Not printing? Then what do you do?

So, you have come to this point, maybe you want to print some of your digital scrapbooking layouts, but maybe you have various reasons to NOT print. According to the poll, on the right, printing might not be the first or most common treatment of digital layouts. Maybe you find the printing too expensive in the long run? Or you are concerned for the environment and want to avoid the printing process as much as possible? Maybe you don’t know where you would put another printed album? Whatever the reason, what can you do with your precious layouts if you are not printing them? Let’s look at some options that  some digital scrappers have used.

DVD presentations

You might already have all the necessary software to create wonderful presentations on DVD. You can then have many layouts displayed one by one, with or without transitions, with or without background music and narration. It is like having an “audio” book, on your big screen TV! Although most people might think of displaying photos one after the other, you surely can disply full pages instead. Powerpoint is one software that most computer users probably have, otherwise, you have other similar programs to do the same thing. Check out what you already have. Some ideas might surprise you.

Check our Resources page for programs you can use.

Digital frames

Since a few years, digital frames have hit the shelves of most stores. Although you might expect to display individual photos in those frames, you surely can use your digital scrapbook pages instead. Why not? I have not yet seen 12x12 digital frames, but maybe someday, there will be some.

Desktops and screensavers

Since you work so much on your computer, wouldn’t it be nice to have your layouts displayed as a screensaver or desktop? This is one neat way to see them. You can have them rotate so you never get bored of seeing the same one all the time. Sharing those files with your friends and family members, they can also use them as desktop and screensavers.

Galleries and blogs

Various digital scrapbooking stores online have also a gallery where you can post your layouts for others to see and comment. You can also create your own “gallery” by using Flicker, Photobucket, and other photo hosting sites, and share the links with your families and friends. Facebook is another common place to display your digital layouts. If you have a blog, you can easily show them off and even add interesting comments, anecdotes or other information related to the layouts, the photos, the people in the photos, the events, etc. Nowadays, it is so easy to set up a basic blog and add photos and layouts as you go. Did you ever try that?

All these suggestions are only meant to be just that: suggestions. Many people will still prefer to print, many will choose never to print, yet, other people will use a combination of some printing and some digital use. It all depends on your personal preferences, your needs, your budget, and your purpose for sharing or displaying your scrapbooking work of art.

And you? How do you use your digital layouts if you are not printing them? Share some creative ways you are using them.