Printing Your Digital Layouts - Make Them Real

I dont know about you but Im an old fashioned girl. I like to be able to touch my scrapbook pages in printed form. Looking at them on the PC screen just doesnt do it for me. Im sorry, until theyre printed out theyre just not real.

But I dont want to go to the trouble and expense of taking my 1212 inch layout files to a professional printer to get it done. I want instant gratification.

However, as is the case with most of you I expect, I only have a regular A4 or Letter width printer.

So I recommend, when you have completed your layout, you resize it to 88 inches (in PSE4, Image>Resize>Image Size and change the height and width fields) and print it on your regular printer. Dont save the reduced size unless you want to keep the file at 88. I just resize, print and then use the Undo button to get back to my 1212 size. I use glossy or satin finish Photo paper and I adjust the printer settings for this and print at the highest quality. Let the ink dry properly (usually about an hour), then just trim off the white edges and there you have your digital layoutreal!

Now theres a few things you can do with your print out:

• Slip it into an 88 album (make sure it is in a protective sleeve, or the print will rub and wear off. And let it fully dry off for 24 hours before putting into the protective sleeve or the plastic will stick to the print.)
• Mount it on a 1212 piece of cardstock and store it with your other hand scrapped pages (if you are bi-scraptual)
• Mount it on a canvas or in a frame and hang on the wall (makes a lovely gift)
• Or, my personal favourite, combine the two scrapbooking worlds by adding some real embellishments such as brads, silk flowers or ribbons to it to give it an extra level of dimension.

I find that the reduction of size from 1212 to 88 has very little impact on the quality of the layout (especially if you scrap at a minimum of 300 dpi). Its probably a good idea to use a crisp clear font style if youre going to include a lot of journaling or at least use a reasonable font size (but youd have to do that anyway if you want to read it clearly on the screen).

And now your virtual creation is real.

Karen Bellamy is a digital as well as a traditional scrapbooker from Australia. She writes the Scraps of Mind blog which she describes as:
A feast of Scrapbooking information and tutorials for both the Digital Scrapbooker and the Traditional Paper Scrapbooker. Seasoned with Antiques & Collectibles, Music inspired, and Blog Presentation articles to add some extra spice. All served up with a light hearted and fun style.

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