Make A Great Impression With Customized Cards And Calendars This Christmas

Most years I think that I am going to be ahead of the game when it comes to planning and shopping for the holidays. Invariably as December twenty-fifth quickly approaches, my plans have failed me and I take my place with the hordes of earnest holiday shoppers in the stores. Last year was different however because for once my list was completed well ahead of the twenty-fifth. I also had a nice selection of personalized gifts to give to my family, friends, co-workers and clients. This turned out to be a very simple process compared with what I had tried to do in previous years.

With mixed success I have made things like homemade soaps, candles and knitted scarves in past years. Frankly those projects, while all very fun and rewarding, were just far too time-consuming for someone who works more than 40 hours a week. The processes, patterns and materials needed for some of my projects were quite extensive and it was difficult to ensure that my projects turned out well. Understandably, Botched projects weren't always well received either.
 
Last year I discovered that the unique moments captured by my camera could be used to create special gifts. Special or sentimental photographs can make colorful calendars, greeting cards and Christmas ornaments. Finding a great image and having it enlarged as a wide format print is  a good possibility too. The most time consuming aspect of doing digital print projects was the time it took to go through the images that I downloaded from my digital camera. Grouping photographs together that share a certain theme or location works very well for gift giving. Deciding whether to use images of my vacations, friends, pets, children, or colleagues, was the most involved part of the process.   

I decided that I would make Christmas calendars because I knew that everyone needs a new calendar in January. By making Christmas calendars that I could send out to many people, I could vastly simplify my shopping list. I could have 50 Calendars prepared that could be given as gifts to just about everyone on my list. Printing them through an online printer would allow me to remain home and to avoid the crowds at the shopping centers. As well, I would not have to deal with the possibility that specific items on my list would be sold out, which was good to know.  
  
The online print process made it easy to choose a customized design that would nicely complement my image choices too. There are many companies online that do online printing and a simple Google search brings up over 50 million results related to online printing. At least choosing an online printer could be done from the comfort of my home and I could seclude myself away from the wind and rain that most other shoppers were going to have to endure.
  
The Setup Process
   
The most important factor to consider when planning to upload your photographs to an online printer is that one must choose images that are of a relatively high resolution. Images that are 300 DPI generally print well but lower resolution images will result in printed work that is less sharp or possibility pixilated. So starting off with images that have been saved at a decent image size and resolution will make a difference to how your calendar and other printed items work out in the end. You want your finished print job to look beautiful so it's important not to miss this step. Most digital cameras on the market today can easily produce a 300 DPI image, so this is a non-issue for you as long as you know to save your images properly as 300 DPI .jpg or .tiff files. Adobe Photoshop is a wonderful program for determining the actual resolution of your saved images and that is what most print shops will use to check your images and their resolution. If you have access to this software it's a great tool for cropping your pictures and doing other adjustments. Your printer will make adjustments to your images for you if you provide clear instructions to him.

Your print company should tell you if the images that you upload to them are not at a resolution high enough to produce quality work. If you cannot determine the image quality yourself then trust your printer. Many times you will be asked if you would like a proof (test print) of your layout before all the copies are made. If you are asked, you should always say yes to seeing a proof and you should check your proof carefully before having the printer run your job. Many mistakes can be avoided by just looking over your proof carefully and showing where corrections need to be made before going ahead with the job.

With online printers you will likely not see a paper proof of your job, this is why it's important to find an online printer that you can trust, one that will let you know if there are potential problems with your order before they go ahead and complete the job. Asking the Pre-press Person or Graphic Designer for their opinion usually results in a much more polished final product. 
  
So What Is The Final Step?
  
Send the files! The sooner the printer gets your photographs the sooner you can have your calendars, greeting cards or printed ornaments sent back to you. Once you have your print job back, choose attractive gift wrap to create a lovely gift-giving experience for all the special people in your life.
 
Most of all, have a super simple holiday season!