The Stationers Guild

As a stationer, I am repeatedly questioned if digitally-reproduced Christmas photo greeting cards are “far better” over 4″x 6″ pictures attached to a personalized holiday photo card. There actually is no easy response to this question, however I will contribute a few observations that you will find helpful to take into account when reaching final decision.

While the printing quality of digital prints has improved appreciably, prints produced at photo shops still have a decided edge. This shouldn’t be unexpected given that commercially produced photographs are produced under optimum print conditions using paper stock created specifically to produce uniform high-quality prints. Though I have come across outstanding digital photos using high quality ink jet printers on specially formulated photo papers, this printing technique should be left to experts.with proper printing and developing equipment.

Digitally-reproduced Christmas personalized photo cards are often less expensive than photographs placed on Christmas greeting cards. The cost of digitally printed photo cards is usually a result of the paper weight and originality of the design and style the photo card templates. While many photo greeting cards seem like commercially made junk mail, a few leading design companies have stunning window frames to showcase your photograph.

There’s a widespread false impression that “it is more convenient” to pick a digital photo card over a traditional photomount holiday greeting card. This is certainly not the case. When you print digitally you possess an unlimited selection of color alternatives. We’ve all too often observed the annoyance than sets-in when a client is faced with countless design and color options to print their digital photographs. Engraved frames from reputable printing companies and designers are typically of much higher quality than the limited template selections offered by most online printers.

Crane & Co., two of the leading holiday photo card designers and printers, give the buyer a choice of using adhesive strips to mount your photographs or having the picture printed digitally on the very same top quality paper stock. The cost of both Crane’s and William Arthur’s holiday photo card is identical regardless of printing process is selected. While the standard of photo prints is superior to digitally reproduced pictures, printing your photo card digitally can save you time and $0.19 per photograph print.

To view the many printing options offered, we recommend that you contact a Guild member store in your area to determine which printing process works best for your family photograph this Christmas season.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

Being a stationer, I am often questioned whether online digital Christmas holiday photo cards are “nicer” than 4″x 6″ photos attached to a customized holiday photo card. There actually is no straightforward answer to this question, but I will share several insights that might be useful to think about when making your decision.

Even though the reproduction quality of digital photos has improved substantially, pictures developed commercially still have an advantage. This is really not a revelation considering the fact that commercially reproduced pictures are produced under ideal developing circumstances utilizing papers specifically designed to make uniform high quality photographs. Even though I have seen exceptional digital photographs using hi-res photo printers on specially formulated photo papers, this printing technique is ideally left to specialists.with proper printing equipment.

Digitally-printed Christmas holiday photo cards are often less costly than photos placed on Holiday photo cards. The cost of digital photo cards is generally a function of the paper weight and uniqueness of the design and style the card templates. Although some Christmas photo cards are like commercial junk mail, some leading design companies have exquisite frames to showcase your photograph.

There is a wide-spread misconception that “it’s easier” to select a digitally-reproduced photo card than a traditional photo-mount holiday greeting card. This is certainly not the truth. Any time you print digitally you have an infinite choice of color possibilities. I’ve all too often seen the annoyance than occurs when a client is confronted with a lot of color choices to print their photographs.Engraved photo frames from reputable paper companies are often of far better quality when compared with the limited design template selections supplied by most online print companies.

William Arthur, two of the leading holiday photo card designers and printers, provide the client the option of using photo-mounts or getting the photo imprinted digitally on the same premium quality paper stock. The price of both Crane’s and William Arthur’s Christmas photo card is the same irrespective of printing process is chosen. While the caliber of photo prints is better than digitally reproduced images, printing your photo card digitally could help you save some time and $0.19 per photo print.

To see the many printing alternatives offered, we suggest that you contact a Guild member store in your neighborhood to see which printing process works best for your family picture this Christmas season.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

Being a stationer, I’m repeatedly questioned if digital camera Christmas holiday photo greeting cards are “better” than 4″x 6″ photographs attached to a personalized holiday card. There really isn’t any easy reply to this question, but I will contribute a few insights that you will find useful to consider when reaching your final decision.

Even though the printing quality of digital prints has improved appreciably, prints developed at photo shops continue to have a clear edge. This shouldn’t be a revelation as commercially reproduced pictures are produced under the most desirable print circumstances using papers specifically made for making consistent high quality photos. While I have come across excellent digitally reproduced photos utilizing high quality photo printers on archival papers, developing high quality photos is best left to specialists.with the appropriate printing equipment.

