Greetings Cards

[claybizz]

<P align=justify>I would like to make my own personalised Greeting cards, Christmas, etc.

<P align=justify>What programme do I need and what card do I buy ?

[ursula62]

If you mean on the PC there are several good ones - Hallmark do a Greetings Card programme as do Microsoft. Check out PC World or other software shops like Game. There are some budget ones that are quite good as well - you can get some for �9.99.

The downside of the Hallmark and Microsoft ones is that they are both American, which means even if you have configured your printer to use A4, the program doesn't quite print them centrally as they are designed to use US letter size. However, it's worth paying the extra for the higher quality clip art and graphics and you can always trim the card before folding.

As far as the cardstock is concerned, check the max thickness your printer can take. Usually 180 gsm is the thickest you can put in a laser printer, but it depends on the manufacturer. Also, make sure you buy the right card for your printer - with a very glossy coating the ink from a deskjet might flood, or the laser print scratch off.

Its worth buying some small packs (5 sheets or so) from a smaller stationers and experimenting until you find the right card.

Don't forget the envelopes either - it's all very well making non standard sized cards but you'll need to make your own envelopes unless you use a standard size. It's worth buying at least one of the cardmaking magazines - they often have catalogues in them for cardmaking supplies - including envelopes in different colours shapes and sizes.

[Buenchico]

Stationers like Staples sell cards (with matching envelopes) which are designed for use in inkjet printers. They also sell appropriate sofware but any decent DTP software will do the job. The best of the freebies is probably Serif's Page Plus SE:
http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/

Chris

[Stevee]

My wife does this as a hobby. If you can go to a big craft shop - Hobbycraft is perfect. It shows all options.

If you are going to be PC based only, most decent newsagents have a number of magazines devoted to card making and I would suggest they may be your best starting point.

[claybizz]

Many thanks to all for taking the time to help. Sorry I forgot to include details of my PC and printer. Tks again.