digi speak 101

deciphering the code

by anna aspnes

 

To be digi is to speak digi and that is the truth. Seriously, avid digital scrappers have adopted a language of their own, so if you find yourself cruising the various message boards and LOL (Laughing out Loud) you’re going to need to know the basics. Acronyms, by the way, are hot. Why? More time scrapping and chatting and less time typing is definitely the name of the game.

IMHO (In My Humble Opinion) eases possible misunderstandings when communicating over the internet, while ROFL (Rolling On Floor Laughing), of which there are many variations, aids explanation of unseen emotion in a virtual conversation. DH (Dear Husband), DS (Dear Son), DW (Dear Wife) and DD (Dear Daughter) introduce those who are close to us without getting too personal.

DPI (Dots Per Inch) describes the resolution, or clarity and sharpness in the print appearance of a page. Color, on the other hand, is defined by saturation and to desaturate is to remove all color and convert to black and white.

PSD, JPEG, PNG, TIFF and ABR are all file formats used in digital scrapbook kits. It’s less important to know what they stand for than what they are.

Layers, as well as being the title of a magazine for Mac users, are the foundation of digital scrapbook pages. If you can imagine a projector, each slide represents a layer which when placed together creates the overall picture. Templates are used as guides to complete scrapbook layouts while Quickpages offer a more “drop the photo in and print” type of solution.

Elements is not only an Adobe photo-editing software program, but elements are also the components of the Digital Scrapbooking Kits or Page Sets that scrapbookers use to build their virtual pages. Overlays are digital transparencies, Brushes are digital stamps and Masks can be best described as pencil and eraser used in tandem to add and subtract from a page.

Filters aid in the making of fresh coffee to get us through a crop, but also are the fancy little gizmos within Photoshop that turn photos into art. Actions allow the automation of repetitive processes making digital scrapbooking and editing less monotonous. (See Holly McCaig’s article Understanding Photoshop Actions for a short tutorial.) And Styles are the accessories that add the bling to our digital elements. Blending and Light Modes allow scrapbookers to create seamless montages, turning a layout immediately from simple to flash.

When it comes to output, you can print borderless at home or with a bleed at a professional printing press, each with the same result; the image area meets the edges of the page. Do yourself a favor and rid yourself of the pesky mouse by popping a tablet and pen on your desk top for doodling purposes.

And if you’re still with me, don’t forget to toot your horn, especially if you have amazing news to share. Toot…Toot…