I promised you a few of weeks ago that we would be having a full review of printers for both layouts and albums.  I know we all have our favorite printers (I did before trying them all out).  But, there have been a few new printers join the market in the last while and maybe you have been wondering how they would measure up.  Today, I will be telling you all about the results I had when I printed the same layout at several different sites.

Please note:  THE DAILY DIGI does not have paid sponsors, we do not accept paid (or traded) forms of advertising on our site from other sites, services, or designers, nor do we have affiliates.  No coupons or discounts were asked for or used in the printing of these layouts.  I have only ever printed at Costco and Winkflash before printing layouts for this review.

I set up accounts at each printer under a different name and had the layouts shipped to a different address other than my own.  All, in the hopes, that I could provide you with the most accurate and unbiased information to help you pick the best printer for you.

On every layout, I ordered a matte or lustre finish, this is just my personal preference.  I also chose the “no correction” or “auto correct off” option at each site.

This is the layout I had printed, all supplies are by SirScrapalot:

Results

These printers’ results are in alphabetical order.  I rated each site in the following ways:

Intimidation Factor: How intimidated I felt about the site in general, before even setting up an account or uploading.
None = not intimidating
Mild = mild intimidation
High = I was very intimidated and if it would not have been for doing a review for TDD, I would have quit.

Ease of upload: How easy was it to find the upload area and select the photos for uploading.
5= Awesome very easy, no problems
3= okay
1= Pretty bad,, lots of problems

Photo colors: How true the colors printed compared to my calibrated monitor.
5= perfect
3= somewhat different
1= very different

Paper/element details and colors: How true the paper and element colors were compared to my calibrated monitor.
5= perfect
3= somewhat different
1= very different

There will be some other information included in each review, such as amount of time for uploading and the amount of time it took me to complete an order from start (getting to the site) to finish (hitting submit).  I am also including bits of information that I think you might want to know.  Let’s get started…

Artscow

Intimidation Factor: mild, there are so many products on the homepage that it was a bit overwhelming.

Ease of Upload: 2, it took me forever to find where to upload the photos and how to purchase individual layouts.  I finally found them in the canvas printing section.

It took me 2 minutes and 13 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  It was 20 minutes to place the order from the very start to the finish.  Choices on finishes were glossy or matte.  I printed an 8×8 matte and 12×12 matte. 8×8’s are $1.99 and 12×12’s are $2.99. The shipping charges were $6.98.

Photo colors: 4, photos were a little darker.

Paper colors: 4, colors were a little less saturated.  Detail on all paper colors was kept (even white).

Other information: The prints came packaged in a tube and I didn’t think I would ever be able to flatten them.  They did flatten out when I set them inside my scanner for awhile but are still wavy.

The most odd thing to me was how they trimmed my layout. The borders on both sides of my layout were the same, but on this print it was wider on the left side than the right. The border on the top and bottom on my layout were the same as well, but the border on the print was slightly larger on the bottom than the top.

Costco

Note:  I have been printing at Costco since they started offering 12×18 prints in my area…at least 4 years. So, I can’t really rate the intimidation factor.  However, almost two years ago, they went through a site redesign and I have had problems uploading ever since.  I usually select the one-by-one upload option and do okay.  You also need to select the high-resolution option because the “faster” option (low res) is selected by default.  Because of these things, I would have to give Costco a 2 on ease of upload because it’s not easy and I have been using them for a long time.

It took me 1minute 23 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  I always pick my orders up.  They contract out orders that are shipped, so this review does not include orders shipped.  12×12’s are $2.99 each, 8×8’s are $1.49 each.  When I place an order for layouts, I usually put 3) 12×12’s on a 12×36 canvas for $4.99 ($1.66 per 12×12) and take the CD in to be printed, then I come home and trim. I have also been known to print out several 6×6’s at one time (on a 12×18 canvas or a 12×36) for my kids to have copies.

Photo colors: 4 photos were darker and seemed off on the hue a bit as well.  They also seemed blurry.

Paper colors: 4 colors were a little less saturated, detail on papers were kept, however they seemed blurry.

Other information: Being able to upload and then go pick up layouts the same day is really wonderful!!  The flexibility of sizes is a bonus too, not to mention the prices!  I was a little surprised at the blurriness especially when compared to the other prints.

MyPicTales

Intimidation Factor: none

Ease of Upload: 3, I didn’t like having to enter ALL of my information (including shipping) before even uploading anything.

It took me 1 minute and 56 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  My only option was a 12×12, no finish or paper options, these prints are 99cents.  It took me 11 minutes from start to finish to place an order.