Digitally-reproduced Christmas photo cards are often more affordable than pictures attached to Seasonal custom greeting cards. The price of digital photo cards is generally a function of the paper weight and originality of the design the photo card templates. Although some photo cards look like commercially manufactured promotional mailers, several quality printers and designers have exquisite frames to showcase your family photo.

There exists a widespread false impression that “it is easier” to select a digital holiday card than a traditional photo-mount holiday greeting card. This is definitely not the case. Anytime you create digital prints you possess an infinite array of coloring choices. I have all too often witnessed the frustration than develops when a client is faced with a great number of design alternatives to print their photographs. Engraved frames from reputable paper companies are usually of superior reproduction quality when compared with the limited template selections supplied by most online print companies.

Crane & Co., two of the main Christmas photo card creative designers, offer the client a choice of using photo-mounts or having the picture printed electronically on the very same high quality cardstock. The price of both Crane’s and William Arthur’s Christmas photo card is the same regardless of printing process is selected. While the caliber of photo prints is better than digitally reproduced pictures, printing your photo card digitally could help you save time and $0.19 per photo print.

To see the many printing alternatives available, we suggest that you contact a Guild member store in your area to determine which printing process works best for your family picture this Christmas season.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

Together with the convenience of digital cameras and advances in offset publishing, this holiday season quite a few households will digitally print family pictures right on their annual Christmas greeting card. What can be simpler? Just upload your photograph to an online printer, choose a template, crop your image, click the print button and your printed Christmas greeting cards are shipped to your residence.

This appears to be an idyllic situation, but photography professionals unwaveringly insist that digitally-imprinted Christmas photo cards aren’t nearly as enticing as pictures mounted on the card. One seasoned stationery store owner and recreational photographer said, “Digitally reproduced photo cards simply don’t have the high quality and print image resolution of photographs developed by a commercial printer. Some digital photo greeting cards are quite quite attractive, however, if you do a comparison side-by-side, the actual difference is pretty obvious: Photomount greeting cards win hands-down.”

Not everybody would accept this evaluate, but plainly if you consider the “convenience factor” and lower overall cost, it is no shock that buyers have moved in the direction of digital holiday cards. “Let’s be realistic,” remarked this knowledgeable stationery store owner, “you receive an attractive quality holiday photo card – maybe not the best – but you avoid the need for mounting the photographs with adhesive tape.”

Due to this change in consumer purchasing tendencies, main-stream printing firms have moved rapidly to boost their digital printing abilities. Actually, industry leaders, Crane & Co. and William Arthur now provide its clients a choice of printing their photograph on the holiday photo card or placing their photographs on beautifully designed greeting cards – often engraved – with pre-applied adhesive tape.

To see the variations in both printing processes, it is prudent to visit a certified stationery store in your neighborhood to check out printed examples personally. Regardless of what option works for you, a number of printing companies are in the middle of their holiday card sale. Save anywhere for 20% to 50% by ordering your photo greeting cards prior to the end of September.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair, a stationery store located in Greenwich, CT. She writes frequently about photo greeting cards and holiday greeting card trends.

As a stationer, I am repeatedly asked by our clientele whether or not they should choose digital photo cards this Christmas season. Most of these patrons have typically used photo mount holiday greeting cards to show family pictures.

This is a complicated question to answer, considering that it is determined by on your goals. Digital Christmas photo cards are certainly more practical, despite the fact that the color reproduction of digitally printed holiday photo cards is not as crisp and clean as regular photographs. While great progress has been made in improving the high quality of digital printing, one has to be thorough in deciding upon the printing company and the design and style alternatives.

One artist who has a long background of beautiful styles and designs is Stacy Claire Boyd. Stacy has long been styling eye-catching Christmas photo greeting card themes for years. She recently joined with Printswell, a quality printing company, and currently has the possibility of reproducing high quality photo holiday cards at very affordable prices.

Stacy Claire’s 2011 holiday card collection showcases her long-established emphasis on new families and young ones. Her styles find a way to catch the joy of a care free childhood and her holiday photo cards are a huge favorite among our clients. Choose from a assortment of card sizes and orientation with multiple or a single picture of your family.

