Digital Papers

[lesliespringer]

What are your options on Digital Papers?

Are they worth it with the price of printer ink?

What are your favorite sites/companies for Digital Papers??

[qvande]

I like Mel Stampz site Mel McCarthy’s albums | Flickr.

She has a great variety of free papers.

[August29]

I use digital paper quite a bit only because I live so far from a craft store and sometimes when I'm working on a project I can't always drive an hour to get what I need.
There are some things to consider though:
1. Your printer. I use an HP Envy and I am enrolled in the HP InstaInk program. This means for a set price per month HP will monitor and count how many copies I make, and when my ink runs low they will automatically send me new cartridges. They have 5 different levels of prices. The ones I use most often are the $2.99 per month for 50 copies, $4.99 per month for 100 copies and $9.99 per month for 300 copies. In this program you are not locked in to any one set option, so one month I know I only am going to use 50 copies I use the first option. When school starts and I know I'm going to print more I change to the third option. I figured out how many copies I usually use and then figured out how much a cartridge at Staples cost. The down fall to the program is if you print out any sheet and if that sheet only has 1 word (or even just 1 dot of ink on it for example) that counts as 1 copy. So I try to be strategic and get as much print on one sheet of paper as possible. The cartridges they send are considered extra large and have more ink in them then the ones purchased at the store.
The other thing is how true to color does your printer print. Mine does a decent job and suits me for what I want. Would I print photos with it...no because the quality is not fantastic but it's good enough for what I want.

2. I get my digital paper from Snap Click Supply:

Snap Click Supply Co.

They have tons of digital paper collections. Some of the name brands are Echo Park and Carta Bella. The collections come two ways: They offer 2 different paper packs (and they each contain 12 sheets of digital paper) and then they offer 3 Element packs (that contain about 40 different elements in each pack) that coordinate with the paper. You can mix and match and only purchase packs you want. Or you can buy the MEGA collection. This includes both paper packs and all 3 element packs (24 papers and 120 elements). It runs $14.00 for a MEGA collection but they frequently have 50% off sales. So for $7.00 you can get a whole coordinated collection.
Then on Wednesdays they offer $1.00 buck Wednesdays. They choose about 10 different selected packs that are discounted.

When you print the paper you have to remember to print in either a 6x6 inch square or a 8x8 square or the design will be distorted. The element parts can be printed at any size you need. This means you won't get a true 8.5 x 11 piece of paper. This doesn't bother me because I usually use it for accent paper, not my main paper for my card. Also print your paper or element first and then pick your main color from your stash. The color you see on the screen could print slightly off and you don't want to have the two papers to mismatch.

I mainly like to use black and white digital paper. I find it the most versatile. For
example, if I have a black paper with white dots... I just use my copic markers and color in the dots whatever color I need for my card.

Also instead of standard copy paper I print on 28 or 32 Lb. paper. If you saturate the standard paper with a lot of ink it tends to get a little wavy.

[lesliespringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by August29

I use digital paper quite a bit only because I live so far from a craft store and sometimes when I'm working on a project I can't always drive an hour to get what I need.
There are some things to consider though:
1. Your printer. I use an HP Envy and I am enrolled in the HP InstaInk program. This means for a set price per month HP will monitor and count how many copies I make, and when my ink runs low they will automatically send me new cartridges. They have 5 different levels of prices. The ones I use most often are the $2.99 per month for 50 copies, $4.99 per month for 100 copies and $9.99 per month for 300 copies. In this program you are not locked in to any one set option, so one month I know I only am going to use 50 copies I use the first option. When school starts and I know I'm going to print more I change to the third option. I figured out how many copies I usually use and then figured out how much a cartridge at Staples cost. The down fall to the program is if you print out any sheet and if that sheet only has 1 word (or even just 1 dot of ink on it for example) that counts as 1 copy. So I try to be strategic and get as much print on one sheet of paper as possible. The cartridges they send are considered extra large and have more ink in them then the ones purchased at the store.
The other thing is how true to color does your printer print. Mine does a decent job and suits me for what I want. Would I print photos with it...no because the quality is not fantastic but it's good enough for what I want.

2. I get my digital paper from Snap Click Supply:

Snap Click Supply Co.

They have tons of digital paper collections. Some of the name brands are Echo Park and Carta Bella. The collections come two ways: They offer 2 different paper packs (and they each contain 12 sheets of digital paper) and then they offer 3 Element packs (that contain about 40 different elements in each pack) that coordinate with the paper. You can mix and match and only purchase packs you want. Or you can buy the MEGA collection. This includes both paper packs and all 3 element packs (24 papers and 120 elements). It runs $14.00 for a MEGA collection but they frequently have 50% off sales. So for $7.00 you can get a whole coordinated collection.
Then on Wednesdays they offer $1.00 buck Wednesdays. They choose about 10 different selected packs that are discounted.

When you print the paper you have to remember to print in either a 6x6 inch square or a 8x8 square or the design will be distorted. The element parts can be printed at any size you need. This means you won't get a true 8.5 x 11 piece of paper. This doesn't bother me because I usually use it for accent paper, not my main paper for my card. Also print your paper or element first and then pick your main color from your stash. The color you see on the screen could print slightly off and you don't want to have the two papers to mismatch.

