Page layout or printing problem?

Question

I'm trying to create a layout to print my son's Eagle Scout invitations and I'm stumped. The cards will be 5" x 7" when folded as a 4 page. I need to feed them through the printer flat and as a 7 x 10". How do I get the two inside pages layed out? I've tried a couple of ways and I can't figure it out. Any help would be appreciated. If this doesn't make sense, ask me some questions and I'll clarify as best I can. thanks
emac 700   Mac OS X (10.4.9)   Appleworks 6.2.9

Answer 1

Hi Bob,
What you're making is essentially a single sheet, printed both sides.
Open a new Draw document, then go Format > Document... and set document size to 2 pages wide by 1 page high.
Go File > Page Setup... and set the orientation to one of the Landscape settings (there may be only one landscape setting. You can set a Custom Page size, but I'd just leave it at US Letter and place items on the page's that they appear in the right positions on the actual sheets.
Set up a pair of Test pages to determine where to place the elements of your invitation.
1.
Use the Rectangle tool to draw a 1/2 inch square. Place the square at the top left of the left page. Press command-D to duplicate it, then, without deselecting the second square, use the arrow keys to move it up to match the top of the first square, and right until the left edge of the new square is on top of the right edge of the original (ie. the two squares are touching each other). Press command-D repeatedly until the row of squares runs from one side of the drawing space to the other.
2.
Press command-A to select all of the squares.
Press command-D to duplicate the full set.
Without deselecting the second set, use the arrow keys to line up the vertical lines in the two sets of squares, then to move trhe new set down until its top edge is on the bottom edge of the old set.
Press command-D repeatedly until the sets of squares cover the whole document.
3.
Mark the top row by selecting the first square, and every third one after it, (ie. #s 1, 4, 7, 10... then using the Fill button and the Patterns Palette (both near the bottom of the Tools) to fill those squares with a pattern that will allow you to identify the edges of the printed page that are the "top" of the inside and outside of the card. Siomilarly, mark every fourth square in the leftmost column of the test drawing.
4.
On two sheets of plain paper (letter size), use a red pen or pencil to draw a line across the (portrait oriented) page 10" down from the top, and another from top to bottom 7" from the left* edge of the paper.
*This assumes that your printer has a fixed paper guide on the right, an adjustable guide on the left, and that the paper enters the printer face up and head first.
Place the two marked sheets in the feed tray and print a copy of the test drawing.
From the result you will be able to determine what portion of the available workspace will be printed on the cards and the orientation of the printing wrt the card stock. Anything that's inside the largest outlined area on each page will be on the card. Cut out the area and fold the page to match the folding of the cards to determine where each page will fall.
Use that information to locate text and graphics on the drawing. Place the text for each page of the card into separate text frames to allow for easy adjustment to its placing if necessary. Be sure to leave some white space around the edges to allow for minor errors in paper handling by your printer.
When printing, it's probably best to do a full print run of Page 1, then flip the cards over and repeat, printing Page 2. I would print a single copy of the second run to ensure I had re-inserted the paper with the orientation to get the inside 'right side up' before committing to the full run.
With two pages side by side, your pages will line up like this:
Outside Back, Outside Front, Inside Front (left), Inside Back (right).
Regards,
Barry