Professionally-printed ATCs - how???

[ScrapBecca]

I'm doing a recipe book with ATCs and want to print one or two or three copie of each card, but not 25 or 50, like I would have to do with some online printers (say, baseball cards or printing on postcards and cutting- you have to do large batches of the same design). How do you ladies get such high-quality cards - cardstock, full color, glossy? I don't print from home because I'm so picky about the professional results... Thanks in advance for your suggestions. I get awesome advice here!
- Becca

[webchyck]

I think some of the folks print at regular online photo processing services (Costco, Snapfish, Shutterfly) by formatting a couple of their ATC images onto a 4 x 6 canvas and saving the high res .jpg for printing. ATCs are 2.5" x 3.5", so they fit nicely with a white border around them. Then all you have to do is trim them.

I personally print at home but I have an Epson R1800 wide-format printer and can do a whole bunch o' ATCs at one time on really nice Super B sized (13 x 18) Premium Semigloss Photo Paper. I have sometimes printed on double-sided matte paper, too, if I wanted the card to have more of a card feel, rather than a photo feel.

[graybonnie]

I also print my ATCs at home. All my fronts I print photo paper. I do occasionally use a card stock for the back.

Have used Shutterfly for my Rolodex and Quirk Journals. Very pleased with the color and quality. LOL...still have to cut the rolodexes but it will get done soon.

[Marretje]

I also print my cards at home. I have a Canon printer which printed also an ATC format, nine on a page. As long as I use the real Canon photopaper and inc the result is most of the time better than when I let them print in a shop.

[ScrapAlice]

I have mine printed at the local Target store, simply because they do a very nice job, and it's very convenient to upload the pictures via Flickr (formerly via Yahoo Photos) with them formatted two to a 4" x 6" print.

It's more cost effective for me versus printing the photos myself on my home printer. Once in a while, I do like to use a different paper, so then I will print them on my HP Deskjet 6540, which does a nice job but uses tons of ink.

I got my July ATCs back today, and am happy to report I'm getting all these backlogged cards ready to send to you patient folks.

[Diginellie]

These ideas are all so clever. I print at home using `Picture Package' in Photoshop which gives me 8 to a page. Uses only 2 pages to print all the fronts and is cost effective. I have a Canon Printer and I am happy with the result from this. Here in Australia printing is a lot more expensive but I admit I hadn't thought of the 2 in a 6x4 format before. 6x4 can be printed here for 20 cents apiece and the quality is good, but sometimes I like to use special papers.

[Pixeldigger]

I print at home on a Dell photo printer, which does A4. I have formatted it to A4 borderless and it does quite a good job. I can comfortably get 9 cards to a sheet, so just print off two sheets.

I have printed off three sets of three designs on the A4 and it works well for this. My printer takes matt, glossy, linen look and silky papers with ease.