Digital Scrapbooking

Digital scrapbooking is the term for the creation of a new 2D artwork by re-combining various graphic elements. It is a form of scrapbooking that is done using a personal computer, digital or scanned photos and computer graphics software. It is a relatively new form of the traditional print scrapbooking.

Digital scrapbooking kits are available to purchase and download at many websites that specialize in the craft. Kits contain graphics and word-art and are usually themed and color-coordinated. They usually consist of a mix of background images and "cut out" images containing alpha channels. Once a kit has been download to the computer, it can then be used over and over again to make new scrapbook pages (scrapbook layouts) within the software program that one chooses to use, often in combination with the users's own family photographs, scanned keepsakes and other elements scanned on a flatbed scanner. Scanning is usually done at 300dpi, to make the resulting images suitable for print.

Carnival digital scrapbooking kit

Kits are sometimes licensed differently from the sort of traditional royalty-free stock of the sort that can be purchased per-item at online stock photography sites. Some kit packs will be wholly royalty-free, but some kit makers may restrict usage to non-commercial work only. Some may specifically forbid the sale of commercial greetings cards and gift tags that may be made with their kits. Licencing may vary from kit to kit, even from the same maker. Some kits include re-colored public domain material. In contrast to stock, creators of digital scrapbooking kits often require a credit or byline to indicate that their image elements have been used in a new creation.

The traditional scrapbooking market appears to have declined in the USA since 2010, probably due to the recession, and digital scrapbooking (being potentially a much cheaper form of scrapbooking) may have increased accordingly.

Digital scrapbooking software

The main software programs that are typically used are Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Paintshop Pro and Gimp. Some people animate the images created with their scrapbook kits with software such as CrazyTalk Animator. Others write stories to their images and create digital storybooks, which they publish as print books via various popular print-on-demand services.

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