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Print Shop Tutorial

Using Print Shop to Enhance Original Artwork

I was reading the article about Print Shop 20 and since I am a novice I am still not sure about what program I need.

I want to scan original watercolors into my computer. I would like to be able to alter them - like fading the edges, cropping portions, etc.- and then print them for greeting cards.

Is Print Shop good for this application?

Alicia

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I’m so glad you asked. I’ve been meaning to put up a tutorial on this for a looong time. Print Shop will do all of the things you mentioned and more.

I did pretty much what you have in mind for local artist, Elsa Malka, using Print Shop. I first color corrected and cropped the scanned artwork; then did several edge effects for her to choose from.

With Elsa’s permission, I’ll use her pastel titled “Childhood Laneway” to illustrate.

Print Shop opens to a Project Picker screen. You want a Blank Page. Click on that and Next.

Then select the orientation (Tall or Wide) and click Finish.

There’s now a blank sheet on your screen.

On the top Tool Bar, click on File and Acquire.

Print Shop will open your default scanner. Scan your artwork and then do any cropping and color correcting by right clicking on the image and selecting Photo Workshop. Print Shop’s Photo Workshop is very user-friendly.

In addition to allowing you to adjust color (e.g. Elsa’s work scanned more yellow than her original, so I nudged it back toward green), you can adjust brightness, focus, saturation, and even add artistic effects like sepia.

When you think you have the colors right, be sure to print a sample. If the colors are off, you need to calibrate your printer. Or you can just take the easy way and become accustomed to the variation.

Here is the proof sample I did for Elsa after cropping and color correcting.

To obtain either the Faded or Soft Edges, simply right click on the image; select Apply Special Effect. Soft Edge is the topmost file folder tab. Click on the various levels of softness until you find one you like. Then click OK.

For Faded Edges, click on the next file folder tab labeled Special Edges. In addition to Faded Edges, you will find 11 other options from Marble Edge to Torn Edge.

Elsa chose the Drop Shadow for her card. That is obtained by right clicking on the image and selecting Apply Drop Shadow. There are some pre-set shadows but I’m sure you will want to use the customizing options. You can select the color of your shadow, as well as the angle, depth, edge softness and amount of transparency.

I chose a shadow color to set off and coordinate with her artwork, chose a medium high transparency and a very soft edge (this is all done with sliders – couldn’t be easier). Then I went to the little thumbnail illustration and nudged the shadow a little further away from the image for more depth.

The next illustration shows how Elsa’s card was laid out for printing. I’m sure you can visualize that when the card is folded in half, the image and legend on the back will both be right side up. The legend says, “Childhood Laneway, Medium: Pastel, Elsa Malka”.

To flip either the image or the legend (your choice), click on it to make it active. Then choose Arrange from the top Tool Bar and select Flip/Both. Your card is ready to print.

Visit Print Shop tips for more information on laying out your cards in Print Shop. Also visit printing tips to learn how to print four small cards to a sheet.

Here are instructions for creating two-sided graphics in case you want to put a message inside your cards.

Visit Computer Crafting for an index of all our articles about printing, photo manipulation and more.

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