Print Guide for a Bright Blue Card
This is one of the more colourful designs in the Christmas set, and it rewards a little care at the printing stage. A large area of solid blue and a heavily detailed garland ask more of your printer than a simple white card does. Here is how to get a clean result.
Paper
Choose a bright white card stock between 250 and 300 gsm. White makes the sky blue stay clean and light, while cream paper will turn it slightly green. A silk or satin finish gives the golden bells a pleasant sheen, and a matte one is better if you plan to write on the card with a gel pen.
Printer Settings
- Set quality to High or Best, and choose the paper type that matches your card stock.
- Print on a laser or a good inkjet. Large blue areas can show faint streaks on cheap printers.
- Print one copy first and compare the blue with the screen. If it looks too dark, lower the density a little.
- The file is 8.5 x 4 inches, which is the full width of letter paper. Use Fit to page, or print on a bigger sheet and trim.
Trimming
The red band along the bottom runs to the edge of the card. Trim it with a guillotine, a ruler and a sharp blade, and take off a hair outside the print so no white edge shows. If your printer cannot print to the edge, trim a little inside the band instead, and the card still looks neat.
Colours and Details to Notice
The background is a clear sky blue. Across the top edge hangs a thick pine garland, decorated with red baubles, gold snowflakes and small red ribbons. In the top right, a pair of large golden bells tied with a big red bow overlap the garland. The title MERRY CHRISTMAS is written in a frosty blue outlined lettering with a dark border, and GIFT CERTIFICATE appears below it in white outlined letters.
The lower part of the card has four lines: To and From on the first row, then Amount, Valid Until and Signature on the second row. Pale grey prompts, Recipient Name and Sender Name, sit on the lines, along with a dollar sign and the date format mm/dd/yy. A solid red stripe runs along the bottom edge.
Editing the Card
The labels and prompts are text, so you can change them. The garland, bells and frosty title lettering are artwork. If you want a different greeting, remove the lettering picture and add your own text. The blue background and the red band can be recoloured, for instance to a deeper teal.
Using It as a Classroom Reward
The cheerful colours suit classroom rewards. A teacher can print the card, write Homework Pass or Choose Your Seat on the Amount line, and hand one to a student at the holiday party. Because the card is large, it is easy to read from a desk, and the bright blue is easy to spot in a bag.
Where It Fits Best
The bright, friendly colours suit schools, daycare centres, family businesses and children’s gifts. For a calmer, more traditional version, see the navy and gold bell voucher. For a wine red card with pine trees, see the pine tree gift certificate. The rest of the set is listed in our Christmas gift certificate templates.
