Digital Photographer's Software Guide - Bertemes - Net

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The Digital Photographer's Software Guide
who want to create scrapbooks and albums. Even so, it must surely appeal more to the
dedicated scrapbooker than to the novice. Not everyone wants to make the transition
between paper and scissors to keyboard and monitor, and for many people the jump
from the physical to the virtual method is simply too great when the program has
the flexibility and versatility of Photoshop Elements. Nowhere is the trade-off between
ease-of-use and number of features better demonstrated than here, among the different
types of scrapbooking software.
There is one online service listed here (Smilebox), plus one multimedia kit
(MemoryMixer) for creating digital slide shows. MemoryMixer is included because it
is aimed specifically at the scrapbooking sector, whereas other slide show software has
a broader appeal. If you want to turn scrapbooking into a multimedia experience, you
should certainly look at some of the products described in the slide show category.
The trend towards “openness,” seen in photographic software generally, is one that is
likely to gather steam in scrapbooking. After all, no one wants to have personal choice
restricted by someone else’s idea of his or her chosen art form. Even when there are thousands
of graphics available, it is little comfort if they all look vaguely the same. It is much
better to have a program that will take input from many suppliers, allowing you to
choose from a wider range of styles and approaches. One indication of openness is the
number of alliances, partnerships, and affiliations that are formed in the scrapbooking
industry. For example, 30 independent retailers in Southern California have formed the
Southern California Scrapbook Retailers Association, and similar link-ups have been
spearheaded by software companies like Lumapix. Whether these will lead to improved
usability and better-quality graphics remains to be seen. Watch this space (or, conversely,
drag-and-drop an Easter bunny into it).
Art Explosion Scrapbook Factory Deluxe
Vendor: Nova Development
Purpose: Drag-and-drop scrapbook creation with thousands of templates, fonts, and clipart
Description
Art Explosion Scrapbook Factory Deluxe (AESFD) could scarcely be easier to use: from
a selected category you choose an event, occasion, or theme from 6,000 designs; you
personalize it with your own photos, captions, and embellishments; and finally you print
it on any printer. Another output option is to convert the page to PDF for sending to
friends and family.
The key selling point of AESFD is the bewildering quantity of templates, graphics, and
fonts that come with the software. There are 60,000 graphics, consisting of watercolors,
illustrations, vector drawings, fine art, and other styles, any of which you can use
in your scrapbooks. 6,000 projects are categorized into Special Occasions, Family and