Many online scrapbook makers also build on the old practice of scrapbooking by allowing those memories to be shared over email and social media channels, while others offer printed matter too. Keep reading to learn more about the best online scrapbook makers.
Pros & Cons
Overview
Mixbook is an online scrapbooking tool that makes it easy for users to display their memories on themed templates and turn their pages into beautiful books without futzing with scissors and tape. Mixbook offers a plethora of themed templates that make pulling together a scrapbook for remembering special occasions, like a birthday or vacation, as easy as drag and drop. Mixbook allows users to pull images from social media, phones, computers, and cloud storage to create digital scrapbooks. It also offers a mobile editor that helps users create scrapbooks from their smartphones. The brand’s flexible layouts, over 200 fonts, and collection of stickers allow for true customization. Users can also opt to create a book from scratch, rather than using one of the premade templates. Printed books start at $9.99 for a softcover semi-gloss in 6x6 and go up from there. Mixbook offers a selection of different paper finish types, like semi-gloss, premium matte, and premium luster, in a lay-flat book style.
Pros & Cons
Overview
When looking for an innovative way to display images and memorialize moments, Artifact Uprising’s selection of custom-printed photo books, cards, and other specialty prints rises to the occasion. The brand is particularly known for its high-quality softcover photo books (from $15), hardcover photo books (from $69), and layflat photo albums (from $149). The brand’s user-friendly website makes it easy to create beautifully arranged photo books and albums. Its specialized editing software not only guides users through the process of uploading photos and organizing the books but gives them the utmost creative control over aspects like layout and text. The brand’s style veers minimal, letting the photos shine through. Artifact Uprising offers its hardcover books in a variety of colors with the option of a full-photo or half-photo dust jacket. The books are made with 100% recycled, 100-pound Mohawk Options paper that lends a premium feel. Softcover books come with 100% recycled Mohawk Options paper in a matte finish.
Pros & Cons
Overview
Online scrapbook maker Canva is the go-to for making beautiful, customized pages that can be downloaded or printed. Canva offers a range of scrapbooking templates that users can add to and resize personal images over. In addition to the templates, stock images, illustrations, and icons can be animated to create lively digital memories. Once an image is uploaded to Canva, it’s saved on a user’s account so it can be applied over and over again. Similarly, completed pages are stored in the cloud so they can be accessed anywhere for future use. Many of Canva’s features are free, but the site does offer accounts with increased cloud storage and helpful upgrades like magic resize and the ability to schedule social media content for $12.99 per month or $119.99 per year, or $14.99 per month for up to five people for teams.
Pros & Cons
Overview
Smilebox is an easy and quick way to create online slideshows that can be shared among family and friends using the brand’s 1,000-plus templates. Smilebox bills itself as a free service, but that’s not the full truth: Smilebox’s basic plan includes only a few of the brand’s templates and doesn’t allow users to add in many customized features like music. Free slideshows can only be shared in limited ways, like over social media and email. The perennial scrapbooker—the person who makes a new photo collection to commemorate every little occasion—will get good mileage out of the brand’s Club and Pro accounts billed monthly or annually. For $4.99 per month or $59.88 per year, Club Smilebox gives users access to all of Smilebox’s customization features. The exception to that list is the ability to add personal logos or links, which is only available with a Smilebox Pro subscription ($11.67 per month or $139.99 per year).
What Do I Need for a Digital Scrapbook?
There are only a few items needed to assemble a digital scrapbook. A computer, tablet, or mobile device, your digital photos (make sure to pull from social media, the cloud, and scan in old paper photographs, too!), and photo editing software, in case you need to edit or resize the images.
Can You Print a Digital Scrapbook?
A digital scrapbook can be printed out and shared with family and friends in a hard copy format, or you might want one for your own as a keepsake. A number of digital scrapbooking sites will print it out, put it into a book format and then mail it to you for a price. If you do decide to print it out yourself, consider getting photo paper and make sure your printer can produce high-quality images.
What Is the Advantage of Scrapbooking Digitally?
Digital scrapbooking has a few advantages, including the ability to adjust photos digitally and put them right into the desired layout; templates with numerous graphics and designs on hand; and the ability to select “undo” if you don’t like the way something looks. Plus, you save money on all the paper products you’d use to make an analog scrapbook, and there’s no cleanup! You can simply put your scrapbook together and share it instantly in a digital format via social media or online through email or a photo gallery.
What Is the Difference Between a Digital Scrapbook and a Digital Photo Album?
These digital memory treasure books are almost interchangeable. A digital photo album has a spot to put your images and includes a space for a caption on each page, while a digital scrapbook could have more personalized text, written entries, and embellishments on each page, along with unique layouts.
Methodology
We took into account the variety of free and paid offerings, customer reviews, and product roundups to determine the best online scrapbook markers. We strove to include brands that specialize in different kinds of products, both online and in print, and that help users with varying levels of experience create beautiful products.