If you determine that digital photo card printing is the proper choice for you this holiday season, please have a look at Stacy’s fashionable holiday photo card designs and styles. Pricing for Stacy’s photo cards range from $2.50 to $4.00 a photo card according to the number of cards you select to buy and the printing or design and style choices.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

As a stationery store that sell holiday greeting cards and photo cards, I am often quizzed by our clients whether or not they should buy digital photo cards this Christmas season. The majority of of these customers have traditionally used photo mount Christmas greeting cards to share family photos.

This is a tough question to answer, since it is determined by on your goals. Digital Christmas photo cards are certainly more convenient, even though the color printing of digitally printed holiday photo cards is not as crisp as old fashioned photographs. While great improvement has been produced in upgrading the high quality of digital reproduction, one needs to be very careful in selecting the printing company and the design features.

One designer who has a long background of graceful designs is Stacy Claire Boyd. Stacy has long been developing eye-catching Christmas photocard templates for a long time. She just recently partnered with Printswell, a high-quality printer, and right now has the facility of reproducing quality photo cards at reasonable prices.

Stacy Claire’s 2011 holiday photo card selection showcases her classic focus on new families and kids. Her styles and designs often capture the joy and happiness of a carefree childhood and her Christmas photo greeting cards are a great favorite among our customers. Choose from a range of card dimensions and orientation with several or a single photograph of your family.

If you choose that digital printing is the right choice for you this Christmas season, please take a peek at Stacy’s sophisticated Christmas photo card styles. The prices for Stacy’s photo greeting cards vary from $2.50 to $4.00 a Christmas photo card depending on the number of Christmas photo cards you decide on to acquire and the printing or design alternatives.

Sheila P. May
Founding Member Stationers Guild

As a stationer, I am often asked whether digital Christmas photo cards are “better” than 4″x 6″ photos mounted on a personalized holiday card.  There really is no simple answer to this question, but I will share a few insights that might be useful to consider when making your choice.

While the reproduction quality of digital photos has improved significantly, photographs developed commercially still have an edge.  This should not be surprising since commercially developed photographs are produced under ideal printing conditions using papers specifically designed to create uniform quality prints.    While I have seen exceptional digital prints using high resolution ink-jet printers on archival papers, this printing technique is best left to professionals.

Digitally-reproduced holiday photo cards are generally less expensive than photographs mounted on Christmas greeting cards.   The price of digital photo cards is generally a function of the paper stock and quality of the design templates.   While some photo cards resemble commercial mailers, some leading design companies have beautiful frames to enhance the setting of your photograph.

There is a common misconception that “it is easier” to select a digital holiday card than a conventional photo-mount Christmas photo card.  This is certainly not the case.  When you print digitally you have an unlimited range of color options.   I have personally witnessed the frustration than sets-in when a buyer is faced with so many design and color options to print their digital photographs.    Pre-designed frames from leading paper companies are generally of much higher quality than the limited template selection provided by most online printers.

William Arthur, one of the leading holiday photo card designers, provides the consumer with the option of using photo-mounts or having the photo imprinted digitally on the same high quality paper stock.  The price of William Arthur’s holiday photo card is the same regardless of which printing  process is chosen.  While the quality of photo prints is better than digitally reproduced images, printing your William Arthur photo card digitally can save you time and $0.19 per photograph print.

To see all of the printing options available, we suggest that you contact a Guild member store in your neighborhood to see which printing process works best for your family photograph this holiday season.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

After much cajoling and perhaps some bribing, you have finally managed to snap a great digital photograph of the family – even the dog was smiling.  You think to yourself, this would look great on our Christmas photo card.  You do a little cropping and editing to get the photo exactly the way you want it, save it to your flash drive or CD and rush down to the photo store to print your 4″x 6″ photographs.  Painfully, you discover that the top of your husband’s head was cut off when you get your print.  What happened?

Last year, I published a Blog on some of the differences between photographs taken with a 35mm camera and a digital camera.  Except for hardened veterans that still cling to their 35mm cameras, most everyone has gone digital.  Digital cameras are simple to use and one can easily share pictures with family and friends with very little technical skill. 

