Photo Review tips section

Make Your Own Greeting Cards

It’s easy to produce your own greeting cards and a very satisfying way to share your photos with family and friends. All you need is a suitable software application, an inkjet printer and the right kind of paper and inks. (We’re focusing on ‘hard copy’ cards in this feature because there’s no shortage of online templates and services for creating e-cards.)

Inks, Papers and Other Media

The choice of ink is dictated by the printer you buy because each printer is designed for a specific ink set. Each printer manufacturer formulates inks to meet the needs of the print heads in printers in their range. In some cases there is a different set of inks for each individual printer; in others, one ink set can be used with several models in the range.

The Test of Time

Inkjet printing is one of the technological success stories of the last decade. Even over the last five years, inkjet printers have gone from producing barely adequate output the marketers would define somewhat optimistically as ‘near photo quality’, to prints which in many cases are better than what’s possible on conventional photographic paper.

Image and Canvas Sizes

If you would like to create a border around an image, the easiest way to do it is with the Canvas Size setting. Simpler image editors may not include this function but all of the more powerful editors provide it. Follow these steps to add a border to a digital image in The GIMP.

Identifying the Printing Surface

Because a special coating is required to accept the ink, inkjet papers can normally be printed on only one side. Some manufacturers also make double-sided papers with coatings on both sides, but these are comparatively rare – and not available in many sizes or surface types. So, in most cases, it’s important to tell which side to print on so you can load paper correctly.