[heather_dw]

I've been scrapping in 8.5x11 because I figured that would be the easiest, since it's "paper" sized. I was looking at printing options so that when I'm ready, I know what kind of costs I'm looking at. I have to tell you that what I've found out is that I have to resize to 8x8 and then print on an 8x10 sheet, which at everywhere I look, is 3.00 a sheet. That makes digi scrapping a lot less inviting to me. I mean, I was planning to make digi album gifts, but printing out 3 bucks a sheet plus the cost of the album, it seems like it's not all that cost effective.

So.. what's the best printing option and size to scrap in for cost/versatility? I don't have a printer and won't be able to get one until after the holidays, most likely.

[Cheri T]

scrappingsimply.com lists 8.5 x 11 printing at $1.89 per page. And they have about 2 sales a year of significant percentages off. I have used them for 99% of my digi printing and have been extremely satisfied. They print on REAL photo paper. Fuji Crystal Archive paper and they have matte surface available which is my favorite.

[teecee]

Hi Heather, here is a thread you may want to look at. I know it looks like it's primarily for 12x12 printing options, but I would think some of the places mentioned would also print 8.5x11 or 8x10. In addition to the first post, you may also want to read through the thread for some other ideas. HTH

[mbc72]

I think many people that scrap 8.5x11 do it so printing at home is easier. I always thought 8x10 would be a fairly cost effective size to scrap because most places print that size anyway, but apparently I am the only one since I have never seen albums that size. I personally scrap 12x12, but print my books in 8x8.

There are lots more places to get your pages printed out there, good luck finding a more cost effective one, $3.00 a page does seem kind of high.

[heather_dw]

Thanks!

As for albums, would it be easier/better if I did 8x8 or are 8.5x11 albums easy to get too? It's been a while since I bought an album

[heather_dw]

mbc72, on 10 November 2011 - 06:14 PM, said:

I think many people that scrap 8.5x11 do it so printing at home is easier. I always thought 8x10 would be a fairly cost effective size to scrap because most places print that size anyway, but apparently I am the only one since I have never seen albums that size. I personally scrap 12x12, but print my books in 8x8.

There are lots more places to get your pages printed out there, good luck finding a more cost effective one, $3.00 a page does seem kind of high.

Does it distort the image to resize it from 12x12 to 8x8? I'm wondering if I need to start scrapping in 12x12 and resize mine as well

[Sara Arell]

Heather, I print mine at home on photo paper, but I have taken mine to Staples here and I go when they are having a "sale" - I've gotten some pages printed there for a little under two dollars a page on 8.5 x 11. I watch for the sales and just take my file to them and they do a great job. Do you have a Staples there?

Alot of members here do 8 x 8 albums, I think.

[scrappinchar]

I started out digi-scrapping at 8.5x11. I was printing them myself. Along the way I switched to the square designs. I create a layout at 12x12 and save it that way. Then I resize the jpeg to 8x8 for printing. I still print them myself on the 8.5x11 photo paper. Then trim them out. When I was doing 8.5x11, I was able to find scrapbooks to put them in at Hobby Lobby and Michael's...but that's been about 4 years ago or so. I'm not sure what the printing costs are, though, at printing places.

By the way, the resizing doesn't distort things...but it (obviously) makes them smaller. You wind up adjusting to knowing how it's going to look printed. Like, you would use a larger font size than you think needed because it will be smaller when printed. Hope that makes sense.

[Ro]

If you have a printer that prints edge to edge, you're set. And, as people have described, there are many options for getting printed. Best of all, they it ib office supply binders in office supply page protectors. Cheap, you van decorate the binders if you want ti get fancy.

I have a whole shelf of albums like that.

Hope that helps!

[MariJ]

Hi Heather - do you have a Costco Warehouse by you ? THey print 8x10, 8x12,8x8 at $1.49 each.
I know Sam's, Bj's prints also (don't know the prices) and you can upload online.

Also, you might want to check out places like Snapfish, Shutterfly - even walmart where you can upload pages and have them make the book for you.
With sales, they are sometimes very reasonable. Hope that's helpful.

[Sara Arell]

Ro, on 10 November 2011 - 08:54 PM, said:

If you have a printer that prints edge to edge, you're set. And, as people have described, there are many options for getting printed. Best of all, they it ib office supply binders in office supply page protectors. Cheap, you van decorate the binders if you want ti get fancy.

I have a whole shelf of albums like that.

Hope that helps!

