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. Affinity Studio -
Affinity Studio
- Free and has most of the same features as Photoshop. Works with our Photoshop card templates.
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: June 30, 2026
WHAT CUSTOMERS SAY ABOUT US
Good Choices
Years ago, while watching the mechanic work on the front end of my motorcycle while chatting with his girlfriend, I realized that no one was as concerned about my safety as me so I began doing my own maintenance and I have let that carry over to many other things I deal with such as my prints. I like making large prints (16x....)so I bought a large format printer. I began by purchasing supplies from the manufacturer and still get my ink from them but I could never get the color right using their paper. I switched to Red River Paper and after one false step I asked Drew for some advice and today I can print with confidence. I'm just "Po' Folk" so I usually wait until one of my favorite papers is on sale and I'm never going to be their biggest customer because I am only making prints for myself but I will always be among their most loyal customers mostly because of the quality of the paper but the speed and efficiency they demonstrate once the order is placed is a clincher.
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).
