HP inkjets for homemade business cards using Word->FM templates

[Anonymous, Kinda]

I would like to make up calling cards at home using 8.5x11 sheets of
Avery precut cards. Templates are provided for Word & Word Perfect.

1. How well do people find the translation of the templates to
Framemaker? Is the positioning of the business cards correctly
preserved?

2. I'm using an HP inkjet to print (PSC 750). I haven't calibrated
the print heads because it requires that all the color cartridges be
working. I haven't replaced the depleted color cartridges because I
don't expect to use them. Does anyone have experience with how accurate
is the positioning of the printout without this calibration? This is
more critical when printing out on precut cards than when printing out
normally.

 

[Burt]

Just print a plain paper copy and see how it lines up. Business cards are
usually about 2" by 3.5", so you can calculate the margins outside the cards
and know how much to cut off before cutting the cards apart.

By calibration do you mean the print head alignment? That is a minute
adjustment to coordinate printing of the black and color output. If that is
the adjustment you are asking about it will not affect placement of the text
on the paper. I don't know if this printer has another alignment utility to
adjust the printed image on the paper additional to the usual print head
alignment utility I mentioned.

Why would you want to translate the templates to another program? They work
fine in both MS Word and Wordperfect. I print cards on Wausau 80 # cover
cardstock that I purchase at a commercial paper house that sells to printing
firms. Cut them up with a paper cutter after they are printed. Much
cheaper than the precut cards. I haven't tried this stock with an inkjet
printer, but black text should work just fine.

 

[Anonymous, Kinda]

I would like to make up calling cards at home using 8.5x11 sheets of
Avery precut cards. Templates are provided for Word & Word Perfect.

1. How well do people find the translation of the templates to
Framemaker? Is the positioning of the business cards correctly
preserved?

2. I'm using an HP inkjet to print (PSC 750). I haven't calibrated
the print heads because it requires that all the color cartridges be
working. I haven't replaced the depleted color cartridges because I
don't expect to use them. Does anyone have experience with how accurate
is the positioning of the printout without this calibration? This is
more critical when printing out on precut cards than when printing out
normally.

Just print a plain paper copy and see how it lines up. Business cards are
usually about 2" by 3.5", so you can calculate the margins outside the cards
and know how much to cut off before cutting the cards apart.

I'm actually trying to determine if the positioning on the page is the
same on the screen as it is in hard copy. There are no delineations of
the card edges on a plain white sheet.

By calibration do you mean the print head alignment? That is a minute
adjustment to coordinate printing of the black and color output. If that is
the adjustment you are asking about it will not affect placement of the text
on the paper. I don't know if this printer has another alignment utility to
adjust the printed image on the paper additional to the usual print head
alignment utility I mentioned.

I'm not sure if it is a fine alignment or a gross alignment. I just know
that the printer use to print out a calibration page with full color, then
I had to put the calibration page on the scanner for it to calibrate.

Why would you want to translate the templates to another program? They work
fine in both MS Word and Wordperfect. I print cards on Wausau 80 # cover
cardstock that I purchase at a commercial paper house that sells to printing
firms. Cut them up with a paper cutter after they are printed. Much
cheaper than the precut cards. I haven't tried this stock with an inkjet
printer, but black text should work just fine.

I am much more proficient with Framemaker than Word.

I have considered cutting my own calling cards, but I really have no place
to put a paper cutter. As well, the paper cutters that I have used have
the habit of forcing the paper to change position slightly while cutting, so
the edges are rarely straight. Though it might be a result of cutting more
than one sheet at once.

Paper cutters are big beasts, and my space is small enough that having one
is a nontrivial consideration. However, I will looking into the pricing
of paper cutters.

Thanks for the info about the the card sizes and margins. I actually
scrutinized the postscript printout of the template from word and
compared it to my own home-made template of ten 3.5"x2" cards in Framemaker.
They are almost identical, with only a horizontal shift of 1 point (which
I think is 1/72 inches). So the fact that I'm making my own template in
Framemaker is not a problem. I will see if the positioning on a plain
8.5"x11" sheet of paper is accurate.

 

[budgie]

I would like to make up calling cards at home using 8.5x11 sheets of
Avery precut cards. Templates are provided for Word & Word Perfect.

(snip rest)

I know it's not the type of answer you were seeking, but IMOE I'd rather buy
cards ex Vista Print (www.vistaprint.com) than bother fiddling with printing my
own. Check them out. (No affiliation other than a more-than-once user.)

