If you have a printer, access to photos or graphics, printer paper and plenty of replacement ink cartridges, you are well on your way to beginning this project. Because you’re not likely searching for high quality projects for the younger set you don’t have to run out and buy high quality paper; consider using any paper you may have in the house for the scrapbook. 

Reuse and repurpose photos and graphics you have on your computer and print these items out on different pieces of colored paper and let the children cut out the designs and then provide them with paper on which to glue them. You can either give them plain sheets of paper or you can use your printer to design a page that is unique to each child and provide them with that so they can design a scrapbook page that suits their unique style. Offer them dried flowers, pieces of yarn, macaroni or even seeds that they can place on the pages as decorations. Having colored pencils, crayons or markers available will also give them a way to decorate their pages.

If the plan for the scrapbook is a theme project, gather items for the theme, Autumn, Summer, Thanksgiving, a birthday-themed page, or even a scrapbook page about a family trip.

You can save the pages in a binder and keep them as keepsakes that the children have made as a living history of their younger years. If you’re considering a scrapbook project for your children you may want to start gathering clip art, other items they can glue to the pages and other scrapbooking items and keep them all in a handy storage container so when the time comes for the project you have everything available!

To amp up the beauty and interest of the scrapbook page, you can print items for the children to cut out onto fabric paper that they can use to embellish their pages. Consider using glitter to decorate pages as well. Consider printing out items to keep the kids busy during family holidays and visits and set up a craft table.

Check on the quantity of your printer paper and compatible printer ink to make certain you have enough supplies on hand to let the children run wild with imagination.

To do this project you will need a computer with photo editing software, an inkjet printer with a supply of compatible printer ink, canvas paper sheets and your favorite photos. Determine whether you want to print photos to make a “theme wall” in a specific room or if you want to print photos that will be scattered throughout the home that highlight your unique hobbies or activities or favorite vacation photos. If you have a lot of family photos you may want to print those out and have a wall in your home specifically devoted to those.

Plan on printing a test page of your photos to make certain the printer can not only handle the paper, but that the photos are being rendered in a high quality manner. Using compatible ink cartridges designed for your printer will produce the results you desire. Canvas paper is about as thick as card stock and if you printer can accommodate card stock, you should be okay for the canvas paper printing task.

Once the photos have been printed onto the canvas paper, your imagination is the limit when it comes to what you will do with the photos. You can frame them and hang them on a wall, but did you also know you could create a quilt or a pillow from those canvas images as well? The images printed on the canvas paper will wear well and will not fade and therefore can be used in myriad different and unique ways. Consider this – you could create a lampshade with photos and this is an ideal project to place into a child’s room or to give to a grandmother (a lampshade with photos of her grandchildren)!

What will you use your canvas printed photos for? 

How can you make a photo recipe book of your own? Start by gathering at least 20 of your favorite all time recipes or gather recipes for specific holidays or seasons and consider putting the book together as a gift for family members! If you have go-to recipes that win you rave reviews from friends and family then put together a book of your “greatest hits.” Making a photo recipe book is also an ideal gift for a newlywed or to pass down to your children.

After you’ve gathered the recipes, you will want to purchase printer-sized card stock; you will want a heavier weight paper because you will be putting these recipes into a binder and need them to be sturdy. This printer paper comes in a rainbow of colors so you may want to pick a color theme either for the entire book (based on a holiday or a season) or you may want to choose different colors for different types of recipes. Choose a unique recipe box to put the completed, printed recipes in or consider an index ring to keep them all together (a recipe box is more suited for a gift option). You should also be sure that you have enough ink in your printer and purchase replacement ink cartridges so you don’t run out during your project.

If you have access to a laminating machine you may want to laminate the recipes to help keep them clean when they’re being used in the kitchen. Laminating film can also be purchased at any craft store and with this film, you won’t need to use a laminating machine.

To get the project started you will want to copy and paste the recipes you’ve found or your recipes into a document on your computer. You will likely need to adjust the text so that it fits a 5 x 3 ¾ inch space. Leave room around the outer edge of the recipe so you can easily cut them. Now, load the printer with card stock and begin printing. If you want, you can either find a picture of the recipes you’re printing or take a photo of a completed dish that you have prepared. You can put a photo on another piece of cardstock, print it out and attach it to the corresponding recipe (a photo helps envision the completed meal).

If you’re using a recipe box, put your completed recipes and photos in the box by category. If you opted for the index card ring you will need to punch holes into the top corner of each of the cards then insert the ring. Don’t forget to add a card in the box or attached to the index card ring that lets the recipient know who the gift is from, the date and the occasion.

The type of paper you use for your printing projects should be determined by the type of project you’re printing. If you simply need to print a quick document that you need to read, then you can likely use the on-sale ream of paper. If, however, you’re printing photos or a resume you will want to use a higher quality paper – one specifically chosen for a unique purpose.

