Free Scrapbook Printables
by Emily Burson

Free Scrapbook Printables Are Only as Good as Your Printer

At first, it seems like a good idea. You need ideas for your scrapbook, so you hop on to the internet and type “free scrapbook printables” in your favorite search engine. You browse through the first ten or fifteen pages, and then you find a few free scrapbook printables that are perfect for what you want to do. What’s next?

There are several steps that you should go through before hitting the print button to retrieve your free scrapbook printables.

First of all, check the color scheme of your free scrapbook printables carefully. Compare the colors used to the colors in you photos. Will the use of the free scrapbook printables make your pictures stand out more, or will they get lost in the background? Remember, the primary focus of your scrapbook is still the photos that make it unique and special.

If you decide that you like the colors, you may have found one or two free scrapbook printables that work for you! Congratulations, that is no small success in the world of scrapbooking! Next, look at the picture orientation. Many free scrapbook printables will have ‘frames’ for pictures. Are they all landscape or portrait? Is there a good mix of both? Most importantly, does the free scrapbook printable work with the pictures you want to use?

Nothing can take away from the feel of a scrapbook page more quickly than pictures that do not fit in pre-fabricated frames. If it is just one frame that is off on your free scrapbook printable, it is possible that you can make that work, but if there is more than one, be very careful! Make sure that you are not sacrificing your own design or the use of the pictures you really love for a quick and easy selection of free scrapbook printables.

So, you still think the free scrapbook printable you have found works for you, right? Well then, it’s time to take a look at your printer. No matter how great your free scrapbook printables look on the screen, if you do not have a top-quality printer, they will not come out right at all. If you have, or have access to, a color laser printer, feel free to stop reading now and go ahead and print those free scrapbook printables out. However, if you are using a more traditional ink jet printer, there is a good chance that your free scrapbook printables will come out with streaks, missing colors, or looking faded.

Using a new and ‘scrapbook dedicated’ printer cartridge will help, but even that cannot guarantee that your free scrapbook printable will come out looking just like it did on the screen. Get comfortable enough with your printer to know what colors print the best, what colors will probably wash out, and if your printer is just older and not as sophisticated as some of the current top models.

Make sure you are also using high quality paper. If your printer will support the use of cardstock, I would suggest always printing your free scrapbook printables on the thicker material. Different colored paper will affect the way the colors appear, as well, so keep that in mind. If your paper is ivory, it will make the colors different than if you are using white.

More than anything, be cautious when using free scrapbook printables. If, after printing, you do not like the printable page, don’t use it! Throw it out, or save it for a later project.

Happy Scrapbooking!

www.free-printables.com

http://www.a1-printer-reviews.com/

http://maya-archaeology.org/desktoppublishinginkjetprinters/desktoppublishing_printers.html

Emily Burson is a 2001 graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. She worked for a year as a full time copywriter before getting a job at her church, Sherwood Oaks Christian Church. She works at the church full time and loves it. She loves to read and write, and believes that children's books and young adult literature contain some of the most powerful lessons and messages that the written word has to offer. She is an avid scrapbooker and loves to travel, having been to Costa Rica, Venezuela, and Honduras, as well as many states.

If you would like to contact her about her writing, craft ideas, or book reviews, email her at erburson@ gmail.com. Also, read her personal thoughts on God, faith, life, culture, and more.