8 Tips to Help You Print Inkjet Greeting Cards
Eight tips, plus a bonus tips, for printing inkjet greeting cards from Red River Paper
In order to use most pre-scored inkjet note cards, you'll need to define a custom paper size to your printer. Epson, Canon, and HP printers all have this feature. The trick is to always define paper sizes the same way. Set the width to the smaller dimension of your paper and the length or height will always be the longer dimension of your sheet. After that you only need to change the orientation button depending on how your greeting card is laid out.
We recommend Photoshop or Photoshop Elements as your best option for greeting card layout and printing. The programs offer the most flexibility in terms of layout size, photo and text placement, as well as color management. Although Photoshop is an expensive program, the Elements version is quite affordable and offers all of the options you need. If you're not a fan of Adobe, Affinity Photo is a good alternative. Red River Paper supports these apps, plus others, in our greeting card support center.
Print the inside of your card first.
If you want to print text or graphics on the inside of your card, print that information first. This means the photo side will only pass through the printer once, which limits the possibility of scratching.
Decide if you want to print photos on the outside AND inside of your card before you buy your paper.
Not all inkjet printable card stock is designed for photo printing on both sides. Decide ahead of time on your design then make your paper purchase. If you want photos on both sides of the paper look for a paper that is called double-sided or C2S.
Greeting cards are usually sized to Match Standard Envelope Sizes. Below is a chart to help you verify your envelope size is right:
Card Size Before Folding Envelope Name Envelope Dimensions 5.5" x 8.5 " A-2 4.375" x 5.75" 9" x 6.25" A-6 4.75" x 6.5" 7" x 10" A-7 5.25" x 7.25" 8.5" x 11" 5.75" x 8.75" 5.75" x 8.75" 8" x 9" #10 4.125" x 9.5" 5.25" x 10.5" Baronial Square 5.5" x 5.5"Most inkjet printers are not really designed to take large stacks of card stock and feed them consistently. Be gentle with your machine and only put 5-10 sheets in the paper tray at one time. With extra heavy papers or fine art cotton media, you may have to feed them one at a time. Some trial and error may be necessary.
See a VIDEO on Feeding the Paper
It is critical to keep the feed mechanism of your printer clean and free of inkjet coating and paper debris, which are key factors in paper misfeed. Go to Our Red River Feed For Helpful DIY Fed Roller Cleaning Instructions.
See a VIDEO on Feed Roller Cleaning
When printing the outside of your card, make sure the photo side comes out first
Set your layout so that when you click print, the printer prints the photo side of the outside of your card first. This means the outside back of your card will come out of the printer last. This is helpful in preventing head strikes which can lead to black smudges on the edge of thick media.
See a VIDEO on Printing Photo Side First
Red River Paper's pre-scored note card stock is packed print side up in the box.
Of course, you'll want to print AND THEN fold. We also recommend that you allow sufficient time for the ink to dry before folding. Wearing white cotton or similar gloves is also recommended to avoid leaving fingerprints and smudges.
Square cards require extra postage
The USPS adds a "nonmachinable surcharge" to square letters. At this time the charge is 22 cents on top of the first-class rate.
Example - a 1oz. square card will cost $0.49 plus the $0.22 surcharge for a $0.71 total.
To print on a card, ensure your printer is equipped for handling thicker materials like cardstock. To begin, adjust the printer settings to accommodate the card's dimensions and thickness. Load the cardstock into the printer's paper tray, making sure not to overload it to prevent paper jams. It's advisable to use the manual feed slot if your printer has one, as this offers more control over the paper's path.
Before printing, review your printer's guidelines on acceptable cardstock weight and size to avoid damaging the machine. Once properly set up, initiate the printing process and allow the printer to complete the task. Always handle the printed cards gently to avoid smudging the ink or damaging the surface.
To print a card at home, you'll need a printer capable of handling cardstock. Begin by designing your card using software or templates. Next, adjust your printer settings to match the dimensions and thickness of the cardstock. Load the cardstock into the printer's paper tray, ensuring not to overfill it. If available, use the manual feed option for better control. Check your printer's specifications for acceptable cardstock weight and size. Once configured, initiate the printing process and allow the printer to finish. Exercise care when handling the printed card to avoid smudging the ink or causing damage. With these steps, you can create personalized cards conveniently from the comfort of your home.
Inspired Yet?
Last updated: August 25, 2023
Below we offer step-by step instructions for printing your own cards at home, but if you decide you aren’t up for it after all, we offer card printing services too! Just choose a card, send us your file, and we’ll do the rest!
Order Printed Cards & Envelopes
Because our Half Fold cards are 8 1/2 x 11 before they are folded, they are perfect for printable greeting cards. And since they are pre-scored, they easily fold by hand to 5 1/2 x 8 1/2. Use these Half Folds for wedding invitations, programs, handmade greeting cards, or anything you can think of. Print on the front, the back, the inside left and/or right, or on any combination of the card’s panels. It’s all up to you!
You’ll learn to make a personalized birthday card for a child using your computer with Microsoft Word and your printer. You can use what we show you for printing any type of Half Fold card you want to print in the future, whether you’re printing just on the front or any combination of its panels.
You can certainly download one of our free, pre-made printing templates to help in printing your card, but in this video you’re going to learn to create your own template using Microsoft Word.
The screenshots may vary from what you see in Word or in your print driver, but poke around the interface and you’ll find the common settings that we’re using.
This way any text that you type into your template will be centered on each side of the Half Fold and ultimately, centered on each of your card’s printed panels.
Since the paper is scored down the middle to fold into two equal halves, we’ll create two columns for our wording. These columns will match up to each panel of the Half Fold paper. The left column will print on the left side of the paper and the right column will print on the right side.
In the template, you’ll use the right side/column to print the cover.
In addition to text, you may want to bring in a photo, a drawing that you’ve scanned, or any other picture. In the video, we use an image from Microsoft’s Clip Art collection.
You will need to understand the way scored paper folds to know which side is up and which side is down. We address this in a separate video, How Do I Fold Pre-Scored Cards, definitely worth watching before dealing with scored paper.
On a Mac computer, the orientation is normally set to whatever the document is set to, and since the Word template is set to Landscape mode, you shouldn’t have to make any changes.
Until you’re confident about what side of the paper and direction that your printer prints, you can test print with ordinary copy paper. In no time, it will become second nature.
You’ve just learned how to create a greeting card template using Microsoft Word from scratch. Now you have the confidence to create any kind of card and print on our Half Folds in the convenience of your own home, using just your computer and printer.