I just set up a survey here ———————>
please take part if you are a digital scrapbooker
I’ve been wondering how many of us actually get our layouts printed. My guess is that a lot of us, maybe even as much as 70% of us, do not get our pages printed. I love digital scrapbooking. I love the ease of creating without having to clean up a physical pile of papers + embellishments. I love that I can instantaneously share the layout/story/memory with my friends and family via emails or online galleries. And then to actually get your layouts printed, to be able to hold it in your hand, display it on your bookshelf, look at it without having to turn on your computer + click on a file…..well, that’s quite another experience. A pretty awesome one. 🙂
One of my ct member recently confessed to me in an email that she’s *never* had any of her layouts printed. As I was composing a response to her, it occurred to me that I was guilty of the same thing. I’ve gotten lots of things printed – little mini albums, quick albums and most recently, the 296 page blurb book, but none of my 12×12 layouts have been printed. The things that I have printed were easy to do because they were created as part of a collective so the pages were cohesive and went well together. And I think that is precisely the reason I haven’t printed any of my 12×12 layouts. I mostly scrap one page layouts and I scrap out of order. As a result, none of my 12×12 layouts necessarily go with one another. The thought of having to print them out and then figure out how to organize them in the album in a way that’s aesthetically pleasing is one of the reasons I haven’t printed 12×12’s. That, and the fact that I’m not thrilled with the idea of having to store bulky 12×12 photo albums.
Maddie’s blurb book has motivated me get more things printed. When I saw this post over at the daily digi about Janet’s album system, it was like a eureka moment for me. It never occurred to me to have my 12×12 layouts printed as 8×8’s. Genius. Now I can’t wait to send all of my layouts to print. The only thing that’s holding me back now is finding the perfect 8×8 top loading cloth album. I’ve heard alot of great things about the We R Memory Keepers linen albums, but I’m not ready to take the plunge yet. I currently use kolo cloth albums to store my 4×6 photos and I would LOVE it if kolo would hurry up and offer a top loading album in the 8×8 size. Does anyone have the ins with this Kolo? If so, can you put this idea in their head and make something happen?
With regards to aesthetics and creating a cohesive look with layouts that are created as one pagers, this task is surprisingly easier than I originally suspected. As scrapbookers we have a certain style and are drawn to certain things that we consistently apply to our layouts. In that sense, it will be easy to pair layouts side by side. I pulled a couple of pages from my gallery that were posted between August 3rd – September 23:
I think I would be able to pair any of these layouts and side by side and it would look like they belonged together. I like that they look coordinated but aren’t necessarily “match-matchy”. Of course, this system will not work for everyone. For those of you that prefer to tell your story in chronological order, or for those of you that aren’t concerned with creating a cohesive flow (on an aesthetic level).
Today’s new release, a set of coordinating quick pages designed by Cindee Bae, is a great tool for scrappers who scrap out of order yet want to be able to put together an album that looks cohesive.
These quick pages are 30% off for the next 24 hours, then will remain on sale at 15% off thru Nov. 8th.
and all quick pages designed by cindee bae are 50% thru Nv. 8th
Look at how great they look printed.
They are 8×8 prints, ordered through whcc.
Tomorrow I’m sharing a photo wall project idea. Hope to see you then.
Interesting topic, Liz!
I have printed 12×12's separately and as bound books and love both ways. I prefer to have them bound b/c I think they just look better – I haven't found a 12×12 layout album I really love. I'll be watching this topic!!
Ok I do believe that CT member was me. I think the main reason I haven't printed is exactly what you hit on. Being on CT's it's like we do random layouts for what kits need used. So then I have all these random layouts that don't match for an album so I just keep hanging on to them til I figure out something. The whole idea of combining layouts for albums stresses me some LOL
Ok, hold on to your hats, this is what I do:
I scrap at 8×8 and save all my files that size. But I crop my layouts to 4×4 and place them on a 4×6 canvas to print them and then they go in WE R memory Keepers albums with 4×6 page protectors.
I create around 350 layouts a year, and have been scrapping since 2003,so this is the most cost effect manner for me to keep caught up with printing. I usually send a batch to be printed about every month or so.
