Scrapbooking is an excellent way to store photos and to preserve family memories. Traditional scrapbooking is a method of physically cutting and pasting photos, decorations, journal entries and memorabilia onto colorful pages which are placed in an album or scrapbook for viewing. This hobby is fun, but it requires a great deal of time, space, and supplies.

Digital scrapbooking is a new and increasingly popular method of scrapbooking where pages are made using digital files. Layouts are created with photo editing software using digital photos and graphics. Digital scrapbooking has many advantages over traditional scrapbooking, but still produces a similar look and feel. The use of photo editing software, such as Adobe® Photoshop® or Photoshop® Elements software, allows for the correction, manipulation, and restoration of print and digital photos. Using the same software, photos can be arranged on a background page with digital tags, ribbons and other add-ons. Digital scrapbooks can be easily shared through print, email, websites, or CDs.

With the use of a Canon scanner or Photo All-In-One Printer, scrapbookers can scan in negatives, slides, certain bulkier items (select models only) or fragile pictures to use in a digital layout. The CanoScan LiDE 600F Color Image Scanner is a great scanner for all of your scrapbooking needs. It allows users to scan at any angle and is wonderful for scanning negatives and thicker items (the lid of the LiDE 600F raises approximately 1” high). The new Canon MP610 Photo All-In-One Printer is also a great unit that can multi-task and scan, copy and print. It is great for scrapbooking, printing pictures and your home office use that is multifunctional and fun for the whole family to use.

Another advantage of going digital is hybrid scrapbooking. This involves the combination of traditional and digital scrapbook elements. Digital photos and digital add-ons can be modified and printed, and then physically added to the traditional scrapbook page. With digital scrapbooking the possibilities are endless! Visit Canon Inc’s Creative Park to get started with free digital scrapbooking elements such as fonts, borders, tags and more that you can print.