Scrapbooks and photo books are both fun, creative ways to preserve and showcase your most treasured memories. They both offer endless options for creative expression through photos, mementos, art, and design, with one fundamental difference: digital vs. analogue materials and workspaces.
Deciding the best way to preserve a collection of photos and memories comes down to your personal preferences, plus your particular vision for the project. Let’s look at the various pros and cons for scrapbooking and photo books along with other key considerations.
Scrapbooking
The age-old art of scrapbooking means taking a physical paper book with blank pages and filling those pages with photo prints and other media. In addition to photos—which you can cut, frame, and embellish however you desire—scrapbook pages might include original drawings or paintings, embellishments like glitter, stickers, and washi tape, and physical memorabilia such as ticket stubs, maps, and postcards. You might glue envelopes to pages to hold mementos, or create hidden “lift-the-flap” features.
A scrapbook is a great way to preserve a special day, event, or time in your life. When you flip through the book, the lovingly decorated pages are packed with nostalgia to take you back to those treasured moments.
Pros
- Endless ways to express your creativity
- A huge range of options for media and arts and crafts materials
- Showcase photos that might otherwise be forgotten in storage
- A mindful project to enjoy as a break from screens
Cons
- Can be time-consuming and messy
- Some crafting skills and creative ideas are required
- Scrapbooks can decay and fall apart over time, so storing and preserving them can be a challenge
Photo books
Photo books are professionally printed, durable books featuring your custom photo collection plus optional design details like text, digital stickers, backgrounds, and other accents. Just like scrapbooks, they preserve memories in a creative and unique way. But the primary difference is that all those creative decisions happen virtually in a design space such as Mixbook Studio™. This means you can easily change and edit the design as much as you like. Plus, you can order multiple copies of the same book.
Mixbook invites you to create your photo book exactly how you want it, with the help of professionally designed themes to get you started. Themes offer cohesive sets of design assets such as matching fonts, pleasing color palettes, content prompts, and more, all complementing the topic of your book. The online tools are easy to use, even if you don’t have any prior experience or design knowledge. Photo books retain the magic of scrapbooking while saving on time and mess.
Pros
- Start with your own idea, or get inspiration from themes created by popular designers like Martha Stewart
- Editing is simple, and you can “undo” and “redo” as often as needed until you’re happy with the design
- No artistic or design skills are needed
- Photo books are high-quality and hardwearing
- Order as many copies as you like
Cons
- All photos and memorabilia need to be digitized, if they’re not already
- Photo book creation removes the “hands-on” approach preferred by some creators
- You can't add physical items and mementos to a photo book
- Requires screen time
Choosing between scrapbooks and photo books
Here are the key factors to consider if you’re trying to choose between scrapbooks and photo books for your next project.
Personal style
If you like the look and feel of handmade treasures, then scrapbooking could be for you. Scrapbooks are, by their nature, often a little rough around the edges, which adds to their charm. If you’re an artistic person who enjoys drawing, painting, and crafting collages to match a vision in mind, then scrapbooking promises pleasing results.
A photo book design also presents endless options for expressing personal style. Mixbook’s themes represent a huge variety of aesthetic styles, from boho-chic to sleek and minimalist. Plus, you can customize all the design details to suit your preferences. The results will always be crisp and professional, yet still carry your own creative flair.
Cost
Defining the cost of scrapbooking is tricky, as it really depends on the different types of creative materials you’re going to include. High-quality art supplies can be pricey, but there are plenty of budget-friendly options available as well. If you already own the supplies needed for your scrapbook, then the total cost is minimal.
The price of a printed photo book varies depending on the number of pages, cover type, paper type, and the size of the book you choose. Browse Mixbook’s pricing options for an overview, and sign up to receive exclusive offers by email.
Time commitment
The timeframe for making scrapbooks vs. photo books depends on many factors and the nature of the project. Scrapbooking can involve a big time commitment, as it’s a mindful, artistic project that you don’t want to rush. You'll need time to set up a crafting area with your books, pictures, glue, stickers, and other embellishments, plus time to figure out and execute your design ideas. Expect each page to take an hour or more at a minimum. This isn’t a negative thing—in fact, some people love this so much, there’s a National Scrapbook Day!
Photo books, on the other hand, don’t require a huge time commitment unless you choose it. With a pre-designed theme and time-saving tools like Auto-Create and the Mixbook App, you can take your photo book from concept to completion in under an hour. And, there’s no cleanup required.
Convenience
Another consideration is the option to work on your scrapbook or photo book in a series of sessions over a period of time. With a photo book, your project-in-progress is automatically saved to your Mixbook account, so you can work on it whenever you have the time. A scrapbooking project is similar, but with the additional tasks of getting all the supplies out and put away for each session, which can be inconvenient.
Creativity
Both scrapbooking and photo books allow you to explore your creative side to the max. Use glitter, sparkly or color-changing glue, or stickers to add personal touches to scrapbooks. Embellish the pages with your own artwork. With photo books, you can add text in any font imaginable, digital stickers, solid or patterned backgrounds, and change the layout at the touch of a button. We’ll call this one a tie!
Collaboration
Scrapbooking can be a great hobby to fill your free time, and it’s something you can share with family or friends. You can all gather for a scrapbooking session and work on your own projects, or each contribute ideas to a shared scrapbook.
Mixbook’s collaboration features make it easy to share your photo book projects with friends and family, too. They don’t need to be in the same place at the same time as you—you just send an invitation to their email and they’ll be able to see, edit, or order copies of your book.
Scrapbooking vs. photo books: What’s right for you?
For anyone looking to preserve and share photo memories in creative ways, consider yourself lucky to have so many options! Scrapbooking and photo books both offer distinct pros and cons, and the decision ultimately depends on your personal preference for each project idea. So, why not both?
Our top life hack when it comes to scrapbooking vs. photo books? Bring the benefits of traditional scrapbooking together with the convenience of digital technology and try scrapbooking online. You might even give new life to old scrapbooks from over the years, digitizing and transforming them into long-lasting photo books!
Become a Mixbooker and start your journey with digital scrapbooking today.
