Post by Rock Chuck on Nov 12, 2006 16:26:09 GMT -5
For the last several years, I've used my best photos to make calendars to give to the relatives for Christmas. Here's a sample from last year's. You can customize it with birthdays, anniversaries, snapshots, etc. You're only limited by your imagination.
The first time I did this, I printed both sides and folded and stapled them. That was a mess as they didn't lay flat. Then I found a local printing shop that will put in plastic comb bindings for $1.25 each. It's worth the extra cost as they look much more professional and hang nicely against the wall. I made my pages 7.5 x 10". It's necessary to get double sided paper so you can print both sides. I suggest matte paper as glossy is too hard to write on and that's what a calendar is for. You can make them 8.5 x 11 so you don't have to cut them, but you'll use a whole lot more ink if you make very many. If you don't have a paper cutter, Fiskars makes several very good ones under $20.
I've tried a bunch of different software programs to make them but I've only found 2 that have even halfway satisfactory calendar options. Most don't let you add stuff at will. They're very limiting. Photoshop isn't one of the good ones. In fact, their calendar program is one of the worst. The best 2 I've found are MS PictureIt! and MS Publisher (part of MS OFFICE). You might already have PictureIt! as it's packaged with several MS software packages like Works & Works Suite. You might have to install it separately, though. Both of these do about the same thing (not a surprise since MS makes them both), but they're quite different to use. I think that PictureIt! gives you slightly more versatility. I did some experimenting and made the page at the bottom using a photo made into a transparency. I was able to do this with PictureIt! but so far, I haven't figured out how to do it with Publisher, if it's possible at all.
Note: don't do what I did last year. I printed the photo captions too close to the bottom and some of them were trashed by the comb binding. The same goes for the punched hole for hanging. You don't want it in the middle of someone's forehead unless they have a natural one.
If you want to save the work but spend more, go to Imagestation.com. They will make them for you. You upload your photos & other info and they do all the work. They're not cheap, but if you don't want to spend the time, you can get the same results.
Dick
The first time I did this, I printed both sides and folded and stapled them. That was a mess as they didn't lay flat. Then I found a local printing shop that will put in plastic comb bindings for $1.25 each. It's worth the extra cost as they look much more professional and hang nicely against the wall. I made my pages 7.5 x 10". It's necessary to get double sided paper so you can print both sides. I suggest matte paper as glossy is too hard to write on and that's what a calendar is for. You can make them 8.5 x 11 so you don't have to cut them, but you'll use a whole lot more ink if you make very many. If you don't have a paper cutter, Fiskars makes several very good ones under $20.
I've tried a bunch of different software programs to make them but I've only found 2 that have even halfway satisfactory calendar options. Most don't let you add stuff at will. They're very limiting. Photoshop isn't one of the good ones. In fact, their calendar program is one of the worst. The best 2 I've found are MS PictureIt! and MS Publisher (part of MS OFFICE). You might already have PictureIt! as it's packaged with several MS software packages like Works & Works Suite. You might have to install it separately, though. Both of these do about the same thing (not a surprise since MS makes them both), but they're quite different to use. I think that PictureIt! gives you slightly more versatility. I did some experimenting and made the page at the bottom using a photo made into a transparency. I was able to do this with PictureIt! but so far, I haven't figured out how to do it with Publisher, if it's possible at all.
Note: don't do what I did last year. I printed the photo captions too close to the bottom and some of them were trashed by the comb binding. The same goes for the punched hole for hanging. You don't want it in the middle of someone's forehead unless they have a natural one.
If you want to save the work but spend more, go to Imagestation.com. They will make them for you. You upload your photos & other info and they do all the work. They're not cheap, but if you don't want to spend the time, you can get the same results.
Dick
