Whatever your Budget design your Albums and Scrapbooks like a Professional

By far the most satisfying way of keeping and viewing photographs is the traditional way - in an album. It is accessible, visible and presentable. It is permanent too, unlike the rapidly changing technological environment that we live in. Moreover, with digital technology it is so easy to produce, whether you print your own, or use an outside bureau. The big question is, what software to use. Over the months I have tested many packages and am now giving my comments on those selected. Products come from freeware to the PXL dg Foto Art Gold product at £349 ($698). Like in everything you get what you pay for. I have tested some very cheap products. They may have some interesting features but the results are less than satisfactory. Others do not edit well for printing. As new products come on the market we will continue to test them and tell our OPUS Club members of our conclusions We need your input We cannot keep tabs on all the useful software. If you have advice to share let me know by e-mailing me- or appending a reply to this Ecademy blog.

How we select software

It must be good value for money
It must be easy and quick to use - without a large learning curve
It must be well supported

dg Foto Art - the Flagship Product PXL Soft's dg Foto Art is the album creation product favoured by a very large number of professional photgraphers. It is also used by many of the album and display printing bureaux. Using dgFoto Art therefore our customers benefit from seamless file interoperability with their chosen bureau. Dg Foto Art – Essentia, is a Fast & Easy software tool to create Digital Albums. It can compose stunning Albums in minutes with ease using blend of easy-to-use tools, ready-to-use Templates and huge library of added décor. Being stand-alone Dg Foto Art – Essentia is independent of any third party tools or plug-ins. For more information click here

dg Foto Gold is the most comprehensive and advanced suite to create Digital Album. This powerful engine has the capacity to create beautiful albums in minutes and so is known for its maximum output. Gold is built up by adding advanced features to Classic version for complete image management. Tools like Levels, Curves and Histograms have been added that aid in color correction. Gold also has many image editing tools like the Cloning Tool and Magic Wand and also carries a bunch of newly added image enhancement tools like Glows, Outlines and X-Y rotation. For more information click here. A Mac version is also available

FotoSlate4 - Our every-day album package - exceptional value for money

We recommend FotoSlate4 for users of lower cost albums such as the OPUS albums, Print & Bind - and for PhotoArt albums where there are a lot of text blocks. It is very fast and easy to use, with a good range of templates and editing features and is really good value for money. But of course it does not have the interoperability with bureaux systems.

Art Explosion Scrapbook Factory Our recommendation for hobby scrapbookers. It is America’s number one best selling scrapbooking software. It offers the ultimate collection of templates for scrapbooks and other keepsake projects, featuring beautiful photorealistic graphics sure to capture the excitement of any occasion or event.

A FEW REATURED PRODUCTS

OPUS 2009 Vacation Album - Buy-one-get-one-freeMake your own 2009 Year book with OPUS Print&Bind 1. Reminds you of the family – or events of the past year. 2. Gives you an year planner for 2009 3. Good to give to your friends, customers etc. Then here is a quick, easy and economical method using Print & Bind. Optional Olmec paper too.

Unibind PhotoBook landscape A4 cover - 5mm - BLACK - rectangular viewing windowUnibind Photobook cover in single unit quantity - only from OPUSalbums.com

Print & Bind - the great, inexpensive album for everybody!The OPUS Print and Bind is ideal for all digital camera users with an inkjet printer. .

Each album comprises 15 A4 sheets of high quality cast coated photo glossy paper, pre-punched and ready to bind. The cover is made of high quality durable plastic holding the photo pages using post binding screws.

Innova FibaPrint White Gloss Archival Paper 300gsm - A5 - 50 sheetsInnova FibaPrint White Gloss acid free paper - 300gsm The TIPA Award winning Innova FibaPrint White Gloss archival paper has been modelled on the traditional fibre-based gloss material used in conventional dark room photography. Its smooth glossy surface, acid inhibiting layerand brilliant white colour make it the perfect product for Photographic reproduction and high quality Fine Art printing applications.

Museo Max 250 Paper Alternative - Innova Smooth Cotton High White 215 gsm - A4 Box of 50 sheets

Innova FibaPrint White Matte Archival Paper 280 gsm

FibaPrint® White Semi-Matte has been modeled on the traditional fibre-based material used in conventional photography, and designed to emulate a semi-matte finish of traditional papers. The special Micro porous semi-matte coating has been designed specifically for photographic reproduction and high quality fine art print applications with inkjet (giclée) technology.

Innova Soft Textured Natural White Paper - Roll of 36" (914mm) wide by 15 metres long 315 gsm single side -Pack of 1 unitInnova soft-textured, has a natural white finish with a slightly structured surface equivalent to a traditional etching fine art paper making it ideal for digital fine art and photo reproductions. The surface has a special matte coating, designed for high quality fine art and photographic reproduction with inkjet (gicl�e) technology.

Pack of 1 unit 315 gsm

Search Our Site

Name (optional)

Sorry for this but we have been getting spam

Whatever your Budget design your Albums and Scrapbooks like a Professional

A FEW REATURED PRODUCTS

Innova FibaPrint White Matte Archival Paper 280 gsm