Why Digital? Click here to learn about the benefits of digital scrapbooking.
Why DSP? Click here to learn how to navigate this site.

Step 1: You need photos on your computer.
If you have a digital camera this is easy! Download photos from your camera to your computer following the instructions that came with your camera. If you don’t have a digital camera, or if you have old photos, you need a scanner. Click here to learn about scanning.

Step 2: Choose your software.
There are two types of programs available to digital scrapbookers. To be successful in digital scrapbooking you only need one type of program. It is not necessary to have both.

1. A layout program - Some examples of these are My Memories Suite, Nova Scrapbook Factory Deluxe, Creating Keepsakes Scrapbook Designer Deluxe, and LumaPix FotoFusion. Layout programs allow you to easily assemble pre-made graphics, photos, and journaling for quick scrapbook layouts. Many layout programs do not meet the criteria that digital scrapbookers need. Either they don't support transparent PNG files, they are not capable of at least 200ppi for quality printing, or they do not have the ability to place shadows.

2. A Photo Editing Program - Some examples of these are Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Corel Paint Shop Pro, Ulead Photoimpact, and Microsoft Digital Image Pro (earlier versions were called Picture It!). These are more powerful programs for editing photos and they work well for creating digital elements, but the learning curve is much higher. Google's Picasa is a great, free program to edit photos as well. If you want a graphics program, DSP recommends Photoshop Elements. You can read our review of PSE here.

Step 3: Create your scrapbook pages.
Now its time to learn and have fun! If you have chosen one of the photo-editing programs discussed above, please read about resolution first, and then try some of our basic Tutorials that will walk you through creating your first page as well as other techniques. You may want to use Page Kits, which you can download or order on CD that will work with your program and teach you about layers and how a basic page is put together. As you become a little more advanced, make sure to check out all of our freebies on the weekly freebies page and in our freebies gallery (you must be registered to view them). You can create your pages in many different sizes. Gather ideas for your pages and see the work of other scrapbookers in the Gallery. You can also discuss scrapbooking ideas and topics with other scrapbookers in the Forum. Also check out the Calendar to participate in a chat, crop, scrapalong, challenge, or more.

Step 4: Save your pages.
Taking the right steps to save your pages is important. To learn more about saving, click here.

Step 5: Share your pages
Of course we want you to share your pages with us in our Gallery, but you may want to also share them with friends and family in other ways.
Click here to learn about your printing options.
Click here to learn about other options to share your pages.

We hope we have convinced you to try digital scrapbooking. If you need any further help, please Register and post your questions in our Beginner Forum or email CustomerService@digitalscrapbookplace.com.

Are you interested in taking a class that is more in depth? Check out our DSU Classes!