Printing Projects Made Fun and Easy

Sample Content

Table of Contents

Foreword.


Acknowledgments.


About the Author.


Introduction.


Choosing the Right Paper and Ink for Printing.


1. Home & Family.

Around the House. Family Ties. Kids and Pets.

Photo Projects. Crafts. Iron-Ons and Textiles. Scrapbooks.

Games. Hobbies. Sports.

Entertaining. Correspondence.

Winter. Spring. Summer. Fall.

Preface

Introduction

I get the biggest kick out of making things with my printer—especially when the instructionsare easy and the results look super snazzy!

Now you can experience all the same joys of printing. Just flip through the pages of PrintingProjects Made Fun & Easy. Pick a great-looking project, pop in your CD, and follow the intuitivemenu of options.

In a matter of moments, you'll be making all sorts of goodies that will bring smiles to thefaces of your family members and friends. You'll be beaming with delight!

The CD is organized just like the book. On the home page, you will see five icons (eachcorrelating to the five chapters in the book). If you click on one of these icons, a submenu ofthe different sections you can go to appears. From there you can go to a new page showing allthe projects within that section. Once you find the project you want and choose thedesign, go ahead and print. And in case you get lost or aren't sure what to do next, there arehints along the bottom bar for extra help.

The project and instruction files are all printable Adobe pdf files. Adobe pdf file is auniversal format—with all fonts, formatting, graphics, and color embedded into one nice,easy-to-use file. Some of the project pdf files on the CD are editable, so you can click,highlight, and type to customize them just for you. It's incredibly simple, lightning fast, andso much fun to use. If you are interested in learning more about Adobe Acrobat or have anyother questions, there is free online support from Adobe; just visit:http://www.adobe.com/support/readguide.html.

Share some happiness! Share some color! Share some love!

With Printing Projects Made Fun & Easy, getting there is half the fun.

Choosing the Right Paper and Ink for Printing

How to Select Paper

It's easy not to think about paper—just borrow what's in the copier machine, right? But ifyou've seen the difference that a quality paper makes—especially one designed specifically foryour printer—you also know it's hard to go back to copier paper for anything but the mostordinary of documents. Paper designed for your printer looks and performs better every time.

Using special printer paper will not only give you better results, it will also be lesscostly: You'll have fewer paper jams, and your output will look great every time. But there'smore to plain white paper than meets the eye. Here are the basics of using and selecting paperfor general use and printing photos.

A Crash Course in Paper Basics

First take into account what you'll be printing.Black-and-white documents are quite different from full-color photos. Some papers aremultipurpose and therefore good for both; but if you want crisp, vibrant photos that will last along time, you should use paper that's designed just for photos.

If you're looking for good general-use paper, think about the following:

• Weight. Paper weight ranges from lightweight newsprint to very heavy cardboard. Mostquality business paper is 20- to 24-pound (lb) bond, with greeting card papers at the heavierend of the scale, usually in the range of 60- to 65-lb cardstocks. Metric equivalents areexpressed in grams per square meter, abbreviated as g/m2.
• Thickness. The thickness of a paper affects its handling and is most applicable to photopapers. Generally, thicker media will be stiffer and will resist creases and tears. Thickness ismost often expressed as a unit of measure called a mil.
• Brightness. A higher brightness value means that more light is reflected from the surfaceof the paper, providing crisper text with better contrast and a brighter background for colorand images. HP's brightest papers include Bright White for inkjet printing and PremiumChoice for laser printing.
• Finish. Finishes for laser and inkjet papers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, withnumerous choices for a variety of applications. They range from matte to glossy, withlessening degrees of glossiness, sometimes described as semigloss, soft-gloss, or satin-gloss.Many people prefer the mirror-like finish of high-gloss media for color photographs, and smoothmatte finishes for black-and-white photographs and business documents. (Be carefulwith extremely smooth, shiny, or coated papers that aren't specifically designed for yourprinter. They can cause jams and even repel ink.)
• Opacity. Opacity describes how well the paper blocks the passage of light throughit. Highly opaque media prevent print from showing through to the other side and are consideredgood for printing on both sides—for example, for brochures, newsletters, calendars, and othersimilar applications.

Here's what to look for in paper for printing photos:

• Whiteness. For photo or picture printing, keep in mind that whiter papers produce sharper,more vibrant colors. Ink is translucent. Light passes through it and bounces off the paper, thenpasses back through the ink. The paper color therefore affects the color you see when youprint.
• Thickness. Some photo projects—like calendars—require a heavier paper stock. But if it'stoo thick, it could jam up your printer.
• Surface. For printouts with crisp lines and intense, high-quality colors, the surface ofthe paper is key. Glossy paper produces vibrant color but is susceptible to fingerprints, somatte paper might be a better choice for prints that will be handled often.

Your best bet is to buy a paper sampler with various weights and finishes. That way, you cansee for yourself what kind of results you get.

