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Creating art with an inkjet printer has improved a lot lately, even the least expensive models on the market will provide good quality color prints, maybe not exactly the same as the original file but viewed by themselves they are quite acceptable. The ink is now more resistant to fading in UV light so the prints will last much longer than they did in the past.
One of the biggest challenges is manipulating an image to produce the desired end result, many different programs will do this, if you are a scrapbooker you likely already have a program that will do this for you.
If you not familiar with working with images and wish to learn how I would suggest getting Adobe Elements , it is an inexpensive home version of Adobe Photoshop that is used by the pros. The learning curve is a bit steep but the end result is well worth it.
Inkjet Printers
Most standard Inkjet Printers print to a maximum size of 8 1/2" X 14" paper, the next step up in the home consumer market are wide format models that will print 13" X 19" sheets. Even larger printers are available that will print huge poster size prints from a continuous roll of paper, however they come at a hefty price. For years Epson printers set the benchmark, lately they have got some well deserved competition from Canon and HP, both in terms of quality and fade resistance.
The biggest drawback to inkjet printers is the cost of the ink, it has long been speculated that the reason that printers are sold at such low prices is because the manufactures soon make up any loss with the future sales of ink cartridges. There are refill systems and generic brand cartridges on the market, as tempting as it is to save money with them some factors should be taken into consideration such as print head damage, color accuracy and fade resistance.
The newer computers offer plug and play features so that all you have to do is plug your printer in to the USB port and you are good to go with drivers already in the operating system. Check the CD that came with the printer for programs that offer more printing options, go online as well and check for additional software from the manufacturer, there may be updates from the time the printer was packaged.
Scanners
Even if you have a digital camera there will be times when you may want to use an old photo, to get a digital image of it you will need a scanner. There are now very capable inexpensive scanners on the market, both stand alone models or combination models that include a printer. Home scanners come in two styles, sheetfed and flat bed, generally the flat bed models are more versatile since pages from open books and objects can be scanned on them.
For tips on scanning there is a very informative site here:
Scanning Tips by Wayne Fulton
Manipulating Images
To use available images it must be possible to manipulate them to the size required, this can be accomplished by cropping and resizing with a photo editing application such as Adobe Elements.
Watch Adobe Elements 5 Introductory Video
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Cropping determines the dimensions and the parts of the image that are included. Images can only be reduced in size by cropping.
In Adobe Elements select the MARQUEE TOOL, in the tool bar at the top of the window there is a pull down menu where you can select NORMAL, FIXED ASPECT or FIXED SIZE. With your mouse outline the part of the image you wish to copy.
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To manually determine the dimensions of an image draw a rectangle the size of the original. Draw a diagional line through opposite corners, if the image is being enlarged extend it below the rectangle. Extend or shorten the side of the rectangle to the desired dimension, draw a line at a right angle to meet the diagional line, this line will give you the other dimension.
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Resizing changes the overall size of the image, images can be made smaller or larger than the original.
Imagine pulling or pushing a corner of the image along a diagonal line that runs through the corners of the original image, this is what happens when we resize.
In Adobe Elements select IMAGE then RESIZE from the bar at the top of the window, a box will then appear:
Make sure the CONSTRAIN PROPORTIONS box is checked, then change one of the values under DOCUMENT SIZE in the WIDTH or HEIGHT boxes.
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The common images you will encounter will be .tiff, .jpeg, .png and .gif, all of these can easily be opened and manipulated with Adobe Elements.
Try to select images that are larger than what you require and reduce them to fit, if images must be enlarged they should have a high resolution value such as 200 or 300 pixels/inch. This can be determined by opening the image in Adobe Elements and checking the value under DOCUMENT SIZE where it says RESOLUTION.
Be aware of copyright laws regarding images, use only images that are in the public domain or are offered for personal use with conditions attached.
There are vintage images available from Digital Oil Art that you can download for 99 cents, including patent drawings.
Make a Sepia Tone
There are several ways to make sepia tones, Adobe Elements offers a one step method which works just fine in most cases.
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To begin make sure the 'STYLES AND EFFECTS' panel is visible. If it is not, go to 'WINDOW - STYLES AND EFFECTS' to show it. It may be a minimized panel. If so, click on the white triangle to show it.
In the 'STYLES AND EFFECTS' panel, select 'LAYER STYLES' in the left-hand drop-down box, and 'PHOTOGRAPHIC EFFECTS' in the right-hand drop-down box. You should now have the panel shown at left:
From your document select the layer which contains the image you want to Sepia tone, and then click the 'SEPIA TONE' layer style. The image should turn brown, as if it was a Sepia photograph.
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Layer styles can only be applied to layers, and sometimes you will have a document where the only layer is named 'BACKGROUND' and is not strictly a layer. If this is the case, Photoshop will display a message box saying "Styles can only be applied to layers. Do you want to make this background a layer?". Click 'Ok', then name the layer, and click 'Ok' again to apply the Sepia effect.
Sometimes images Sepia toned in this way will look a little flat, an additional step to desaturate the image before applying the layer style will improve the result.
Select the layer you want to Sepia tone like before, but this time select 'ENHANCE - ADJUST COLOR - ADJUST HUE/SATURATION' from the menu. In the dialog box that appears, drag the Saturation Slider all the way to the left, so the image appears grayscale. Then click 'Ok', and apply the Sepia layer style as before.
Make a Card and Envelope
A simple card is easily made and printed on a standard sized sheet of 8 1/2 X 11 paper, use photo matte paper if you want to have a nice bright photo on it.
Begin by folding a sheet of 8 1/2 X 11 paper, use any scrap paper for this, it is only a guide to help you position your images. Fold the sheet in half and then in half again as shown below.
Hold the folded card in front of you with one folded edge up and the other folded edge on the left, set the paper down and mark a 1 and an arrow pointing up on the face of the card.
Open the card and mark a 2 and an arrow pointing up on the right hand panel. Unfold the second fold and position it in front of you with the 1 in the lower right corner.
This will show you where to position the copy for the face of the card, open a program on your computer and insert the copy for the face of the card. You can do this by copying and pasting a photo image, typing a message or a combination of both. When you are satisfied with the layout print the image on your good paper.
By flipping your pattern end for end you will see that the copy for the inside is now in the same position as the copy for the front was. Add your copy to this area for the inside message. Place the paper in your printer with the first image at the top of the page and print the inside copy, fold the sheet in the same manner as the guide you made.
You may use the card as it is at this point or you may further enhance it by adding embellishments such as ribbon, eyelets, or punched out shapes.
To make an envelope for the card begin with a sheet of paper 8 1/2" square, mark the center of the sheet with a small dot, locate this point by laying a ruler diagonally across the sheet to each of the opposite corners.
Fold the two side corners into the center so the point of the corner meets the dot in the center of the sheet. Fold the bottom corner up about 1/2" above where the side folds start. Fasten the bottom flap to the side flaps with glue, fold the top flap down in the same manner. The top flap may be sealed with a spot of glue under the point of the flap or with a sticker.
Inkjet Papers
There is a vast choice of paper now available including cloth and canvas for inkjet printers in both 8 1/2" X 11" and 13" X 19" formats. Generally matching the brand of paper with the printer brand produces the best results with standard photo papers. Matte paper is one of the most versatile papers for crafts, photos, line art and type all print amazingly well on it.
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