Mountaincow Software and Stationery for InvitationsSupportView Cart
HomeProductsSoftware Tour Design IdeasGalleryNewsletter


HOME · MOUNTAINCOW MONTHLY NEWSLETTER (MAY 2007)

Father’s Day BBQ Luggage tags Stationery for Dad Sophisticated Wedding

Father’s Day is right around the corner and this month’s newsletter is full of fun plans for dad! First, throw him a barbeque to show how much you appreciate him. Next, make him some of his very own personalized stationery using one of our new manly designs. If you’re planning a trip, we’ve got some great luggage tags that you can slip into a luggage tag sleeve so you can be sure the suitcase you’ve grabbed is your own. And if the hot summer months are slated for making wedding plans, we’ve got fantastic new elegant invitation designs for an elegant fall wedding.

We are also proud to announce the newest addition to our professional software line: Invitation Architect. The first product of its kind, Invitation Architect offers designers the unique ability to save time and money by previewing a layered invitation project for clients on-screen. Use different colors or patterns of card stock, envelopes and envelope liners without having to order and wait for expensive paper samples. Learn more about Invitation Architect software featuring Envelopments® by visiting our online store.

Mountaincow was also recently in the news! Epson, Mountaincow and Envelopments joined forces to debut a complete professional invitation printing solution at this year’s National Stationery Show. We are thrilled to be working with Epson since we have been recommending them for years and hopefully we will be able to get you new discounts and other benefits throughout the year. Right now, if you hurry you can get 20% off Epson printers and ink until June 2 at www.EpsonStore.com with coupon code 7XAMASTG. We recommend the Epson Stylus Photo R380 which, after the discount, is only $87.99! If you want an all-in-one with a built-in scanner, try the Epson RX580 for only $103.99 after the discount. Hurry, the coupon code expires June 2. You can read more about our relationship with Epson in their press release.

Finally, Mac users have a solution they can use to run PrintingPress and other Windows programs on their new Intel Macs. This month’s Tech Tip explains in detail.

Previous IssuesProjectsBonus ArticlesTech TipsSubscribe



 
 

Tip of the Month

Father's Day
Dad deserves his day in the sun, so why not plan a festive family BBQ to show him how much he’s loved and appreciated? Whether you want to invite just close family or the whole neighborhood, these invitations keep dad’s taste in mind.

For a preppy dad, try our PrintingPress Design. We’ve printed a small stretch of argyle atop a Blueberry Truffle A7 flat card. We added the party details using the Benjamin font from Fonts & Graphics 2. To complete the look, we lined the Chocolate A7 envelope with an argyle (blue & brown) envelope liner.

Our Platinum design incorporates a simple line border and a few cocktail glass silhouettes for a sophisticated twist. The cocktails sit atop an Avocado A7 card and the party details are written using the Benjamin Caps font from Fonts & Graphics for Weddings. We lined the Chocolate A7 envelope with a stripes (avocado & brown) envelope liner.

And for the traditional dad or granddad: plaid! Our PrintingPress Extreme 4.0 design uses a stationery border with the border shape set to Line (Left) to create a strip of plaid down the side of a Blueberry Truffle A7 flat card. Since the plaid bleeds all the way to the edge of the card, we used our printer’s borderless printing feature to print the card. For more information on borderless printing, review the Tech Tip from the November 2004 issue of the Mountaincow Monthly. We added the party information in brown using the Ryan font and then lined the Chocolate A7 envelope with plaid (blue & brown) envelope liners.

Download 2.0 Project
Download Platinum Project
Download Extreme Project
Buy Stationery

 

 

 

 

 

Father’s Day BBQ (PrintingPress)
PrintingPress sample
(click to enlarge)

Father’s Day BBQ (Platinum)
PrintingPress Platinum sample
(click to enlarge)

Father’s Day BBQ (Extreme)
PrintingPress Extreme 4.0 sample
(click to enlarge)

 

 

 

 

Luggage Tags (Extreme Only)
PrintingPress Extreme 4.0 sample
(click to enlarge)

Tag, you’re it!
When you finally reach your destination after a long flight, it can sometimes take forever for all the luggage to reach baggage claim. Make sure that you grab your bag, and not a fellow traveler’s, by using PrintingPress Extreme 4.0 to create your very own snazzy luggage tags.