Specialty Paper for Printing

Remember the old days when computer paper came in long, continuous sheets? You had to thread itcarefully through the printer, making sure the holes along the edges were caught properly by thetractor feet. Then you faced the time-consuming task of pulling off those perforated edges andmanually separating each page from the next.

Paper has come a long way in the past two decades. Just about every mainstream printing devicetoday uses some kind of plain bond paper in easy-loading paper trays, though there's nothingplain about the variety of specialty papers currently available for printers. A wide range isavailable to suit the needs of any and every computer user.

You can also save money by using the new specialty papers to print all sorts of things that youused to have to take to a professional printer. (Of course, before you start experimenting, besure to check in your printer manual for paper compatibility.) Here's a rundown on papers thatwill fire your creativity.

Photo paper: Akin to paper used by film developers, photo paper is specifically designed toproduce high-quality, color-rich images that are hard to distinguish from traditionallydeveloped photographs. Most of HP's photo papers come in a choice of matte or glossy finishesand a variety of print sizes, including convenient 4 x 6 for affordable everyday prints andlarge portrait-size papers for studio-quality enlargements.

Greeting cards: Paper designed specifically for greeting cards is thicker, prescored (folded),and smaller than regular paper. You can personalize the cards with your own text and images. HPgreeting card papers come in a variety of sizes, colors, and finishes—including linen in whiteand ivory—with matching envelopes. HP also has a card studio with free templates that let youcreate your own greeting cards in a snap.

Glossy paper: Glossy paper produces vibrant color but is susceptible to fingerprints. This paperhas a shiny, coated surface on one or both sides and is ideal when you need a polished printout.For brochures, flyers, report covers, and special presentations, glossy papers produce colorfulimages and crisp text equal to professional printing. HP's line of brochure and flyer papercomes in a range of sizes to meet all of your printing needs.

Transparencies: These clear sheets of plastic are used with overhead projectors forpresentations.

Stickers and labels: Stickers and labels are available for mail, folders, diskettes, CDs, andwhatever else you can think of. You can use fonts, images, and colors to customize them.Restickables allow for even more creative flexibility.

Craft papers: Specialty papers offer a wide range of possibilities to the craftsperson. HP'siron-on transfers make it easy to make your own T-shirts, photo pillows, and much more. Or getyour message out loud and clear with HP banner paper. Also available are craft papers speciallyformulated for printers, such as vellum and parchment, printable sheets of fabric-like felt andcanvas, printable Mylar, shrink-wrap plastic, and window clings, making the world of printingpractically limitless.

Again, remember to check for compatibility with your printer when you use specialty papers. Notdoing so can lead to paper jams and other problems.

Ink and Toner Basics

You use them every day, but you probably don't think about them until they inconveniently runout in the middle of a large print job. Yes, we're talking about ink and toner. Whether you'reprinting straight black-and-white text or high-color photos, it's important to know that allinks are not created equal.

Inkjet Ink

To understand why some inks work better with your printer than others, it's necessary tounderstand a little bit about how ink is made. Traditional inks—like those used in your niceballpoint pen—are oil-based and use dyes made of minuscule suspended particles for colorants.Using oil-based inks in a printer, however, can lead to trying maintenance problems, so insteadmost inkjet printers use water-based inks. Unfortunately, in earlier inkjet printers, water-based inks would often bleed,smear, and run, particularly if the printed page was not allowed to dry properly or if it wereto get wet.

In recent years, the chemistry of inks has improved considerably as manufacturers havedeveloped ways to improve the vibrancy, clarity, and longevity of the printed product. Inkadditives are used in varying amounts to control things like saturation, drying time, andresistance to fading.

But the improvements do not lie entirely in the ink. Preconditioned papers can help improveinkjet printing because they are primed with an agent that helps bind the ink to the paper,reducing smearing and bleeding. When manufacturers recommend using only their ink and paper inyour printer, it's not because they want to hold a monopoly on your purchases. It is becausethe three components—printer, ink, and paper—have been designed to work together to reach themost satisfactory results possible.

Laser Printer Toner

Unlike inkjet printers, laser printers use toner, a dry, powdery substance that is adhered tothe paper using an electronic charge. It is specially designed to melt very quickly, and acomponent of wax makes the toner more amenable to the process that fuses the toner to the paper.Monochrome printers use a single cartridge of black toner. Color models use four cartridges, oneeach of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.

Like ink for inkjet printers, it is always best to use the toner recommended by themanufacturer, because the inner workings of the machine are designed to work with toner of aparticular consistency and particle size. Using a different, lower-grade toner can result insmeared print outs (if the drum inside the printer isn't cleaned properly) or lead to jams andother internal problems.

Ink and Toner Refills

The temptation to purchase third-party cartridges or generic refills for your inkjet or laserprinter can be strong, especially when the budget is tight. But in the end, the little bit yousave in money will be lost in the quality of your end result. By following manufacturerrecommendations, you can be sure you're getting the best out of your printer.

For fast, easy, online shopping for all of your inkjet and laser printing needs, come and visithpshopping.com.

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