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Printing Your PL

I'm ALL digital and haven't been printing at all for quite a while... then I realized how much I miss leafing through an actual album, so I started to ponder options. Problem: 12x12 or 8x8 are not really an item here in Germany. Photo books are very expensive (we don't have a Shutterfly), and I don't like books which are glued together so much... they are not really durable.
The best option for me seemed to change the format of my scrapbooking, which I did- to A4, which means a 20x30 cm print. To reduce the monthly costs, I make an order every month, Monday after the 15th. I then slip my prints into pockets- which is the second advantage of printing in A4: I don't need to buy expensive scrapbooking albums, but can simply use cheap "presentation books" (here in Germany they are called: Sichtbücher), which have a certain amount of pockets (mine have 100 per album).
About the printing: it changed my life ;). I'm so happy that I can actually TOUCH my work now, and I look at the albums FREQUENTLY. So for me, it definitely has been worth it!
 
mrphoto said:
I am very confused by this all. I don't know how well and 8x8 book would look with Shutterfly. Will the journaling be too small? But, I do have 2 books 10x10 Shutterfly ready to be printed and waiting for good sales. Still trying to decide on the size.

Has anyone printed it 8x8 and how does it look that size?
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8x8 is definitely too small for me ;). I printed one album in this size and it was okay because it was not Project Life, but for PL, it would DEFINITELY be too small for me.
When I journal my PL, I magnify the page on my screen to the size it will actually have when it's printed... this way, I can see how readable it is.
 
Ellie said:
for my PL pages I print them on the 6 x 4 size photos and trim to smaller sizes if need be. I use Harvey Norman (Australian place)
I then use the corner rounder and slip into my plastic pockets. I have found this to be the most cost effective way for me here in Australia as 12x12 cost $12.00 per page. :( It might be cheaper if I got a book done on sale but I'm not that organized and I like adding to the album as I go along. I do print the pages as a 6x6 for a little mini album and it helps me arrange everything in the right pockets faster.
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Wow, prices differ greatly... 12$ is ouch :(. 12x12 would cost me 1 Euro per page, that's about 1,35 US$. A4 (20x30) costs only 0,48 Euro (0,65 US$), that's very affordable.
 
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Can you print out one page at 8x8 to see if you like it... i still haven't printed my digital 2012 album... I am considering 10x10... I like 8x8 for week in the life, but I think it might be too small for my regular PL
 
I wish the scrapbook world would tap into the whole 10x10 size because to me it's the perfect one!!!
I print my layouts at 8x8 and I really love that size over the 12x12 for 2 reasons. Besides the obvious reason of price there is the 8x8 size is much easier for little hands to handle and my kids love looking through the albums. Even my almost 2 year old loves to sit with me on the couch and go through the books and point out her family. That size also stores much better. I have about 8 albums on my bookcase in the living room and it's not warping my shelves. In my paper scrapping days all I did was 12x12 and those albums are a PAIN to store and they are HEAVY to drag out. Right now they stay stored in my bedroom cabinet and no one ever drags those out.

I printed some PL pages in both the 8x8 and 12x12 and while I don't mind the 8x8 I prefer the 12x12 for one reason. I miss a lot of details in the photos of the 8x8. The print is perfect for me and i don't have a problem with that but some of the pictures appear smaller than I want them to. I'm still really torn on this because I know what a pain those 12x12 books are gonna be to store and drag out but I am not sure if I am willing to give up that photo detail.
 
Agree, Amanda. I took out all of my albums the other night to look through with our daughter, who was turning 9 and wanted to see all of "her" pages. :) I used to paper scrap as well and my paper scrapped albums are insanely bulky. I have one 8x8 digi photo book from Shutterfly and it is too tiny for me. Print is too small, details lost.

I don't mind the 12x12 size for digi but I think 10x10 would be great.

I'm going to wait and see if Persnickety will have a better sale. Right now I don't think I can justify spending that much on credits.
 
I went back to digital this year, as I did it till 2012. I recognized that I'm not the hybrid or paper girl.:huh
At the end of the year I will print a book in 12x12 (here in Germany 30x30 cm) size.
I love this size and printing a photo book is muuuuch cheaper than printing each side extra and buy page protectors.
Photo books are getting cheaper and cheaper here...(and there are a lot of coupons for it too!)
The printed book is so "compact" and doesn't need so much space in my cupoard-for me that's a big advantage!
 
