Thursday, September 29, 2011

How To: Print on Die Cuts

I am asked this a lot, so I decide to give a quick HOW TO on printing shaped die cuts & cards.  This is just one little trick, I am sure there are others.  Please leave a comment with your cool tricks!



Here Goes:
Most printers can accommodate larger size card sizes like 4 x 6 or 5 x 7, but some printers may have difficulty feeding smaller card sizes. If your printer cannot accommodate smaller card sizes we recommend trying the following:

  1. In your word processing program, type your text exactly how you want it on your die cut.
  2. Print out your text on a regular piece of paper.
  3. Now position your die cut over the printed text and adjust for any the spacing and/or sizing to be sure it fits nicely in your shape.  It is helpful to hold the paper up to a window to get light through the paper.
  4. Attach your shaped card/die cut to the 8.5x11 sheet of paper with a small piece of double stick tape or a repositional glue stick.  Again use the light from the window.
  5. Now run your sheet through the printer.  Since your printer is used to feeding the 8.5 x 11 size, it should pull the sheet through along with the smaller cards.
  6. Gently remove the die cuts from the paper.  Repositional glue was created to be able to stick and remove things while doing craft projects, but you need to be careful with smaller die cuts and letters not to rip them.  
  7. Set the die cuts glue side up to dry.  Repositional glue dries quickly and doesn't usually restick without another application, but set them glue side up just to be safe.
That's it!  Happy Printing!