Card Help » Setup Home » Beginners Mac » Vertical Card 1

A beginning note: This tutorial uses lots of screenshots to help you understand the process better. If you have a dialup connection, each page may take up to a minute to load fully.

These instructions are based on using Photoshop CS or 7.0.

There are many ways to set up and print a greeting card using Photoshop. This tutorial offers the basics of how to turn an image into a greeting card using Red River Paper's line of pre-scored inkjet papers.

Red River Paper sells three different card sizes. The table below shows each size and the maximum image you can fit on each:

Note that these image sizes will give you a small white border around the image on the front of the card. Borderless greeting cards are possible in only certain instances. You must use a 7x10 card and have a 13" wide printer. Email us for more information on the topic.

Start by opening the image you wish to use with your card. Resize the image using the above chart. When you are done with that, move to the next step.

To the right is an image example, opened in Photoshop and resized based on these rules: Card Size Max Image Size 7x10 4.75" h x 6.75" w 6.25x9 4.25" h x 6" w 5.5x8.5 4" h x 5.25" w

Now, go to the Image menu and select Canvas Size as shown at right.

Before beginning - set your background color to white. Click here if you need help. In this step, you will establish a border around your image, making the space the same size as your folded card. For example, a 7x10 sheet folds to 5x7 - we will start be making canvas size of your image 5x7 (or other appropriate size). Use this table to set your canvas size properly: Card Size Canvas Size 7x10 5" h x 7" w 6.25x9 4.5" h x 6.25" w 5.5x8.5 4.25" h x 5.5" w Click the OK button

Notice how your image now has a white border. The canvas size you a looking at should be the size of your folded card.

The next step is to change the above canvas into the size of your unfolded card.

Go back to the Image menu and choose Canvas Size again. Set width and height according to this chart: Paper Size New Canvas Size 7x10 10" h x 7" w 6.25x9 9" h x 6.25" w 5.5x8.5 8.5" h x 5.5" w IMPORTANT! Look at the Anchor boxes right below the canvas size. This tool anchors your current canvas to a particular side of the new canvas. For the vertical card layout, always click the bottom middle box. Click OK

Your new canvas will look like this: On the screen shot at left, the bottom is the outside front of your card while the blank area is the outside back. If you wish, you can add text to either side of the card using the text tool. For more detailed customization, see our advanced card tutorial. Click here for the next step - printing