The QT Promise
We are proud to offer guarantees on all our products and services.
We offer a "lifetime" guarantee on the manufacturing of all QT Albums.
If you experience any issue whatsoever with the binding, printing or quality of your QT album and it is shown to be due to a defect in manufacturing or printing, we will repair or replace the book free of charge. This is at the discretion of QT Albums and does not include cost of shipping.
Our Albums and fine art Prints require special handling and care. Albums and fine art prints that are damaged due to improper care or handling are not covered by the QT Promise however we will support any repair that is needed.
You are required to report any issues with your order which are not covered by our standard warranty within 7 business days after receiving the package.
This can include:
- physical damage to the product during shipping
- damages to the cover or spine (inc. scuffs, stains etc)
- physical damage to the paper
If no complaint is made during this time frame, all damages to your product will be considered wear & tear damage and thus not covered by warranty.
We offer a 25 year warranty on the paper and print process. We offer a 10 year warranty on all other materials (like covers).
We are only able to extend warranties to the wholesale purchaser of the album and not to third parties.
Photo albums are not like any old book - they need a little extra TLC. Proper handling and storage of your albums will ensure they last for many years to come
Using Your Album
- The rule of thumb is that the thicker and heavier an album is - the easier it is to damage it.
- Always browse your album on a sturdy, flat surface which is cleared of any dirty or moisture.
- The area of an album which is most prone to damage is the end papers (the black or white card which attaches the book to the album cover) as they are under a high amount of stress. Although we do a great deal to reinforce these areas of the albums, if you are not careful and you allow this area of the book to become highly stressed, it is possible that they could break or become damaged.
- Never allow either side of the open album to fall below the horizontal flat line of the other side.
- Approach handing of your album or prints with care and with clean hands. Whilst our papers are very durable, excessive oils and moisture may mark or damage them.
- It is highly recommended that young children not be left to browse albums without adult supervision.
- Always remove the album from the box with the strap provided in the box. This will limit the likelihood that the album will become damaged during the removal process.
Album / Print Storage
- Albums & prints* should be stored flat and in a box. This is particularly important with larger/heavier albums.
- Avoid placing heavy objects directly atop your album as this may cause "denting" in the fabric of the cover. In most cases these dents will resolve themselves over time once the album has been moved to a more suitable storage situation. However, in severe cases, these dents can become permanent.
- The ideal humidity levels for storage are between 40 and 50%. Conditions which are too dry may make your album block bow whereas humid conditions may cause warping (waving) of the pages. Although these occurrences are completely natural, they are usually undesirable.
- Should your album block bow or warp, we recommend that you place your album in an area of your home or office which has better humidity conditions for 24 - 48 hours with a slight weight on top of the book (be careful of damaging the cover). This should cause the humidity to equalise and the book should return to normal.
- Attics, lofts, basements, cellars or non-environmentally controlled storage facilities are not appropriate locations for long term (more than 3 days) storage of your album.
- Albums and prints should be kept away from excessive temperatures and humidity.
- Albums and prints should be protected from excessive light exposure. Although our products are highly resistant to fading, placing a print or an album in direct sunlight for extended periods of time may cause them to fade. Similarly, pigments used in the cloth/leather dying process may fade over time if allowed to be exposed to harsh lighting conditions. Even with the best products in the world - harsh light can be a killer!
- We recommend that prints which are displayed in frames are framed and matted by a professional service so as to avoid a build up of moisture or potential contamination with acidic or alkali materials.
prints - when not displayed.
*Improper handling and storage of albums or prints may void your warranty.
ArtBooks are a handmade product. They require proper handling and storage to ensure they last for many years. We add special acid-free separators between the pages of the album. By separators we mean white sheets of paper used in the production process to protect the pages from ink transfer whilst we are pressing and trimming.
It is mandatory to keep separators during transportation of the package. Parcel might be carried under heavy objects that will put pressure on the pages.
We recommend that you keep acid-free separators even after you received your album. That is especially important for albums with dark photographs, printed on matte and cotton rag paper.
The more spreads - the heavier the book, which means the sole weight of the album can put pressure on pages. Please do not press, squeeze, rub pages against each other, do not put heavy objects on the album itself. Remember that long term exposure to UV light might impact the paper.
Matte and Cotton Rag are fantastic papers that reflect the depths of dark colours which make them popular with black& white photographs.
We suggest that while designing the album you take into consideration fact that having one side of spread in dark colours and the other side in bright colours might result in some of the ink to transfer if separators are not present.
Please communicate these instructions to your end client.
WARPING
Once the album leaves QT HQ where we keep controlled levels of Relative Humidity (50% RH), we can’t control the way the package is delivered over few days in transit.
The warping happens when the fibres in the paper absorb the moisture from surrounding excessively moist environment like a damp warehouse, package left outside or when humidity levels in your house increase rapidly.
Fibres of the cardboard substrates (the thick ones holding pages together) then expand but because they are held by non expandable plastic photo paper, they have no choice but to wave/warp.
Solution:
If you have received a warped book do not worry. It is totally reversible and it is not a binding issue.
When the enviroment around the book is less humid than the book itself, the fibres in substrates will give away the moisture and flatten.
What you need to do:
1. Put the book on a flat surface without any dents or dirt (especially important in case of leather covers).
2. Leave protective sheets between pages in ArtBooks
3. If your album came with a box, place it evenly on top of the album
4. Put 2-3 kg (6lbs) of pressure on top of the box.
5. Leave the book to adjust for 24-48 hours.
Please note that this will work only if room humidity is drier than the humidity of the book.
Page warping occurs at around 60%+ humidity and required storage conditions is 40-55%.
BOWED PAGES
Bowed pages are exactly opposite issue and occur when storage environment is very dry. First symptom of bowing is when the white/black end papers create gap between the book block and cover.
Solution: you should not store books next to sources of heat like heaters, under direct sunlight etc. but in the box in horizontal position. If it is not your heaters, then the overall humidity in your location is too dry. This is not good for printed materials and for your skin.
INK CRACKING
For Cotton paper albums - please keep your designs clean and simple with white backgrounds preferably. The images need to be around 1” from the edge of the spread. While designing album avoid images with heavy use of deep blacks.
Solution:
Please keep images off the crease as with time the ink on the crease might be prone to cracking. We recommend that you avoid full bleed spreads.