If in the future, the cost of photo printing continues to plummet, I will likely print them 8×8, but at this point, this works for our family.
I print every page I make. It's so nice to be able to pull them out when family comes over or have Jack browse through them and comment on things.
When I started I printed each page I put them in albums. What I like about this system is that you can change the arrangement or add in a page you do down the road pretty easily…but this is just so bulky.
So right now I'm having them all printed and bound. I usually use Shutterfly and wait for their sales. I'm shopping around and thinking about trying blurb next. It's not exactly cheap, especially if you're going the 12×12 route. But I really like having all the pages in books on the shelves in the living room that I can just sift through whenever. Seeing the pages on the screen and looking at them printed is just different.
so here i am thinking… hmmm. no i haven't printed mine at all. why?? well, EXACTLY what you said. how to print them cohesively?!? i don't scrap in order, nor do i want to… but, the thought of putting them together so there is a semblance of order is overwhelming… so i haven't done it. but i so want to. and my other concern would be size…. i think i'd do a blurb or shutterfly album of lo's, instead of a top loader….
BUT, i am worried that 8×8 is too small. wouldn't the photo's be too small?? i guess i could print some out at home and see right??
oh oh, also, where do you begin and end? how many pages to a book?? will i be happy if i print out a book and then change my mind as to the format…..
UGH!!!!!
but wouldn't it be wonderful to see your progression, not only your children, but the subjects you chose to scrap and how your style changes and grows…..
great ?'s Liz. i loved this post. i will be back to read others ideas and answers!!!
I create all of my pages in 8.5 x 11 size and print every page. I much prefer the portrait size and shape and it means that I can print pages at home if I want to. I have them all in albums and they are a manageable size for kids to manage so they do look through them a lot.
I have yet to have any pages bound but I am working on a Blurb book (portrait size) using your latest set of frames which I LOVE, which contains all our wedding photos, I can't wait to get it finished!
Thanks for all of the inspiration you give me, I just love the clean, minimalist look.
I confess, I almost never have them printed, unless giving a gift. Who has the money for that? Plus, yeah, they don't look right together in a book. I don't know. Maybe I just need a push. LOL!
I used to print my 12 x 12's as single pages and then load in an album but I have just recently had all of 2008 printed as an 8 x 8 hard cover book and I LOVE it. I too scrap out of order but I really dont think it matters that much that its not matchy matchy. Here is the link if you want to take a look
http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=e55dac4b98074d6c6cdd16a80fdf8c46
My kids love showing everyone the book of all their year.
Janina
This is a great topic; it's something I've been thinking about a lot lately. I used to only scrap pages that were part of an album, so all of my pages were part of a larger project. I print mainly 8×8 shutterfly photobooks. However, I felt like my scrapping was stymied, because unless I had a photobook project going, I wouldn't really do any scrapping. I just wasn't sure what to do with my random layouts. Well I finally decided to have them printed individually and put them in a three-ring binder. I print these in 8×8 size as well. This has been hugely liberating for me, and changed the way I scrap! I love seeing the pages in print, regardless of the format. 🙂
Hey Miss Liz, I print my layouts just like I do my photos – a year at a time. Have done the 7" square Blurb book for my layouts. Might use the 12 x12 format this year but torn between trying something new vs the known. Love having them in books by year, makes it so much easier when the gks are trying to figure out how old they were.
I've only completed a few digital pages – some 12×12 and some 8.5×11.Still not sure I like digital over traditional or am experimenting with hybrid. I have printed all the pages that I've created and just incorporate them into my regular albums. I also print books and create traditional style albums.
I LOVE printing my layouts, but I prefer them on 12×12 matte photopaper, so I print mine at home on an Epson large format printer. I'm also a hybrid scrapper, so the matte texture is a necessity if I'm going to add embellishments after. Love, love love your stuff. So inspiring. I hope it's ok I just scraplifted one of your layouts! from one designer to another, you've got it goin' on 😉
I *just* printed all my 2008 layouts about two months ago when there was a big sale at .. I forget the site now. Darnit!
scrappingsimply.com
At the time I said I was going to send about 20-30 of my pages in until I catch up with my 2009 pages – but that hasn't happened. LOL I'll probably do another big batch on the next sale, instead.
