Cardia for Mac
- A power yet simple greeting and note card design and printing app. A great value and highly recommended for the Mac user who does not want to learn more complex apps like the ones listed below. Visit the Cardia website for more information.
Adobe Photoshop Elements
- Get all of the Photoshop functions you need to make and edit cards for way less than the full version of Photoshop.
Corel PaintShop Pro 2023
- a good alternative to Photoshop Elements for those who are comfortable with Corel products or who want to get good features for less money.
Adobe Photoshop - you can use Photoshop as a layout tool
to quickly and easily set up and print cards. Its flexibility and power allow for endless creativity on your part. Part of Adobe Creative Cloud or the Adobe Photography Plan.
PrintingPress Pro Extreme 11 - The most innovative invitation design and print studio software for modern retailers, wedding planners and stationery professionals. Includes powerful design tools, original fonts and graphics. An easy to learn, greeting card and invitation specific alternative to Adobe with templates for standard sizes, folded cards, envelopes, etc. built in.
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Last updated: February 17, 2026
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Increase Profits by Reducing Costs
I print most of my own jobs up to 17" wide. Many of my most profitable shoots come from shooting team photos for all different sports in my small town. I offer individual items and packages and have to be very careful to match my pricing to my customer base. For many years I used a top of the line Luster finish paper made by my printer manufacturer. My options to increase profits were to increase prices or to reduce costs. I first tried refillable inks but the quality wasn't good enough. It was only when I switched to Red River UltraPro Satin that I found a paper that had the reproduction quality and the weight that could compare to what I had been using. But it was the pricing that sealed the deal. I now buy Red River UltraPro Satin in the 600 sheet box and my cost per sheet has dropped dramatically. And that means that my profits have increased without having to raise my prices. Red River is my first choice for papers!
Papers with the Archival designtation can take many forms. They can be glossy, matte, canvas, or an artistic product. These papers are acid free, lignin free and can be made of virgin tree fiber (alpha cellulose) or 25-100% cotton rag. They are likely to have optical or fluorescent brightening agents (OBAs) - chemicals that make the paper appear brighter white. Presence of OBAs does not indicate your image will fade faster. It does predict a slow change in the white point of your paper, especially if it is displayed without UV filter glass or acrylic.
Archival Grade Summary
Numerous papers - made from tree or cotton content
Acid and lignin free base stock
Inkjet coating layer acid free
Can have OBAs in the base or the coating
Museum Grade Paper
Papers with the museum designation make curators happy. They are made from 100% cotton rag content and have no optical brightener content. (OBA) The base stock is acid and lignin free. The coating is acid free. This type of offers the most archival option in terms of media stability over time.
Museum Grade Summary
100% cotton rag content
Acid and lignin free base stock
Inkjet coating layer acid free
No OBA content
Photographic Grade Paper
Photo Grade products are designed to look and feel like modern photo lab paper. Most photo grade media are resin coated, which means they have a paper core covered by a thin layer of polyethelene (plastic) . Plastic gives the paper its photo feel, stability (flatness), water resistance, handling resistance, and excellent feed consistency.
Prints on photo grade media are stable over long periods. With pigment inks in a protected environment, you can see up to 80 years on-display life. All RC papers are Photo Grade for two reasons. Plastic content is not technically archival by museum standards. Also, the inkjet coating of all RC papers is slightly acidic. It facilitates instant drying and does not actually change the stability of your inks over time. Virtually all RC papers have optical brightening agents (OBAs).