 

[Ben Myers]

I print out my business cards on 28 lb stock, a dozen at a time, then slice them
up with a paper cutter and a very steady hand. Because I don't hand out
business cards a lot, this works for me. Why buy 500 or 1000 business cards
with high odds of a phone number or email change in this day and age? Maybe
tomorrow I'll go VOIP, sign up with another ISP, or do something else to make my
business cards obsolete... Ben Myers

 

[Chuck]

Always proof spacing on plain paper.
Uncut sheets of stock are a LOT cheaper than microperf business card stock.
A small paper cutter doesn't take a lot of space. Some designs have a wheel
cutter instead of the heavy blade.

 

[budgie]

I print out my business cards on 28 lb stock, a dozen at a time, then slice them
up with a paper cutter and a very steady hand. Because I don't hand out
business cards a lot, this works for me. Why buy 500 or 1000 business cards
with high odds of a phone number or email change in this day and age? Maybe
tomorrow I'll go VOIP, sign up with another ISP, or do something else to make my
business cards obsolete... Ben Myers

At the price of the commercial product from Vista, I'm prepared to take the risk
of content obsolescence. There are "free" standard layouts and 90% of the time
their next tier is $US4 for 250 (both plus postage). Beats the hell out of home
brew for anyone with an actual need for biz cards. But hey if it makes you feel
good to do your own printing/cutting then I'm happy for you.

 

[Ben Myers]

You can't imagine the rush of happiness I get whenever I slice and dice my own
business cards. Pity it happens so rarely, maybe once every 6 months. At that
rate, a supply of 250 would last me 10 years... Ben Myers

 

[Anonymous, Kinda]

I would like to make up calling cards at home using 8.5x11 sheets of
Avery precut cards. Templates are provided for Word & Word Perfect.

I know it's not the type of answer you were seeking, but IMOE I'd
rather buy cards ex Vista Print (www.vistaprint.com) than bother
fiddling with printing my own. Check them out. (No affiliation
other than a more-than-once user.)

I print out my business cards on 28 lb stock, a dozen at a time,
then slice them up with a paper cutter and a very steady hand.
Because I don't hand out business cards a lot, this works for me.
Why buy 500 or 1000 business cards with high odds of a phone number
or email change in this day and age? Maybe tomorrow I'll go VOIP,
sign up with another ISP, or do something else to make my business
cards obsolete... Ben Myers

At the price of the commercial product from Vista, I'm prepared to
take the risk of content obsolescence. There are "free" standard
layouts and 90% of the time their next tier is $US4 for 250 (both
plus postage). Beats the hell out of home brew for anyone with an
actual need for biz cards. But hey if it makes you feel good to do
your own printing/cutting then I'm happy for you.

I believe that there are other reasons besides a large backlog of
business cards for not wanting to change one's contact information
frequently. A major reason is that you would have to send new
business cards to people who have your old one. Unless they replace
your old one with your new one right away, it could become confusing
for them. If they have you in the organizer, they would have to
update that, too.

Having said that, however, I have to admit that I could be changing my
calling card somewhat frequently for the next little while. I am in
the information gathering phase of planning a next career step; the
details of how I want to present myself will become refined as I meet
with more professional practitioners to get their view on the
industry. Though my contact info remains the same, the content must
be agile -- not only will I change content frequently, and thus need
small quantities, it would be inconvenient to wait several days to get
revised cards.

I have done a cost comparison between printing & cutting my own cards,
printing onto Avery pre-perforated cards, and having a PDF printed and
cut by a local print shop. I am assuming 10 cards/page, though one
can squeeze out 12 with landscape layout; this is not generally
supported by professional print/cut shops.

1. Print & cut myself
---------------------
* 110 lb paper, pprox. $0.10/page
* Injet printing (OK, not super) about $0.07/page
* Assume cutter for 110 lb paper should be lever type, for clean
edge (minimum $50, upto $100+)
* Total: $0.17/page,
plus $50~$100 for a cutter (and space to store it)

2. Avery pre-perforated (clean edge)
------------------------------------
* $1.33/page
* Injet printing (OK, not super) about $0.07/page
* Total: $1.40/page

3. Print & cut by shop
----------------------
* $1.25/page (laser printed)
* $1.00 overhead to extract 10-up content from PDF file
- This is understandable. I spent a while just fiddling around
to find proper layout, which differed on the printed page
versus on-screen PDF (turned out to be a printer setting)
- Assuming 3 page/order, this adds 0.33/page
* $1.00/page to cut
* Total: $2.58/page, clean laser quality

4. Local Campus print shop
--------------------------
* $1.25/page
* $10 fixed cost on top of page charge
* Assuming 3 page/order, this adds $3.33/page
* Total: $4.58/page

For *self-printing* ink-jet quality, #1 is a clear winner for the
long-haul. For the immediate term, #2 is the clear winner. My
ink-jet (PSC-750) is pretty good. There is some fuzziness (more like
a softness) when the printed card is observed at regular viewing
distance. It is not until one scrutinizes the print up close that it
becomes clear that the outline of the letters are a bit "hairy".

