Basically, 12″ x 12″ and 8″ x 8″ sizes are used in photo books from places that use a professional printing process like Shutterfly, Snapfish, Costco, and Wal-mart. They use a different printing process than your average household printer uses. A professional printing company prints more crispy clear images, depending on the quality of your layouts. They can print your creations using their process or print and bind your creations into an actual book.

On the other hand, the average household printer prints 8″ x 10″ and smaller images, but drops of water on inkjet prints can leave water spots or runny areas, so if you don’t slobber or drool all over what you print at home you’ll be fine. I don’t spit on, throw water at, or drool all over layouts I print at home. I’ve printed and framed many at home. You can make your own 8″ x 10″ or 5" x 7" layouts, frame them then give them as gifts for any occasion, hang them on walls, or set them on a mantel or shelf.

As if that wasn't enough, there is Project Life, which deals with much smaller printing sizes and note cards that many sell and make for free downloads (Make your own Project Life journal cards and layouts with Paint.Net!) Some people have shared Project Life picture pages don't always go well with easy to find low cost printing, like with Costco or your local Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS, etc. Well, with Paint.Net, custom odd photo sizes are super easy to deal with. For example, if you have Project Life insert photo/journal card pages but you have a photo slightly too big or too small, just reduce the photo or add the small photo on a creative background that makes it now a larger photo, preventing it from floating around in a photo viewing "pocket" way too big for it. In fact, you could use a single Instagram pic on a larger background so it fits properly when it is then printed out or manybe consolidate more than one Instagram photo for one photo pocket. Paint .Net makes it all so easy. Things to think about with Project Life photo sizes: Project Life: All About Photos. In section 3, the author references free photo editing, but with an online service of PicMonkey. No mention of Paint.Net or even Gimp (Gimp, also FREE, ultra powerful and I have recently been not only using Gimp more lately but doing much better with it. However, for the new users of image editing software, Paint.Net will be your new best friend.) but the author states to be a Photoshop user. Note: Gimp loads slow, might seem like it takes forever to start on some computers, it is a bit more technical but has a flawless use of Photoshop brushes and preset gradients. Thus far, Paint.Net cannot properly use most Photoshop brushes as they are intended to be used and has no listing abilities for pre made gradients but maybe in the future.

This is where I hint about .png images used in the digital scrapbooking process, and most often they are huge. You reduce those images to the size you want to decorate the photo or cluster of photos in your layout. That whole process is how PDN makes it super easy to create digital scrapbooking layouts. More about that later, but it isn’t a big deal.

Remember, this site was designed to give basic introductory instructions for making digital scrapbook layout creations using PDN. Not in-depth detailed information of every aspect of digital scrapbooking....but it seems to be a growing work in progress of more content than I originally intended. It's taking on an additional, yet directly related, life of it's own : )

Once I teach you the basics of HOW to fish you can start catching your own fish and choose to learn the styles of fishing that appeal to you.