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• Journaling

• Typography Q & A

What is Journaling? Please check out this page for information.

Great journaling can help you help you
retell a story or bring to life an event from long ago.

The story behind the pictures recall our memories. Who, what, and where are what you find scrawled on the back on an old photo--but wouldn't you want to know why they were there or what was so funny or how the people came to be there? When writing, tell what you want to remember about the time, place, person, even if it's not directly what's in the photo. "See that hat? Michael wouldn't take it off even to sleep"--that kind of thing.

Many people find they write much more when using their computer than when they write by hand. This is controversial since some people think it's necessary to have your journaling in your own handwriting. Perhaps people add more more details because typing is easier, they can go back and re-write something if they want to add more or change what they wrote, but it may also be because they're not worrying about if there's enough or too much space or how it will look if they want to change the wording mid-sentence. It may be because they are not worried about what it looks like.

Here's how to Use your Printer for Journaling and titles:

1. Create the layout(s) without titles or journaling, but leave empty space so it can be added later.
   
   
2. Then go into a word processing software and type what you want to say. Select a font that goes with the layout (there are many free fonts available). It is fun to mix fonts or sizes, even colors in the journaling for added impact, so experiment a little.
   
   
3. After you have everything you want to add, now it is time to get it to fit into the space that you have left on the page. The best way to do this is to create a "text box" that is the size of the journaling or Title space and place your journaling in that space. If you have a lot to say, and it won't fit in this space there are many options:
   
   
1. Make the font smaller, this will allow you to fit more text in a smaller area.
2. Create a folded tag, or use more than one journaling block.
   
   
4. Print your journaling out in draft mode on regular printer or typing paper. Once it is exactly the way you want it to appear on your layout, prepare to print it on the paper selected for your layout. Cut cardstock, vellum, transparency, specialty papers, muslin or whatever you have selected for your layout toprint on. Adhere the vellum or specialty paper to the inkjet paper right on top of the words using a temporary adhesive. (Spray adhesive is great for this!).
   
   Note: Using vellum is great because it highlights the journaling while allowing the background to show through. However, vellum can be frustrating due to it's shiny surface. Ink from printers can smudge on vellum when printing and inks often take time to dry. The thicker the font, the more ink so the more chance of smudges and smearing. There are some fonts, such as Scriptina, that are very light and thin and use little ink, or Merced or AirCut that have a nice appearance and dry relatively quickly. There are also special products that can use to treat the vellum with prior to printing, one of these is The Perfect Printing Pouch to make the ink print dark and crisp, not smear and dry fast.
   
   

   Notes:
   

   1. If spray adhesive was used, it's invisible and still sticky enough to go right on the layout!
   2. Experiment with the vellum and find a font that works best for you and the printer being used. The same font could print differently if it is used on a different printer.
   3. You may also need to try using a transparency setting if it is not printing well or you did not treat the vellum with The Perfect Printing Pouch. The Transparency setting applies a minimum amount of ink to the paper in the hopes that the ink won't smear and will dry reasonably quickly. The drawback is that the printing may not be very bold and dark since the ink is applied at this minimum level.

   
   
5. Send the paperback through the printer (with the paper for your layout attached) taking care toset the printer for normal paper and normal printing quality. This time it prints right on the vellum or specialty paper. Remove it from the inkjet paper and adhere it to the layout.

You can do almost the same thing when writing by hand so that if you make a mistake or want to edit it, you're not writing right on the layout. You can use regular markers on vellum if it's treated it first with the Perfect Printing Pouch as well. (For info on The Perfect Printing Pouch, www.scraperfect.com.)