momvetkat Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Hi - I got some good advice from people when I decided to try making a calendar. I got so into it that I decided to make them for family and have devoted almost all my free time to creating them. My problem now is (and I know, it's Christmas time and I waited too long), I can't find anyone to print them. Walmart is crazy and won't answer my calls, Staples told me t would be $105 for two calendars and my on-line site doesn't do 11x17. Frustrated and feeling bah humbug. My elderly mom would have loved the one I am almost done making of her great- grandkids. Any advice? I don't know how to transform an 11x17 to an 8.5x11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherise Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 I got my 11x17 calendars printed at FedEx Kinkos last year. I don't remember the exact cost, but it wasn't quite the $52 you are being quoted at Staples. If you have a FedEx Kinkos, you can look into that. Also, regarding making the calendar 8.5x11 instead, it depends on how you have the calendar set up. Theoretically, could you cut the page in half horizontally and have the pictures at the top and the calendar part on the bottom? If so, you could try splitting all of your pages in half like that and then either print them back to back (duplex) or glue the pages back to back after printing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy M Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Kathy, How I cut the 11x17 to 8.5X11 is this.... Select the crop tool. then look at the top and change the parameters to 8.5X11. Then while holding down the shift key (you may not have to do that part in Elements) drag from the top down toward the right, then hit enter to crop it. Then save it as a JPG file. The Control+Z or Control+Alt+Z to back up and do the same for the bottom, starting dragging from the bottom right up and repeat. I hope this make sense. I think I saw that Artscow said that if you wanted items by Christmas you had to order by the 5th. I didn't look at their calendars so I'm not sure of their sizes, but I just ordered a coffee table book of the years layouts for the twins today. Might be worth a look. I am sure some of the other girls can give you some advice on other printing companies. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momvetkat Posted December 3, 2014 Author Share Posted December 3, 2014 Thanks Brandy but I don't get it, I am in PS6. When I "crop" and pull down from the right, when do I stop (it just keeps going until the image disappears). Then it asks me if I want to crop but I haven't done the second step of your instructions. Confused but hopeful? (I would like to print them as is if I could find a company that does 11X17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy M Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 I get it, I hope you can find a place that can get it to you in time at the 11X17. As for the cropping...Did you set the measurements to 8.5X11? Also for me in CS I have to hold down the shift button while I drag...keeps the measurements right. I stop when it gets to the edge. You will kinda feel it snap to the edge. I thought in PSE you didn't have to do that, but maybe you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momvetkat Posted December 3, 2014 Author Share Posted December 3, 2014 Well I guess I'm an *** because I didn't realize that the 11 x17 format was meant to be folded (11x8.5-duh). So how do I get these pages I have created printed? They look like the other ones I saw in the photo gallery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nica Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Kathy, I didn't cut mine, nor folded them. All I did was ask Staples to print them like a regular copy (don't let them send them out to an outside printer to make a calendar). You should be able to get them for about $12. Use 110lb matte cardstock and ask them to print back-to-back. Let me know if that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindarobin Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Hi, Kathy, I understand your frustration - getting calendars and photo books printed in time for holiday gift-giving is getting close to impossible now. I'm with Nica... I still think Staples is a good bet for 11x17 printing - but don't ask for a calendar, just get prints. They should be as low as 60 cents/ sheet. You can bind the sheets together at the top yourself. Don't forget to punch a hole so it can hang from a nail. If you can provide a single multi-page PDF, that makes it super easy for the employee to print out the pages, ESPECIALLY if it's OK to use the regular 11x17 paper in the printer. No special set up is required, so they can probably do it while you wait in the store. But if you do use regular paper, go for single sided printing. It's a laser color printer, so the prints look pretty good, even on regular paper. (If it was inkjet printing, regular paper wouldn't be good enough.) BTW, if you don't have a single multi-page PDF, then provide them with the JPG files on a ***clean*** memory stick. You don't want to confuse an already stressed-out employee with a memory stick full of irrelevant files. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy M Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 That is great advice ladies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momvetkat Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 OK I am going to try that. I have never saved as pdf, only individual pages as jogs. How do I save them as a multi-page pdf? Right now I have individual psd files of the cover and 12 months. Also, best way to bind at top so they lay flat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindarobin Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Do you have a PDF printer? If not, there is a good free one at http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp Make sure you download and install BOTH files, CuteWriter.exe and converter.exe. Once you do this, it's like having a new printer. Using Windows Print Wizard, select all the JPGs, then select the printer you want to use i.e. the CutePDF Writer. Choose all the correct print settings (tabloid size, full page, etc.) When you "print", this creates a PDF. In this case, the PDF will have a page for each JPG. Proof your new PDF - make sure the pages are 11x17. Zoom in really close to make sure everything is sharp and clear. BTW, any file that you can print (Word doc, spreadsheets, images, etc.) you can now print to the CutePDF Writer, to create a PDF version of that file. Tip: Put your JPGs in one folder. Open the folder. Right-click a JPG. Select Print. Choose the CutePDF Writer. This brings up the Windows Print Wizard. You can then select all the JPGs in the folder. This is how you get one multi-page PDF. (vs making 12 single page PDFs) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momvetkat Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 This information is SO helpful! I use a Mac and the one you mentioned isn't compatible but I will look. I also don't have Windows Print Wizard but hopefully I can figure it out. My pages are done (not yet converted to jogs but I need to do that - right? Off on my search for a PDF printer - THANK YOU ALL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindarobin Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Hi, Kathy, Oh, yes, I'm sure there is a mac-compatible PDF printer driver. Definitely worthwhile to have. It is preferable, at Staples, to give them a single PDF. That keeps the "file handling fee" to a minimum. I read that the Mac comes with a Save As PDF function. So if you can import all your JPGs into a multi-page tabloid size document, you need only save as PDF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momvetkat Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 Well thanks to everyone's advice I got the files into PDF. Now how to figure out how to get them to the printer. I thought I had a flash drive but can't find it or I would try to figure that out too. I asked Nica this question but decided to pose it to the group. If you print the pages individually, how to you bind them together so that they can be laid flat? I know it's probably simply but I am just not getting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindarobin Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Regarding binding options: While you are at Staples, waiting for the prints, you can see what they offer for binding. I'm sure they have cerlox binding (rectangular hole punching, held together with a plastic comb) as well as spiral binding (tiny round holes, held together with a spiral wire). In the school supplies area, there are those plastic things that you can slide several sheets of paper into... no paper punching required! You can tie a string through it and then hang the calendar up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindarobin Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Here's a picture (I hope it's OK to link it to here - it does not link to Staples - this is just how the image shows at that site) that shows spiral binding at the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindarobin Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 This is a DIY option. Here's a picture, but you don't need the front & back covers, just the spine. It holds several sheets of paper by pinching the edges tight, just like pinching your thumb and forefinger together. As far as calendars go, each month you would remove the pages, shuffle the front to the back, and reinsert the bunch back into this clip. Visualize the black clipping spine horizontally, pinching the pages together (the 11 inch top edge). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiles Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 This is great info, Linda! Thanks so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momvetkat Posted December 26, 2014 Author Share Posted December 26, 2014 I just wanted to thank everyone that helped me with this project. The calendars were printed and they looked good; my family LOVED them. I just wanted anyone that doesn't already know this that if you are having full 11x 17's printed and bound at the top, that every other page should be printed upside-down (so it can be hung by the binder top) and that unless you ask, they don't bleed the images to the edge (Some of my page, including text on the cover, was cut off!). Oh well, a learning experience and next year I will know what to do. Thanks to all of you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.