How-to: Print D*I*Y Planner Templates onto 3×5 Index cards
Posted by Jon Lee in Efficiency, How-to, tags: Efficiency, hipster-pda, index-cards, printing, tips
As I mentioned in my post, Getting Things Done – Part 2, I use a Hipster PDA for my organizational needs. One special feature of my hPDA are the templates I keep at the back. The two that I use are the weekly agenda and todo list template. I got them from the D*I*Y Planner Hipster Edition. There are many other templates included in the package, definitely something for everyone.
The easiest way of getting index card sized hPDA templates is to use the 4-up version. This prints 4 templates onto a single A4 piece of paper (roughly a 8.5″ x 11″ regular sheet of paper). You can then cut and trim the paper into four 3″ x 5″ cards. However, if you use regular paper, it will be flimsy, and the cutting may not be as neat as you’d like. You can buy sheets of harder paper, or even paper that is already perforated into 3″ x 5″ sections.
The method I use is to take the 1-up version of the templates, and print them directly onto 3″ x 5″ index cards. My printer is an HP PSC 2210 Multifunction All-in-One (or 2200). The smallest size my printer can print to is exactly 3″ x 5″. When loading the cards, they pretty much disappear into the loading tray. Unfortunately, my printer cuts off part of the index card with printing the templates at 100% size. In order to compensate for this, I have to print the templates at roughly 91% of the original size. I chose to use FoxitReader 2.0 to open the PDFs because the print options are more customizable than Adobe Reader. Take a look at what an index card looks like printed at 100% and 91%:
Another thing to remember to do is to set your printer to Print in Grayscale – High Quality. Even though the templates are black and white, if you don’t specifically tell your printer to print only with black ink, you may end up making the detail fuzzy. Take a look at the comparison below (colour on left, black ink only on right).
The final thing I want to add, is that you may prefer to print your index cards upside down. When scaling the card down to 91%, there may be extra white space at the bottom of the card. I prefer this white space to go at the top of the card since that makes the binder clip less intrusive, and is also a good place to put a heading for the card. Using FoxitReader, the easiest way to print out the template outside down is to select Rotate->Clockwise (in the Print menu) from the drop down menu. This will rotate it horizontal. Then select Rotate->Clockwise again from the drop down menu. It will rotate it once more. Took me a while to figure it out as a drop down menu is not the most intuitive way of presenting this function. Anyway, take a look at a comparison between printing upside down and right-side up:
There you have it! Instructions should be relatively universal to most printers that support 3″ x 5″ paper. Enjoy!
Popularity: 3% [?]
Entries (RSS)