New to Digital scrapping: Which software?

[Lavender Mom]

I'm a very casual scrapbooker. I scrap maybe once a year, but tend to do it in intense weekend spurts. Our disney trip has inspired me to go digital and I'm trying to decide which software to get. Here's what I'm thinking. Can you help me decide and correct any bad assumptions?

Photoshop Elements
Pros:
*Seems to be the "industry standard"
*Lots of tutorials available online
*Costco version online comes with free "into to digital scrapbooking CD."

Cons:
*Costs $80 (?)
*Perhaps trickier to learn? Is that true?

Creative Memories StoryBook Creator Plus
Pros:
*I have memory manager & SBC2. I've played around with it and it seems easy enough to use.
*CM has a cute disney pack that I like. I like that I could use some templates and do some of my own scrapping. Could I use that pack with PSE?

Cons:
*$60
*Maybe more "narrow" in it's use than PSE?

Picasa

Pros:
*It's free!

Cons:
*Can it even be used for scrapbooking? I thought I read that it could.
*I've tried it and am having a tough time figuring it out, beyond basic photo editing.
*There doesn't seem to be a lot of on-line info. available.


Can you offer any insight or other suggestions? Thanks!

 

[boBQuincy]

Photoshop is definitely the industry standard, Elements is sort of a subset of Photoshop with some nice bonuses for new or casual users. Elements is not difficult to learn and of course does a lot more than scrapbooking (like slide shows).

The nice part about Elements is if you outgrow it your work can easily be ported into Photoshop.

 

[Mom2JPL]

I have Picasa, it's really just for photo editing.

I've tried Photoshop and found it waaaay too difficult to learn. My brother had an old version and let me use it. I also downloaded Elements from Adobe for a free trial and really didn't like it.

I recently purchased CM's SBC+ and LOVE it! You can do so much with it! I think it's a great program and really don't see a need to upgrade to anything else.

 

[Yzerbear19]

I think Best Buy has Photoshop Elements 7 on sale this week for $69.99.

 

[sigmasal]

I did post in another thread a couple of days ago but if you really want to see all that CM's SB+ has to offer, CM is offering web classes - there are live and pre-recorded ones. If you go to the CM website or your consultant's website, click on Help Zone, Digital and you can check out the live and pre-recorded classes. I have been using the software since it came out (I'm a consultant) and I've learned new things watching these. You can also click on "digital content" and see all of the papers and embellishments that come in each individual pack. And, there is a great facebook group called Digital Inspirations that offers web classes and has tons of samples of digital pages with SB+. It will really amaze you when you see how much you really can do with this software. Every time I look at the pages I think , "How come I never thought of that?"
If you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them. I'm not trying to spark sales here, I'm just offering info. I really love the software and cannot wait for our trip (6 more days) so I can come back and make a Disney book!! I also designed our Disney shirts in SB+.

 

[Hebie]

OK, I think I would recommend arcsoft print creations. All applications and templates are free to try (with a watermark), and as I know the price for Scrapbook is $39.9. When I bought it I had used a coupon, I think it was fair enough, as they provide many free templates and keep updating their collection (seems to be every week).

Now, they are offering a FREE one month trial, to print all templates without a watermark. You definitely need to check out this. The offer is until May 1st, so hurry up and register for the freebies.

http://printcreations.arcsoft.com/contents/free_template.asp?category0=Home

 

[Lavender Mom]

Thanks for all of the insights.

I downloaded a free trial version of photoshop elements and worked my way through a couple of tutorials. I still found it hard to use. I had a hard time even doing simple stuff.

I watched a couple of "webinars" on the CM website and it made SBC+ seem so easy that I decided to try it. I LOVE it! I played with it all afternoon and got so much done! It's so easy to use!

I decided to go back to photoshop tonight to see if maybe it'd just been a fluke but I still couldn't get the hang of it. I'm sure I could have with time, but the SBC+ was just so easy in comparison that I don't think photoshop is worth my time right now.

This thread, and the SBC+ thread were both really helpful! Thanks!

 

[sigmasal]

I'm glad you liked SB+. In case no one lets you know you can get $10 off your Storybook next month if you order in May. Check out your consultant's website for details. That's a good deal, esp if you are ordering multiple books!

 

[Neverland Scraps]

If you are going to invest in Photoshop Elements, I'd recommend getting Creative Suite--doesnt' have to be 3 or 4 and you can get 2 online for fairly cheap.

I myself love and use Corel Paint Shop Pro. It was very easy to use. I self-taught myself in a matter of weeks using the available tutorials online. The only con is that you can't get actions/filters for your photos and run like them like you can with Photoshop. However you do have scripts that you can install and do the same thing--just harder to find a designer who creates scripts.

If all else fails, you can always do an online search, download the free week's trial and see what you think. They are free, try them out, see what works and feels good for you. Go from there to make your desicion. Google specific tutorials that you are looking for to see if they are available for you, pretty much shop the free trial market until you find one that says "Im the one"

good luck searching ((hugs))