January 29, 2014

How To: DIY Printables, Where to Print?

So you’ve downloaded a printable from Etsy… now what do you do?

Well first off, what is a printable?

A printable is a file that you can print yourself rather than buying it already printed.

Once you’ve downloaded your file, its time to get it printed. I recommend the same printer to all my clients, if you don’t have a very good printer at home, and it’s the same printer that I use for all my own invitations… Staples.

Surprised?

It truly is good quality printing at the Staples Copy and Print Center—or any of those big box store printers. Not only is the cost low, but it’s fast. Rarely do I have to “come back later” after I’ve brought my files in. 9 1/2 times out of 10 they are able to print right then and there.

A tabloid sized sheet of paper, 11 by 17 inches, in full color is just under $2 each. And that can usually fit 3 or 4 invites each, making each invite less than 50 cents! Kinda ridiculous right??

Over the summer, my best friend and I, went in and bought a pack of ivory cardstock for $7-something and each 8 1/2 by 11 inch letter sized sheet only cost 48 cents to print—making her wedding invites 25 cents each!

(rant/ However, if you want to print on letter sized and use “their” paper, it’s the same price as the tabloid sheet which is actually double the size, so that price doesn’t really make sense, why would you ever print on a sheet half the size, half the quantity, but its the same price? /end rant)

Now that you have your file printed, its time to cut. A lot of times the print shop can cut them for you, sometimes at no cost too, depending on how many copies you had. I always just cut them myself.

For all my printables, I place little dashes where you need to cut, called crop marks.