last time i bought a greetings card it was over 2 quid – i have been thinking for ages that i must make my own cards or something. i don’t even like most of the cards on offer in the shops anyway!
so in a spare moment at the weekend i was having a look at self publishing – books, photo books and yes cards… after scouting around i tried bonusprint. with a very simple interface i was able to upload some photos and create greetings cards that are blank inside and without any naff borders (why do so many of these companies think we want naff borders around cards – are they misguided or is there really that much bad taste around?!!!). i tried a few different pics to see how they would come out. they arrived today and look fab. i went for A5 size – ordering one is £1.50 but if you start ordering more the price comes down pretty quickly. the only negative is that on the back of the cards they print bonusprint which is really annoying. anyway that’s it – i will now be creating cards out of my own photos. it will be cheaper, more fun, personal and creative. anyone else tried anything similar? i’d definitely be interested if you know of something that doesn’t have the company name on the end result…
[update:
thanks to people who have left comments. seems like there are a few options.
printing direct from iphoto – looks easy and good but there is no discount for bulk buying so it seems overpriced to me.
all the kodak options on their web site have naff designs/borders – weird
photobox look pretty good. it’s worth joining anyway because you can order 30 free prints just for joining! their greeting cards are in sets of 8. works out at about a pound a card unless you buy 40 or more cards. i may get a set just to see what the quality is like.
i contacted bonusprint to ask about printing the cards without their logo on the back. for an extra 10p a card they will do so. they don’t advertise that but they have told me to order as per normal and then e-mail them straight away to ask them to do that. inlcude a phone number and they will ring to collect the extra payment. this all seems a bit convoluted and hopefully if enough people want that option they will add it to the web site. having looked around i think bonusprint offer the best price if you print several. the quality of their A5 cards is great.]
You can of course by blank cards for printing straight on to… glossy on one side – with no printers name on the back 😉
I just print my own at home. Great idea using a printer though.
I’ve just ordered a batch of cards for our new address details, with a pic of the view from our apartment on the front. They are much like what you describe, but plain. I ordered them in person in the store and set it up with the guy on his computer.
BTW, have you seen the book D.I.Y:Design it Yourself ? It is edited by ellen lupton and has loads of great ideas for diy design (cards, packaging, tees, graphics). I plan on using their idea for DIY CD digi-pack.
I know that lulu self-publishing (its lulu.com) does some really cool stuff. And they handle your distribution, and it doesn’t cost you anything to get stuff loaded up. And I even think that they can get your items on Amazon.com and a few other sites like that. I know several artist friends who have used to for small runs…And I think they even do cd’s and dvd’s.
mr printer is bust at the moment but i should try that at home too – good thought… and i’ll check out the book – thanks. i am in the lulu.com fan club. we are about to re-invent proost and start using lulu big style. i have ordered a few things just to see what the quality i like first.
Yeah – I gave up on those naff shop cards a while go.
As well as photos I make mine out of ‘stuff’, using coloured recycled paper, pieces of rounded glass washed up on beaches etc.
It’s amazing how many art shops sell cheap stuff for card making!
You tired out the card printing in iPhoto? Used it a few times and it worked great for me. Good price too.
thanks – hadn’t thought of iphoto. looks easy. it’s a shame they don’t drop the pirce if you order more copies though.
Regards the naff borders on retail cards – I was assured by a parishioner who used to be a designer for one of the major card manufacturers based in nearby Bradford that cards with borders sell far better than cards without – so the manufacturers meet the demand – she describes the three years she worked there as “soul destroying” – so much better to create our own – iphoto is great
Tom
I’d try a website called Photobox (photobox.co.uk). We’ve been using them to print photos for a while (dead cheap) but they also do other things like cards, calendars etc. We did calendars for the grandparents at christmas of the grandchildren and they loved it.
david thanks – hat does look an interesting one to try…