This tutorial was written May 26, 2003 using Paint Shop Pro 8. It is assumed that you have been working with PSP 7 or another version of PSP and have some familiarity with the program.

There are many changes and enhancements in PSP 8. The purpose of this tutorial is to familiarize you with the Print Layout function, including the use of the new print layout templates and saving your print layout with your images for future use.

If you do not already own Paint Shop Pro, you may purchase it or download a trial version of PSP 8 HERE.

OK, let's get started....

Before we assemble our quarter-fold card we need to make each of the four panels. Start with a New Image 400x500 (or 500x400 if you are going to have your card open that way). The main thing to remember is that the overall size of the four panels of the card is 8 1/2 by 11. PLEASE NOTE: Most of my card screenshots will be reduced to 75% of their original size as well as compressed for page loading purposes.

On the first panel create your card front image. If you use a layer for each addition you'll be able to move them around or delete them if you change your mind. Save your card front in psp format. PLEASE NOTE: YOU SHOULD PLAN ON YOUR IMAGE COVERING ONLY ABOUT 85% TO 90% OF THE 400X500 PANEL. POSITION THE GRAPHIC SO THAT THERE IS MORE SPACE AT THE TOP AND ON THE LEFT. THIS SHOULD PLACE THE GRAPHIC IN THE CORRECT POSITION FOR PRINTING. The new Print Layout will work very nicely with the layers. If you do need to move your image layers to reposition them, you may find it easier to do a Layers>Merge Visible. You may still save your image in psp format. It will also work very well in the new Print Layout. I did not reduce the size of my screen shot so you can see how I've positioned my front graphic - more space at the top and the left. Here's what I'm going to use for the front panel of my card:

Next you'll want to make your back panel for your own hallmark. If you do not already have one made, often I will make mine using some element from the card front. Here's my back panel:

The third panel you'll need is the inside left. On this panel you can add whatever images you like. Again, I generally use some element from my main card image and often place it in the upper left:

The last panel is the inside right. Here I also add something from the main image, but try to make it a little different from the left image. This is also the panel where you would add your text. Since I'm making a 'thank you' card, I'll leave mine blank as I'll handwrite my note in that area:

Make sure you have saved all of your panels in PSP format before moving to the print layout phase. Now we'll start working with Print Layout.

Go to File>Print Layout. When you click on that a new work space will open and you'll see all of your card panels on the left:

Next you'll need to select the layout you want to use. You can either go to File>Open Template or click on the same icon in your tool bar. For quarter-fold cards I use the Avery 8768 template. Scroll to the right until you find this template. Click on template 8768 and click 'OK'; it will now open on your work surface.

The red border around the top left panel indicates that is the current active panel. Let's click on the lower right panel to start on the card front. The red border should now have replaced the black border on that panel.

OK, now this gets a little more tricky, but it isn't difficult. :) Click on your front panel image in the left column and drag it over to the lower right panel on the template. When you release your mouse you'll see a broken line border around the panel. If your image is smaller or larger than the space it will be placed in the middle with lines around the image and little boxes at each corner. These are for you to make adjustments. (If you need to do that now, please scroll down until you see a similar box displayed. This process is shown when I get to the last panel, the one on the upper left.) This is what mine looks like now, and remember, I want it placed more to the left in the box as well as closer to the bottom of the box than the top:

Next we'll add our hallmark or back panel. Make the lower left template panel active by clicking on it. Then drag your card back to that panel. That was easy, wasn't it! If you made your hallmark the size you wanted when you were creating your panel, you'll see that it is just where you wanted it.

Now for the inside panels, and this is also a little tricky, but not difficult. Make the upper right panel active by clicking in the middle of it. Then find your left panel image on the left column and drag it to the upper right panel. (That sounds a little confusing, but your inside left panel needs to be behind the front panel. On the template the front panel is where you would expect it, on the lower right. To position the left inside panel, we need to place it in the panel above the front on the template.) Now you'll see that it is upside down, but that will be easily corrected. We'll just rotate it by using the Rotate +90 icon (shown below). Click on the Rotate +90 icon two times and you should now have your image upside down.

And now for the last panel, the inside right. Make the upper left panel active by clicking in the middle of it. Then drag your inside right panel to the upper left template panel. Again, this one will be upside down. And, in my case, I positioned my graphic too far up on the original panel. This means I get to show you how to resize your image when it let's you know that your original will not fit automatically by placing those little black boxes on each corner. :)

Start by pulling the lower left square to the lower left corner of the panel. As you can see in the second screen shot below, the area is still not filled with my panel:

Keep pulling on that lower left square until the dotted line is at the edges of the panel box. And now, as you can see, my graphic is still upside down and needs to be rotated:

To rotate my image I've used the Rotate -90 icon and clicked on that twice:

If you want to save your template for future use, go to File>Save Template and a window will open. Here you should put a check in the box to save your template with the images and then name your template. Click on 'OK' when you are done.

You are now ready to print your card. If you're not sure your layout will look good on the card, start by printing a grayscale draft of it. Go to File>Print Setup and click on the Greyscale radio button in the Print Output box on the left. You may also want to make this change to your printer by checking on the Printer box at the top. When you are finished with the print set up click Close. Then go to File>Print.

After you print your draft card be sure to fold it to make sure everything looks the way you want. Then go back and change your settings to color and in your own printer settings in addition to changing the setting to color also change the paper quality to whatever it is you use for cards. Again, after you click Close, go to File>Print and your card will start printing. PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU NEED TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO YOUR TEMPLATE, GO TO FILE>OPEN TEMPLATE AND WHEN THE NEW WINDOW OPENS CLICK ON CUSTOM. THAT WILL BRING UP A WINDOW WITH YOUR SAVED TEMPLATES. YOU MAY EDIT THAT TEMPLATE BUT BE SURE TO SAVE IT AGAIN. This is my final template which is now ready for my card production:

That's it! You should now be able to make other quarter-fold cards using the new Print Layouts in PSP8. I'm sure you also noticed that you can use many different templates for other projects and photo printing as well!

I hope you've enjoyed learning something about the new Print Layout function now available in PSP8. If you have any questions, please email me.