I mainly like to use black and white digital paper. I find it the most versatile. For
example, if I have a black paper with white dots... I just use my copic markers and color in the dots whatever color I need for my card.

Also instead of standard copy paper I print on 28 or 32 Lb. paper. If you saturate the standard paper with a lot of ink it tends to get a little wavy.

Thank you for all the information! I appreciate it.

[Cook22]

I agree big-time that it depends on your printer. Our last printer tended to band when printing full colour on anything other than photo paper. And I have received printed paper /design elements with distinct banding. The printer before was great and I often printed the chiyogami designs available from Canon Creative Park.
I don't think it will ever have the same finish and look as bought papers, using a good quality laser paper will be the closest you can get. I would prefer that anyway for general printing but it's getting hard to find here .
It's not something I would choose to do except for fun and very occasional use.

[papercrafter40]

I think, if longevity is important, you also have to be careful with printing. Some companies' inks just don't last, & most will run if they get wet. I know Epson DuraBrite ink is good, as that is what I've had & used for years now. It's also highly water-resistant. I've had prints on copy paper get wet, and while the paper did disintegrate sometimes, the ink didn't run! Keep in mind, though, that Epson's Eco Tank printers don't use water-resistant ink, for whatever reason. Also, the color you see on your monitor may well not be the color you get when you print, unless the monitor & printer are both color-calibrated. Something most people don't want to go to the trouble to do. I use digital papers mostly for digital projects, or if I'm doing something for a photo book that I'll have printed. The color matching may still be an issue, but it doesn't seem as pronounced with printed photo books. HTH!

[lesliespringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by papercrafter40

I think, if longevity is important, you also have to be careful with printing. Some companies' inks just don't last, & most will run if they get wet. I know Epson DuraBrite ink is good, as that is what I've had & used for years now. It's also highly water-resistant. I've had prints on copy paper get wet, and while the paper did disintegrate sometimes, the ink didn't run! Keep in mind, though, that Epson's Eco Tank printers don't use water-resistant ink, for whatever reason. Also, the color you see on your monitor may well not be the color you get when you print, unless the monitor & printer are both color-calibrated. Something most people don't want to go to the trouble to do. I use digital papers mostly for digital projects, or if I'm doing something for a photo book that I'll have printed. The color matching may still be an issue, but it doesn't seem as pronounced with printed photo books. HTH!

Thank you

[HOBBYSUE]

For me ...................not worth it. But then again my hubby says I have an entire Michaels store in my craft room so I never really have a paper problem. My only REAL paper problem is that I keep ordering whatever I see that I like just because I like it. I think I have a paper issue

[javagirl984]

I prefer digital version of paper. I like being able to print what I need and printing as many times as I want. I use a Canon Pixma printer with generic ink from EZ Ink. I have been doing this for many years with no issues and it's pretty economical if you compare that to the price of physical product and if you are paying to have it shipped to you. I also use digital journal kits from various Etsy shops to make handmade "junk" journals.
I've printed items for my crafting for many years. My first printer was a dot matrix color printer that I used often with Print Shop. So I am very comfortable with using a PC and printing and it is my preference. With that said, I do also have a large collection of physical product as well.

[TexasGrammy]

I cringe when my printer insists that it needs yet another set of refills. As a result, I rarely print in colors.

[lesliespringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexasGrammy

I cringe when my printer insists that it needs yet another set of refills. As a result, I rarely print in colors.

I agree. printer ink is expensive. I have yet to jump in on the digital paper trend.

[clouston]

I do my own digital designs and printing them probably costs me a bit more than buying a sheet of scrapbook paper because I'm not consistent enough when I get the urge to print to buy into a program and I use branded photo papers for the best results. I also buy digital assets from places like Creative Market and Design Cuts (which has lately gotten more expensive with fewer discounts, but I have an extensive library at this point) that I can further manipulate to get the colors or combinations of elements I want. Mostly I print my own designs, though, and I like being able to use a printed background that I know is mine alone, so I'm willing to pay a few cents more for that. (Like many people, I have more commercial printed papers than I'll ever use; now I have more digital designs than I'll ever print, but they take up less physical space, at least.)

[harvestmoon]

I don't understand digital at all ! I went to Snap Click Supply and see the $1.00 page for today.
Do you need to print on cardstock, or buy special paper? They show 12 x 12 design, can that be printed on 8 1/2 x 11? Do you buy (or get free) the design then download it, then print when you want? TIA

[August29]

When you purchase your digital elements they send you a link to download your files. Once downloaded you open them up in your chosen program, resize them and print. I print on card stock or 32lb paper because to much ink saturation will make lighter weight paper warp. If you are printing elements you can make them any size you want but the 12x12 paper files have to printed in equal increments like 6x6 or 8x8 or the design will be distorted. The biggest I can do on my standard printer is 8x8 which is fine since the biggest card I make is 6x6.