Of all the 2008 pages I printed, though, I haven't put a single one in the album yet. I have the album and the box with all the pages sitting on my audio pier. I keep staring at it thinking how I should get those put into the book.
oh, forgot to mention that my latest thing is photobooks! for that I approach it completely differently and it's all about the photos and text. clean graphic. love it.
GUILTY!!!! im guilty too!!! I have 3 books printed already. 2 of them are 8×8 and 1 is 8.5×11. The last book i have printed was the "snapshots of". that was good because everything was so uniformed. but then that was a gift to my in-laws so i don't have it here. i have the 2 8×8's that is exactly what you said: not goes along very well because they were made separately… so…. from last year until this year, nothing printed yet. 🙁
Tali – what top loading album are you using right now?
Susan – exactly, I've felt the same way with organizing "loose" los!
Becki – wow, 350 los a year? you're my hero. I love your system, so concise and very economical.
Maria – I agree on screen vs. printed is a totally different viewing experience. You are right about the top loading system getting a bit bulky.
Nichole – girl, I have been struggling with the EXACT same issues as you and can especially relate with the pressure of committing to a certain format and then being afraid that in the end, I wouldn't like it. I chucked all of those things out the window when I started the blurb project bc i figured, if I don't give myself a chance to do something…anything, how will I know what I will like? Take the plunge girl, you're not going to regret it!!
Nichole – forgot to add, it is a wonderful thing to see the progression in both what we're documenting and how we're documenting it. 🙂
Sara-Jane – Since doing the blurb book, I am now a HUGE fan of the portrait format. Layouts come together so easily in this size, I don't know what it is. I'm so thrilled to hear that you like the apothecary frames. I'd LOVE to see your latest blurb project when you're done with it.
Sarah – girl!! with all the gorgeous los you create, you'd better start printing them! How's that for a push? 🙂
Hey Janina – I'd love to see your shutterfly project, can you link me again? the one you listed didn't take me to your album
Rachael – Thank you for sharing your experience, so glad to hear how liberating it has been for you to finally get your random los printed. I'm right behind you on this one!!
Zalaine – 7×7 blurb book!! That sounds like a great route to go if I don't find the top loading albums I want. Do you have photos of your books posted on your blog? I'd love to see them.
Nancy – You've gotten all of your pages printed? You're so much more ahead of most of us 100% digital scrappers. wtg!
Sally – what a HUGE honor. Thank you for visiting my blog. Thank you for your sweet comments. I'm off to your blog to check out your latest creation!
Peppermint – LOL, I also order things that end up remaining in the shipping box for far too long. Let me know when you do get them in the album, I'd love to see how it turned out. Btw, what album are you using?
Sally – I just recently tried the photo + text approach…and loved the way the book turned out!
Shaui – hey girl. 🙂 3 books is a GREAT start! keep on printing.
I actually create 12×12, save as 8×8 and print most of my pages at home. When I paper scrapped, I always made coordinated double pages, but in digital it's mostly singles, like many of you. I combine the pages in my album, loosely based on subject and colour, but I don't worry about it too much. As long as the colours of styles don't clash, I'm ok with it! My preferred album is a linnen covered one from DCWV, that I fill up with about 50 page protectors. This way I fill about 2 albums a year!! I sometimes get albums printed as a gift, or around a theme, like a trip or Daily December project. I LOVE the instant gratification that at-home printing gives me, even if it works out to be less cost effective than having books printed. Thanks for starting this interesting topic, Liz!!
Liz
Here is the correct link…I hope
http://community.shutterfly.com/gallery/post/start.sfly?postId=/gallery/1/post/GMGDJgwZN3LhiycAhD6LqC
Janina
I try to print most of my pages, I usually make photo books from them, love your post Liz!!!!
I do not have a suitable printer to print my layouts that's why until june or july this year I scrapped in a simple photo-format (13×18 in Europe) and just ordered them as a simple photo. But when I saw your blurb book I decided to go another way, so I changed the format to 12×12 (30x30cm in Europe) and at the moment I am resizing my old LOs from earlier this year. In January then I will have all my LOs of 2009 printed and bounded by a suitable supplier of photo books. Thanks for inspiring me to change my old behavior.
