Digital Scrapbooking 101
Basics of Digital Scrapbooking
A digital scrapbook is a digital layout of photos, embellishments and
journaling that is created by manipulating and layering computer graphics.
Digital scrapbooking elements can be in the form of .jpg, .png or .tiff files to
use freely among digital image editing programs.
Organization is a very important part of digi-scrapping. Keeping your files
organized will allow you to create layouts quickly. You can start by scanning or
uploading your digital pictures onto your computer. When you scan a picture in,
be sure to give it a relevant name and date such as Year_Month_Day_EventorPerson.
This will help you find the pictures you need and also eliminates the need to
open up numerous files to find an exact event/person you are looking for. Save
the original copy of the photo as a .tiff file. You will also want to scan your
files in at 200-300 dpi. This is the resolution of the picture and the higher
you have the dpi set the better quality the picture will be. If you are planning
to print your pictures, 300 dpi is the correct resolution. It will ensure superb
quality when printed. If you are only making layouts to share online then you
can lower the resolution to 72 dpi. This lower resolution is fine for web
graphics that you post to a website or forum to share.
Different file types will allow you to manipulate the elements or photographs
in certain ways. A .png file has a transparent background so you can layer it on
top of other files. A .tiff file is the easiest way to save original photographs
without compromising quality of the photograph. A .jpg is the final format that
layouts are typically saved in. A .jpg file cannot be resized without losing
quality of the image though. Use the .jpg format when you are done creating your
layout.
One of the great benefits of digital scrapbooks is that they can be saved
onto your computer. You then have a few choices as to what you would like to do
with the layouts you have created. You can burn them to cd and either save them
to view on your computer or have them printed out and inserted into traditional
albums. Burning them to cd will save you the space on your computer since the
finished layouts tend to have large file sizes.
Assembling and laying out your pages will require an image editing program.
These programs allow you to copy and paste layers onto a background and
manipulate where and how you would like your page to look. There are endless
possibilities.
Some of the programs are designed specifically for scrapbooking. You can find
these programs in any place where software is sold. The scrapbook programs have
custom elements built in to the software so your backgrounds, frames,
embellishments, journaling, etc are already made for you and can be layered in
the program itself. They also tend to require a lot of memory on your computer.
Double check that you have the space needed on your pc before you purchase or
try to use one of these programs.
Digital image editing software also requires a lot of memory. Before
investing in any software, always be sure that your computer can handle the
program and shut down any other programs that may be running (such as Internet
Explorer, Quicken, etc). These software programs will allow you to do just about
anything you wish and most of them will require some kind of learning process.
Corel® Paint Shop Pro is a great program that allows you to manipulate and
fix photos, elements, create and save layouts. It has many functions and runs
about $99. You can download a free trial of the software here.
It is very user friendly but will still require some learning on your part. If
you search online for Paint Shop Pro tutorials you will find they are very
abundant and most users will testify that the program is very user friendly.
Adobe® Photoshop and Photoshop Elements are also wonderful programs for the
digital scrapbooker. Photoshop is very expensive and requires a bit more
experience than Photoshop Elements. Learning these programs may be more
difficult for the beginner but are definitely worth it if you have a passion for
graphics.
There are many other programs that you can use such as Ulead Photo Impact,
Microsoft Picture It, Printshop, and Printmaster to name a few. All of these
programs will require memory. Take the time to delete your temporary internet
files, cookies and cache daily as well as empty your recycle bin to keep your
computer in ideal condition to run these programs.
Digital scrapbooking is a wonderful and easy hobby that allows you to
assemble layouts quickly and with no mess. You do not need crop totes or paper
organizers or die cut tools (so it is a great money-saver) but you will need
some organized files to save all of the elements that are available to download
on the internet. Check out the freebies section at www.thescrapprincess.com/freebies.html for
some basic elements.
Article courtesy of Lisa Miller, Owner & Digital Designer, www.TheScrapPrincess.com
© 2006
