How to Print My Images Into Photo Cards

Spread your family or vacation photos with people across the country through the postal system by sending custom photo cards. Making cards out of your own photos lets you add a little bit of an extra personal touch to your correspondence and creating the cards takes just a couple of minutes. With a few clicks, you’ll be ready to print and send your own photo cards.

Things You'll Need

• Microsoft Publisher
• Digital image
• Windows Paint
• Adobe Photoshop
• Photo paper
• Printer
• Ink

Instructions

Using Publisher

1. Open Publisher, click “Blank Publications” and double-click the “Full Page” option. This opens a blank 8.5-inch by 11-inch page. To change the size to fit your photo card, pull down the “File” menu, click “Page Setup,” scroll the “Publication type” menu to “Custom” and type in your dimensions, such as six inches by four inches, and click the “OK” button. The Publisher workspace automatically adjusts.

2. Pull down the “Insert” menu, click “Picture” and select “From File.” Browse to where you have a digital photo to use for the card and double-click it; the card opens in the Publisher workspace.

3. Drag the card into place to fit the white card space; to shrink it to fit, press and hold down the “Shift” key and grab a corner of the card, then drag the corner towards the middle. Note that if your card opens much smaller than the card space, trying to enlarge it may distort your image. You may just want to leave it and let the white space around it print.

Using Paint

1. Open Paint, pull down the “File” menu and select “Open.” Browse to a photo to use for your card and double-click the file, which opens the image in the Paint workspace.

2. Click the “Select” tool, which looks like a rectangle made of dots. Draw an outline around the photo and press the “Ctrl” and “C” keys to copy it.

3. Pull down the “File” menu again and click “New.” Pull down the “Image” menu and click “Attributes.” Type the size for the photo card, such as six inches by four inches and click the “OK” button. When the white space of the card opens, press the “Ctrl” and “V” keys to paste in your photo. Drag it into place with your cursor. If the card opens smaller than the card space, click the “Paint Bucket” tool and choose a color from the “Color Picker.” Click inside the white space, which fills with a background color to frame the photo.

Using Photoshop

1. Open Photoshop, click “File” and select “New.” Name the file “MyPhotoCard” and set your preferred dimensions, such as six inches by four inches. Pull down the “Mode” menu and click “RGB Color,” then click the “OK” button. A blank card box opens.

2. Pull down the “File” menu again and select “Open.” Browse to a photo for your card and double-click it, which opens it in the Photoshop workspace. Press and hold down the “Ctrl” key and drag your photo into the blank “MyPhotoCard” box.

3. Pull down the “Edit” menu, click “Transform” and select “Scale.” Shrink the photo down to size to fit the card box if it opened too large. Note that scaling the photo up larger may distort the image.

Printing the Cards

1. Turn on your printer and load photo card paper into the printer. Card paper fits the same as regular paper; just take care not to overload or jam the printer. Squeeze the printer tray handles to secure the paper if you’re using the six-inch by four-inch size. No additional changes for ink or settings are required.

2. Pull down the “File” menu from any of the software programs and select “Print.” Choose your printer from the settings; it may already be selected.

3. Nudge the “Number of copies” box up to the number of photo cards with this image to print. Click the “OK” or “Print” button to print the cards.

Tips & Warnings

• Photo paper is available in packages ranging from 10 pieces on up at craft stores, mass merchandisers, office supply shops and photo specialty stores. Standard photo paper comes in either 8.5-inch by 11-inch pages or six-inch by four-inch cards; choose the size you’re most likely to print on so you don’t have to bother with cutting them out.

References

• In Pictures: Microsoft Publisher
• Windows: Using Paint
• University of Washington: Working with Images