Inkon3: Go Green Every Day, Not Just For St. Patricks Day

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Go Green Every Day, Not Just For St. Patricks Day - SVG Cutting Files and Papers

Go Green, not just for St. Patricks Day, but everyday! Using digital paper along with the print & cut features of some paper cutting machines is a great way to take your crafting green! Rather than buy and store loads of scrapbook paper, all you need is some white card stock! One box will do the trick for all your projects. I cant stand using 4 to 5 pieces of paper to create one card, not to mention all the scraps left over that you try to find a way to use later, or never use at all.

With digital scrapbook paper and elements you can make a card with 1 to 2 sheets of paper with almost no leftover scraps! I LOVE that! Not only is it better for the environment, its better for your environment, your studio that is. :) I love how much more space I have now that I don't have to dedicate so much of it to paper storage. I also love that I don't have to search through everything to find just the right patterned paper and then later put it all away. All I have to do is look through my computer files, select my designs and create! Then when I'm done, cleanup is a breeze :)

Now for the question of printers and ink, there are a few options here:

Any printer will work for digital scrapbooking and card making - I create all my paper collections to include both 8.5x11 and 12x12 sheets, so you can print them on any standard printer! Even all the elements can be printed this way. I still use a standard printer myself.

Use a cutting machine that has a print & cut feature, you won't ever need to print full pages. You just fill the shapes you are cutting with the digital patterns (see pictures below). This uses very little ink :) I use is a Cameo Silhouette and I love it, it's print and cut feature is excellent!

If you plan on printing loads of stuff, you can opt for a CIS System (continuous ink system). With these you don't have to use print cartridges anymore, they use bottles of ink, that will print tons and tons of papers for pennies! Here is a link for more information on printers and the CIS systems: http://www.cobraink.com/CIS/CIS%20Kit.htm there you can find out everything you need to get started with one of these systems. I have some friends that use them and they swear by them. I am planning on getting one myself very soon.

The photo below shows all the pieces that I printed on one piece of 12 x 12 paper. I printed this on a wide format standard printer, but it could have been printed just as well on 2 - 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper. Plus you can add more to the page than I did below. I usually fill the whole page with other project piece too, but for the purpose of demonstration I kept it simple.