4 steps how to find the best way to print pictures for scrapbooking

Making a physical scrapbook project is a fun way to preserve memories. You can create different types of scrapbooks, such as a scrapbook album, a scrapbook journal, a memory book, and even a scrapbook wall art or baby shower book. 

Based on your style and current scrapbook project, you will have different photo printing requirements. You have basically two main options for this situation. You can print your photos at home or you can take advantage of external printing services. 

Whatever method you choose, here are 4 basic things you want to think about before printing: 

1. Quality of the photos

2. Size of the photos

3. Price for printing

4. Time to get printed photos

 

1 Quality of the photos

One of the most important things to ensure when printing photos is that the quality of the photos is high. This will ensure that the photos will not get damaged while they are being scrapbooked. For instance, if you have a high-resolution photo, it is best to have it printed on high-quality photo paper as well.

There are many home photo printers on the market. When you choose one, make sure the printer can print 600 DPI or higher. This parameter significantly affects the sharpness of the print. DPI means (printed/shown on screen) dots per inch of the picture. You can find more about DPI on Wiki.

When it comes to printing photos, there is no room for compromise! It is always better to invest in a great quality printer/printing service and get the best results every time. In case you use your home printer, be sure to set the highest quality for printing. 

2 Size of the photos

The basic photo printing size is 4x6, which means 4 inches by 6 inches pictures. Depending if you have 4x6 or 6x4 inches, you have landscape (horizontal) or portrait (vertical) photo orientation. From this point of view, they are not the same and photos of this size are often referred to as normal photos. 

But if you are choosing the size of the photo paper, the orientation of the photo does not matter. You will need the same paper for landscape and portrait photos. 

The picture size 4x6 inches is the most commonly used in more traditional scrapbooking and in project life scrapbooking. Project life albums use pages divided into 4x6 and 3x4 inches pockets. 

So if you scrapbook in a project life album, you want to print your photos in these two main sizes. But there is no reason to not use 4x4 or 3x3 inches photos and place them on 4x6 or 3x4 inches journaling cards, so you get the perfect sized element for your pocket.

Many modern scrapbook layouts combine multiple photo sizes. For example, you can use one 4x6 inch photo and two 3x4 inch photos. Or there are great layouts using square formats for photos. You can print the photos in square format or crop photos after printing. The other frequently used photo size is 5x7 inches. 

But when it comes to photo size your only real limit is the size of your scrapbook layout. If you scrapbook on 12x12 inches paper, you can add even 8x12 inches photos! Your scrapbook project is your artistic expression and you can create anything and everything you want. 

You should have a vision of your project before printing your photos, but you can always crop your photos and adapt them to your project. Don't stress too much about the size of your photos.

3 Price for printing your photos

If you are looking to print your photos, you’ll need to consider how much it will cost to do so. The decision is easier whether you have a specific number in mind for how many photos you want to print. 

It is possible to print your pictures at home for a fraction of the cost of professional printing services, but that may not be the case. It is better to do your own research, print prices also vary depending on the number of photos. For many people, printing photos at home is less cost-effective than printing services.

The price of printing 4x6 photos can vary between 9c - 50c depending on the number of photos. Today, the range of photo printing is wide and you don't have to be limited by any photo size. Square formats are also becoming commonly available. 

You even have the option to create an entire 12x12 scrapbook layout digitally and have it printed. The price can vary from about 2$ to 6 - 9$ per 12x12 printed page. Another option is to create the whale scrapbook album digitally and get the printed photo book. 

In case you are thinking of a home printer, consider the prices of toner and photo paper in addition to the price of the printer. The price of the printer depends on the biggest size of prints you can get. Recently, selfie printers have been enjoying great popularity, but you are usually limited by the size of 4x6 inches of photos. 

However, the cost of printing photos may not be more important to you than the following aspect - time!

4 Time to get printed photos

Are you patient?  Do you plan your scrapbook projects in advance? Do you have things thought through in detail? Do you decide on your creation impulsively?

These are the questions that will have a major impact on the photo printing you choose.

Be dependent on whether you can wait for photos for a while. The fastest service will deliver your photos within the hour, but it will require pick-up logistics. On the other hand, some days printing and delivery of your photos can offer you the best price for the service. Many printing services offer smartphone ordering apps, so ordering is a really convenient task.

Also consider whether you only want to scrapbook fresh events and photos, or if you have no problem scrapbooking your photos months later. 

Glossy or matte photos? Which is better?

The best advice is, to try what suits you. Some people prefer matte photos because they are better viewed in certain situations - they do not make annoying reflections. Some people highlight their unique structure, which fits well into scrapbooking.

On the other hand, glossy photos are known to have the brightest colors and you get sharper photos with details. But the downside is that you can easily leave fingerprints on them that look really distracting. Especially when you take a photo in your hand multiple times during the scrapbooking process.

Last but not least, the price also plays a role. Matte photos are usually at a higher price because of higher ink consumption when printing. 

Printing photos for scrapbook journal

Getting your photos printed is a great way to start your scrapbook journal. When you print them, make sure to get the correct size. Journal pages are usually a lot smaller than scrapbook layouts, so your photos should be smaller as well. 

I like to print my photos smaller, usually 9 photos on one A4 sheet of paper. This size is approx. 2.3x3.2 inches is small enough for my A5 or traveler's notebook journal pages. I still have plenty of space for my decorations and/or journaling.

I personally don't need the best quality of my photos for my scrapbook journal. I use my regular laser printer with settings for photo printing. This gives me an affordable option for my journaling with photos. 

You can try more options to find out what works for you. There is no right or wrong way for printing photos. It is all about you, what you need, what you want, and what is possible for you.