How can you know what type of paper you should be using? Here are some guidelines to follow when you’re making your decision:

First – What is the project you’re going to be printing? Resumes, as mentioned before, require a more high quality paper than do most other items. Do you need to print reports for a school project?

You can certainly use the cheapest paper you can find, but keep in mind that low quality paper may have a lower up front price, but it will cost you more in the long run because these kinds of paper absorb printer ink at a higher rate. What does this mean? Bottom line, it means that the text on the document may be blurry and you will also be using more ink for a printing job on low quality paper than you will on higher quality paper.

Second – What kind of printer do you have? An inkjet printer uses ink cartridges and laser jet printers use toner cartridges. Why does this matter? Because they are unique printing methods and as such require different types of paper for optimal results. A laser printer “burns” the text onto the paper with lasers and the inkjets spray droplets of ink into the grooves. If you use paper specifically designed for an inkjet with a laser printer you will likely see smudgy results. Take care, when shopping for paper, to buy paper that is suited to your printer type for best results.

Third – In addition to the quality and type of paper you use for your printing project, you may want to consider the use of eco-friendly or recycled paper. There are even papers on the market that are “paper-free” such as the innovative rock paper (made from recycled limestone and calcium carbonate). Recycled, eco-friendly paper is just as white as traditional paper.

It is well worth your time to choose the correct paper for not only your project, but for the type of printer you own. Because it is so easy to change paper in the printer you may also want to keep several varieties on hand for your specific projects.

Choosing the right paper will save you money and using compatible ink cartridges or compatible toner cartridges will help keep your printing costs to a minimum while producing high quality documents. 

To begin you will need to purchase printer-sized card stock. This is a heavier weight paper that comes in many colors. Using MS Word, you can locate templates or if you don’t have Microsoft Office, you can search for templates online. The only limitation is your imagination!

Once you have selected the template, any image, and the text, you can run a test sheet on regular standard weight paper to verify that it looks as you expect it to. We also recommend printing a test on one sheet of card stock once you have your final design ready to be sure that it prints properly on the heavier paper.

After you’ve printed all your gift tags, cut them out and use a hole-punch so you can thread ribbon in order to attach it to the gift. You may also want to leave some without holes and attach them to gifts using double-sided tape.

Be sure that you have plenty of replacement ink cartridges on hand before you start to print. You’ll want to have an extra printer ink cartridge in every color so you don’t run out. After you’ve completed your project, you’ll have a special gift tag to adorn all your gifts. 

While you’ve been enjoying summer, vacation, kid’s activities and more, it’s likely that you’ve snapped a lot of photos so we want to share some ideas on how to create a customized calendar for family and friends. Most of us love looking at photos so seeing a favorite person or activity hanging on the wall each month is quite enjoyable!

Making a calendar is easy and can be a very fun project. You can print the calendar at home or use an online service, an office supply store or local print shop.

You may have a software program that has templates for calendars or you can do a search online to find templates to use. If you use Microsoft Office, a search for templates in Word will deliver a number of options for you to work with.

Start by selecting the program and the template you wish to work with. Next, you should select an overall theme. Do you want your photos to reflect the holidays that occur in each month or do you want personalized photos of your family and loved ones? Perhaps you can find a photo of the kids unwrapping their presents on Christmas morning or a photo of your backyard picnic on Independence Day.

After you’ve selected the theme, template and photos, it’s time to consider the rest of your needs. Select your paper whether it be color or white. Make sure you have enough ink and we recommend you buy remanufactured printer ink cartridges to reduce your costs while creating your special gift.

Once you’ve collected all your supplies, you can start to upload your photos. A basic calendar can just have one picture per sheet but you could create a collage or upload a child’s drawing. If you are making multiple calendars, create unique themes for each person. Print a test page on plain paper to see how everything will look so you can make adjustments as needed.

By starting on your projects now, you’ll save yourself the headache during the shopping season and have a lovely, personalized gift for friends and family.

Quality equipment & supplies plays a role in the quality of the photo you will ultimately print as will the photo paper you use. If you are in the process of purchasing a printer and just aren’t sure which one to choose you should first determine the type of printing you will do most often as this will help you narrow down the printer you will ultimately invest in.

If you’ve decided that most of your in-home printing projects will involve graphics or photographs then choosing a printer that specializes on that aspect of printing is ideal. An inkjet printer is considered a great choice for all-around printing projects including high quality photo printing. However, laser printers are another option but are usually used for document printing. An inkjet printer is better equipped to blend color which makes it more suited for photo quality printing.

