Monday, February 26, 2007

What to Do With Your Digital Scrapbook

Once you have a few pages done – and with unlimited choices, it may take a while – you can decide whether you want it to remain digital or you want to move it into the world of hard copy.

You can print out copies of your scrapbook for gifts, just make sure you have the right binder to go with the printer paper you chose. You can burn it to a CD to have it printed at a copy center. Remember to save it as a full-size .pdf, .jpg, .tif, or .bmp file.

Of course, digital scrapbooking means you will be able to e-mail it or display it on your personal web site. If that’s your plan, keep your file to under 100KB. Save a version with a different name in a .jpg format and check your site requirements for the size in pixels and dpi.

Monday, February 19, 2007

What You Need

Obviously, you’ll need a computer with sufficient RAM, and digital-imaging software like Adobe Photoshop. Check your operating system to see if you already have a basic package included. Digital scrapbooking is nothing without photos, so you’ll need a way to download them from your camera and/or scan them in. If you want to print your scrapbook, you’ll need a good color printer and the proper paper. While you’re shopping, take a look at some of the available digital scrapbooking software like layout templates, fonts and embellishment graphics. You may also want a little animation if you scrapbook will be online.

Monday, February 12, 2007

What about it

You can use familiar computer tools to create your entire layout online, and make a background in whatever color or texture you like. It can look like wallpaper from the 50’s or a spaceship from the year 2340. Matting a digital photo is simple and while you’re at it, manipulate the photo itself by adding some color to a black and white picture or making a color photo black and white.

Crop it, fade it, add a famous movie star to it – digital scrapbooking removes the limitations from your creativity. Be the first scrapbooker in your family to make Granny’s birthday party 3D, and embellishments are simple since you already know how to add text. If you want a quicker, more professional look, you can even buy software with layout templates ready to be filled in.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

What It Is

Digital scrapbooking is computerized scrapbooking and there’s nothing virtual about it. You may already be using digital components in your scrapbooks. You probably use a digital camera at least some of the time. You may scan hard copies of photos into your computer to manipulate them with a photo editor, or even print out pictures of historic or news events to add a time frame to a page. If so, it’s time to take it a step further.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

Digital Scrapbooking Blends Tradition with Techno

Scrapbooking – everybody’s doing it. It’s the way to keep track of a family’s history or to tell the story of a special event. It’s the 21st Century version of a photo album or a journal. If your scrapbooks are only paper and pictures, however, you can step a bit further into the future.