We created two business cards so that we can print two-sided luggage tags. We added a custom background using the animal print (zebra) pattern and a pink custom border. We added the address to one side of the tag using a floating text box with pink custom border and an opaque white background. The address is written in the Benjamin Caps front from Fonts & Graphics for Weddings. We added the initials to the other side of the luggage tag using a floating text box with a pink custom border. We set the background color to black and the text color to white to make the initials really pop. The initials are written in the Isabelle Strong font from Fonts & Graphics 2. Print both sides of the card on an 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of card stock, then trim using a rotary cutter and slip each card into a clear plastic luggage tag holder.

Download Extreme Project
Buy Stationery

 

 

 

Dear old dad
If your dad already has enough ties and BBQ grill accessories, why not spruce up his stationery wardrobe this Father’s Day? Choose from one of our simple, masculine designs and print using the colors we chose or modify the paper and ink colors to use dad’s favorite hues.

Our PrintingPress design showcases an all-time favorite dad hobby:  golf. A brown silhouette of a golfer mid-swing tops our Café au Lait A7 flat card. We added the name beneath the sportsman using the Benjamin Caps font from Fonts & Graphics for Weddings. We added the same design to the front of the A2 folded note card. We created a reply envelope with the address positioned as a return address so that you can print dad’s return address on the back flap of the envelopes. Wrap with a ribbon and you’re set!

For a different twist on the classic monogram, try our Platinum design. We added a large blue “W” in the Ryan font from Fonts & Graphics 3 to the top of an Ivory A7 flat card. We then used a floating text box to add dad’s full name above the “W” using the Benjamin Caps font from Fonts & Graphics for Weddings. We turned off the Make White Transparent setting of the text box to make the background opaque white and added a simple border of blue lines at the top and bottom of the text box. We repeated the initial and full name above the return address and printed it onto a Midnight A7 envelope. We repeated the same design for Ivory / Midnight A2 folded notes. Note: if you open this project with PrintingPress Extreme, you will need to adjust the text box due to differences in the advanced Extreme text engine. Double-click on the floating text box, enter your dad’s name and check Resize to fit at the bottom of the window. Next click on the Border tab and increase the Inset to 6 pixels and click the OK button.

Our PrintingPress Extreme 4.0 design includes a traditional diamond monogram atop Wasabi stationery. We used the Diamond with points monogram style and added a custom border to add two lines around the diamond. We set both the outer and inner pen to 1 pt and set the 0.02 inch fill to white. We copied and pasted the monogram above the return address to complete the look. We created both A7 flat and A2 folded versions to suit your dad’s taste.

Download 2.0 Project
Download Platinum Project
Download Extreme Project
Buy Stationery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stationery for Dad (PrintingPress)
PrintingPress sample
(click to enlarge)

 

 

Stationery for Dad (Platinum)
PrintingPress Platinum sample
(click to enlarge)

 

 

Stationery for Dad (Extreme)
PrintingPress Extreme 4.0 sample
(click to enlarge)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sophisticated Wedding (PrintingPress)
PrintingPress sample
(click to enlarge)

 

 

 

Sophisticated Wedding (Platinum)
PrintingPress Platinum sample
(click to enlarge)

 

 

 

 

Sophisticated Wedding (Extreme)
PrintingPress Extreme 4.0 sample
(click to enlarge)

 

 

Special Occasion in a Snap

Falling in love
If you’re planning a wedding for this fall, you’re going to have your hands full throughout the summer months sorting out all the details of your big day. Mountaincow can help make one task easier with our beautiful sophisticated wedding invitations to suit your style without putting a crimp in your budget.

A silhouette of a Ginkgo branch tops our PrintingPress design, printed on Ivory stationery. We set the margins of the A7 flat card to zero so that the branch could run off the edge of the card. We could used our printer’s borderless feature to print all the way to the edge of the card. For more information on borderless printing, review the Tech Tip from the November 2004 issue of the Mountaincow Monthly. We chose Format Paragraph in the Stationery menu to set left and right indents to 0.5 inches to accommodate the zero margin for the image. We added the information text using the Benjamin Caps and Alyssa Afternoon fonts from Fonts & Graphics for Weddings. Paired with an Ivory A7 envelope lined in Avocado, it makes an elegant presentation. The Ivory 4-bar response card uses the same Ginkgo design and also uses an Avocado liner. For the reception, we’ve got a matching Ivory menu and place card.

