iPhoto :: Printing Your Own Cards
Posted: June 21, 2006

When it's time to send out those birthday invitations, you probably instinctively turn to iPhoto. It has some great templates built in (and even more were released yesterday as part of the Apple Software Update). As with other services in iPhoto, however, Apple tries to convince you to use partner services for printing. This is for good reason, mind you. They have exceptional quality.

When you need something fast, or cheap, these services simply won't do, however. So, we will print them ourselves!

The first thing we need to do is create our card. Select the photo you wish to use, then click on the "Card" button at the bottom of iPhoto, as shown below:

The next window you see is where you choose your template. There are plenty to choose from. As shown below, I will choose one called "Leaf Print":

When you are ready to move along, click on "Choose Theme". Now, it's time to fill in the blanks. When I am done designing my card, it will look something like this:

This is where you could press the button "Buy Card" to have your electronic card sent to a printing service. We won't do that this time. If you notice on the right side of the screen, I have Control-clicked to reveal a sub-menu. There are two options: "Save Card as PDF..." and "Preview Card...". They are pretty self-explanatory, and either option will allow you to print.

One thing to keep in mind when you print your own cards. They can only look as professional as the printing equipment you have. If you print on a cheap Lexmark printer, it will show. You also may wish to use heavier card-stock paper when printing.