[scribus] Single Fold Card

[jwminer at accessvt.com]

Ken wrote:
>   I have been tasked to design a single fold card, a simple thank
> you,
> with a picture on the front and text inside, the type that might be
> set
> on a desk (somewhat like a pup tent). Is there a place to find a
> template or instruction to design this in Scribus. I'm a newbie to
> scribus, wanting to get away from Publisher.
> Thanks for any tips,

You don't need a template for this. If you want a card that stands
up like a pup tent, you want a landscape card. HOWEVER, you print on
a portrait paper.

First make a mockup. Take a sheet of paper, hold it in portrait
position, and fold in half horizontally. Scribble on the front of
the card and wrote "front." With the back of the card facing you,
write "back." Do not write anything upside down. Hold the card
folded with the front facing you. Open the paper and write "top" on
the top half and "message" on the bottom half. Do not write upside
down.

Now set up a two-page portrait document in Scribus. Drag a guide to
the horizontal middle of the document and the vertical middle. Using
your mockup as a guide, put the front illustration on the bottom
half of the first page. Put whatever you're putting on the back on
the top half. When you've put everything you want there, rotate the
whole top half 180 degrees, so it's upside down as you look at it.
On page 2 put the message on the bottom half. If you want something
on the top half of the inside page, put it there. Do not rotate
anything.

At this point you might want to make a PDF in Scribus and print from
the PDF.

Print page one first. After it  prints, put it back in the printer
to print the inside of the card. In most inkjets, you would put the
paper in with the front illustration on the bottom of the sheet as
you put it in the printer. (The illustration is actually the top of
the page, so it should go in the printer first.) Then print page 2, 
which is the inside of the card. Look at the card when it's entirely
printed and make sure things are in the right position. If the card
doesn't open with everything in the right place, make whatever
adjustments are needed so it prints all elements where they belong.

You can save your card as a template for future landscape cards
(folded in half with fold at the top).

Some hints:
* Use card stock for printing the card. You don't need to get
prefolded card paper.
* A bleed makes the card look professional. An 8-1/2" by 5-1/2" card
with a white border around the illustration and background risks
looking amateurish. Leave some space to trim when you set the size
of the card. If you're using a bleed and your front illustration has
a color background, bump it up very slightly past the horizontal
middle guide. That is so you do not have any white around the
illustration. Then trim the white edges around the illustration.
* The horizontal and vertical guides will help you center things.
Add more guides where they will help with alignment.

Confession: I find it a bit easier to use Inkscape for making cards,
though Scribus would be my second choice.
--Judy M.
  USA

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