6x6 or 8x8 or??

[dxcspilk]

I am just getting my feet wet in digital scrapping. I am a former 8 1/2 x 11 paper scrapper for convience. Now I am trying to decide what size to do digital.

I have read some of your comments about different sizes and would like to hear pro's and cons of each.

I was thinking of doing 8 1/2 x 11 again. But I am seeing a lot of stuff is 12x12 and I am sure would more easily convert to 6x6 or 8x8. Also I read someone prints 4 6x6 l.o.'s on one page at costco for $3 this sounds great! But is it too small? And how hard is it to find 8x8 or 6x6 albums?

TIA! Sorry for all the ???'s

[BethHardy]

Hi,
Welcome to DSP. It is a wonderful small-townish friendly community. I like to scrap in 12x12 because there is more room to put things in the layouts. 12x12 can easily be resized smaller when you print - to 8x8 if you want to print on an 8 1/2 x 11 paper, for example. Or 6x6 or 5x5. The resolution will be good if scrap at 12x12 and then you print at 12x12 or smaller. I've been surprised at how good the resolution is at 5x5 and it is so much cheaper to print that size - 50 cents a page where I get mine printed. You can do always some of your scrapping in 8x10 or 5x7 or 4x6 if you know that you will want to frame it that size.
I found an assortment of reasonably priced 8x8 and 6x6 albums at Hobby Lobby. There are some available on the internet also. I did a google search for 8x8 albums and several sources popped up. (Where ever you purchase your albums, be sure to keep the information on the album so that you can purchase extra pages that are punched to fit your album. Different Hobby Lobby 8x8 albums used different types of 8x8 refills - punched just a little differently.)

[Amanda]

Personally 6x6 would be too small for all of my pages but I think is a great size for little gift albums. I print 8x8 because it is still big enough to read and see the details in the photos. I scrap 12x12 though :)

[isshinryu_mom]

I scrap my layouts at 12x12 and print 8x8. But after seeing layouts that were printed 12x12 at the GASC I am thinking about having some printed out that size too.... they looked awesome!

[Tara]

I started off doing 12x12 but when I FINALLY got around to printing them out, I found that they were WAY TOO BIG for me! Perhaps because I got so used to staring at them on my laptop screen! Whenever I look at that album, I feel like I need to hold it as far away from my face as possible! I MUCH prefer 8x8 and find that I can read and see everything well at that size. (But, like most people said, I make my pages 12x12 and just print them at 8x8...just in case!). I recently printed some at 6x6 (I too was tempted by the great deal at Costco) and I really like those too. I have found it more difficult to find 6x6 albums...not impossible but 8x8 just seems to be in such ready supply near me! There are a lot of things 6x6 would be too small for...but for albums that only have 1-3 pictures, are more artsy than full of journaling, etc. I really like 6x6.

As for 8.5x11...I LOVE not always working in a square!!!! So, I have different sizes for different albums. The problem I have with this size is that Costco prints 8x10 and most albums I find are 8.5x11. It can still work...but I never know which of those sizes I should use. Of course, if I was printing them myself, that wouldn't be an issue!

Hope that helps!!

[MOLLYW8]

I wondered about this too when I first started digi scrapping (not long ago at all- I'm a newbie too). The best advice I got was that there is no right or wrong way to scrap. Scrap whatever pictures you want to scrap and whatever size you want to scrap. I was so hung up on doing it perfect that it was driving me crazy and I wasnt getting anything done! LOL... So, I still scrap in 8.5 x 11 for some things, like my ongoing family album that includes my hubby and me and our extended family get togethers and camping trips, etc. I can fit more photos on this size than the 8x8. And for some things I plan to do 8x8 like the heritage album I want to do and I'm having a baby next month and I plan to do her pages in all 8x8 (I expect to do more single photos and be a little more creative w/ this book). I am also planning some 6x6 gift books. So I basically scrap in whatever size suites the project :)

[Tina]

I love love love 8x8s!

I paper scrapped for 9 years and always did 12x12, but when I started printing out my digi pages- I didnt have a large format printer, so I did 8x8.

