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Writer's pictureSamantha McNesby

How to Print Printables and Get Great Results

Updated: Jul 18, 2021

You've invested money in your printables -- now learn how to print them. Printing printables requires the right mix of printer, paper and settings -- this piece explores some common printing errors when it comes to printables and how to solve them.


Ever purchased a printable that looked amazing on screen – then became pale and lackluster when you actually printed it out? I have – and it is disappointing! If the issue is your home printer, you can transfer your designs to a Staples or Office Depot, but that removes one of the key benefits of printable junk journal kits and pieces - -the instant gratification!



This is Part 1 of Perfecting your Printables. Part 2 talks about the right paper for your printables and Part 3 reviews settings to make sure you get the best possible results.


When you can print a kit, page or project at home and get amazing results you can begin a project in the time it takes to download a file and gather supplies. If your home printer can produce photos (or at least claims to be able to) then you can produce vibrant and clear printables that look just as the designer intended.


Note: We are Amazon affiliates and occasionally mention or recommend products that if purchased would generate a small fee for our site at no cost to you.


Tips for Amazing Printouts


What do you need to print junk journal and art pieces at home?


Your print quality will depend on a few different components; each will impact the final look of your printout in different ways. The actual printer you use, the paper you have chosen and the settings on your printer will have the greatest impact on your results. This assumes the file you are printing from is high resolution and meant to be a printable – a photo or piece that is the wrong format, too small or too blurry won’t look well even if every other factor is optimized.


Grab your favorite printable or your new printable crush and we’ll get started!


 

Need to print something dark? Start with the Oddities photos – these are black, white and sepia, and when they print well, so will every other deep or dark printable you want to make. If you have alignment or cartridge issues, they’ll show up right away.



Printing vibrant colors? Choose something from the Pretty Poisons line – these are incredibly bright limes and pinks, and you’ll know in an instant if your printer is up to the job or needs some additional help.


Want a total freebie? Visit the subscriber library to grab your choice of free files to print out and practice on.


Optimize your Printables 1—Your Printer


The actual printer you use doesn’t matter as much as its stated capabilities. You may have a brand preference or a printer already on hand, so unless you are in the market for something new you can likely use your existing equipment. This is usually a relief, as the printer is the most expensive component you need to produce high quality printables.


We currently have an HP Instant Ink (HP may be regretting that one, I print a LOT of full color photos and pages!) and a Canon Pixma. I use the HP more because the Canon is kind of fussy. It does produce a lovely clear print and accommodates larger paper so I keep it.even though I cringe when I have to use it.


Your printer needs to be ready to print full color photographs to start. If you have a picture file (jpg) handy, print it out and take a look. You will have a good example of your starting point and be able to tell if the changes you make are working.





No printable? Check out the free subscriber library here and choose one! You do need to sign up to access, but there are dozens of free printable projects inside and many are completely saturated with color, making them a good choice for measuring your printer’s current capabilities.




Our printables use a lot of very saturated (read, bright) and deep, dark colors, so they are ideal for finetuning your printer's capabilities.


Make your Printouts Look Amazing - Printer Maintenance


Your printer has some built in features that help maintain it and make sure your printouts look their best. Take a moment to visit the printer's apps and run a print check. If you use HP products, this is in your HP Smart app and can also be accessed from the printer itself. Canon and other products have their own branded apps that improve print quality.



Some typical print quality reports, yours may vary slightly but this is the general idea.


Ideally, you should get good results on two different types of reports;

  • Print quality, which shows any bare spots or missed patches

  • Print head alignment, problems here lead to streaks and gaps in horizontal lines.


If you already know your printouts have bald patches or horizontal lines, or see them in these test prints, you can improve your output quality very easily.





This Alice in Wonderland box has very bright colors -- and we were definitely having a problem with print quality. See the streaks in the blue? It ended up being a clogged print head and 3 rounds of cleaning made the next printable far more presentable. This one was printed to check for quality (a good thing in this case!) and to be sure all pieces fit together well and printed as expected before offering this freebie to subscribers. (Find it here, if you'd like a copy of this free project).


This is supposed to be a rich, warm aged tan, but lots went wrong. Magenta and cyan (blue) are not printing well, so it has a sickly yellow cast. The horizontal lines show that this printer has print heads that need to be cleaned and aligned as well.



Run an alignment:


Each printer is different, but all offer an alignment page. This is a two part process; the printer will produce a page that you will then place on the scanner glass. The printer itself will evaluate and correct any errors. This is an automated process and one that can improve your printouts almost instantly.


Clean the print heads:


Your print heads are the nozzles that release ink from the cartridges onto the paper. If they are messy or clogged then your printouts will be streaked, messy or even have bald spots. This is another automatic process that takes only a few minutes and a few pieces of paper and can dramatically improve your printable results.


Print another copy of the same photo. If you had any alignment or internal printer issues, the maintenance above should have cleared it up.


Next up, we'll look at paper and the difference it can make in your printouts (some papers print color and printables a lot better than others!).

no matter how much you invest in great quality paper and in amazing printable designs, you won’t get the best results until you optimize your printer. Start with these maintenance items and get ready to learn about how your paper impacts your printables, up next.







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