I’ve been asked a few times now about how to easily convert a 12×12 layout to an 8.5×11. Clearly, you could re-design the entire work at the new size, but that would take time! For scrappers with little time to spare, there are two options to get you from A to Z!
1. The Easy Route
If the goal is to print your scrapbook page at 8.5×11, you could choose to be content with a top and bottom border. It really doesn’t look too bad. Simply link up all layers and scale down to a width of 8.5″ or a little less (with a shadow).
2. The Slightly Less Easy but Still Simple Route
Maybe the borders just aren’t your thing. You want a full bleed (edge-to-edge) page that is 8.5×11. But, you don’t want to start from scratch. Here’s the tip. Group all of your elements except backgrounds and scale them down. Delete (or hide) the backgrounds (after you’ve made a mental note of them). Change the size of your canvas from 12×12 to 8.5×11. Drag the grouped layers to a desired placement. Then, re-do only the background papers and borders to fit your new layout.
While neither solution can offer the perfect results of hand-placed elements filling a rectangular page, both are simple options to help you print more at home and at a cheaper cost!
I’ll just mention it (but have not tried it) – One of the revolutionary features of Adobe Photoshop CS4 is Content Aware Scaling. In practice it takes all the elements into account and selectively resizes them to get the least amount of distortion. The examples I’ve seen are amazing.
Stan at Scrappers Workshop