software for price cards?

[Michael Kuehl]

This thread was inspired by the previous thread. I would like to print the individual cards with prices for each item, description, and wood species. Software for business cards, etc., print the same thing on each card. I would like to be able to type up a whole sheet of separate cards and then print them. Does anyone know of software that would do that?

 

[GeorgeH]

You can do it with Microsoft Publisher, usually a standard part of the Windows XP software.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Well, I would be hesitant to buy a piece of software this is just a one-trick pony since there are a vast number of programs that can do what you want and it is likely that you already have programs that can do the job. The simplest solution is with Microsoft Office. You can use the mail merge function in Word and link to a *.csv file created in Excel for the data source. There are built-in templates using standard forms such as Avery business card forms and name tag forms that will automatically handle the page layout. I have used this method for our club when we needed cards for displays such a at public libraries.

I am sure that other office suites have comparable capabilities to what is available in Microsoft Office.

You can get fancier with complex graphical layouts by using Adobe InDesign (or PageMaker) along with Adobe Photoshop to create the design and, once again, link to a *.csv data file to automatically fill in the specific information for each card. I use InDesign and Photoshop to create membership cards and badges for our club members. There are also lower cost programs that are comparable to the Adobe software applications, but with fewer bells and whistles.

 

[Barbara Gill]

You can do it with Microsoft Publisher, usually a standard part of the Windows XP software.

I used the Avery Wizard. It is easy and automatically sets margins for each type of card. It works with Miicrosoft Word.

http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/Templates-&-Software

Before that I used Microsoft Publisher.

 

[Vaughn]

You can do it with Microsoft Publisher, usually a standard part of the Windows XP software.

Publisher will indeed work fine, but it's not a standard part of Windows XP. If it came on your XP machine, it's because the OEM included it as part of your software package. It's not bundled with the operating system by Microsoft.

 

[MichaelMouse]

You can get fancier with complex graphical layouts by using Adobe InDesign (or PageMaker) along with Adobe Photoshop to create the design and, once again, link to a *.csv data file to automatically fill in the specific information for each card. I use InDesign and Photoshop to create membership cards and badges for our club members. There are also lower cost programs that are comparable to the Adobe software applications, but with fewer bells and whistles.

Pagemaker? How old are we? It's still what I use, and will continue to use as my publisher, unsupported or not. It does what it's told, not like the Msoft Office products which think they're smarter than the operator. If I need a device to sass me I'll try to wash my hands at Wal-Mart.

Key is to build your template properly in whatever software. Most word processing programs have business card templates included, and the folks who make the cards,like Avery, have some as well. The perforated cards are the way to go, even if you do own a paper cutter, but they are sensitive to slight paper misalignment in your printer, so don't crowd the margins of the card(s) with your text or borders. Remember to group the constant material so it will remain if you manually change pictures, prices, fonts or whatever on the specific piece. Move it to the background, too. Otherwise you will teach new words to your macaw as you work your cards.

Bill, is Pagemaker going to work in Vista or 7? It has been very good in XP, though there were a number of concerns when XP first came out.

 

[Joe Gorman]

If your are on a Mac

I also used the Avery Wizard when I was on a Windows computer... I have since moved to a Mac and last time I checked, there was no Mac version... too bad because it is a good "Free" product.

On the Mac I am using Pages, part of their Iwork suite and it is quite good... does everything I need.

 

[waltben]

If you've got Word, you can either use a Table, or one of the Templates (for Avery product numbers). Excel doesn't support as many text features as Word, but will work as well.

 

[Rob Wallace]

I have also used Avery Wizard - They have (....at least they used to - I haven't looked for a while) pre-sized, small, foldable "tent" cards used for identifying table settings for weddings, meetings, and the like. Worked well to identify turnings and other items displayed at our woodworking show.

Rob Wallace

 

[Michael Kuehl]

Thanks everyone. Like Joe, I am now on a Mac, so I will have to explore pages to see if I can make it work. If I can, it will be a great improvement over my penmanship!
UPDATE: I looked at Mac Pages, and I was able to make it do what I wanted. Another problem solved thanks to AAW forums.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Pagemaker? How old are we? ...

Bill, is Pagemaker going to work in Vista or 7? It has been very good in XP, though there were a number of concerns when XP first came out.

I don't know how old "we" are, but I am still a young pup just barely retired ... for the last six years.

Believe it or not, Adobe was still selling Pagemaker the last time I checked a few months ago (the education version -- same as regular version, but with fewer swatches, fonts, etc.) -- the price was cheap and unsupported. It should run fine on Vista in 32-bit mode. I used it for several years on an XP machine until the print service provider said that they were about to stop taking *.pmd files. I think that they still are because they don't want to risk losing a buck. It is interesting that InDesign does not have some of the layout capabilities of PageMaker and in some other cases it is easier doing things in PageMaker. However, one of the big drawbacks of PageMaker is the huge size of *.pmd files compared to *.indd files. Also, InDesign creates PDF files almost instantly without all of the cumbersome slow process in PageMaker/Acrobat/Distiller.

 

[Dolan Brown]

This thread was inspired by the previous thread. I would like to print the individual cards with prices for each item, description, and wood species. Software for business cards, etc., print the same thing on each card. I would like to be able to type up a whole sheet of separate cards and then print them. Does anyone know of software that would do that?

Michael,

To solve my price display problem in the thread you referenced I purchased some Avery Small Tent cards. Avery has free software to print on their products. I downloaded it today and it allows you to build a database with your product data so you can print a card for each item. Go to www.avery.com/designpro to get the free software.

Dolan

 

[john lucas]

This is another method I have tried. I make them business card size. The front is a hand stamp I had made with my logo. The cards are business card size so you can use any business card software. I simply fold them, punch holes, and then stamp them.
I can fold them without the holes and place them by the pieces or I thread ribbon or string though the holes and tie them to thing like Christmas ornaments.