How to Use InDesign to Print Greeting Cards

Print personalized greeting cards from InDesign.

Adobe InDesign CS5 allows you to create documents that are specific to your needs, such as when you want to design and print a greeting card. Choose white card stock or a light color to allow your design to show easily. Print from InDesign to a color or black-and-white printer by feeding it through to print on each side, or package your files to send to a professional printing company.

Things You'll Need

• Printer user manual
• Card stock

Instructions

Personal Printer

1. Design your greeting card in InDesign. For best results, use the standard greeting-card format of the first landscape page split into two pieces: the back of the card on the left half of the page and the front of the card on the right half. For the second page of your design, use the left half of the page for the inside front of your card and the right half for the inside back -- this is where you usually write your message to the recipient. Find online templates to help with your design (see Resources).

2. Place your card stock in the correct position in the tray. Refer to your printer's user manual to determine whether to lay your paper face up in the tray or face down. Although this isn't important when printing the first page, it is essential when printing the second.

3. Choose "File," then "Print." Beside "Pages," type "1" to "1."

4. Remove the printed page from the printer. Position it back in the printer tray so that the blank side is ready to be printed.

5. Choose "File," then "Print." Beside "Pages," type "2" to "2."

6. Remove the paper from the printer. Fold it in half horizontally to finish your greeting card. Your finished card size will be 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 inches.

Professional Printing Company

1. Design your greeting card in InDesign.

2. Go to "File," then "Package." Check the Preflight panel that appears for any issues with fonts or art. Correct any issues by linking the font or art to the correct location by using the "Find Fonts" and "Repair All" buttons in the Preflight panel.

3. Click "Package." Type a name for the report that's included when packaging, then click "Continue." Choose a location to save the new packaged folder. Click "Package" again.

4. Save the folder onto a CD or flash drive, take it to your local printing company and let them know the quantity you need. Some allow you to upload the file through their websites. The packaged folder will contain the InDesign file, all necessary fonts and clip art, and a report listing information required by the printer to print the document successfully.

Tips & Warnings

• When sending documents to a professional printing company, always send a PDF file or include a paper mock-up of the card so they can make sure to print the document correctly.

References

• Bright Hub; How to Create Greeting Cards Quickly and Easily with InDesign; Feb. 18, 2010
• Adobe InDesign CS5: Package Files

Resources

• The Online Printer: Free Templates for Your PC
• FedEx Office: Homepage