Photo colors: 1, photos were very, very washed out and looked like they had been lightened quite a bit

Paper colors: 1, just as the photos, the papers seemed to be washed out, but not as bad as the photos were.  There was no texture detail on the white paper behind the journaling.

Other information: The paper is a cardstock quality (matte).  I don’t think the paper would have bothered me if the images would have been closer to what was on my computer, because once it is in a sheet protector, it’s not that noticeable.  Overall, there was a really big difference in appearance though.

MPix

Intimidation Factor: mild, because it is a site directed at professional photographers and it was a little intimidating at first. Once I got going though, it was not too much different than any other site.

Ease of Upload: 5, no problems at all

It took me 2 minutes 10 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  It took me 15 minutes to place an order from start to finish.  It was $5.95 for a 12×12 on “e-paper”, $2.75 for an 8×8 on “e-paper” (which I think stands for endura) with lustre coating, and $1.99 for an 8×8 on “e-paper”.

Photo colors: 2, quite a bit darker than what was on my monitor

Paper colors: 2, were darker as well, but the worst was that there was absolutely no texture on the white papers behind the journaling on the 12×12’s.  There was a slight amount of texturing on the 8×8’s, but only if you looked really closely.

Other information: Based on price and the fact that Mpix caters to photographers, I thought the printing results would be much better than they were.  I thought I would be struggling with the choice of paying so much to print awesome layouts.  I was sadly disappointed.

Persnickety Prints

Intimidation Factor: none

Ease of Upload: 5, I really liked that I only had to enter my name, email address, and password to get started.  Their uploader is java based and my vista and java don’t play nicely, so I had to do the one-by-one uploader, but not a big deal and not their fault.

It took me 2 minutes and 16 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  The 12×12 premium matte paper was $1.99 ($1.79 after 200 prints).  The 8×8 premium matte was 99cents.  It took me a total of 14 minutes to place the order from start to finish.

Photo colors: 5 the colors in the photo were almost perfect!

Paper colors: 4, there was some loss of detail on the white paper.

Other information: The black journaling seemed to have a yellowish/greenish cast to it.  I checked my black in Photoshop and it was a true black.  I’m not sure if this is because of their printing process or just something done differently on my layout.  This order was received the quickest out of all of them.

Scrapbook Pictures

Intimidation Factor: none

Ease of Upload: 2, It took me quite a bit of time and clicking to figure out where to go to upload layouts.  Once I uploaded the layouts, it took me a very long time to figure out how to order the different sizes and finishes of the same layout.

It took me 1 minute and 55 seconds to upload on 3600×3600 layout.  The 12×12 matte layout was $1.49, a 12×12 pro matte was $1.69, 8×8 matte was 89cents, 8×8 pro matte was $1.49.  It took me 30 minutes to place an order from start to finish.

Photo colors: Photos were very dark compared to my monitor.

Paper colors: 4, slightly darker in color, no loss in detail on white paper.

Other information: The pro paper is a heavier weight paper, but the images were more true in color on the regular paper.  All things considered, I would skip the extra cost for pro paper and stick with the regular.

Ordering on Scrapbook Picture was the most frustrating of any of the sites.  It did not seem to be very intuitive to me.  Not only that, but after I received my orders from all of the other sites, but one, I decided to check on my order and somehow, I didn’t send it.  I really thought I had sent the order because I had to enter so much information.  I finished placing the order, but then when the order came it wasn’t right.  I got two 12×12’s on regular matte paper and no 8×8’s.  I called them and they had the whole order reprinted and I got it 5 days later.

Scrapping Simply

Intimidation Factor: none

Ease of Upload: 5

It took me 2 minutes and 2 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  It took me 12 minutes to place my order from start to finish.  I ordered a 8×8 matte 99cents and a 12×12 matte for $1.99

Photo colors: 5, colors on photos were perfect

Paper colors: 3, colors were almost exact, but there was a total loss of detail on the white paper.

Other information: As I was writing this, I went back to the site to check on something and it looks like you have to install some software in order to upload and order layouts.  I clicked on the button for those that would prefer not to install the software and I got an error.  I decided to install the software (only because I am writing this, otherwise it would have been a no-go for me), but then it also wanted me to update my browser.  At that point, I quit.

Winkflash

note: this site had a total redesign since I ordered Christmas cards there 3 years ago, so it was like starting over.

Intimidation Factor: none

Ease of Upload: 3, I thought at first that I could upload without registering, because the site let me upload when I clicked on upload.  Where that layout went, I will never know because they never asked me for my information after that.  Then, I had to register and go through the whole upload process again.  Instead of taking you to an upload area, it should redirect you to a register/login page.