Our Platinum design is the negative of the PrintingPress design:  we used a green background to block out the Ginkgo leaf and text on the Ivory A7 card. The green background bleeds all the way to the edge of the card, so we used our printer’s borderless feature once again. We used floating text boxes with the text color set to off-white (RGB(254, 254, 254)) to add the invitation details to the card using Benjamin Caps and Alyssa Afternoon fonts from Fonts & Graphics for Weddings. The background coordinates nicely with the Avocado envelope liner in the Ivory A7 envelope. We repeated the same design on the Ivory 4-bar response card and envelope, also lined in Avocado. We used a custom cut 4x6 inch card for the menu and a standard 3.5 x 4 scored place card.

You’ll find elements of nature in our PrintingPress Extreme 4.0 design as well. We added the silhouette of a peony to the bottom of the invitation and filled the background of the card in twilight. We set the border of the stationery background to zero so that it would print all the way to the edge of the card. We then added a custom border to add a thin white line all the way around the card. Since we used a custom background fill to add the twilight to the background of the invitation, you can replace the background with any color that you like. Just choose Stationery Background, Change Background in the Design menu, click on the Fill button in the Fill details section and choose a new background color. We added the invitation text in the Benjamin Caps and Alyssa fonts from Fonts & Graphics for Weddings. We lined the White A7 envelope in Twilight to coordinate with the card background. We repeated the same design for the White 4-bar response card, custom cut 4x6 inch menu and place card.

Download 2.0 Project
Download Platinum Project
Download Extreme Project
Buy Stationery

 

 

A Mac solution
Mac users can thank Steve Jobs for choosing Intel, and the magicians at Parallels for enabling Windows on Mac, because now Mac users have access to a fabulous solution for running all their favorite Windows programs such as PrintingPress on their new Mac computers without having to restart to switch between Windows and Mac. Performance is great, installation is easy, and the required software is not particularly expensive either.

The solution requires purchasing and installing the Parallels Desktop for Mac software, which you can buy on Amazon for $65.99. You will also need a copy of Windows XP, which you can get from the disks that came with your old Windows computer, or you can buy a copy at the same Amazon web page if you scroll down to the Buy Both Now for $255.98. This solution will only work on an Intel Mac. If you are unsure what you have inside your Mac you should check with Apple.

Installation is simple – just insert the Parallels Desktop for Mac CD and follow the on-screen instructions. If you have difficulty with the Parallels installation you can contact their technical support, though the installation is really very easy with step by step instructions. Make sure you have your Windows XP CD ready because installing Windows is part of the Parallels installation process. The Parallels software also works with Windows Vista, but we recommend that you use Windows XP for the best performance. You should have your computer connected to the Internet and your Windows product key ready so you can activate Windows during installation. The Windows Product key may be on a sticker on your old Windows computer chassis. Have your printer CD ready as well for installing the printer as a Windows printer since this is the best way to print from your Windows programs.

Once you have install Windows on your Mac, run the Parallels desktop and insert your PrintingPress CD and complete the installation. Then follow the instructions below to install your printer and you should be ready to print invitations from your Mac. Let us know if you encounter any problems.

Installing a USB printer
In the Parallels menu, click on the Device menu and check the USB port item to enable Windows access to USB. Then insert the printer CD and install the printer under windows, plugging the printer in to the USB port when requested by the PC installation. Choose that printer as your default printer for Windows.

Installing a Network printer
Click on the Windows Start menu and choose Printers and Faxes. Choose Add Printer in the File menu and select A network printer. Try to browse for the printer and select it. If you do not see it listed, go back and choose Connect to a printer on the Internet or on a home office network and type in the URL, for example, http://192.168.0.49. This requires your printer to be set up with a fixed IP address instead of using DHCP to generate one automatically.

 

 

Subscribe

 

 

Previous IssuesProjectsBonus ArticlesTech TipsSubscribe

 

About MountaincowNewsStore PoliciesContact Us

© Copyright 2001-2006 Mountaincow LLC. All rights reserved.