You have to hide from the paperazi everywhere these days. (inthepaper.co.uk)

Member Name: abbadabbado

Product:	inthepaper.co.uk
Date:	18/07/09 (51 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: a different idea for a present

Disadvantages: shame it's not a whole paper

I always get stuck when it comes to buying presents for men. Last year I was browsing through topcashback for some personalised present ideas when I came across In the Paper.co.uk.
They offer a spoof front page paper design personalised to your requirements. On first glance the idea looked like a good one so I investigated further.

** The website **

The site itself has a lot of information for you to see but the overall principle of what you will get is striking across the home page for you to see straight away. I liked this as it was clear what I would receive, obviously it would change slightly to what I required.
There are tab bars for you to explore the site and what they are about at the top of the page, but to delve in and have a look you just follow the numbered steps on the home page which are clearly marked.

** How it works **

You can choose from a variety of occasions from birthdays to father's day, football, and many other occasions. If you're looking for something different then I would suggest looking here to see if there is a category for you.
I was choosing father's day so my options were targeted to this.

You can then choose different headlines for your paper, such as for father's day I chose "insert name here is Britain's Best dad of 2008".
There are headlines for all the occasions that you can select such as "so and so is 21 today, yes 21 today! Plus many more.
You also have the option of changing the name of the newspaper. Now you won't get a paper called "The Sun" as you're not getting a true paper, but instead of "The Daily Mail" I chose "The Daily". The font is the same as the true paper so only people who actually look closely will realise that it isn't the real deal.

Of course your newspaper wouldn't be the same without a picture of the person the gift is for, or perhaps a picture of something representing the present you are giving. You have the option of uploading the picture you want to the site to be added into your page.
Not forgetting of course to choose the date of the paper, which is all important for a birthday or occasion.

You can view your progress to see what the final product looks like and then you will see if you're happy with the page. Each headline brings with it a story. My father's day headline told of how my daughter's Dad had beat other top stars such as David Beckham to being best Dad of the year, and a short caption from his daughter which I entered in myself in the slots available to you. You don't have to do this but I thought it was a nice touch.

Once you are happy with your page you get the chance to save it for payment stage. There is an option to edit words out so if there are things you'd rather not have included you can take them out.

** Prices **

There are different options available when it comes to ordering. You can have the standard page on its own for £11.99, or you can have it framed for £19.99. There are a couple of other options but these are the main ones. I ordered last year and I have checked today to find the prices have remained the same over the last 12 months which is good.
Postage is £2.95 if you order standard prints or £4.95 if you order framed prints. I chose to order without the frame as I wanted to buy a frame that would suit our decor rather than taking a chance I would like the one they provided.
Payment can be made using all the major debit / credit cards. There is a secure site warning so I felt safe enough entering my details online and what I liked most is that I didn't have to register just to place an order.
I also received updates to my email address after ordering so I knew what was happening at all times, not that the process took long enough for me to worry about.
It's also worth noting at this stage that offer codes are always floating around the internet for a little bit extra off, and they are also on cash back sites so do remember this before buying.

** Delivery **

My order was with me within three days which I thought was great considering this was a personalised item. They sent my order out first class in a board backed large envelope. Happily it wasn't tried to be shoved through my letterbox as the pages are actually the size of a newspaper page.
It was securely packaged, and placed inside a clear plastic bag to protect.

** Overall **

I was extremely happy with my purchase. Obviously I framed it so it sits in the dining room for all to see. We have even had people comment on when my OH was in the paper, so on first glance it's not always obvious it's a spoof.
The website was easy to use and images loaded up quickly. I thought there was a lot of choice, and it was a present idea that I hadn't come across before so it was novel to be. If there is an occasion for me to use them again I would as I think the idea is so lovely and the receiver will really have to look twice to see why their picture is in the paper alongside the "pretend" top stories of the day.

Summary: a great idea for a personalised present.