Heather, this is exactly how I do it! I have a printer that prints to the edge, I put my layouts in document protectors and put them in a Staples binder, the kind that has plastic sleeves on the front and back - I make a layout for the cover, insert it into the plastic and sometimes I even make a strip for the spine. Easy Pease.

[PBarnes]

Another online source is Scrapbooks Please. I just went to check on the prices for 8.5x11 or 8x10 but they must be having some security issues because my computer keeps giving me a warning about dangerous activities on the site. I've never had any problem with ordering from them in the past and have really good results with them on the 12x12s I've ordered.

[heather_dw]

thanks, guys. If I scrap in 12x12, it's better for if I want to resize to 8x8 later, right? I'm working on a 12x12 right now and it seems huge. Does the image distort badly when you resize from 12x12 to 8x8?

[mbc72]

No the image doesn't distort because it will still be square. Now, if you go from 12x12 to 8.5x11 it distorts because you are going from a square to a rectangle, does that make sense? You can scrap in 8x8 if you want, then you don't have to resize your layout at all, but you may have to resize your papers and elements.

[PBarnes]

I just checked Scrapbooks Please this morning on my other computer and I didn't get any security warnings. They currently have a sale on 8.5x11, full-bleed prints for $.99 - normally $1.29. They have several different paper and finish options with varying prices.

[AggieB]

Heather, resizing won't distort the layout, unless as Melanie says, you also change the shape. 12 - 8 works fine for resizing. What you don't want to do is make a huge reduction, like 12 to 4, that would make for problems & worse if you go 4 to 12. You can display your layouts at 100% to get an idea what they will look like when printed.

[Ro]

If you want, you can put them on a 12x12 document with a different colored background - like pink or something. Then you can trim off the excess when the prints arrive. That's actually what I do for 8x8 layouts. I print them on 8.5x11 photo paper and trim.

[Jen Reed]

When I first started digital, I was scrapping 8 x 8 so I could print my layouts myself. Don't start with an 12x12 canvas size and resize. Just start with an 8x8 canvas size since that's the size you are going to print. As you scrap, you can then just resize embellishments and/or papers along the way. You can always put a 12x12 paper onto an 8x8 canvas size and either leave it as is or resize it down (for instance if the sides were grunged a bit and you wanted to keep that detail of the paper). But by scrapping in 8x8 to start (again because that's the final size you want to print), the canvas won't seem so large and you'll know exactly how things will be proportion wise - so elements won't get too small in a 12x12 downsize to 8x8. Not all 12x12 layouts resize nicely to 8x8 size. I now scrap 12x12 but I have an entire folder - and actually a few books professionally printed - in the 8x8 size.

Oh... and the 8x8 size is really nice to print yourself and then hang on your wall in frames. You can pick up 8x8 frames at Walmart or even 8.5 x 11 frames that are completely clear - with no mat or back. I have a few of those types of frames with 8x8 layouts in them on my wall from my first days in digi.

[Jen Reed]

Here are some examples of the frames I mentioned. These are on my wall.

This is an 8x8 frame but I actually printed the layout in 6x6 size to create a mat with the glass.
 Photo2.jpg (78.02K)
Number of downloads: 4

One of these is 6x6 print size (the camera one) in an 8.5x11 frame but the others are either 7x7 or 8x8 print size in an 8.5x11 frame - with the clear glass no mat frame.
 Photo3.jpg (68.44K)
Number of downloads: 5

This is 8x8 in a 8.5x11 frame. Again clear glass no mat.
 Photo1.jpg (47.07K)
Number of downloads: 4

These were printed in 2005... now it's easier to find 8x8 and even 12x12 frames. Back then I'd clean out the store whenever I found 8x8 glass frames.

Scrapping in 8x8 size is definitely different than scrapping 12x12. You can't fit as many embellishments on your layout without it seeming too busy. So if you are looking to print at the 8x8 size, just start with an 8x8 canvas size and work from there.

HTH!!

[kerryveale]

I thought I saw a really nice 8.5 x 11 photobook at Costco when I was there the other day. On their website, you can order MyPublisher photobooks at a 20% discount

[BarbaraC1977]

Kerry, I didn't realize Costco worked with MyPublisher. That's great to know. My sister's done beautiful albums with them, and I am anxiously awaiting six copies of my 98 page album. They had a FABULOUS deal the last five days for 65% off orders over $200. So my six books (DH, 3 BILs, 1 Cousin & 1 FIL) cost only $259 with shipping, instead of $650 + shipping. I am so psyched, and will be sure to let people know how they turn out. These are 8.5 x 11 landscape; they print other formats, too.

