Your family’s holiday photographs are priceless snapshots of that special vacation, family adventure and more.    Unfortunately, all too often these memories end up unprotected in boxes and can eventually become lost or damaged.

Protecting photos and preserving the past is a trend that’s taking North America by storm. Canadians across the country are gathering their photo memories from holidays and vacations and putting them into great looking, protective scrapbooks that will stand the test of time.

Now, digital imaging is allowing Canadians to take scrapbooking one step further by allowing them to do all of their projects at home. With an inexpensive photo printer, scanner, computer and photo paper, hobbyists can produce a scrapbook from start to finish, without having to visit a copy or photo store for expensive scrapbooking bits and pieces. Plus, they can preserve all of their original photos by making copies of them with their colour printer.

Epson Canada’s Don Cameron explains how the inkjet printer and scanner you have in your den is an invaluable tool for your home scrapbooking projects.

First, take the time to organize the photos you want for your scrapbook. If you find that you’re running short on creative ideas, visit some of the on-line scrapbooking websites to get you going, such as scrapbooking.com. You’ll get all sorts of ideas on how to get started.

Once you have a layout in mind, it’s time to put your scanner to work. Most scanners can digitally reproduce photos with amazing speed and accuracy. The scanner transfers the digital copy to your computer where you can crop, shrink or enlarge the image to the size and shape your scrapbook requires, or remove imperfections like red-eye and scratches from your photos.

Once your photos have been scanned and paper is in the printer, all you have to do is click start and off you go. Today’s colour printers produce images that look just like your original photos, so you can print multiple copies of scrapbooks for family and friends.

You can also print out captions, stickers and borders for your scrapbook quickly and easily on an inkjet printer. All you need is the right paper.

Once you’ve got everything printed out, you’re all set to create!

Following proper scrapbooking techniques is key to ensuring your scrapbook will last for years. Here are some tips:

• The ink and paper you work with is crucial – choose inks and photo papers specifically designed to last without fading, such as Epson’s archival inks and papers available in retail and computer stores

• Using page protectors is an excellent way to shield your scrapbook’s pages and photos from moisture, dust and dirt

• To protect against premature fading, avoid storing your scrapbook in direct sunlight

• Use only acid-free, photo safe paper and adhesives for mounting photos