It took me 57 seconds to upload one 3600×3600 layout.  I could only see an 8×8 option (matte or glossy) for $1.49 with 89cents shipping on that one layout.  It took me 13 minutes to place the order

Photo colors: 3, darker and more red in tone as well.

Paper colors: 3, darker and some loss of detail on the white journaling paper.

Other information: The trimming on this one was really odd as well.  It’s almost as if it were printed full-bleed on the top and left edge and then the right and bottom were trimmed to make the 8×8 because there was more trimmed from those edges.

White House Custom Color/WHCC

Intimidation factor: extremely high

I set up an account and they said they would follow up with information on what I needed to do to upload prints.  A week later, I received a letter in the mail, telling me that I must submit test prints before ordering anything.  After you upload test prints, they mail them to you, you make sure your computer likes their printer (by installing profiles and all of that fun stuff) THEN you can order some layouts.  This site caters to professional photographers and I have heard wonderful things about their prints.  I was not able to get the layouts done for this post, but will follow-up when I do.

Where will I be printing?  I think for stuff that I need right away, I will still be printing at Costco.  I will also be saving up my layouts to print with Persnickety.  The colors in the photos and the papers were almost perfect!!  I really was surprised at the differences from printer to printer and how many of them got it wrong.  Persnickety was really the only one that got it all right.

I think I would also like to try Scrapping Simply again, IF they get that redirect fixed so I don’t have to install a bunch of stuff.  They have some great prices on canvases, from what I could see (couldn’t find anything with a link to them to see for sure).

All in all, I was surprised at how well some of the newer printers did (especially Persnickety).  Because so many of my digi friends use Scrapbook Pictures and love them, I expected to love them as well, but the love just wasn’t there… Sorry girls!

Hopefully, this gives you some concrete information that you can use in making your own decisions about which printers you want to try!  I will be back, as promised, with reviews on photobooks/albums.

P.S. Your purchases of THE DIGI FILES go toward paying for posts like this.  If you found this post valuable and have not ever purchased THE DIGI FILES, you might want to start grabbing them! PLUS you get so much good scrapping stuff, how can you lose?

Yesterday, in Wendy’s contributor feature, I told you that she would be here today with a tutorial on installing and using her actions that are included in THE DIGI FILES this month.  This was something I requested from her, because I know actions can be intimidating at first, but once you give them a try, you will quickly become addicted.

If you purchased this month’s Digi Files, you may have noticed some of my actions in your download. For some of you, this may be the first time you’ve ever downloaded an action. Don’t let it intimidate you! We’re going to walk through one of the actions all the way from installing them to using them.

When you unzip your download, you will find several folders organized according to the version of Photoshop or Elements you use. Each folder contains all the files you need to install and run the actions. Let’s take a look at each version and go over how to install. (NOTE: Included with your download is a PDF file that goes over all the installation instructions for each version.)

PHOTOSHOP CS+

There are several ways to install actions in Photoshop. The easiest, however, is to double-click on the ATN file. (I recommend Photoshop be running before you do this.) The actions will be automatically loaded into your Action Palette. To view them, click WINDOW>ACTIONS and scroll to the bottom of the list where your new actions will appear. If the Action Set is collapsed, simply click the arrow to the left of the palette to expand the Set and view all the actions included.

To launch the action:

1. Cick on the action name (ie. WZ_ScrapIt10).

2. Press the play button on the bottom of the palette (the triangle).

PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS (PSE)

Installing actions in Elements is much more difficult, but once you get the hang of it for your version of PSE, you’ll be a pro! The tricky part is matching up your version of PSE with your operating system. In every version of PSE, you will install the action (ATN) and thumbnail (PSD or PNG). In newer versions of PSE (6-8), you can also install a file for placing the actions in categories (XML). Make a note of the files you’ll need from the list below and have them ready to copy into the correct locations.

PSE 4: ATN & PSD thumbnail (one for each action in the set)

PSE 5: ATN & thumbs.PSD thumbnail (one ATN for each action, only one thumbnail total)

PSE 6: ATN, PNG thumbnail, XML (one for each action in the set)

PSE 7 & 8: Classic Mode-ATN, PNG thumbnail, XML (one for each action in the set); Action Player-ATN (only)

1. Before you can install your actions, you must be sure to SHOW HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS. Actions should be installed using the Admin Account.

2. Quit Photoshop Elements.

3. Copy your ATN and thumbnails into the Photo Effects folder. (See the PDF tutorial for the exact location of this folder for your version of PSE and your operating system.

4. If you have PSE 6 or 7, you need to copy your XML file into the Metadata>Layer Styles folder.

5. Now that the files are in place, you need to delete your cache files to force Elements to rebuild the thumbnails. Delete the thumbdatabase.db3 file and the mediadatabase.db3 file. These will be recreated when PSE is started the next time. (To locate your cache files, see the PDF tutorial.)

