Recycling layouts?

[hosanhelwa]

Especially for those who print photobooks, do you ever recycle a layout? As in take the TIFF file, swap out the picture, change the journaling, and just leave the rest as is? Do you do it within the same book or over different books? Do you ever "notice" when looking at your books that the pages are "the same but different?" If so, does it bug you?
I'm trying to power scrap through an immense backlog of photos in a semi-urgent way, but I still want things to look like the same attention to detail was used than on other pages, so wondering if using pages I've done before will work, or will it just annoy the heck out of me later?

[TraceyM]

There are a number of great sets of templates in the store for powering through layouts for books. I know that for me personally, trying to do what you are thinking of would definitely bother me. I'm curious to see what other say.

One way of scrapping a lot of pics that would need 2 pages would be to do the first page more fancy and the 2nd done more like a pocket page.

[Kiana]

I create TIFF files from lots of my layouts now. I do recycle them and use them over and over, however, I always change the products used. I think that helps them not "seem" like the same layout.

[Txcorey]

One thing I have done is when making a 2 page layout, make the first page, then flip it, or change it just a bit, then add different photos to the 2nd page. Then you have a cohesive 2 pager with less effort. Not exactly what you are asking, but could work to save time.

[Scrapcrazy]

I do the same thing as Txcorey! I usually flip my fist page and add the rest of the photos for a second page. That way all the thinking is done after the first page!

[nietis]

I do what Corey said, but rarely. So, in general, I usual do not recycle layouts. I prefer to scrap a new page.

[nesser1981]

Originally Posted by Txcorey

One thing I have done is when making a 2 page layout, make the first page, then flip it, or change it just a bit, then add different photos to the 2nd page. Then you have a cohesive 2 pager with less effort. Not exactly what you are asking, but could work to save time.

I have never done this, but what a great idea. I have project I'm working on for my daughter, she's graduating high school this year and this may help me finish up a little quicker.

I recycle templates often, but I don't think I've ever really recycled a layout.

[angiekey]

I could absolutely see myself doing this if I was trying to power through books for different people. For instance, making a 1st birthday layout for Granddaughter A, then swapping out the photos & journaling for Granddaughter B's album.

[Dalis]

I don't see a problem, that is exactly what templates are about. You do you and keep going!

[StacyLynn]

YUP! I made each my kiddos a 11x14 scrap book of birth to high graduation... on daughter number 2 I realized I could "reuse" almost all the high school pages again... saved so much time and then for daughter number three, a whole lot of her pages were from sisters books. I may have swapped out or moved some ellies, but mostly i just swapped photos and journaling.

Here is a sample of two of the books....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWwX70HYTww&t=1s

[AmieN1]

That sounds like a great idea- I've never done it, but I could absolutely see the time saving factors!

[jacinda]

Have a look at Janet's templates in the shoppe. Hers are super simple and often fit a lot of photos on a 2-pager. Not a lot of embellishing but the page still looks great.

[bienejen]

I'll use the same template repeatedly but I generally don't recycle layouts because it does drive me nuts. I've done it once or twice on back to school layouts (1st version for kid #1, recycle for kid #2) but I don't like looking at them in books so I try to do something to change them up like mirroring the first page.

[jak]

Sometimes I don't have the time or energy to start from scratch again so I've used the exact same page twice a handful of times for pages in my kids' albums - just swapped the photo and journalling (e.g. first day of high school). They're both boys so the colours/elements, etc in the layout work for both of them. Might not work so well if I had a boy and a girl though I guess... The pages end up in different books and I'm sure each kid is not bothered about what's in the other's book.

[Lidia G]

I'll use the same templates several times over but will use a different kit each time. In the past I have created layouts and saved them as "waiting for photos" and then when the perfect photos come along I'll pop them in and add some journaling.

[cherrygutz]

I mean I reuse some templates over and over either because I love them, they're a good fit for the kit or because I'm lazy (pov), but haven't recycled a page yet. But I don't see anything wrong with it though.

[SeattleSheri]

Like Kiana, I will reuse my layered pages and swap out the products. While I do print almost all of my pages in photobooks, the main reason I scrap is less about filling the books and more about the art of making pages, so I don't really have a need to keep the same products on a page. Many times I will flip or rotate the page, so it's has more of a unique feel.

There have also been instances where I'm creating a page for a friend where I will just swap out photos. For example, I've made wedding albums for a few of my close friends as wedding gifts and totally recycled pages.

For those reasons, I always keep my TIFF files. You never know when you mind need them!

[joelsgirl]

I do! As long as they aren’t in the same album, I often reuse a layout without swapping anything but the photos and journaling.

[aussiegirl]

I have done this for school layouts. I have 4 girls, and so I would include group BTS photos, and then switch out the individual photos for each girl. 1 layout= 4 individual pages! Since they are printed in their own school albums, unless the girls would compare 100%, noone knows they are repeated pages. I don't keep tiffs, but keep psd's, so sometimes I will switch around some element placements or elements in general (a K word tab instead of 3rd grade type thing).

If I ever get around to printing albums for my girls (besides their school ones), I figure I will just print 4 copies or the same layout (for family/travel type pages). I did the work, I have no problem printing additional copies!

Oh, I will also add, I did scrap for hire a couple years ago. I would take the layouts I created for her Disney trip, and create them into quickpages for me to use for my own albums. This way I scrapped the layout 1 time, but got 2 times the use out of it.

[wendyp]

Lol if I thought of this before it would be so much easier. I do dupclicate layouts into multiple albums if all 3 kids were in there. I mean for my youngest her baby album it often happened that they were all there only thing I change for each is the journaling, so they all 3 have the same spread/page but than personalized journaling

But at the other hand I also love to scrap a personal page for each. But this is mostly the case specially when it is just 1 kid in the photo. if not I duplicate

[stephc777]

When I am doing albums with a cohesive theme, like a vacation album, I have used basically the same file and just rotated it, changed the pics/journaling and maybe thrown some different elements on. Sometimes, you just need to get it done. For me, a completed album with a few similar layouts is better than an unfinished completely unique album stuck on my computer.