Will Digital Scrapbooking Replace Traditional Scrapbooking?
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Digital scrapbooking is increasing in popularity. As more digitial cameras are sold and home printers improve in quality, more scrapbookers are turning to digital scrapbooking. Simple Scrapbook magazines recently premiered a new bi-monthly magazine just for digital scrapbooking. Many other scrapbooking publications are releasing special editions for digital scrapbookers. Even as digital scrapbooking gains in popularity, traditional scrapbooking's appeal won't decrease. Digital scrapbooking isn't going to replace traditional scrapbooking.
I began scrapbooking in 1994 while my first child was very young. I'm not into crafts, nor do I have artistic talent. However, I enjoy photography and saw the new trend in archival-safe scrapbooking as a way to display and preserve my photos. It wasn't long before I learned that even with my lack of design skills, I could make an attractive scrapbooking page. People begin scrapbooking for a variety of reasons.
Traditional scrapbooking does not require special skills. Anyone can make a scrapbooking album. Yet for those who are creative, scrapbooking can be as complex and intricate as you want to make it. Scrapbooking can be learned quickly, and you can increase your skills with new techniques at whatever pace works for you. It appeals to both the artist and the non-artist.
Scrapbooking allows us to explore our creativity and imagination. For so many of us, computers dominate our lives both in the workplace and at home. So much of what we do everyday involves technology. The papers and embellishments available in scrapbooking appeal to our sensory and tactile needs. Digital scrapbooking can't replace that. Even after a digital scrapbook page is printed, it can't offer the same textures and depth that a traditional scrapbooking page provides.
Traditional scrapbooking isn't just about making a scrapbooking album. There's so much to the process of choosing the right elements for a page. For many, shopping for scrapbooking supplies is an activity all its own. Collecting scrapbooking supplies is nearly as enjoyable as sitting down to scrapbook. Many of us have scrapbooking workspaces in our homes, and for some, an entire scrapbooking room. Storing and organizing scrapbook supplies becomes a new challenge. Yet, that won't stop us from finding a bargain or two at the next scrapbooking store sale. Digital scrapbooking is definitely more space efficient. Everything is stored on a computer. Still, it doesn't have the excitement of coming home with your latest scrapbooking finds.
Traditional scrapbooking offers a social aspect that digital scrapbooking can't provide. Digital scrapbooking tends to be a solo activity. While traditional scrapbooking can be done alone, many women get together for scrapbooking crops. Crops have been described as modern day quilting bees. Women scrapbook as a group activity, each making their own albums, but sharing tips and techniques with each other during the process. Crops are found in scrapbooking stores, scrapbooking conventions, but most commonly in individual homes. Many crop members take turns hosting a monthly crop. A roomful of laughing and chatting women with scrapbooking supplies spread across every surface doesn't compare to sitting alone with a digital scrapbooking program open on your computer.
Digital scrapbooking has many benefits, but comparing it to traditional scrapbooking stops at displaying and storing photographs. The process for both is so different. Yet they both have their place. Even though digital scrapbooking's popularity is increasing, fans of traditional scrapbooking will continue even if they add digital scrapbooking to their hobby.
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