6. Launch Elements. Click on your Effects Palette and you’ll see the following:

To launch the action:

1. Create a new document in any size.

2. Click on the Photo Effects button.

3. Select the Action Category name from the drop down menu (ie. WZ_ScrapIt).

4. Cick on the action thumbnail (ie. WZ_ScrapIt10). TIP: Hovering your mouse over the thumbnail will show the full action name.

5. Press the APPLY button on the bottom of the palette.

Now that we have loaded our actions and now how to play them, let’s walk through using one of them. We’ll we working with Scrap It {10} and using One Little Bird’s kit from The Digi Files #15. Are you ready? Let’s go!

Using Scrap It {10}

First, let’s talk a smidge about what Scrap It is going to do. Scrap It is a new way of using templates. Basically, the action will lead you through opening and placing each paper, element and photo. You can control the size, placement and shadows as you go. When we are done, we will have a layout based on the layout below.

supplies for layout in preview by ZigZagScrap (collab)

1. Prepare your files. Each Scrap It action comes with a tutorial that has a list of digi supplies you will need. Feel free to make minor substitutions. Scrap It 10 needs:

1 Background paper

1 Paper for upper matte

1 Paper for journaling

1 Paper or bottom matte

1 Frame

1 Element (bottom right of frame)

1 Hanging tag

1 Fastener

1 Element (next to tag)

1 Small Element (next to frame)

Title & Journaling

2. Launch the action. (PSE users be sure to have a blank file open first.) You will see several messages introduction the action. Press CONTINUE.

3. Eventually, you will be asked to select a background paper. Browse to the paper, select it and click OPEN. I choose a green paper. The action opened it, copied and pasted into my new file. (I realized at this point I meant to choose the plum paper. Instead of starting over, I will continue on, and just swap the paper out at the end.)

4. On the next screen, I’m asked for a second paper for the matte. Select one and watch as it’s added to your layout.

5. Next the action asks you to select a light colored paper to go behind the journaling.

6. On the next screen, you will be prompted to add your drop shadow. Adjust the settings to your liking and press OK.

7. Finally, you will be asked for a pattern paper for the bottom matte. Then, adjust the shadow settings again.

8. You will be asked for to select a frame and to add a drop shadow. Then, the action will move your frame. At this point, you can resize it by clicking the corner anchors, or reposition by clicking and dragging. When you are done, press ENTER (or in PSE, click the Green Check mark).

9. Next comes the photo. Select your photo, add the shadow when prompted, then position it under your frame. It’s okay if it sticks out. We’ll crop it later.

10. You will now be asked to crop your image under the frame by contracting the selection. Enter a number large enough to inset from your chosen frame but small enough that it doesn’t contract beyond the frame border. Usually 10-30 pixels works well.

11. Next we’ll start adding elements. Follow the instruction along, selecting the elements, adding shadows and positioning when prompted.

12. After you’ve placed the rest of the elements, the action will add text for the title. Position it. You can edit it when you are done.

13. The action now adds text for the journaling. Finally, you will see a message letting you know the action is complete. Press CONTINUE (PSE users should not press CANCEL or it will cancel the entire action and delete the file.)

14. Your layout is now complete. Edit your journaling and title. Adjust elements, or add additional ones. Or, swap some out if you change your mind. I decided to remove the Title word and use the word art included in the kit. And, I swapped my green background paper out for the plum one. I even moved my elements around a bit. I still might go back to this one and add some more finishing touches.

15. Save your file and you are done!

Actions can help save time and these Scrap It actions are great for creating quick layouts in just 10-15 minutes. If you have any questions, just post a comment and I’ll be back to help! I hope you enjoy these Scrap It actions! I’d love to see the layouts you create with them, so feel free to leave a comment with a link.

P.S. It’s Steph and I just wanted to let you know that our random winner for $10 in product from Studio Wendy is Sandy who said, “Wendy’s actions are amazing! There is only one set for PSE that I don’t have yet, and that is the Scrap It Collection 2. I will be adding that to my collection soon. If you haven’t tried any of her products, please take advantage of the coupon and give them a try. You won’t be disappointed! Her Cluster It and Scrap It sets are real timesavers. Her photo action sets are awesome. The photo book actions and templates are so helpful when you want to print your pages. {Can you tell that I am a huge fan?!!! ;~)} Thanks for the coupon, Wendy!”

I (Katie) have been a digital scrapbooker for almost 5 years now and I quickly learned once I started collecting supplies on my computer that I would need to have a good organization system in place. I tried several different methods before I settled on a folder based approach back in 2007.

