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Computer
Tutor: Tips & Tricks
With the holiday season here, the Post Office, like most people's lives, becomes pretty busy. ... What if you're pressed for time and forgot to get a card for someone special? Or, if you're one of the fortunate ones who's got plenty of time to spare, what if you'd simply like to design your own holiday cards? Well, if you've got Microsoft Publisher installed -- and a fairly decent color printer -- then you're on the way to a simple solution: Making your own holiday cards.
Using the cards from Publisher: If you've used Publisher before, then you already know that there are templates you can use for holiday cards that are already designed and laid out for you. {See the examples throughout the article.} If you're in a hurry, these may have to do the trick. But what if the supplied templates don't cut it for the tasks you have in mind? Simple. ... Create your own. ... Designing your own cards: Basically, you have two ways to go ... Either modify an existing card to better suit you. ... Or create a new card from scratch. ... Modifying an existing card: If you want to customize an existing card, simply open an instance of it, then make your changes. ...
This may be your best bet for a few reasons: First, the card will already be set up to fit on standard 8-1/2x11 paper ... Second, all the panels and folds will already be set up properly so that printing and folding your card will be a fairly simple task. Third, the printed & folded cards will fit into standard card envelopes. ... Once you've chosen a card, you can cut out the parts you want to change -- pictures and/or text -- and insert your own. ... If you're changes are going to be pretty extensive, you're probably best off simply cutting out all of the picture frames and text boxes, then re-setting and inserting your own. Creating a new card from scratch can be a little trickier. ... First, assuming the final card will be folded, you'll have to figure out the layout, including such things as ...
In fact, this may all sound more complicated than it is. After a few passes on some test sheets, you'll probably be ready to print final copies. ... The example below is the front cover of a Publisher card we created -- including the design of the image in Paint Shop Pro 6.0 -- in less than half an hour. ...
Printing: To print your card, you should use either cover stock or card stock. But you have to be sure your printer can handle the thickness of such papers. Also, note that card designs with darker backgrounds that require light lettering, like the card above, can be ink-intensive to print on plain paper. As an alternative, of course, you can use colored paper stock. However, printing foregrounds in lighter inks can be tricky, and white itself is generally unavailable. Nonetheless, a little experimentation can go a long way. Meanwhile ... Happy Holidays ! ... from the staff at DownStreet. . ******* ******* If you would like to submit a feature for our Computers & Tech section, don't hesitate to let us know. Simply e-mail us at comptech@downstreetmagazine.com. The e-mail should contain your name, address, and a phone number where we can reach you. You may also send a copy of your proposed article. The text can either be included in the body of the e-mail, or you can send it as an attachment in just about any word processing format. If your piece is accepted, we will pay a small honorarium for your interest & your time. [See Freelancers Wanted for more details.] ******* ******* If you would like to advertise in this section, or throughout the magazine, please visit our Advertising Info Pages ... or call, write, or e-mail ads@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* *******. |
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