DIY 4x6 Greeting Cards?

<p>Hey All,<br>

My family and I went to Charleston SC Saturday. We were at Isle of Palms doing some shopping and I ran across some greeting cards done up by a local. They were real nice 4x6 photos placed on card stock. They had the appearence that they were matted. And they were placed in a clear sleve. Is there anyone here who knows how this is done, what suppies are needed? I wish I would have bought one so I could have torn into it. I thought there would have been instructions on the net. However, all I have seen are instructions on how to create tacky cards.<br>

Thank You,<br>

Derek</p>

<p>Can you be more specific about the "matted" part? Meaning, did there appear to be multiple physical layers (a window-cut front, with a photographic print behind), or was the print embossed to create that as an illusion ... or do you simply mean the printing was bordered in a way that conveyed that impression?<br /><br />Most home-brew card printing will leave you with a card that's two fragile for much handling. Places like MPIX or VistaPrint will produce press-printed cards (much more durable) in relatively small runs for you, and they'll provide matching envelopes, etc. </p>

<p>Matt, the photo was on top of what looked to be card stock. The card was about 3/8" bigger than the photo and there were two fine lines printed around the edge of card, giving a matted appearance.</p>

<p>Really, I would love to hear any good ideas about how to create some professional looking cards from the home.</p>

<p>I forget the name of the company but look at the small ads in the back of Popular Photography or Shutterbug. There is a company that sells basically greeting cards with a cutout for a 4x6 print. You slip the print in, fold over the card, and adhesive inside holds it together. You can buy them with just a simple line, with more elaborate graphics and with or without preselected greetings. You can also get them with your own greetings. They also sell the plastic sleeves, various accessories and even display racks for selling the cards in a store. Their web site and catalog make it sound like you can make a fortune selling these. The problem is that the cards sell for about $1 each and I think are still over 50 cents even when you buy in bulk. Even the company concedes that you have to have a retail price of about $3 and up.<br /><br />I haven't tried selling cards. But I have used card stock and desktop publishing programs to create my own cards. I print directly on the card stock rather than using a lab 4x6, and use them for promotional pieces or to give to friends and family. Might try selling someday if I found a market. But my cost is more like 25 cents per card rather than a couple of dollars.</p>

<p>I print postcards frequently for my business and have used <a href="http://www.nextdayflyers.com/">Next Day Promotions</a> with good results for a long time. Their pricing is excellent for runs of even 100. You can use their design templates or create your own in Photoshop, both are easy enough.<br>

As Craig says, you have to get your cost below $1.00 to make any money at all from postcards. I don't sell mine but use them for promotional mailings and as oversize business cards for handouts.<br>

<Chas><br /><br /></p>

<p>I'm guessing that Craig is thinking of <a href="http://www.photographersedge.com/">Photographer's Edge</a>.</p>

<p>Thats it guys, Photographers Edge. It was a real nice setup. Rather than buy into that system, I will make my own cards and buy the clear bags.<br>

I appreciate the help,<br>

Derek</p>

<p>It's probably similar to how I make my cards. I use 4x6 prints mounted on blank card stock using Kodak type 2 dry mount tissue and a heat press. It's a laborious process cutting the tissue to size, the heat iron to attach the tissue to the back of the print, and the press to mount the print to the card stock. It produces real nice cards people in clear envelopes.</p>

<p>I don't sell mine because there is little or no market these days for me to even try. I give boxes of 10 prints (same or variety) to friends, professionals, etal, to use for annoucements, events, framed photos, gifts, etc. I determined to profit from them I'd have to sell each one at $3 to cover time, materials and a small profit.</p>

<p>Hi Derek, <br>

I've tried many ways of making greeting cards from photos over the years. I started by printing my own, that was back when printers seemed to be cheaper to run. I had a system of refilling inks and made the process very cost effective. However, after having some bad experiences with new printers I bought, I gave it up as a bad joke.</p>

<p>But now days it is much cheaper to get 4x6 photos printed at the photo lab in the major department stores. They cost me 15c each at max.</p>

<p>So now I have a system of getting photos printed and then trim them and glue them onto coloured card stock, and cut out an insert from coloured paper to and gluing it inside... and then I have been making coloured envelopes to match. Altogether, a card will cost less than 50c. </p>

<p>I've been planning to write out the instructions and share on my blog. I haven't got there yet. If you are interested I can get them to you.</p>

<p>I made some for my hubby's art. I took photos of his paintings and made the greeting cards. I bought cello bags to put them in to sell.</p>

<p><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-H9Gw0u2PNws/UB9DEr3XxkI/AAAAAAAAEis/F_rgHUReNRs/s640/PBA021+BONDING+TIME+HGC3.JPG" alt="" width="640" height="481" /></p>

<p>It all depends on how much of DIY you are prepared to DY. As a last resort you may try the card design software and card stock on these links. The card stock includes envelopes.<br /><br />http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/Products/Cards/Greeting-Cards/?allref=1 <br /><br />http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/Templates-%26-Software/Software/Avery-Design--Print.htm </p>

<p>If all else fails you may consider the card stock (including envelopes) and free download design software with templates in the following links.<br /><br /> http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/Templates-%26-Software/Software/Avery-Design--Print.htm<br /><br />http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/Products/Cards/Greeting-Cards/?allref=1<br /><br /></p>

<p>If all else fails you may consider the card stock (including envelopes) and free download design software with templates in the following links.<br /><br /> http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/Templates-%26-Software/Software/Avery-Design--Print.htm<br /><br />http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/Products/Cards/Greeting-Cards/?allref=1<br /><br /></p>

<p>Danger! Photonet! Danger! Ignore previous posts. In order to download the software I referred to one must specify Designpro 5. The software featured on the website is so lightweight as to be unuseable according to some negative reviewers on the site. At least they are honest enough to publish the negs.<br /><br /></p>