Regards
Corinna
Hi! I'm new here… been lurking a lot, actually!
I'd love to print out my layouts, but because it's so expensive, I haven't printed any one of it. I am asking hubby to print an 8×8 photobook as my Christmas gift (yes, I get to choose my gift!), so I hope he'll agree 😀
I have printed out a lot of my pages but it took a long time from I started digiscrapping until I really did it.
I have two systems.
Photobooks for our summer vacations where we take tons of photos, my 365 project etc., a class trip my DD took and my DS's soccer team of 2006-2007.
Then I have made an album system freely copied from Stacy Julian – Big Picture Scrapbooking. She have written a book about how to free yourself from the chronological scrapping. So my photo folders and dividers in my scrapbooks are divided into her suggested categories.
When I print out pages – I have done single prints at Mypictales.com, then I can just put them in to the "chapter" it belongs to.
The kids and I love it.
I have 6 pcs 3 D-ring, 12×12 albums that I put them in. The kids have two each and I have two for DH and me so far 🙂 almost filled to the brim.
But the smartest with having a 12×12 album I believe is that you can actually put in also diplomas, drawings and other stuff that is in other sizes. I have managed to use pockets that is 6×6, 8×8, 8×11,5, A4 (european size) in my albums. And therefore we belive that the album is a life document of sort, as you suddenly discover other things in the album too, not only LOs.
I have the photos uploaded to my photobucket to show on another forum if anyone is interested in seeing how I have done it 🙂
~Blossom~
I always create and print in 8×8 format. If I try to create in 12×12 and then print in 8×8 there is a distorted look to the page. I also print from home, which might cost just as much as a professional service in terms of ink, I'm not sure. I'm sure having them printed lends a much better overall look, but the top-loading albums give me freedom to add in the middle should I choose :).
I don't mind organizing my layouts, or that they might look a little mismatched. As you noticed with your own, there are resounding themes in style, color, and placement that express continuity throughout my albums (hopefully :D).
This was great to read! Like most I have not printed as much as I have created. I have printed some books which I really LOVE and some projects but I have a LOT of unprinted layouts that I just need to get in gear and Print. I love the quality of Scrapbookpictures.com where I have had the few layouts printed.
i print 8×8's whenever there is a sale at scrapbookpictures.com! i love that size! But the versatility of digi scrapping is great because I save all my layouts at the 12×12 size in case I ever want to get that size printed. it had never occured to me that my pages might not look cohesive in an album. I guess i am just scrapping to preserve memories in a fun way. But i do make themed albums which are more "matchy matchy".
This is a great topic! I, too, print on a case by case basis. If I'm really excited about a layout, I print it in either 8×8 or 12×12 on matte ultra premium presenation paper with Epson large-format printer. That said, I do not print as many as I should.
When I first started scrapbooking, I stumbled upon an older book by Stacy Julian called "The Big Picture – Scrapbook Your Life and a Whole Lot More". It was great motivator for letting go of my desire to organize because, in doing so, I was giving up telling the story. I'm an artistic perfectionist and I struggle so much with it being "just right". But her point was "just do it". You can always go back and re-do a layout later or whatever, But keep things simple and don't forgo telling the story now because it might not be "just right". When I thought of it in those terms, the story became a lot more important than the layout or printing or whatever.
She also gives an awesome system for organizing random layouts into albums: Places We Go, Things We Love, etc. That way, there is a "theme" to each album even if the layouts don't match. She said to start there and then make theme albums for layouts that you realize there are a lot of, things like "Christmas" or "Holidays", for example.
It was really helpful!
When I first started out digiscrapping I created 8×8 pages, because I had seen paper scrapper friend's giant 12×12 albums and knew that 1) The albums wouldn't fit on any bookshelves I owned, and 2) I couldn't print that big. So I've always designed 8×8 style (to make sure fonts are still legible) and as soon as I've finished I print them out on matte photo paper. Love having them in albums for guests to look through! Although the albums don't look very cohesive, I just love flipping through a book. 🙂
I made a blurb book last year for myself. I think it was 5×5? It was a mix of 12 x 12 and 8.5 x 11 but some of the pages were cut off. I like to scrap to the edge so little bits were cut off. oh well. I still like having the book. I sometimes print layouts at various sizes (12 x 12 or 6 x 6 – i have a wide-format printer but it is not at all systematic. Recently, I printed out several 12 x 12 for my wall. instant art!
