When it comes to making printable Christmas crafts the first thing that comes to mind is that you are going to be using a computer for your crafts. This is actually very true, but what you might not realize is that just because you are using your computer to print out patterns so that you can make your printable Christmas crafts this doesn’t mean that your crafts are always going to turn out perfectly. So if you are a beginner at printable Christmas crafts or even very advanced at making these kinds of crafts it is not going to hurt for you to follow some simple tips to help make better looking printable crafts.
Here are some tips that you can follow for better looking printable Christmas crafts.
Tip One:
When it comes to printing off patterns one thing that you will often run into is that the pattern is either going to need to be enlarged or you are going to have to make it smaller. It used to be that in order to accomplish this you had to print off the pattern and then go to a copy center to have it enlarged or shrunk because your printer will only accept paper that is a certain size. To get the pattern to print correctly you are going to need to follow these simple steps:
•Click on the pattern and select “Copy”
•Open a new blank document in Microsoft Word
•Select “Page Setup” and make sure the orientation is “Landscape”
•”Paste” the pattern onto the page
•Click on the picture to select it
•Click “Format”, “Picture”, “Size”. For each option be sure that the boxes that say “Lock aspect ratio” and “Relative to original picture” are checked
Then all you need to do is to adjust the picture’s size by inputting the inches or the percent adjustment that you want. Keep in mind that you can only go as big as your printer will allow for one sheet of paper. To see if you have made it within these boundaries all you need to do is look at a “Print Preview”
Tip Two:
One of the best ways that you can print on fabric is to use a product called Bubble Jet Set. But even though the direction sonly tell you to use 100% cotton or silk you can use other types of fabrics successfully if you are willing to experiment. When it comes to using this product you need to make sure that dye-based inks not your pigmented inks, if you don’t use dye-based inks the product will not work. Your fabric’s width can only be 81/2 inches, unless you have a large format printer, but the length is determined by your printer’s software, for example banner setting allows a longer length than standard.
Tip Three:
Another important aspect to printable Christmas crafts is using paper for your crafts rather than fabrics. Many people tend to buy expensive paper, but that doesn’t mean your printable Christmas crafts are going to look any better, the main thing that you need to keep in mind is choosing the right type of paper for your printable Christmas craft project. The first thing that you need to keep in mind is the weight of the paper, which depending on what you are doing is going to vary. But not only is weight important but you also want to consider other characteristics that are important to your project. Some examples of this are colored paper affecting the different tints, how it folds, embosses, or whether it has two sides and if one side is rougher than the other. You also want to think about ink absorption, this is important if you are going to be printing multiple pages because if the ink doesn’t absorb fast enough it can smear onto the other pages and the page that you just printed.
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