How to Make Bumper Stickers in Microsoft Publisher

Bumper stickers can be fun or deliver important messages.

Creating a custom bumper sticker designed by you will spare you the expense of hiring a graphic designer to create the bumper sticker for you. Microsoft Publisher can provide the graphic tools needed to complete your bumper sticker project. All you need is enough ink and the proper paper. Remember to size any text or images large enough to be read from the position you plan to place the bumper sticker.

Things You'll Need

• Bumper sticker paper

Instructions

Set Up Your Bumper Sticker

1. Open Microsoft Publisher. Click the "File" tab at the top of the window. Click "New" in the left menu on the File tab.

2. Enter "bumper stickers" in the search menu in the top left corner of the new page to use a template to create your bumper sticker. Select a template that fits your bumper sticker paper. Double-click the template to download and open it in a new document. (Skip this step to customize page settings using instructions included with the bumper sticker paper.)

3. Click the "More Blank Page Sizes" button. Using the instructions included with your bumper sticker paper, select the appropriate paper size or click the "Create new paper size" icon to customize the paper size.

Design Your Bumper Sticker

1. Click on the "Page Design" tab to set your margins. Click "Margins" on the Page Design tab, then select one of the preset options or click "Custom Margins" to open the Layout Guides dialog box. Adjust the margins according to the bumper sticker paper's instructions, then click the "OK" button. Click "Orientation" on the Page Design tab and select "Landscape." Click "Size" on the Page Design tab and select "Bumper Stickers" or click "Create New Page Size." Adjust your settings according to the instructions enclosed with your bumper sticker paper and click the "OK" button.

2. Click an item in the Illustrations or Text section of the Insert tab to insert objects into your bumper sticker. Follow onscreen instructions to insert the object.

3. Reposition and resize the object. To move the object, click it once, move over the object until the arrow changes to two crossed double arrows, click-and-drag it to the place you want it to be. To resize the object diagonally, click the image, hover over one of the circles at the corner until the arrow changes to double arrows, then click-and-drag the corner. To resize the object vertically or horizontally, hover over the square in the center of the side you want to resize until you see the double arrow, click-and-drag the side. Click and move the green circle at the top of the object to rotate the object.

4. Click the "Insert" tab. Click "Draw Text Box" to insert a text box. Click inside the text box and type your text.

5. Position your bumper sticker paper in the printer. Click the "File" tab in Microsoft Publisher. Select "Print" from the left menu. Click the "Print" button. There are two bumper stickers per page. To print the second bumper sticker, turn the paper around and print the second bumper sticker on the blank sticker.

Tips & Warnings

• These instructions are applicable to both Microsoft Publisher and Microsoft Word.

• Consider getting your bumper stickers printed at a print shop if you use a lot of colors because it will be less expensive than draining the ink from your printer.

References

• Microsoft Office: Tips for Working With Images
• Microsoft Office: Find, Create or Change a Template in Publisher
• Microsoft Office: Custom Page Size Dialog Box