Look for the dpi of the printer you’re purchasing (dpi means dots per inch) and the higher the dpi, the higher the print resolution. Once you’ve purchased your printer, you’ll want to make sure all the settings are right for the print job you want to complete and make sure that you have an ample supply of replacement printer ink. There is nothing more frustrating than running out of printer ink during the middle of a project. Printer paper for photographs can be found in many styles, textures, colors and finishes (matte, glossy, high- or low-gloss) and more. Choosing the paper for your printing project will help assure you receive the final outcome you’re imagining. Take time to experiment on a couple of different styles if you’re unsure.

Taking time to plan and purchase the correct supplies for the job will help assure the final outcomes are amazing!

To make your own set of flashcards you will want to purchase cardstock, two sided tape or glue, scissors or a paper cutter and laminating paper. You may also want to pick up a container of some sort to hold the finished cards and when they’re not in use. You should also make sure you have enough cheap replacement ink cartridges for your printer before you begin the job.

To begin the project, in addition to knowing which facts you need to cover, you may also want to decorate the flashcards with images, just to make them more interesting and visually appealing. You can find images online or use family photos, but you will need to have photo editing software simply to make the graphics small enough to fit onto the cards. You should plan on the flashcards being three inches tall by two inches wide.

You will need to set your word processing software to the correct shape and size that you will want your flashcards to be much the same as you would if you were printing labels or business cards. Once you have the size of the card set up, you can insert your images and then go in and add the information needed on the flashcards for study purposes. After you’ve put the questions on one side of the card and printed them out, you can either print the answers on the back or insert another sheet of cardstock, print the answers on those and then glue the fronts and backs together and laminate them.

Remember to test the paper in your printer with the correct compatible ink cartridge before running your full project to ensure it prints properly. 

Is there a solution? Yes, investing in a new printer that is capable of operating efficiently and effectively and allowing for multiple user network connections.

If you’re in an office setting and your employees are printing thousands of copies per month you are likely looking for ways to improve both efficiency and effectiveness. You may also be faced with a situation in which you have multiple employees waiting for their document to print costing the company time and lost productivity.

The manufacturers of printers today work to keep up with the needs of multiple users in a way that allows for fast, clear printing while allowing multiple users access across the company network. Today’s office printers, whether in an actual office setting or in your home, are also called upon to act as a fax machine, scanner and copier all in one. They are also likely being asked to print anything from plain text documents up to high gloss, high quality, full color brochures and everything in between.

Inkjet printers are still felt, by many, to be the printer of choice because of their ability to print high quality photos. Laser printers, however, perform their printing jobs faster than inkjet printers. A laser printer also provides more uniform printing of text and these printers can usually house larger paper trays; they also may have a more robust hard drive and that could make networking multiple computers an easier task to perform.

When it comes to speed, a laser printer can print close to 50 pages per minute. The reason for the speed of the laser printer is that the laser draws on an image then applies toner to give it color while an inkjet printer must place individual microscopic dots of ink to form the images.

Photo-quality inkjet printers still win rave reviews over laser printers that are printing photos, but laser printers are now able to print out higher quality documents than they were in the past – up to 1200 dots per inch.

If you’re purchasing a laser printer, be prepared to be faced with myriad choices that range from color to monochromatic lasers; you will need to determine if you’ll be printing more black and white as opposed to color copies to help make this decision. If you are in need of high quality, color copies you may want to stick with the inkjet printer.

Research the printers on the market, determine your unique needs and what you will be asking of the printer and then determine your budget before you start shopping for your next printer.

When you consider that, on average, employees print 10,000 pages annually, and the costs of these prints can range from six to 15 cents apiece, you’re looking at a cost, per employee of close to $1,500 a year. Wow! Chances are, you don’t ask that much of your home printer, but even the costs on a personal use computer can quickly add up, especially if you use it for school or work.

How can you address this expense and save money on your printing costs?

Here are some ways:

• One way is to make certain that the pages you’re printing are set up to print correctly and are actually necessary. If you are given the option to “print all pages” or “print current page” you will want to choose the option that makes sense and only print what you need.
• If you’re printing graphics, but don’t necessarily need them in color, choose a greyscale or black and white mode to save on the colored ink.
• If you’re printing form a website, choose the “printer-friendly” open or copy and paste the text into a document and only print what you need. Many times when you print from a website you are also printing ads, links to other sites and other information you don’t need, which uses your ink.
• Unless you need a high quality copy, choose the “draft” mode for printing as that offers you a legible copy, but uses fewer resources such as ink.

For those times when only the highest quality print and paper will do, then you will have saved money on operating costs throughout the year, or with your other printing projects if you follow the steps above.

Another great way to save money on print costs is to purchase and use refurbished ink cartridges. These cartridges are available for all, or nearly all, brands of printers and provide the same high quality print you’d find with other cartridges.