I print everything practically the moment I finish the page. For sure w/in a couple days of finishing up a LO. I print most everything 12×12 at Costco. Every year I have 3 albums I'm working on (1) a FAMILY book for the YEAR (2) a book for my SON and (3) a book for my DAUGHTER (the kids albums actually usually span 2 or 3 years).
I'm very picky about books ending up in chronological order but I definitely don't scrap that way. I use WeAreMemoryKeepers three ring albums and then they're very easy to rearrange.
While I'm picky about books being in chrono. order I don't mind at all if they don't "match." It's just not a big deal to me. I kind of like having an eclectic LO style.
I have made bound books, but I can't imagine doing that for my ongoing YEAR or KID albums. I like the immediacy of holding and touching my pages (and having my kids & family do so), that I couldn't wait for a whole year to print something.
I like the idea of bound books – but may have to just keep doing that for THEMED albums.
Rereading this … I think I'm just impatient and need to have my pages in front of me ASAP!!
I print mine with blurb now… I designed the paper cover (don't know what it is) that goes over the hard cover. I print 8×8 because they are less expensive. I started doing them by year- anything that I did that year no matter the subject and in the order that I did it. It's kinda like a diary of what I was thinking about at different times in the year! 🙂 I would go crazy if I tried to do things in another way and would never get around to actually doing it… And, these were christmas presents for Grandparents. 🙂
Great topic – when I create digital lo's, I either do 12 x 12 with the option of 1) having it prof. printed or 2) I print at home 8 x 8 or I do 8 1/2 x 11 and print at home.
I currently have both an 8 x 8 album and a 12 x 12 american crafts binder book that i store either 12 x 12, 8 1/2 x 11 or just photo sleeve pages in.
I recently did a shutterfly book that I am SO happy with. I hope to do more like that as well.
And to Becki to makes about 350 lo's a year…you are amazing! I'm just trying to be better about getting my actual photos printed as well and am adding those into my scrapbooks with the pages I create.
Blossom – I LOVE your idea of incorporating those other pages! That just gave me ideas about saving my 2 yr old scribbles or random notes, even random pictures that I might not want to "scrap".
I too love the Stacy Julian Big Picture Scrapbooking. I reorganized all my old paper layouts into this type system and the digi layouts that I had printed. Then I kinda fizzled wondering if I should print and store or print as a book later… I don't have any 12×12 albums though and I think 8×8 is too small. I love 10×10 but that's not a standard size….
I've bought almost every single QA that you've done Liz and I always print those. I usually save the money and print at American Color Imaging cause their books are like real photos. Just really high quality.
This is a great post. I too love seeing the books in print and I'll be checking back although I do like Stacy's method 🙂
wow!!! want to try this, i hope i make one soon. 😉
My mouth is still hanging open from learning you are intimidated by a blank wall. The I read a CT of yours has not printed ANY LO she's done? Not what I imagined at all inside the world of designers and CT members! LOL!
I print mine as 8×8's. And I put them in albums for each of my kids. I also have another album that's more a family album. I love that I can print multiple copies so each of my kids has the LO if it applies to more than one of them. But I am probably 75 LOs behind. 8x8s are cheaper to print than 12x12s, but it still adds up.
My kids LOVE their books. They love to read the stories of their lives. I scrap out of order chronologically, and sometimes do 2 pg LOs, sometimes not. But it doesn't matter to them.
First – I love your work!
Second – I print mine as 6×6 pages. I wanted 8×8, but those albums were hard to find….and I can print 6 6×6 pages on a 12×18 sheet at Costco for $2.99. So about .50 a page! Annie Manning made me a fab action that puts them on a 12×18 and it's so easy now! I print them and put them in the order I made them – who cares about chronological order – the boys sure don't, they just like looking at them!