Hi, Designing 8×8 album pages for slip in refill pages is really easy and fun to make. I went with the 8×8 size for the ease it presents when printing. Most consumer photography printing labs can make 8×10 prints. Trimming one edge 2 inches creates a perfect square, which can slip nicely into the album refill pages. If your printing lab can print 8×8 or 10×10, simply follow these steps adjusting your canvas accordingly.
Check out Hobby Lobby’s 8×8 selection here.
This is a real simple template I use for my 8×8 refill pages.
1. I use Fotofusion to create my pages. Simply begin a new project. Be sure to select a blank project.
2. Open the preset sizes as shown in the images above and select the 8×10 size.
3. Set your margins to allow for the 2 inch trimming.
4. You will want to pay particular attention to the Printing Zones. These go left to right. For the far left number is the left canvas margin. The second from the left end is the right side of the canvas. The far right number is the bottom margin of the design. The last margin remaining is the second from the right. After setting the safe printing zones, be sure to apply the changes to the page.
5. Notice how the bottom margin is set at 2 inches. Once the 8×10 is printed, the bottom 2 inches will be trimmed to 8×8 size.
6. Next insert an image frame.
7. Adjust the image frame border and shadow. I like reducing the shadow to 50. To edit the shadow, click on the shadow in the small box – it’s highlighted in the image as red. Please note: this is not a default red for shadow in your work space. To edit the border, click on the border inside of the red highlight. After clicking the border or shadow a new pop up window appears. This is where you will make your changes.
8. Decide which images you will be using. In my example I choose two. The frame will have two splits for vertical images. After selecting the numbers of splits click ok.
9. Shown below is the completed page. The images were dropped into place. Will save the file to the computer. Note I added a gray area to the portion that will be trimmed from the image.
10. Don’t forget to “save as” your project to a file you will remember.
11. Next render your project to a jpeg file.
12. Select the folder location. Choose the dots per inch (dpi) image resolution. A good resolution for print is 250 dpi. Choose to print all the pages in the project. Then render.
Your print file is now ready for print. Remember to trim off the bottom portion to create your 8×8 page.
When printing, I prefer the matte finish to glossy. The matte finish is more professional looking and it does not show fingerprints if the print is touched.
Have fun creating your 8×8 pages!
Take care.
Best Wishes,