I love the system that I use, but I also realize that there are many other ways to effectively organize digital scrapbook supplies so I thought it would be fun to show you 3 different ways to organize so you can find the approach that works best for you!

KATIE’S SYSTEM:

I’m a very visual person, so for me it is nice to have folders set up with preview images. When I open each folder I can quickly glance at what I have stored inside without having to open each individual sub-folder. I store my entire system on an external hard drive to keep my laptop working at top speed. When I’m working on a project (such as all the digi files for the month) I make a copy of that file for my laptop and work from that copy so I don’t have to always have my EHD with me.

My system is probably most useful for the digital scrapbooker that has a BIG collection of supplies from a wide variety of sources. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I have more than 142 GB of digital scrapbooking goodies (not photos or anything else) stored on my EHD – and that’s after I cleaned off tons of older files I wasn’t using! I may or may not have a bit of an addiction. lol!

click to enlarge

Here’s a list of my folder categories:

The numbers in front of each file are to keep them in a certain order since windows likes to organize the folders in numerical and alphabetical order automatically. I wanted the first folders to be related to the months of the year (holidays) so I numbered them that way. I decided to put Birthdays at the beginning of the year.

• 1 Birthday
• 1 Winter
• 2 Valentines and Hearts
• 3 St. Pats
• 4 Easter (even though sometimes Easter is in the 3rd month)
• 6 Summer and Beach (June is the first month of summer)
• 6 Travel and Camping (This just seemed to fit next to the summer and beach file)
• 7 Independence Day
• 8 School/Art/Music (August is back to school month for us)
• 9 Fall
• 10 Halloween
• 11 Thanksgiving
• 12 Xmas

Next I have files of individual elements. I put a 13 in front of all of these so they stay in alphabetical order based on subject; alphas, buttons, frames, etc. So continuing on with my list of files:

• 13 alphabets/numbers/dates
• 13 buttons and brads
• 13 flowers
• 13 frames
• 13 journaling/quotes/tags
• 13 misc. elements (the ones that just don’t fit anywhere else)
• 13 overlays and masks
• 13 ribbons/trims and bows
• 13 shapes and borders
• 13 staples and fasteners
• 13 stitches

My paper and kit files all have a 14 in front of them to keep them nicely in place behind the element files.

• 14 misc. kits  – (for all the kits that didn’t fit into other categories and yes, it’s a big file, but that’s ok!)
• 14 paper prints and packs
• 14 paper solids

And a few more misc. categories

• 15 templates more on this file below *
• 16 albums, calendars, and quick pages
• 17 actions (even after you load them, it’s helpful to have a place for the instructions)
• 18 CU (commercial use stuff from my designing days)
• 19 TDD – The Daily Digi I keep all the past Digi Files in here rather than separate them out. They could also be filed under 14 Misc. Kits, but I like quick access to TDD stuff since I’m part of the team here.

*A further explanation of my template folder:

This is probably the area that took me the longest to organize but it is the one that has had the biggest payoff for me! If you read my Power Scrapping Secrets article you will see how having templates sorted by number of pictures they hold can save you oodles of time. I will give you a peek into my template folder so you can see what I’m talking about.

click to enlarge

I have filed all of my templates by the amount of photos they are designed for. I realize that some templates might fit in more than one file depending on how you use them but I just tried to stay basic with my filing system. No need to over-think this and you can easily browse through a few folders in just minutes. I can’t tell you how useful this system has been. Even if you think the rest of my digi organization is bunk, I bet you will find this part useful.

These folders are not pretty when organized this way, but they are very functional! When I go to create a page that needs to have 3 photos on it, I just open up that folder and start browsing. Even if I don’t use a template, it at least gets my creativity working.

I don’t use subfolders here and all I keep is the preview of the template and the actual template file right next to. Sometimes I have to rename them to get them to stay next to each other in the file. Every once in a while I have to make a jpeg image so I have a preview of the template so if you are a template designer – PLEASE include a preview of each template! My very favorite templates are in TIFF format because you only need that one file to serve as a preview and the actual template. This really isn’t as complicated as it sounds – basically, I just like to see what each template looks like at one glance through the folder it relates to.

If you are interested in how I organize my digital photos you might want to check out this blog post.

As I download digital scrapbooking goodies, I unzip them to be sure I have everything included in the purchase (a good idea in case you need to contact the store because of a mistake). Then I leave all my downloaded kits in that same folder for about a week, or until I have a little bit of time to file them in the right folders. When I have some time I just move them all the appropriate places. It doesn’t take long and it’s a task I can do while I’m talking on the phone or even watching television.