For laser quality, #3 is the clear winner, though #4 *might* be more
likely to respond the same day rather then the next day.

So the strategy moving forward is to use #3 for the laser quality
(these things matter to the viewer at an unconscious level). If the
volume seems to be getting excessive, I can revert to #2, with the
associated drop in paper & print quality. For truely large volume or
long-haul, I'll drop to #1. #4 is a contingency for emergencies (and
it isn't even for sure that the turn-around time will be quicker than
for #3 -- it will probably be situation-specific).

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

 

[Anonymous, Kinda]

Just a point I forgot to add: For shop-printed cards, glossy finish
is an option that seems to add a touch of class or professionalism
to the card, but if the recipient of the card writes nots on the card,
the writing seems to smear more readily.

 

[Ben Myers]

In addition, being in a phase of career transition, you may want to present
yourself differently for different professional and business opportunities.
It's very easy to bang out 10 or 12 business cards customized for ones
profession du jour.

I bought a nice sharp paper cutter from Quill a number of years ago. I can lay
out 12 cards of 2"x3 1/2" dimensions in landscape on a single 8 1/2" x 11" piece
of paper. Do the math and that leaves 1/4" to trim off all sides... Ben Myers

 

[Marc Heusser]

I would like to make up calling cards at home using 8.5x11 sheets of
Avery precut cards. Templates are provided for Word & Word Perfect.

Precut cards works well if you do not have any design elements near the
border of an individual card.
Otherwise (bleeding edges etc) use a full sheet with no precuts, mark
cut lines in FrameMaker, and cut by hand. This is because the image in
laser printers and such will not always end up in the same place on the
page (up to a few millimeters tolerance because of the paper feed).

1. How well do people find the translation of the templates to
Framemaker? Is the positioning of the business cards correctly
preserved?

Why bother - create your own in Frame-Maker. What works best for me is
to create a frame or rectangle (no border) with the exact dimensions of
an ingdividual card, and place all the design elements in it.
Then group and copy as many times as you need, aligning and distributing
accordingly.
If you need a template for the idea, send e-mail, I'll send you mine in
FrameMaker.

HTH

Marc

 

[RSD99]

For cutting - try adding cut marks to your template and buying an Xacto #11
Frisket Knife and a metal straight edge(S/B ~~ $10.00)

For printing - I have made variations of my 'Business Card' on "Kirkland
Photo Paper" (10 mil thickness, nice and stiff, bright glossy surface,
Costco stock number 26352. $18.99 for 125 sheets ... or about 0.15 per
sheet).

Oh ... and if at all possible, use a VECTOR GRAPHICS program such as Corel
Draw or Adobe Illustrator. You can easily duplicate the "template" with
either of these programs, and they are *much* better for typesetting.

 

[measekite]

For cutting - try adding cut marks to your template and buying an Xacto #11
Frisket Knife and a metal straight edge(S/B ~~ $10.00)

For printing - I have made variations of my 'Business Card' on "Kirkland
Photo Paper" (10 mil thickness, nice and stiff, bright glossy surface,
Costco stock number 26352. $18.99 for 125 sheets ... or about 0.15 per
sheet).

GREAT STUFF

 

[Bumbling Elephant]

For cutting - try adding cut marks to your template and buying an Xacto #11
Frisket Knife and a metal straight edge(S/B ~~ $10.00)

Hmm, interesting. I can get a wooden board on which to cut the sheet.
Sounds like a good idea to try out. I'm curious, is your suggestion
from experience?

For printing - I have made variations of my 'Business Card' on "Kirkland
Photo Paper" (10 mil thickness, nice and stiff, bright glossy surface,
Costco stock number 26352. $18.99 for 125 sheets ... or about 0.15 per
sheet).

OK, I've noted that as a good medium on which to make cards. I don't
have a Costco membership, but something to keep in mind for if I do.
It sounds similar to 110 lb paper. I'd probably go for matt as I found
that writing on semigloss smears easily.

