For our purposes we are skipping right to the setup stage for our side-folded greeting card. The following general setup applies to most programs. You'll need to check your manual for the exact commands.
General Setup
Many programs will present you with a blank default page when you first start the program. It is up to you to specify the document setup or general formatting, or accept the defaults.
For programs that are designed with helpful wizards, select a side-fold card on letter size or A4 size paper. Otherwise, one of the following basic setups should work.
- Basic Setup #1
Page size: 4.25 w x 5.50 h (for letter size paper) Number of pages: 4 Margins: .5 inches (all sides). - Basic Setup #2
Page size: 8.5 w x 11 h (letter size) Number of pages: 1 Margins: .5 inches (all sides) Guidelines: Vertical at 3.75, 4.25, 4.75 Guidelines: Horizontal at 5.00, 5.50, 6.00
How it will print
Even though we are a long way from printing you should think about how it will print before you start. Even though you may work on each section of your card (front, inside, back) separately, it will print on a single sheet of paper. You must make sure that you put the elements on the correct pages or the correct position on the page (if using Basic Setup #2) so that when printed and folded your card will be the way you intended. This is called imposition or creating printer's spreads.
Some software will do the imposition for you automatically if you use the correct document wizards. All you have to remember is that page 1 is the front, pages 2-3 are the inside of the card, and page 4 is the back.
If you are designing your entire card on a single page (Basic Setup #2) you will need to put your elements in the correct sections, including flipping 2 sections "upside down" so that when printed and folded it will come out as intended.
Create a Greeting Card > Lesson 3 Definitions | Instruction | Assignment
