Your art turned into Greeting Cards?

[John Box]

[BeaSue]

John, I use the company called Zazzle. I've used them for the last 3 years for my Christmas cards and also for note cards. It's all done digitally. You upload an image of your art and have the opportunity to add text to the interior of the card, if you wish. The image is a glossy finish, and the card stock is good quality.

[John Box]

[BeaSue]

John, the largest file I've uploaded to Zazzle was 1.5 MB. Excellent resolution for the card.

[Sacgal/Sharon]

I've done this a few times - first with VistaPrint and now with a local printer who gives me a really good price. It's fun to both sell these and to send notes on your own cards. Mind you, there's not a big profit margin when it comes to selling them, if that's your objective. You gotta go with volume...

[John Box]

[BeaSue]

Yes, that can be annoying, John. My math is quite rusty, but if one could determine the height-width ratio of the completed card, I think it would be possible to extrapolate that so as to use the same ratio for a larger painting.

[MaryAnne Long]

John,

I am not sure if this is a quick solution or not.  I use the RESIZE feature in Microsoft PAINT and it reduces the size by whatever percentage you enter.  I use it to resize all my paintings, then send them to Vistaprint to be made into postcards.

aloha

mea

[John Box]

http://www.scantips.com/lights/resize.html

[BeaSue]

Self-publishing books with colored illustrations can, indeed, be costly. John, a few years ago my husband published a children's book. We had to hire an illustrator which, of course, you won't be doing. We then published it on Amazon, using their CreateSpace program. Here is a link to the costs:
 https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book/Royalties.jsp[url=http://

  Hi Susan I fixed your link for you. Cheers, Val

[John Box]

http://outskirtspress.com/options/16608_full_color_publishing.html

[BeaSue]

John, I am familiar with Outskirts Press. I used to teach writing classes and did a lot of investigation into self publishing for my students. Among the various print-on-demand publishers, Outskirts is one of the better ones. But they are all so expensive, especially when it comes to color printing. Most people have a hard time selling enough books to come close to earning back the fees. That's why my husband and I chose to use Create Space. I wish you well!

[John Box]

Thanks for the well wishes, Sue. Diving into a project of this sort with the desire of making money would be the proverbial pipe dream on my part.  I think we should all try and leave something of our better selves behind for those who care now, or might care in the future.

[MaryAnne Long]

So nicely put, John.  My thoughts exactly.

aloha

mea

[BeaSue]

Self-publishing books with colored illustrations can, indeed, be costly. John, a few years ago my husband published a children's book. We had to hire an illustrator which, of course, you won't be doing. We then published it on Amazon, using their CreateSpace program. Here is a link to the costs:
 https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book/Royalties.jsp

Thanks, Val! Hi, yourself! Hope all is well.