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Computers play a huge role in today’s world of paper crafting—from
searching for ideas and buying products online to storing photos and chatting
online with scrapping friends. But that’s not all—one of the
most frequent uses for computers is computer journaling. You’ve
probably seen the phrase listed in the instructions of numerous pages
online or in your favorite magazine, but have you ever tried it for yourself?
Whether you have or haven’t, read on for tips to learn how you can
master this technique.
Getting Started
Computer journaling is a common technique for a few key reasons: First,
many of us can’t stand our own handwriting or don’t think
it looks nice enough to include on page. The computer fonts eliminate
this problem. Second, the variety of fonts available makes it easy to
find one that goes well with the project you’re working on—whether
it’s an elegant invitation, a page about your child’s favorite
food or a spooky Halloween card. In addition, computer journaling means
that correcting any mistakes is pretty easy—all you have to do is
fix the error and reprint, rather than having to rewrite an entire piece
of journaling. (And the spell-check feature comes in handy, too!)
To do your own computer journaling, all you really need are three basics
that you probably already have: the computer itself, a printer and a word-processing
program.
How It’s Done
- Planning. The first step is to determine where your journaling will
go. Is it going to be a large rectangular journaling block or a simple
title? Decide how much space you have for your journaling on your layout
or card and measure the space.
- Typing. Next, open up your word processing program and start typing.
Write what you’d like to say, then pick the font you want to use
and select a size that will keep the journaling to the size you need
for your project.
- Testing. If you’re planning on printing on a special paper (be
it a particular vellum or just a specially cut piece of paper), it’s
always best to run a test print before you print the real thing. You
wouldn’t want to make an error on your specially trimmed paper
or more expensive paper such as vellum or cardstock, would you? Grab
a piece of scratch paper and print your journaling onto it. Double check
to see that it will fit in the space you want it to, the font looks
as you want it and of course, your grammar and spelling are correct.
- Preparing your paper. If you’re printing onto your background
and you’re an 8 1/2” x 11” scrapbooker, you can just
put your background paper directly into your printer (be sure to watch
when the test print goes through so you know which side of your paper
needs face up in your paper tray) and have at it. If you’re doing
something larger, you’ll likely need to trim your vellum, cardstock
or patterned paper to an 8 1/2-inch width, unless you have a larger
format printer. You can always adjust the orientation of your printing
(through the Page Setup area of your document) if you need to print
wider than 8 1/2”.
If you want to print onto a smaller piece of paper, simply take that
piece and use removable adhesive (such as removable double-sided tape)
to attach it over top of the spot where your journaling printed on the
test print. Place the paper back in your printer and print again. It
should print perfectly on your special piece of paper—just remove
the adhesive and attach it to your project.
(Don’t forget to be sure to let the ink dry on non-porous papers
before handling, otherwise you’ll smear your beautiful journaling.)
What can you print on?
Most standard inkjet printers have the capability to handle printing
on all different types of papers. Here’s a little run-down of some
unique papers to try and some tips to keep in mind when using them:
- Vellum: Since vellum is not porous, you may want
to adjust your printer output to print the lightest amount of ink and
resist handling until the journaling dries.
- Parchment: A heavier weight paper—the thickness
may cause the ink to bleed a little, so pick a lighter ink output level.
Also, be sure to set your printer to accommodate the thicker paper.
- Transparencies: This medium may also be slow in absorbing
the ink, and is a bit thicker, but it’s perfect to create an overlay
for a page title.
- Cardstock: You may need to adjust your printer for
the thickness, but the ink should absorb as normal.
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