Print Artist Tutorial - How to Create Invitations and Greeting Cards

You can create unique and creative invitations and greeting cards in just a few quick and easy steps using Nova's Print Artist (or Print Artist Gold). This simple tutorial will walk you through the process to help you create your own invitations and greeting cards this holiday season or for any special occasion.

To begin the process, simply launch your Print Artist program you have a couple of options. You can choose the “Choose a Project” option to select form pre-designed greeting cards and invitations. But for the creative soul, where is the fun in that? So you want to choose the “Design from Scratch” tab in order to start working with a blank canvas for your creations.

On the next screen you will get a list of options on the let side of the screen which are listed in alphabetical order. Two of these options will be Greeting Cards and Invitations. Basically these will end up with the same basic results. When you click on one of these options, you need to decide the orientation of your project. Do you want the greeting card or invitation to be arranged horizontally where it you open the invitation from the bottom or vertically where it opens on the side.

Once you have chosen the orientation, you need to designate the size of your project. If you are using a paper set for greeting cards or invitations such as products by Avery then you will want to choose the appropriate product number matching your paper; otherwise, simply choose the generic “half fold” or “quarter fold” options. Generally I prefer the half fold, (which means it is your card stock or other paper folded in half) because it gives you more space to work with and wastes less paper.

Now that you have your work space up it is time to get started creating your project. The images on the right will show you which section of the card or invitation you are working on, such as the front or inside right. To choose a border or background you have two options. For the first, click on the fourth icon on the left. This will let you choose from the library of graphics that came with Print Artist. If you choose the fifth icon instead, it will let you import graphics from your hard drive or a graphics disk. Browse through until you find what you want and select it. You can then drag and drop to put the image just where you want it.

Hovering your mouse over the square in the corner when the graphic is selected will allow you to resize the image until it is exactly the way you want it. Choosing “Object” from the top menu will show you what editing options you have available such as adjusting the color and contrast of the graphic.

If you are using multiple images, simply repeat the process until you have things looking just the way that you want.

Now that your graphics are in place, you will want to select your text. For the front of your card or invitation you will probably want to use a text headline instead of traditional text. To do this, simply by selecting the first icon on the left, the big T. This will let you create a text title. Type in your text and hit enter, then highlight it again and click the “objects” option at the top just like you did with the

graphics but select the “body/title text effect” option. This will bring up the window where you select the font and size you want your text to be. Choosing the option tabs at the top will let you adjust your colors and special text effects. Once you have the desired look simply close the box out.

For interior text such as sentiments, directions, etc., you can use the regular text feature. Select this by choosing the second icon on the left. Type your text in the box that appears. Right clicking inside of the text box will bring up the list of features such as font type that you can adjust to make the text match the rest of your project.

Be sure to save your project as you go along. It is a good idea to hit save (at the top of the screen) every time that you make a major change that you are satisfied with. This will keep you from having to repeat yourself should the program crash or you loose power, etc. Once you have completed all the sections of your card or invitation you are ready to print. Print off a test sample first to insure correct alignment, coloring, and to double check for typos. If all is well you are ready to print off as many copies as you need.

There you go, five simple steps for creating your greeting cards and invitations using Nova's Print Artist.