[kerryveale]

Barbara,
how exciting! Your family members will be so happy!
I am embarrassed to admit that I have not ever printed a book. I really should, so that when I explain to people what I do for work, I could just show them a book (a picture is worth a thousand words!)

[MariJ]

BarbaraC1977, on 29 November 2011 - 11:04 PM, said:

Kerry, I didn't realize Costco worked with MyPublisher. That's great to know. My sister's done beautiful albums with them, and I am anxiously awaiting six copies of my 98 page album. They had a FABULOUS deal the last five days for 65% off orders over $200. So my six books (DH, 3 BILs, 1 Cousin & 1 FIL) cost only $259 with shipping, instead of $650 + shipping. I am so psyched, and will be sure to let people know how they turn out. These are 8.5 x 11 landscape; they print other formats, too.

Barbara, that is so exciting and I can't wait to hear how your books turned out! What a wonderfully special gift you have made.
I made an 8 1/2 x 11 landscape book for a friend's parents' 50th wedding anniversary at costco and they did a WONDERFUL job!

[candyK]

Thanks or starting this thread. I don't print very often, since I haven't been able to figure it out either. I scrap 12x12 since that seems to be the standard and have resized some layouts to put into a book at 8X8. They turned out fine. The print was also reduced but fully legible.

Also someone had a post here --maybe it was in the newletter? about taking part of your layout and printing as 4X6 which is usually a bargain. You don't end up with the whole layout of course, but you can get a reasonable little sample to put into brag books which I pick up at the dollar store.

Artscow is a printer who usually has the least cost. Takes a longer time for delivery though. The quality is fine and at their prices you can't beat it. I saw Ro's gorgeous 8x11 regular binder she made with her presentation about Bailey and I'm going to try one of those--the binders are inexpensive at Costco and its standard size sheet protectors too.

IF you are printing at home or sending out think about putting more than one copy on a page ie buy the larger page and put your 8X8 as well as a couple smaller ones on the same page so none of it is just waste. I'm looking at the largest Costco sizes and figuring out how many and what size combinations I could fit on there.
(I just mention Costo, because they are close to me. I'm sure other have similar services.)

My goal this year is to print it all and get it in folk's hands.

Hth,
candyK

[sanot]

Sara Arell, on 10 November 2011 - 09:41 PM, said:

Ro, on 10 November 2011 - 08:54 PM, said:

If you have a printer that prints edge to edge, you're set. And, as people have described, there are many options for getting printed. Best of all, they it ib office supply binders in office supply page protectors. Cheap, you van decorate the binders if you want ti get fancy.

I have a whole shelf of albums like that.

Hope that helps!

Heather, this is exactly how I do it! I have a printer that prints to the edge, I put my layouts in document protectors and put them in a Staples binder, the kind that has plastic sleeves on the front and back - I make a layout for the cover, insert it into the plastic and sometimes I even make a strip for the spine. Easy Pease.

this is what I'm hoping to do as soon as my $15 Craigslist printer arrives! Hoping the ink doesn't cost me an arm and a leg!

[Sara Arell]

sanot, on 19 January 2012 - 08:43 PM, said:

Sara Arell, on 10 November 2011 - 09:41 PM, said:

Ro, on 10 November 2011 - 08:54 PM, said:

If you have a printer that prints edge to edge, you're set. And, as people have described, there are many options for getting printed. Best of all, they it ib office supply binders in office supply page protectors. Cheap, you van decorate the binders if you want ti get fancy.

I have a whole shelf of albums like that.

Hope that helps!

Heather, this is exactly how I do it! I have a printer that prints to the edge, I put my layouts in document protectors and put them in a Staples binder, the kind that has plastic sleeves on the front and back - I make a layout for the cover, insert it into the plastic and sometimes I even make a strip for the spine. Easy Pease.

this is what I'm hoping to do as soon as my $15 Craigslist printer arrives! Hoping the ink doesn't cost me an arm and a leg!

The ink is expensive, but Staples takes back your empty cartridges and gives you a $3 credit for each one - and my ink lasts a long, long time in my printer. I buy the name brand ink cartridges because I prefer them but imagine you could use the store brand ones too. Really, I don't find the expense to be a problem since they do last me such a long time. I keep a full set at home all the time for when they do run out and of course, they never all run out at the same time.

[Sara Arell]

I am so happy that our designers are creating some collections specifically for 8.5 x 11 now!

Woo-Hoo! Thanks to our awesome designers for this!