Print Scrapbook Paper

Written and Created by PaperCraftCentral Susan

Have you ever wanted to print scrapbook paper (also known as Designer Series Paper) as a business? Help us find out how!

A reader asked the following question:

"I would like to start my own commercial printing of scrapbook background pages.
However, I have problems finding out what sort of paper I should have them printed on."
~ Jackie Dalhouse

How to Print Scrapbook Paper

Could you help me with something? Have any of you designed and printed your own 12 x 12 scrapbook paper (also known as Designer Series Paper or DSP) for sale to others?

If so,

• How did you do that, and 
• What kind of paper did you use and 
• Who prints it for you?

You may have read about how one of my lovely readers is a new designer and is trying to get started making her own range of papers. She lives in Western Australia. I gave her the answers I knew of,  but I know there is lots more knowledge out there than I offered her.

Having my own papers printed could be something I am interested in doing down the track too (though I am more than satisfied with the designer series paper offerings from Stampin' Up! so it is really just an idle thought for me), and suddenly I realised maybe you have also thought about how it could be done.

Not knowing where to start can be very daunting and can stop you from doing anything at all, so here's a chance for us to do something about that.

What about printing special paper just for your own use? Have you ever done that?I imagine it would be appropriate for certain special occasion backgrounds that relate to your own life events, such as the decor from a party, or the home of a loved one, or a special venue you were at with family or friends.

A way I thought of to do it with a Cricut or other scan and cut machine is:

•  create designs or take pictures you want to be on your paper and create a picture file on your computer. Adjust the size to fit your cardstock
  
• Using 12" x 12" (30cm x 30cm) cardstock (or whatever size you wanted) print the file from your computer
• This designer series paper would only be one sided unless you printed something else on the other side, and it would have the weight of regular cardstock instead of being lighter weight like most designer series paper
• OR you could take your designs to a print shop and have them do a print run for you on their paper or paper you provided
• Remember you must have unique one-of-a-kind designs if you want to avoid copywriter issues if you plan to sell your own DSP.

Some printers for home use can take larger sizes of paper as well, and you could possibly load them with the paper you want to have as your DSP. It would take a little experimenting but then you could design hat you want on your graphics software and print straight to your home printer!

Of course, printing on a Cricut or domestic printing machine would not be a viable option for commercial purposes, but if you figures out the costs, it might be OK for a limited run if you were doing orders?

Do you think any of this could work?

I thought maybe we could pool our ideas and resources here on PaperCraftCentral and see if we can help people take the first steps towards creating their own line of product using their own designs.

This is where you come in. Do you know something about the way scrapbook paper designers get their own 12 x 12 page designs printed? It might be that you know someone who has done this. Even if you know one tiny thing that could help, I'd love to hear from you.

I would like to know about the types of paper you have had your 12 x 12 designs printed on, the suppliers who you have used and the costs involved for you.

I would also like to know what country you live in so we can get an idea of how to go about things no matter where we live (and convert the currency costs ourselves).

Could you help?

I hope to see lots of ideas for how to print scrapbook paper (the 12 x 12 kind) before too long! Thanks for helping, all who make suggestions.

If you would like to explore some more ideas with Designer Series Paper (besides actually using it for a project!) you may like:

• Checking the weights of Stampin' Up! cardstock and specialty papers to see what weight of paper is commonly used
  
• Why it is important to consider your scrapbook paper's archival qualities
• Look through the range of current Designer Series Papers in my Stampin' Up! store to get ideas about designs that are trending and find something to suit your projects!