Which album size to choose for your first scrapbook

Before you buy a single sheet of paper, you really need to know how big your album will be. The size decides which paper you need, how many photos fit on a page and how quickly a page is finished. Below, the four sizes you'll come across most often are set side by side, so you can choose what suits your first project.

Why scrappers measure in inches

Scrapbooking as we know it today took off in the United States. That's where the albums and paper collections began, and their sizes have stuck everywhere, just like many of the English craft terms. An inch is 2.54 centimetres.

The standard sheet is 12 x 12 inches, or 30.5 x 30.5 cm. If you see 30 x 30 cm somewhere, it's usually the same size, just rounded. These are the smaller sizes:

• 8 x 8 inches: about 20 x 20 cm
• 6 x 6 inches: about 15 x 15 cm
• 6 x 8 inches: about 15 x 20 cm

A4 is the exception. It's a European paper size of 21 x 29.7 cm. The American size closest to it, 8.5 x 11 inches (about 21.6 x 27.9 cm), is slightly wider and clearly shorter. So an A4 sheet won't fit in a sleeve or album of that size. Keep that in mind if you order something from abroad.

30.5 x 30.5 cm, the standard

Most paper collections, kits and albums come out in this size. If a particular paper line catches your eye, it's almost always available in this size. Sleeves and loose sheets to top up your album are easy to find.

A page like this has room for several photos, a title and journaling (the story you write alongside). There's also space for layers of paper and embellishments, the decorations such as stickers, flowers and buttons. Put two pages side by side and you have a spread more than 60 cm wide.

There are downsides too:

• a blank page this size can feel intimidating, and it takes longer to fill
• you use more paper and more photos per page
• the album is big and heavy, so measure whether it fits on your shelf
• you can't print a whole page at home on an ordinary printer

This size suits big projects with lots of photos, such as a family album, a wedding or a long trip.

A4, the size of your printer

A4 is practical. Plain paper, cardstock (sturdy, plain-coloured paper you use as a base) and slip-in sleeves are sold everywhere, and often for less than scrapbook supplies. Anything you print at home fits without trimming. The portrait format works nicely with portrait photos, and an A4 album sits neatly among your other books.

The catch is that scrapbook collections hardly ever come out in A4. So you'll almost always cut patterned paper (printed paper with a design) from a 30.5 cm sheet. That leaves you with a strip just over 9 cm wide. Don't throw it away, because it's just right for borders, labels and mats behind your photos.

A4 albums are often ring binders. They make it easy to move pages around, but there's always a gap at the rings in the middle of a spread.

20 x 20 cm, small and square

This size feels a lot less daunting. A page fills up quickly, so you finish things sooner, and that makes you want to keep going. It works well for a single theme: a weekend away, a birthday, a year in photos or an album as a gift. It also takes up less room on the shelf.

Space is limited, though. One large photo with a bit of text and decoration is often enough, and chunky embellishments or big titles soon become too much. Go one size smaller with your decorations.

If you also scrap digitally, there's another advantage. A page you design at 30.5 x 30.5 cm can be printed scaled down to 20 x 20 cm, because both are square.

15 x 20 cm, the little book

The 6 x 8 inch portrait size often comes as a pocket album. It has sleeves with pockets you slide photos and cards into, so there's not much sticking to do. That makes it easy and quick to get started, nice for a short holiday or a small gift.

Each page has room for one 10 x 15 cm photo or a few smaller ones. There's not much space left for journaling. If you use a lot of thick materials, the book won't close properly any more.

How many photos fit in each size

Most prints are 10 x 15 cm (4 x 6 inches). As a rough guide, with room for a title and a few lines of text:

• 30.5 x 30.5 cm: three to four photos, or six if you fill the page completely
• A4: two, three at most
• 20 x 20 cm: one, or two if you trim them a little
• 15 x 20 cm: one

With smaller or square photos you can fit more. But more isn't always better. A few well-chosen photos with a story often say more than a packed page.

If you're not sure, cut a sheet of plain paper to the size you're considering and lay your photos on it. You'll see straight away whether it gets tight or leaves lots of empty space. If you have lots of photos per event, a larger size suits you better. If you only have a handful, a small album feels full sooner.

Which paper goes with which size

• 30.5 x 30.5 cm: everything is available in this size, from loose sheets of cardstock and patterned paper to complete kits with matching stickers.
• 20 x 20 cm: there are paper pads in 20 x 20 and 15 x 15 cm. You can also cut from a 30.5 cm sheet. That gives you one 20 x 20 cm square and a strip of just over 10 cm for small pieces.
• A4: you can buy cardstock and printer paper in A4 anywhere; trim patterned paper from 30.5 cm.
• 15 x 20 cm: cut it from A4, or get two out of one 30.5 cm sheet.

If you work small but fall for a large-format collection, this is handy to know: one 30.5 cm sheet gives you exactly four squares of just over 15 cm. And buy an extra sheet of any paper you really love. If a page goes wrong, you can start again.

If you can only print on A4 at home

Then you have three good options.

1. Choose A4. Everything you print, from photos to backgrounds and journaling cards, fits without any fuss.
2. Choose 20 x 20 or 15 x 20 cm. Both fit within an A4 sheet, so you can print a whole page and trim it to size.
3. Choose 30.5 x 30.5 cm and print only the parts: photos, titles and journaling cards. The background is then shop-bought paper. A page designed fully digitally in this size can be printed by a photo printing service.

It's also worth checking your printer's manual. Not every printer prints right to the edge, so allow for a white border that you trim off. And not every printer handles sturdy cardstock, so check how thick a paper it can take.

What's easiest to start with

Experienced scrappers disagree on this, and both sides have a point. A small size like 20 x 20 cm is less overwhelming: your pages are finished quickly and you learn what you like along the way. Others prefer to start straight away with 30.5 x 30.5 cm, because almost all kits and paper lines come in that size, so you don't have to cut anything.

A simple rule of thumb:

• a first project with one theme, or a gift: 20 x 20 cm
• lots of photos, a big story or you want to work with kits: 30.5 x 30.5 cm
• you print a lot yourself or want to keep costs down: A4
• above all you want to start quickly without much sticking: a 15 x 20 cm pocket album

Always choose the size before you buy paper, and roughly count how many pages you'll need. If you want to buy extra pages or sleeves later, get them from the same brand and in the same size as your album. Even within the same size, the holes and dimensions differ from brand to brand.