MyMemories Suite 5

Bottom Line:

MyMemories Suite 5 combines automation and customization tools that make it fun and easy to turn your digital photos into handsome digital scrapbooks.

PROS

• Bright, clean interface.
• Full compliment of easy-to-use layout tools.
• Associated print service.
• Numerous export options.
• Some photo editing.
• Photo filters.
• Numerous embellishments.

CONS

• Clunky photo management.
• Occasionally redundant interface.
• Awkward upgrade integration.
• No price tracker.
• No social media support.

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Panstoria Artisan 4

Bottom Line:

Panstoria Artisan 4 quickly turns your digital photo collection into artful scrapbooks, posters, and more, and comes with all the tools to make it pretty and personal. But a few hiccups hold back this otherwise excellent scrapbook maker.

PROS

• Huge number of printing options.
• Powerful layout tools.
• Works with Facebook, Picasa.
• Lots of photo effects.
• Capable photo editor.
• Powerful image organizer.
• Handy auto-placement tools.
• Color-matching tools.

CONS

• Broken red-eye removal tool.
• Broken Flickr integration.
• Confusing “art kit” organization.

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Foto.com Editor

Bottom Line:

Foto.com makes assembling a scrapbook from your digital photos super fast and super easy with professional results. But if you’re looking for a more hand-made feel, look elsewhere.

PROS

• Fast, responsive, modern interface.
• Automatic layout tools make photobook creation fast.
• Simple photo and text layout tools.
• Light photo editing.
• Very clear pricing.
• Free.

CONS

• Limited embellishments and artistic customization.
• Facebook integration broken.

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Serif CraftArtist 2 Professional

Bottom Line:

Serif CraftArtist 2 Professional has every tool you could possibly want for making a digital scrapbook, and then a few dozen more. But this app isn’t for beginners, and it won’t let you buy physical versions of your scrapbook creations.

PROS

• Unparalleled collection of layout and photo-editing tools.
• Large collection of downloadable content.
• Excellent customization tools.
• Multilingual service.
• Auto-layout and customization tools.

CONS

• Sluggish in testing.
• No printing service available.
• Awkward downloadable content procedure.

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Foto.com

Bottom Line:

Foto.com is a great way to quickly make photo books online, but it favors automation over customization.

PROS

• Free.
• Online.
• Upload images from social media and computer.
• Easy to use layout tools.
• Highly automated layout tools.
• Group collaboration tools.

CONS

• Few customization options.
• Few photo-editing tools.
• No photo effects.
• No export options.

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Sometimes I wonder if we’ve gone too far with digital photography. While I love not having to worry about storing boxes of forgotten snapshots in a damp basement, I also rarely look at the tens of thousands of pictures I’ve snapped with various digital cameras and (especially) cell phones. If you’re looking to artfully add some physicality to your snapshots, you need a digital scrapbooking app.

Not Your Grandma’s Scrapbooks

Modern digital scrapbooking apps are basically lighter versions of desktop publishing applications, like Adobe InDesign. You place your photos on a WYSIWYG page and adjust size, rotation, and how the images appear in their frames. MyMemories Suite 5 gives easy access to all these tools, making laying out each page a snap.

What sets a scrapbook apart from a photobook is the level of personal embellishment. Panstoria Artisan 4 and other apps have lots of clip art, backgrounds, and other doodads to liven up every page. Many of the apps I reviewed, including Panstoria, have online shops where you can download even more art and templates.

Nearly all scrapbooking apps include photo editors of varying quality. In general, I recommend against relying on the image-editing powers of desktop publishers and instead encourage would-be scrapbookers to touch up their images in a stand-alone photo editor, such as Adobe Photoshop Elements. Serif CraftArtist 2 Professional is the notable exception to this rule, but it’s also a challenging piece of software to learn.

Get Physical

In these reviews of scrapbooking software, I considered apps that had an integrated print service—that is, ones that let you order a printed scrapbook based on the digital one you designed in the software—to be superior to those without one. Unfortunately, several apps that didn’t make it into this roundup, namely PhotoMix PhotoOne Print, Hallmark Scrapbook Studio Deluxe, and Scrapbook Factory Deluxe require you to find your own print service or use your home printer.

If you’re not really the scrapbooking type but are interested in turning your digital photos albums into physical photo albums, Foto.com and Foto.com Editor are solid tools—and free, to boot. Foto.com Editor runs on Windows computers and comes with most of the tools I’d expect from a scrapbook maker. Foto.com is free, Web-based, and even includes collaboration tools. Both do an excellent job of keeping you informed of the size and cost of your project as you work, and they automate much of the layout process. Your book is generated in just a few seconds, and you can customize it to your heart’s content.

After reviewing nearly a dozen apps, I can see the value and the fun in turning boring old digital snapshots into shareable, gift-able books. In fact, I’ve even used some of these services to purchase gifts for my family. If a curmudgeon like me can be convinced, surely one of these apps will meet your needs.