Unfortunately, there is a small problem (quite easily addressed) when printing a 4″x 6″ from a digital image.  The aspect ratio of a 35mm camera is 3:2 while the aspect ratio of digital camera is 4:3.   When the photo printing equipment takes your digital image, it does a little cropping and re-sizing of its own to create the 4″x 6″ print.  This leads to some rather unpleasant surprises as the photos below demonstrate (courtesy of Ritz Photo, Greenwich, CT):

Actual Digital Photo with 4:3 aspect ratio

Cropped Photo for 4"x 6" print

Unless you are a very skilled photo editor, the best way to avoid this problem is to avoid cropping too closely to the top of the photograph.  Give the photo printing automated  ”editor” a little space to “accomodate” the necessary cropping.   In fact, it is often preferable to do a large portion of your editing at the store.  Just a little simple planning will help you avoid this common problem during the holiday season.  Always, print one photograph to make sure that you achieve the desired result before committing to print your 300 photos.

Richard W. May
Founding Member Stationers Guild

As those who have followed my Blog posts know, I have long felt that the resolution of  glossy or matte photographs developed in a photo store are generally superior to  imprinting digitally directly on card stock.    This should not be surprising, since these photographs use high-tech developing equipment under consistent printing conditions and are printed on papers that were specifically developed for this  process.  Digital photography, on the other hand,  is more complicated because of the far greater variety of monitor resolutions, printer settings, ink colors and the papers on which your photograph is printed.  Nevertheless, digital printing is quickly closing the gap and in some cases it may prove to be the best option for this year’s holiday photo card.

One firm whose printing  and designs have generated a strong response from early-bird holiday photo card shoppers  is Tag & Co.  Tag & Co. provides a variety of different design options for your photograph(s) on a simple but elegant card.  While the  size of the photograph digitally imprinted on the card is generally smaller than the standard 4″x 6″ photograph, the resolution of the photograph and the beautifully designed setting work together in great harmony.  Clearly, a lot of thought and technical precision has gone into these beautifully crafted holiday photo cards.

Tag & Co. Holiday Photo Card Sample

Tag &. Co. holiday photo cards are flat cards.  If you need to write a short message you can use the back of the card or enclose a newsletter.  In any event, the reproduction quality and Tag & Co. designs certainly make for an elegant photo card.

Tag &. Co. Holiday Photo Card

If you are looking for a quality Christmas photo card,  I would certainly recommend giving taking a look at Tag & Co.’s new holiday album.  As with all fine stationery and custom greeting cards, a visit to at Guild member store in your neighborhood is encouraged.

I have been closely following the evolution of digital photography and its impact on the holiday photo card industry.  For the most part, I have been quite disappointed with the poor resolution of digital images, particularly those that are mass-produced by commercial printers.   Furthermore, the holiday designs and motifs that often frame the holiday photograph are generally quite pedestrian.  The end result is a holiday photo card that often resembles a business flyer that does little justice to your family photograph.

At this year’s National Stationery Show, I had the opportunity to chat with David Evans of William Arthur, a leading designer of holiday photo cards.  David explained that William Arthur planned to extend the options available to its loyal clients by offering the same classy designs regardless of whether one uses photo mounts or digital imprinting.  As the image below suggests, William Arthur has been remarkably successful in maintaining their traditional high design standards while providing their clients with an exciting new array of printing options.

Digital Holiday Photo Card and Card with Photo Mounts

William Arthur’s Holiday 2009 photo album is broken down into three broad sections:  Digital, Transitional and Traditional.  Sample designs in the Traditional section use photo mount adhesives to mount a 4″x 6″ photograph directly on the card stock.  Clients can choose from a variety of holiday greetings and personalize the photo card with their family names. 

Sample photo cards from the Transitional Section can be printed digitally or with photo adhesives to mount your photographs directly on the personalized greeting card.  William Arthur has done a remarkable job maintaining the elegance of the photo frame to showcase your photograph regardless of which printing method you select.  From a casual glance, it is often difficult to determine whether you are looking at a digital image or the actual photograph.  Clearly, William Arthur has invested a considerable amount of time and energy to maintain this high standard of excellence.

William Arthur Digital Holiday Photo Card

While William Arthur makes it rather easy to work with both printing options, digital printing is far more complex.  Specifically, most digital photographs need to be cropped and often need some minor editing (i.e. “red eye”).  Furthermore, since you are printing digitally, you are no longer restricted to a limited number of ink colors.  While the end result may be easier since you don’t need to mount the photos on the greeting card, the design options require careful consideration and a not insignifcant investment of your time.

William Arthur holiday photo cards are definitely worth a look if you value excellence in design and execution.  We strongly encourage you to visit a qualified stationer in your neighborhood who can walk you many design options available from William Arthur’s delightful 2009 holiday photo album.

Richard W. May
Founding Member Stationers Guild