Digital Scrapbooking Software - Which to Select?

approaching digital scrapbooking for the first time, your immediate challenge is very likely to be - what software should I use? This article aims to help you understand the different types of digital scrapbooking software available, some of the "must have" features and how to match the many opportunities to suit your personal working style.

So, how should you decide which digital scrapbooking software to use? From the bird perspective, there are 3 types:

• scrapbook layout program
  
• photo editing package
  
• to create an online photo album service

for the people coming New scrapbooking, or simply looking for a fast way to easily share designs with friends and family online photo albums can be a quick and easy way to start.

However, if you prefer an outlet for their creative abilities, or if you are an experienced paper scrapper, you'll probably want to have more control over all aspects of its design, and be looking for the highest artistic functionality of your digital scrapbooking software. Then you should consider software or scrapbook layout, or the full function of photo-editing program.

Let's recap the basics ... For digital scrapbooking, and a "must have" methods:

• image upload images to a computer
  
• to manipulate your photos
  
• to create pages that can include pictures, photos, journaling text, audio commentary, video clips
  
• to save pages easily, safely and securely
  
• to share your site through the media of your choice

1 Digital scrapbooking layout software

layout programs allow you to easily and quickly installed a digital scrapbook page pre-made graphics, photos, and journaling. They also help organize your digital photos, page themes and journaling.

Here are some examples:

• MemoryMixer of Lasting Impressions ($ 50 PC and Mac)
  
• Polaroid My Memories Suite ($ 40 PC and Mac)
  
• Scrapbook Factory Deluxe from Nova ($ 40 PC only)
  
• digital scrapbook by Deluxe from Serif ($ 50 PC only)

, however, look closely at the product descriptions. Some layout programs are still missing features that most digital scrapbookers use. For example, some do not support transparent PNG files, they are not able to at least 200ppi for quality printing, or do not have the ability to shadow. If you are important to you, check carefully.

2 Photo editing programs

These are more powerful photo-editing programs and they work for the creation of digital elements, but you'll probably find that they learn. Some popular examples:

• Adobe Photoshop Elements ($ 75) PC and Mac, or Adobe Photoshop CS4 ($ 250)
  
• Corel Paint Shop Pro ($ 100 PC only)
  
• Ulead PhotoImpact ($ 100 PC only)
  
• Apple Arpeture 3 (Mac only) ($ 200)

If you believe a photo editing program is the right way to go, we'd recommend Photoshop Elements since its very widely used, available on PC and Mac and has more tutorial support than any other digital scrapbooking software.