstock or paper: no pockets, no adhesive strips, no slots. Use photo corners or photo-safe double-sided tape; both hold an instant print flat and neither is included with the book. Photo corners let a photo come out again; tape is quicker at a busy table. Press the photo down, then write.

Which paper

• 85 lb cardstock, white, cream or black, 25, 40 or 55 sheets: the thick, durable choice for photos and marker pens.
• 30 lb standard paper, white, 45 or 60 sheets: for a book that is mostly handwritten notes and signatures.

Paper is counted in sheets, and both sides are usable and blank, with no lines, prompts or dated sections. Count roughly one page per guest or family who will add a photo.

Which pen

The cardstock takes marker pens; the standard paper is made for ordinary pens and signatures. Our black and gold signing markers are made for the pages: black on white or cream cardstock, gold on black cardstock. Add them in the builder and they ship with the book. Let the ink dry before the book is closed.

Layout that works

• One photo per page, the note beside it: the book reads like an album.
• Keep the first page for a title photo of the couple, the family or the guest of honor.
• Portrait prints sit best on the outer half of the page; leave the inner margin by the binding free.

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