In today’s highly digitized world, getting a
paper greeting card can be a special treat. Sure, posting the sentiment on a
social network would have been easier (and far more convenient), but instead
someone took the time to think about what you would like to see, hear, and hold
on this occasion. To give others this one-of-a-kind sensation, and save some
money in the process, use greeting card creation software.
Print
your own greeting cards
Equipment checklist
In truth, all you really need to make your
own greeting cards, invitations, announcements, and more is some sort of
writing utensil and paper. Optional extras include uncooked pasta, glue, and a
box of crayons. Then again, if you want personalized and professional-looking
greeting cards that make lasting impressions, you’ll need a bit more than your
average kindergartener’s craft kit. The bare essentials include a PC; a printer
to print out your touching, funny, or thoughtful observations and designs; and
a little something to help you with ideas and designs.
Say it with software
One of the easiest ways to make your own
greeting cards is with the aid of software. Multiple options exist, and almost
all include large collections of images and illustrations, dozens of project
templates for almost every holiday or special occasion you will ever celebrate,
multiple fonts and many that convey moods, and much more. For the most part,
any card creation suite will give you all the tools you need to ensure you never
have to buy another grocery store greeting card again. Many greeting card
creation suites also let you import digital images so you can give your
creations a more familiar face.
Greeting
card creation software typically lets you choose your layout, designs, text,
and fonts
Some of the occasions for which you’ll
likely find images and easy-to-customize templates include all manner of
holiday cards, as well as cards for anniversaries, birthdays for any age,
sympathy and get well, congratulations, graduations, baptisms, Bar/ Bat
Mitzvahs, invitations, wedding announcements and invitations, and more. You can
also often use this type of software to create calendars, CD and DVD labels,
stationery, envelopes, email greetings, popup cards, crafts and more. You’re
really only limited by your imagination.
How to use greeting card software
Most greeting card creation software offers
you a main dashboard of some sort that lets you start a new project, such as a
greeting card or calendar, and further submenus that let you quickly and easily
find the right card for the occasion you have in mind. Take some time to
explore the menus to familiarize yourself with the software’s interface, and
don’t hesitate to seek out a Help menu or follow any available tutorials to
make sure you get your sentiments exactly right. Most software of this type
comes with large databases of images, but sometimes an expanded image database
is available online. If this is the case, make sure to access these images to
get a wider selection of project templates, cards, images, fonts, and more.
Some
of the more full-featured greeting card creation suites also let you create CD
and DVD labels
Quality counts
When you’re ready to print, make sure the
printer is configured to use its highest-quality setting. If you plan to use a
heavy cardstock, make sure your printer can handle it, and configure the
printer accordingly.
No printer, no problem
In lieu of a printer, you can use a
portable storage device, such as a USB flash drive, on which you can load your
ready-to-print creations and take them to your nearest Staples, where you can
print off the cards on a variety of paper and cardstock. An even more
convenient option is to visit www.staplescopycenter.com,
which lets you order copy and print services right from home and arrange to
pick them up at your nearest Staples. Better yet, you can even have the printed
and finished results shipped to your door.