…

ALI’S SYSTEM:

In Ali Edwards’ Scrapbooking With Your Computer series she shared her own organizing system that is also folder-based. (She also has some step by step instructions on how to download and unzip files and even has something fun for you to download!) I asked Ali if I could show you her system here and she was happy to share it with all of us.

Ali uses a MAC and her folder system is not too different than my own, but she displays hers in a list format instead of a folder view. She also keeps her folder system on an External Hard Drive and backs it up to another drive as well.

Click to enlarge

Here’s the list of her folder categories:

Actions
Albums
Alphabets
Brads, Etc
Christmas
Embellishments (includes subfolders: Butterflies, Circles, Clocks/Time, Dates, Element Combination Packs, Hearts, Metals (no words), Ribbons/Strips, Stars, Tags, Words)
Journal Templates
Layered Templates
Masks
Negative Sleeves
Overlays
Paper_Patterns
Paper_Solids
Photo or Frame Clusters
Stitched

For a full explanation of her system, be sure to read her blog post because she does a great job of keeping it simple and to the point.

Ali is still fairly new to digital scrapbooking and probably doesn’t scrap with such a wide variety of designers like I do, so her more simplified approach is probably more than adequate for her needs. Her system is best suited for someone with a smaller stash or one who prefers a minimalist approach.

…

STEPH’S SYSTEM:

I (Steph) tried many different approaches to organizing until I found one that worked for me.  I tried similar systems to both Katie’s and Ali’s, but they didn’t work for me.  I think that’s one important things to know, not every system works for everyone!  You may need to try a few different things until you find one that works for you.

One thing I realized early on, was that when I wanted a certain product, I could often remember WHO designed it (that’s why putting my kits in files by theme didn’t work for me, nor did breaking up the kits by product type).  I also found that I usually always start a layout with photos and/or a story THEN come the supplies.  When I start adding supplies to a layout, I am usually looking for certain colors that will coordinate with the photos that I am about to scrap.  Those things are what helped me figure out a way to organize that works well for me.

I keep everything (scrap supplies or not) on an EHD.  On my EHD I have different folders for: Actions, Fonts, Styles, commercial use, and Scrabook Downloads.  My Scrapbook Downloads folder is where pretty much everything goes (all kits, papers, elements, etc.).  Inside that folder, I have folders by designer name, because when I am looking for a specific product, that is what usually comes to mind first…the person that created it (there have been a few instances when I put things in a store folder, but that was before I started my “New Downloads” folder…more on that in a minute).  Here’s what that looks like (this is not my entire collection….shhhhh don’t tell):

Anything I buy that is created by that designer goes in their folder with their name on it.  If it is a collab., then I usually just pick one designer’s folder to throw it in.

When I download new products, they go into my “New Downloads” folder. Once everything is downloaded, I use UnZipThemAll to unzip all of the zips at once.  Then, I keep the products in there until I have time to go through my steps of organization.  Here’s what that folder looks like right now:

When I am ready to download, I simply go into each folder, right click on the preview, copy it and then go to my {Digital Supplies Previews} folder and past them there (this is why I love designers that include BOTH a FOLDER preview AND a preview with their name and the kit name on it). I also copy all of these kits to my network drive, so I know they are there as well (two in house copies and an online back up as well).

This is easiest to do if you have TWO windows open, one in the New Downloads Folder and one in the Preview folder.  You can see from the above image that I also have a {Hawaiian Theme} folder.  I have a Hawaii vacation album that I have been working on FOREVER, so I also put previews that are tropical related OR have colors I know I can use, in that folder.  This is what part of my {Hawaiian Theme} folder looks like:

Here you can see part of my other previews folder:

This makes it really easy to just scroll through my previews looking for the colors that will work with my photos!  It also makes it easier to SEE what I have!  When I find what I want to use, the designer and kit name are included in the preview (sometimes I do have to rename after pasting).

There are many different organizing options, the trick is to find what works for you, your personality, and your scrapping style.

TO TAG OR NOT TO TAG… THAT IS THE QUESTON:

It might surprise some of you to see that all 3 digital scrapbooking systems I’ve shown you here don’t involve any tagging. When Steph and I were discussing this in preparation for today’s post, we both made the comment that we would just rather spend the time it would take to tag our supplies for other things like scrapping. I believe that tagging photos is worthwhile (so you can find pictures of a certain family member), but for me it just isn’t worth the time investment to worry about it for my supplies.