Oh ... and if at all possible, use a VECTOR GRAPHICS program such as Corel
Draw or Adobe Illustrator. You can easily duplicate the "template" with
either of these programs, and they are *much* better for typesetting.

I use Framemaker without any pixelized content, which does a pretty
good job. It was easy to come up with the template just by studying
the Word template. The only trick was printing the resulting PDF.
The printing options had to be set to *not* resize to fit page before
it printed out properly. The default setting was to resize the
content. It seemed that this shrunk the entire 8.5"x11" PDF to fit
within the printable portion of the physical sheet, which probably
excludes a margin area around the edges due to limitations in the
physical design of the printer.

Thanks for your suggestion.

 

[Anonymous, Kinda]

For cutting - try adding cut marks to your template and buying an Xacto #11
Frisket Knife and a metal straight edge(S/B ~~ $10.00)

Hmm, interesting. I can get a wooden board on which to cut the sheet.
Sounds like a good idea to try out. I'm curious, is your suggestion
from experience?

For printing - I have made variations of my 'Business Card' on "Kirkland
Photo Paper" (10 mil thickness, nice and stiff, bright glossy surface,
Costco stock number 26352. $18.99 for 125 sheets ... or about 0.15 per
sheet).

OK, I've noted that as a good medium on which to make cards. I don't
have a Costco membership, but something to keep in mind for if I do.
It sounds similar to 110 lb paper. I'd probably go for matt as I found
that writing on semigloss smears easily.

Oh ... and if at all possible, use a VECTOR GRAPHICS program such as Corel
Draw or Adobe Illustrator. You can easily duplicate the "template" with
either of these programs, and they are *much* better for typesetting.

I use Framemaker without any pixelized content, which does a pretty
good job. It was easy to come up with the template just by studying
the Word template. The only trick was printing the resulting PDF.
The printing options had to be set to *not* resize to fit page before
it printed out properly. The default setting was to resize the
content. It seemed that this shrunk the entire 8.5"x11" PDF to fit
within the printable portion of the physical sheet, which probably
excludes a margin area around the edges due to limitations in the
physical design of the printer.

Thanks for your suggestion.

 

[Anonymous, Kinda]

Always proof spacing on plain paper.

Yes, I found that this was necessary.

Uncut sheets of stock are a LOT cheaper than microperf business card stock.

For sure.

A small paper cutter doesn't take a lot of space. Some designs have a wheel
cutter instead of the heavy blade.

I saw some rather compact cutters at low prices ($30+), but the staff
at the store suggested that for heavy paper, and considering that a
clean cut is essential, to go with the bigger lever cutters. Have
you found that the smaller cutters give a clean cut on heavy paper?
Was durability an issue?

 

[measekite]

Fiskars makes a branded rotary cutter that is sold at Costco for under
$30.00/ It does a great job.

 

[Anonymous, Kinda]

Precut cards works well if you do not have any design elements near the
border of an individual card.
Otherwise (bleeding edges etc) use a full sheet with no precuts, mark
cut lines in FrameMaker, and cut by hand. This is because the image in
laser printers and such will not always end up in the same place on the
page (up to a few millimeters tolerance because of the paper feed).

I found that the position on the printed image was slightly different
from the position of the image on the virtual page on the screen, as
measured from the page edge. So your idea of marking where to cut is
certainly practical.

Why bother - create your own in Frame-Maker. What works best for me
is to create a frame or rectangle (no border) with the exact
dimensions of an ingdividual card, and place all the design elements
in it. Then group and copy as many times as you need, aligning and
distributing accordingly. If you need a template for the idea, send
e-mail, I'll send you mine in FrameMaker. HTH Marc

Actually, I did create my own template in a manner similar to what
you describe. Thanks for the offer, and your suggestions.

 

[Anonymous, Kinda]

Fiskars makes a branded rotary cutter that is sold at Costco for under
$30.00/ It does a great job.

Since I don't have a Costco membership, I searched for Fiskars at the
website for our local office supplies store:
http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_results.asp?txtSearch=fiskars

There are two 12" personal trimmers, a 12" rotary trimmer, and an 8.5"
trimmer, ranging from $20 to $70. I mentioned in another post that
home-cut cards may be a good option once I establish my usage pattern
and the volume is adquately high. The trade-off is the inkjet print
quality. Thanks for sharing your experience with cutters for
home-cutting.