Now, I adore the size. They are small enough to tote around, easy to hold and look at (where the 12x12s are large and bulky)- especially for children, yet the photos and journaling are all still large enough to see.

8x8 are my main albums, but I have a few 6x6 albums for special things. A Book of Me, New House Album, and I print the album that my DS is d oing at 6x6 too.

[Emma]

I always scrap at 12x12" and then print at 8x8. 6x6 is surprisingly not as small as you'd think. I made some that size for diaper bag books, and they are still very legible. The 8x8 are for home use, and I don't have many 12x12 prints.

I find the albums at Micheal's for a decent price!

[loonyhiker]

I started out doing 8.5 x 11 but then decided I liked the look of the 12 x 12 much better, especially since I'm still learning. I print them out 8 x 8 though.

[Diginellie]

I love working in 12x6 - really just suits my style and fits a 6x4 photo perfectly.

[omio]

Like many others, I scrap 12x12 @ 200 dpi and then print 8x8 at 300 dpi. I started out with 8.5x11 but the math teacher in me took over. :D The square shape is so versatile and offers so many more options for arrangement. Again, though, it's personal preference!!

For printing, I just had 39 layouts printed both in 12x12 and 8x8. My kids and I prefer the smaller size but DH wanted the big album. Both came out beautifully! I used Scrapbooks to Share (http://www.sbtoshare.com/) and am extremely happy with the results. For standard glossy or matte paper, they charge $1/page for 8x8 and $1.50/page for 12x12. There is a flat $6 shipping charge.

This paper is like glossy magazine paper so is thinner than photo paper. My family and I like it better than photo paper because the albums aren't as thick and the pages turn like a high-quality magazine. But they also offer glossy card stock, etc., for a higher price.

I tried this company after seeing some of Lynnie/Formby Girl's printed pages which looked great. They also have an offer for about $5 that lets you get one layout printed in a sample of papers. Turn-around was quick and the owners were very responsive to my questions.

[Lauren]

I print at 8x8 but I do 6x6 versions for gift albums for my mother - they look lovely - I dont personally like 12x12 as I find the album size unweildly to hold and store - its all really personal preference as you can see from the posts above

[omio]

I print at 8x8 but I do 6x6 versions for gift albums for my mother - they look lovely - I don't personally like 12x12 as I find the album size unweildly to hold and store - its all really personal preference as you can see from the posts above

You know, I think Lauren has hit on the most important criterion in deciding on print size. Once you decide whether you prefer a square or a rectangle it boils down to what size you or the person you're giving the album to can handle comfortably. 4x4 and 6x6 are nice sizes for children or for someone who is elderly or has limited space.

This is also the reason I use squares. I never need to worry about proportions. :tup: BTW, squares are "magic" in math. I always start my LO out with a template that is 12 x 12 and cut into 9 squares with guides (I use PSE and PS.) 9 is a magic number in math, is a perfect square and the guides clearly show the rule of three both horizontally and vertically.

Math lesson is over for the day, ladies. :p Artistic types (about 99% of the people on this website) usually think they're bad at math. I always like to show scrappers and quilters how much math is required to produce beauty. Hee, hee, hee. :tup:

[guitargirl]

Go, math teacher, go!!!! :D I never thought about the square like that. Hmmm... this may convince me to start doing square layouts!

[Mom2Quinn]

Thanks for this thread! Being new to the digi scrapping world I've been wondering this alot! lol

Now I know that I can still scrap my pages at the 12x12 size and print at a smaller size and they'll still look good!

Thanks so much!

[cats4jan]

I create at 12x12 with 300 resolution. I save them as psd's in 12x12.

I print - at home - in 8x8 - because my printer can only do 8.5 at the widest and because I think 12x12 books are too unweildly to handle comfortably. Even if I had a book printed at an outside vendor, I'd choose 8x8 or 8.5x8.5

At 8x8 - the photos are large enough to see well. I don't think I'd like 6x6 as much - but for gift giving - for someone who might want to carry it along in their purse (you grandma's know who you are LOL) 5x5 might be a great size for them.