I wish I could print out an 8x8 sample but don't have the printer to do it with. Seems that a lot of detail can be lost. I do lots of 4x6 collages within my PL. So, 10x10 it will be. Seems like the perfect size. And its all ready to print when I have the money and a good sale.
 
mrphoto said:
I wish I could print out an 8x8 sample but don't have the printer to do it with. Seems that a lot of detail can be lost. I do lots of 4x6 collages within my PL. So, 10x10 it will be. Seems like the perfect size. And its all ready to print when I have the money and a good sale.
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Any printer will print 8x8 right? A standard paper size is 8.5x11. Even if not good quality, you can get an idea of size. I think 8x8 will be too small but 10x10 may be OK.
 
When I've talked to We R Memory Keepers they've said they'll make albums in any size for anyone - which they do for Becky Higgins and others. The problem is distribution of a 10x10 album. A company would have to want to stock them and ship them. :(
 
I print my pages as 12x12 b/c I use 3 ring binder albums. My pages are all mixed together, but I will put my PL pages in a separate book. I also like the 10x10 size but will stick w/ 12x12 for now I think for consistency.

I use PP for my printing but it looks like they are raising their prices. Ah, the beauty of success :). I've always been pleased with their quality and competitive pricing in the past.
 
gracielou said:
I wish the scrapbook world would tap into the whole 10x10 size because to me it's the perfect one!!!
Besides the obvious reason of price there is the 8x8 size is much easier for little hands to handle and my kids love looking through the albums. Even my almost 2 year old loves to sit with me on the couch and go through the books and point out her family.

I'm still really torn on this because I know what a pain those 12x12 books are gonna be to store and drag out but I am not sure if I am willing to give up that photo detail.
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This is the reason I was considering 8x8. 12x12 is bulkier for my three year old. He loves to look at last year's PL, but it's a little bulky for him to hold.

Per storage: Until you actually see them side by side you wouldn't believe the difference in digi vs. paper scrapping. My paper scrapping books don't get pulled out much if ever. But the digital one does because it is not as heavy as the paper ones. I was not a huge embellisher either, sticking mostly to papers, photos, and a few stickery items. No big flowers or anything. But the digital book is still so much lighter than the paper ones were.

As to fonts, I worry about making my fonts readable to the point that sometimes they are way too big on the page when printed. I've put writing on 4x6 prints, so I figure I could adjust the size to work on an 8x8 page.
 
Peppermint said:
When I've talked to We R Memory Keepers they've said they'll make albums in any size for anyone - which they do for Becky Higgins and others. The problem is distribution of a 10x10 album. A company would have to want to stock them and ship them. :(
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Side business peppermint? You could totally be the popular girl!
 
the bulk of the 12x12 3-ring binder was the #1 reason I switched to printing bound books. The12x12 still stores great (for us, but we have book shelves that accommodate the taller size), but is much much lighter and easier to get out and flip through. Printing my books based on the quarters of the year has been one way for me to feel a bit of satisfaction in lieu of printing as you go. I get a new book every 3 months.
 
All of my scrapping pages have been 8x8, stored by year in 3 ring albums. When I started PL last year, I switched to printing my weekly spreads on 12x12 using Persnickety Prints (I am sad they are raising their prices!). Then, most scrapbook layouts for the year in addition to the PL pages, I printed on 6x6 and slid into Design D (the one with four 6x6 slots). Occasionally, I would still print a page at 8x8 and just add that size page protector to my album. One thing I LOVED about PL is that I can collect 'stuff' throughout the year and all my memory keeping is done in one place. Yes, it made for 2 bulky 12x12 albums, but I can live with that for now. My boys LOVE to get it out and look through it, see the pictures they have drawn, cards they have made or been given, etc.
 
I do my pages digitally and print 12x12 through Persnickety. I'm annoyed with them because the bulk deals they're offering on 12x12 print credits aren't as good as they were a year ago, so I'm going to wait until May to buy more. I have an American Crafts 12x12 album I'm using. My family loves getting them every 6 weeks or so and slipping them into page protectors.
 
MissKim said:
I do my pages digitally and print 12x12 through Persnickety. I'm annoyed with them because the bulk deals they're offering on 12x12 print credits aren't as good as they were a year ago, so I'm going to wait until May to buy more. I have an American Crafts 12x12 album I'm using. My family loves getting them every 6 weeks or so and slipping them into page protectors.
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Just a note, Persnickety offered the $1.79/print/12x12 last year a few times too. So, we may still see the rock bottom in May.
 
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