My own collection of digital supplies is probably one of the biggest out there (not to brag lol it’s just that I’ve been doing this for a long time and I’m a HUGE junkie!) and I honestly don’t spend more than a few minutes looking through my stash before I find what I was looking for – or something even better. My files are organized and I can easily see what I have to work with. (See Steph’s P.S. below)

Finally, I want to emphasize that there is no “right’ or “wrong” way to organize your supplies. Spend some time thinking what your digital scrapbooking process is and what kind of workflow you prefer. It’s important to set up a system that is easy to maintain so you don’t have to spend all your creative time filing supplies. The goal is to find what you are looking and get to the fun part of creating!

P.S. It’s Steph again and I just wanted to add a note that I had a conference call with the folks at ACDSee yesterday and they assure me that tagging doesn’t take that long (I remain a little skeptical though).  I bought and downloaded their software and you can rest assured that IF it is fast and works well for organization, you will hear about it from me.  Honestly, having my digi supplies all organized and tagged in a program like ACDSee is a dream, but I don’t want to spend a lot of time doing it.  I will keep you posted!

We would love you to share your method of organizing that works best for you!

This is the second post in the series about creating photobooks and albums.  The first post was all about planning photobooks and albums by Liz and Audrey.  Still to come, we will have indepth reviews about different printing services (for both albums and individual layouts).

Today’s post is by Wendyzine @Scrapbookgraphics.  Wendy is my go-to-girl for any actions and anything printing related.  I have always been impressed by how much she knows!  I asked her to share her history in this industry with us and this is what she said:

After college, I landed my first job at an advertising agency. I learned hands-on graphic design under a talented art director. From there, I went on to work as a graphic designer for a corporation with an in-house print shop. Several years later, I moved to a prepress shop where I have spent the last 13 years preparing files for printing presses in addition to my graphic design tasks. When I fell in love with digital scrapbooking, photobooks were a natural fit for me!

If there is one thing Wendy knows, it is printing!  So enjoy this resource and bookmark it for later reference when you are ready to upload a photobook of your own!

Photobooks are perfect for those who want a finished product in their hands without needing to lift a pair of scissors or open a 3-ring binder. For many digital scrappers, especially those without paper scrapping experience, this is an attractive option. For others, it’s simply a really nice way to gift a scrapbook. Photobooks are truly a stunning product and nothing gives quite the sense of satisfaction as finally touching your scrapbook pages in your hands.  If you’re leaning toward photobooks but are a little intimidated about the terminology or process, I’m here to help! Let’s unbind the photobook process and discover how fun creating a photobook can be!

Choosing A Printer

There are a multitude of printers online who offer photobook printing. As with any product, quality and price vary considerably from printer to printer. So, how do you choose? First, I recommend reading some reviews.
DigiScrapInfo
Make Your Own Photobooks

Pay attention to quality, ease of use and turnaround time. Take a look at their prices. Cheaper is not always better. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t find a good deal either! Search for coupons or other specials.

Once you narrow the list down, take a look at the book sizes offered. As a digital scrapbooker, you are likely to scrap in traditional scrapper sizes (8×8 or 12×12) or letter/A4. So, you will want to choose a printer that will allow you to print your layouts without having to rework the pages too much. If you scrap square, look for printers that offer true square sizes. And, pay careful attention, just because a printer calls their book a 12×12, doesn’t mean that is the actual book dimensions. One printer, for example, actually has a finished size of 11.75×11.7 while another is 13×12. If you want an unusual book size, this may narrow down your printer choices considerably. For example, very few printers offer tabloid (11×17) or portrait size book. Brag books can come in many different sizes.

Now that you’ve read the reviews and narrowed down the book sizes, check out the cover options. The basic cover options include standard hard cover (usually leatherette or linen, though leather and suede can be optional, with or without window), custom hard cover (cardboard covers wrapped with your printed image, also know as case-wrapped, with or without dust jacket), wirebound, softcover (also known as perfect bound).

Finally, consider the software you will be using to assemble your book pages. Although you may create your digital scrapbooking pages in software like Photoshop, Elements, Paint Shop Pro or even Creative Memories, you will need to save or export your pages as a JPG or PDF and import them into the printer’s software. There are 2 basic types of software: online and downloaded. Online options don’t install any software on your computer, but require that you be connected to the internet to work on your book. Your projects are stored online. Downloaded software allows you to work on your books from your computer and stores the books on your hard drive. There is no right or wrong software, but you might find yourself more comfortable with one over another.

Once you’ve considered all the reviews, chosen a book size, cover type and examined the software, you are probably ready to choose a printer! Now what?

Printer Specs

The next step is to look at your printer’s specifications. Most will have specific size requirements for your pages. And, if you do not size your layouts ahead of time, their software will enlarge your pages to fit, which can result in some unwanted trimming on one or more sides of your layout. Unfortunately, finding specifications on the printer’s site may not be the easiest thing in the world. If you cannot find the specs, try a web search, email the printer, or contact me and I’m happy to assist if I can. There are 3 things you want to pay attention to when looking at specifications:

BLEED SIZE: This is the actual size of the file you should upload. The bleed size includes extra background that will be trimmed off when the book is cut and bound.

