Just lately I am hearing the words ‘digital scrapbooking’ more and more, but what exactly is it? Is it as good as normal scrapbooking? Does it cost more or will it save you money?

I have been doing some research and if you, like me want to know a little more about digital scrapbooking please read on.

Digital scrapbooking is a relatively new trend to scrapbook enthusiast but it is becoming increasingly popular. Digital scrapbooking is a way in which scrapbookers are using a computer to create scrapbook page layouts or to enhance a page they are creating on paper. This could mean anything from editing pictures to creating their very own printable scrapbook paper.

Using a computer to edit photos before adding them to your pages allows you to cut out parts of the picture that are not relevant or to zoom in on a certain aspect of the photo. You can also edit red eye or even change the size and shape of the picture before it is printed.

Digital scrapbooking allows you to create a scrapbook page and save it on your computer or a memory stick rather than having an album that you physically look through. This has many advantages including saving space around the home where you would normally have to store your scrapbook supplies and also the digital scrapbook pages can be passed onto others via email.

Although creating a scrapbook page on a computer seems like a neat and tidy way to produce a scrapbook, most scrapbook enthusiasts tend to use digital scrapbooking to enhance their traditional style scrapbook pages rather than create one purely on the computer.

There are so many different digital scrapbooking software packages available that will help you produce amazing fonts and also allow you to custom-build digital scrapbooking elements with pre-made, ready-to-build layers.

Digital scrapbooking also gives you the opportunity to either keep your scrapbook pages on your computer or you can print them if you so wish. A few things you may need to consider is that you would need to purchase a large printer if you wanted to print your scrapbook pages on a 12 x 12 scale.

If you do decide to print a scrapbook page you have created using digital scrapbook software the same rules apply as always when it comes to using acid and lignin free paper. You may want to jazz up the page with some embellishments as a printed page will be flat and won’t have the same 3D effect as a traditional scrapbook page.

All in all digital scrapbooking is becoming increasing popular and in my opinion a great addition to the scrapbooking world. I personally prefer to create a conventional page with all my favourite embellishments attached to it. But I would still use digital scrapbooking to print scrapbook quotes or even to design the page on the computer before creating it on paper.