Weddingbee Blog

So, a lot of people have inquired about just how in the heck I printed on my escort cards…and I’m here to tell you that it’s much easier than you think!

First, you need to consider the program that you’re using to print in. In the best circumstances, you have a design layout program like InDesign or Illustrator. The next best thing is a graphics design program like Photoshop… (remember you can always download the FREE opensource designercopy of Photoshop known as GIMPshop). Now, you just need to figure out the measurements of whatever you are printing, and create a new file with those exact dimensions.

In the case of the escort cards, the dimensions are 3.5″ x 5″. My printer has a front loading feeder that can handle dimensions as small as 3″x5″. If your printer can’t handle paper this small, then you are probably out of luck (I’m very sorry)…BUT if it can, then you’re right on track.

Create your design and make sure you turn on the rulers (View…Show Rulers) in order to make sure your design fits on ONLY the bottom half of the card.

Now, when you go to print the design, you’ll need to open up the settings. My HP printers have a tag known as “Paper/Quality.” This is where you’d usually change your print settings for cardstock, glossy paper, etc. You can also alter the dimensions of the print size, which is what you’ll need to do for the escort cards. For my color laserjet, I needed to change the print settings to 3.5″x5″ as well as change the paper settings to Heavy Cardstock.

Printing out the cards is a labor of love (or hate… I didn’t really have a lot of fun with it… but it had to be done) and takes a lot of patience. I had to compose each card, change the printer settings each time (my printing profile wouldn’t stay for some odd reason), and manually feed each card in. I’d estimate that my 140 cards took about 3+ hours to do.

Still confused? You might want to check out your printer manual (it’s usually online too)… or if you leave a question here I might be able to help or direct you to help. I’m kinda computer nerdy like that…