I hope you’re all frugally scrapping it up, or at least taking lots of photos of your summer fun so you can scrap it all when the days start getting cold. In the meantime, let’s talk about how to frugally print those gorgeous creations you’re making.
If you’re scrapping in 8x10s, you probably already know that you can print your photos for about a buck-fifty at all your standard photo-printing locales, but if you’re using the more traditional 12×12 format, you may find that most of the standard photo-printing shops can’t print them, and printing your photos at the local specialty shop hurts at 7.99 a print. Never fear, however. Frugal options abound. Below are five frugal options for printing 12 by 12 scrapbook layouts. I hope this list will enable you to explore your options, try some different places, and settle on a printing method you love.
Costco
Cost: 2.99 for individual prints, 1.99 if you have three pages printed on a 12*36 sheet. Just compile three layouts on one 12*36 page in your photo editing program and save it as a jpeg. You can’t upload this banner for printing online, so you’ll need to put it on a CD or memory stick and take it into the store in person.
Shipping: None
Pros: You can see the print job before you buy. No waiting. You’ll get the prints while in the store.
Cons: Requires Costco membership. Requires trip to the store.
ScrapbooksPlease.com
Cost: .99-4.99 a print.
Shipping: Starts at 1.99
Pros: They offer a wide range of print types, from basic matte prints on acid-free paper to intense-color luster prints on 200-year archival paper. You can try their products in advance by ordering a free sample of a single scrapbook page printed on each of their paper types. Shipping for the sample is free too!
Cons: Requires waiting. You can’t see each page before you buy, though they do offer thirty-day replacements or store credit if your print job is unsatisfactory.
ScrappingSimply.com
Cost: 1.99
Shipping: 5.00 flat rate
Pros: They boast archival-quality Fuji Crystal Archive Premium paper. They’ve also received excellent reviews by digital scrappers.
Cons: Requires waiting. You can’t see each page before you buy.
ScrapbookPictures.com
Cost: 1.99 for glossy and matte, 2.99 for metallic
Shipping: 2.00 flat rate
Pros: Each photo is hand-inspected for color, density, and contrast before being mailed. They offer a wide variety of print types (glossy, matte, metallic), colors (color, black and white, sepia, choose your own tone), and borders.
Cons: Requires waiting. You can’t see each page before you buy.
ScrapbookstoShare.com
Cost: 1.50-4.00
Shipping: 6.00 flat rate
Pros: They also offer paper scrapbook page duplication. They’ve received good reviews from other digital scrappers. You can order a single scrapbook page printed on each of their paper and print types in order to preview the quality before you buy. (You pay 6.00 shipping and handling fee.)
Cons: Requires waiting. You can’t see each page before you buy. There is a slim white border around each page, and you may want to resize your pages to 11.64 by 12 inches to accommodate it.
I hope this post has given you some ideas of how to cheaply print your scrapbook pages. If you’ve liked this post and are interested in learning more about frugal digital scrapbooking, check out the rest of the series for more ideas.
Marne
I can vouch for scrapbookpictures.com. I have used them before and have been VERY pleased with their quality. Plus, they have flat rate shipping for only $2 which is nice when you are ordering a lot! The one thing I love about thier website is that I can order odd sizes that one uses for scrapbooking: like 2×2, 4×4, etc so I don't have to order 4×6's somewhere and then crop. It is a scrapbooker's printing dream!
Also, if you are a 8 1/2×11 scrapbooker, print your digital prints at your local copy store. My local store prints them for only .39 cents a page…cheaper that most anywhere. That is because they treat them as a color copy and charge a color copy price. I just put my file on a thumb drive, take it in, and they print!
Heidi
Thanks, Marne! I've always used Costco but after finding out about all these great alternatives while researching, I think I may switch over. It's good to hear that the site with the cheapest printing also has great quality.