Layout Programs-Scrapbook Factory vs. Others?

[petrainorem]

Hi, I'm new to this website. I started doing digital scrapbooking a couple of months ago and find it to be fun! I bought Scrapbook Factory Deluxe and find it to be user friendly. I like the pre-done layouts along with the option to create pages. I am mainly using my program to make books for my kids of their childhood. I've seen that there are a bunch of other layout programs and have seen that there are trials. I've seen some fun gallery photos that I know are not done on Scrapbook Factory. Once I use this program for awhile, I'm sure that I will want some more pre-done layouts and other options to make my own pages. What are some other programs that are fairly easy like this? Once you know one program, is it easy to switch to another? What are some problems that Scrapbook Factory has so I know how to work around them? Thanks.

[Pam]

You can use the kits in Scrapbook Factory Deluxe -- you can import graphics, and don't have to use only what was offered with the program. SFD does not have the tools for creating your own graphics - you can create some shapes and lines, I don't think you can create drop shadows, however you can create a shape of a gray and place behind your photos for what appears as a shadow.

Actually, you can create some great layouts -- just be sure that when you "export as image" that you change the resolution to at least 200 and change the JPEG Options to the highest quality. It will make for a larger file, but it will print well. Welcome to DSP!

[Moogie]

I use Scrapbook factory Deluxe version 3.0 and find it so easy to use I import elements I've got on file from the net etc. After trying to cope with Adobe & being lots of dollars out of pocket, worring about layers etc. it is easy to buy kits from varoius sites like this one. Maybe its my age, but as I have tons of photos the SFD is so quick, leaves me time to spend on the extra special photos I've gathered over the years.

[Lorne]

Scrapbook MAX is another really easy to use layout program that you might want to try. It supports high quality printing and was designed to be compatible with existing theme kits. For example, it fully supports 32-bit PNG with alpha transparency, which is important to allow for soft edges and translucency in embellishments.

It can output to JPEGs, and lets you crop, resize and rotate stuff really easily. (Resizing and rotation is all done right in the layout using the mouse.)