Monday, October 11, 2010

{Tips & Hints} Printables


Welcome to all our new followers!!! I can't tell you how happy I am to have you on board. And a big "Happy Monday" to all our continuing followers as well!

Since starting the big Halloween Collection Give Away last week, I have received a lot questions about Printables so I thought that it might be good to do a post to make sure that when you print your free PDF's you get the very best result.

First, when you order Printables from Etsy, or when you receive the free files from me, you will probably receive a multi-page PDF. If you know that you should be able to see multiple pages, but you can't seem to see them, you probably need to download Adobe Reader from adobe.com. (Don't worry, it's free!)

Once you are able to see all the files, you are ready to print! Many people have asked me what they should print on to get the best result. Most Printable designer/sellers will tell you that you can just print on heavy weight bright white card stock. And for patterns which are comprised mostly of whites, pastels and muted colors or Printables where the text does not need to be crisp, simple bright white card stock is fine. But the Printable examples you see depicted in most tablescape and promotional pictures have been printed on Matte Photo Paper. A good heavy weight matte photo paper will give you the truest, deepest, richest colors and the crispest clarity. I have an Epson printer so I typically use Epson photo paper as it is designed for highest compatibility with my printer and so the colors print the closest to what I expect them to look like. Staples also makes a good, reasonably priced, matte photo paper.

For most of the Printables (i.e. Cupcake Toppers, Invitations, Banners, etc.) you want to use the heaviest weight paper you can find. Typically I use the Epson 51 lb. photo paper for these things or the Staples 61 lb. photo paper. But for the Treat Cones, because you need to be able to easily manipulate the paper into a cone shape, it is best to use a lighter weight paper. So for Treat Cones I use the Epson 44 lb. paper, but any lighter weight paper will do.

As far as punching or cutting Cupcake Toppers or Party Circles goes, you can buy 2" and 2.5" circle punches at Michaels or at Joanne Fabrics. I have used the punches made by Fiskars, Uchida and EK Paper Shapers. Although the Fiskar punches work, I have found that they leave a bit of a ragged edge many times and the Uchida and EK punches make a much cleaner cut. If you are cutting larger Party Circles (4" and up), you can use a circle cutter. I recommend the Martha Stewart Circle cutter. It is the easiest to use and gives the cleanest cut. Of course, you can also always go old school and just use a pair of scissors.

I hope these tips help to make your Printables, of course your party, a HUGE success!! Please let me know if you have any other questions or if you have any other tips. (I always love it when people share a good tip!!)

p.s. Make sure you come back tomorrow for the Ghost Cupcake tutorial!!

6 comments:

  1. Awesome post- informative and extremely helpful.

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  2. Thank you SO much for sharing your printables! I love that you shared and inspired me and others to go and create with it! I made pumpkin bread and printed your party labels out on sticker paper and attached to to the lids! I did a post today about it, and linked your site to my post for the printables, hope that is ok! So glad I found your blog!

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  3. As always...You are so helpful! Thanks yet again for great info!! I always send my printables to kinkos for printing on heavy white cardstock. But I too have an epson photo printer and never thought to use the photo paper...I always thought the ink would run with food? Do you ever have that problem? Your labels turned out beautiful! My party with now 19 families is tomorrow. So excited!! Thanks a million!

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  4. Brittany, I've never had a problem with the ink running with food. In most cases the printables are not in direct contact with the food. But in the few cases where they are (treat cones, cupcake wrappers, etc.) the only issue I have ever encountered is when the food is greasy. Then it leaves grease spots sometimes.

    I'm so glad that the labels turned out!! Hope your party is fabulous!!

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  5. Oh no! I missed all of your free Halloween giveaways! I just now found your blog thanks to Pizzazzerie! I look forward to catching up!

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  6. Excellent! I would like get the files! my email is lucreciabarletta@hotmail.com
    Thanks!

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