TRIM SIZE: This is the size of the page once the book is trimmed.

SAFE MARGINS: Keep your journaling and photos within the safe margins to avoid accidental trimming if the books shifts during trimming. In addition, on the inside fold of the book, there is often 1/4″ of the page that is hidden due to the gluing and stitching process. (The new lay-flat book option avoids this problem, but this is a very new option and may not be available from many printers yet.)

Saving Your Pages

Now that you are armed with your specifications, it’s time to take a critical eye at your layouts and save them for uploading. Almost all printers accept JPGs, and most recommend sRGB color profile. If you cannot generate a JPG with your software, see if the printer can accept a PDF. Before your eyes glaze over and you admit defeat in the wake of dozens or hundreds of layouts that might need to be resized, let me make life a little easier for you! I have created actions for Photoshop and Elements that allow you to check for bleed, resize your layouts or even add textured borders. If you want to do it all on your own, without the help of actions, the following steps are what you would need to do:

You want to check your layouts to see if they have enough margins for bleed to avoid resizing your layouts. That’s a simple process if you are armed with the above specifications.
1. Open your JPG.
2. Make your IMAGE SIZE the BLEED SIZE.
3. Make your CANVAS SIZE the TRIM SIZE. (This is what your book will look like once it is trimmed.)
4. Make your CANVAS SIZE the SAFE MARGIN SIZE. (This will show what might get cut off and hidden in the book.)

If your layout looks good after Step 3, and nothing is trimmed off after Step 4, you can upload your JPG as is without any additional work. Most printer software that accepts JPGs will automatically size the page for you.

If during step 3 or 4, you find that important photos are being trimmed or cut off, you should consider adding bleed to your layout.

Adding bleed is as easy as the steps above if you have your layered files.
1. Open your layered file.
2. Make your CANVAS SIZE the BLEED SIZE.
3. Select any background paper layers, and resize them slightly (usually adding about 5-6%) so that they complete cover the canvas to the edge.
4. Drag guide rules in to the safe margins (in most cases, this amounts to 3/8″ from the canvas edge, but check your specs).
5. Make sure any photos and journaling are inside this area. If not, select all the non-background layers at once, group them and reduce them slightly.
6. Save your JPG!

If you do not have your layered file, consider placing your layout on a coordinating background paper or nice textured black background. Simply size your background paper to the Bleed Size, drag your layout on top and size it down to the Safe Margins.

Assembling The Photobook

Now that you have your pages saved in JPG format, it’s time to download the software, or create your online account and assemble your book. For online software, you will be prompted to upload your pages to an “album.” After you do, you can start your “project.” Simply add the pages to your project from your album. Drag and drop your pages onto the interface and reorder them if necessary. Downloaded software works in a similar way. Simply import the JPGs to the software, drag and drop them on the pages. Once you are done, you can submit your book to the printer at which point the book will be compressed and uploaded to the printer’s website. At this point, you can choose any options related to your order and process your payment.

TIPS
1. Turn off COLOR CORRECTION. Most printers offer automatic color correction in their software. This option works wonderfully on photographs, but not so well on scrapbook pages. The reason is that your scrapbook pages often have a wide range of colors throughout. Sometimes they may convey a color cast (if you scrap a pink page for example). The algorithm that the automatic color correction uses do not understand the difference between a scrap page and a layout. So, it’s best to turn it off.

2. What does 20 pages mean? 20 pages is 20 layouts, or 10 sheets of paper, front and back. Pages must be added in sets of two (a front and a back). If you only add one page, an extra blank page will be added to make up the difference.

3. Can I use my layouts from my web gallery? Web-ready layouts are not recommended for printing. You should go back to your original layered Photoshop files, created at 300 ppi for best quality. If you do not have a full-size original file to work with, consider a small brag book size as a compromise.

Wendy’s “Toolkits” are available by book size and for many popular photobook printers including Shutterfly, MyPicTales, InkuBook and Winkflash. These toolkits will be on sale for 30% off for a limited time.

Not only has she done the specifications research for you, but the actions will make very quick work of processing your layouts. Tutorials on using the actions are included. For non-Photoshop users, she offers template only toolkits that will help you easily match the specifications for your chosen printer. (Her toolkits also come with cover templates which are often the most challenging part of creating books.)

P.S. Vickie was randomly selected from those that left comments on SuzyQ’s post yesterday and won a $10 GC to SuzyQ Scraps store!  Congratulations and check your inbox! – Steph