Atari Works Document | 1993-09-05 | 11KB | 24 lines
Classical Garamond
Classical Garamond
tariWorks Business Cards
1993 Michael Hebert
Good looking business cards are easy
to create with AtariWorks and Speedo
fonts. The simple card at the left was
designed in a matter of minutes using
a predefined set of tabs, point sizes
and the 3.5" by 2" dotted border.
The key to creating business cards lies
in the ability to control the spacing
between lines. AtariWorks includes a
macro function under the Style menu that is tailor made for this type of work. Just click on Macro and you will be presented with a dialog box that allows you to assign a font and point size to each of your function keys. For the business card I used point sizes of 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12. The font was Swiss 721 in all cases but could have been any of the fonts since I was only interested in the point sizes.
To begin load BUS_CARD.STW and place the cursor in the upper left corner. Press F3 then hit the space bar. The first line will immediately be sized to 3 points which creates a nice spacing between the top edge of the card and your first line of text. Press the Return key to advance to the next line. Set the first line indent and left indent to 1.1 inches (hint - use the shift key when clicking on the left indent marker). Set a center tab at 2.75 inches and a right tab at 4.4 inches. Press the Return key until the cursor advances to about 8 lines below the bottom of the dotted outline. This will set the tabs for all lines within the outline and allow for adjustments of point sizes.
Enter your text using "eyeball dead-reckoning" for initial placement. There is nothing sacred about the layout I used. It is a simple, almost traditional, layout that conveys the necessary information in an easy to read format. Experiment with different layouts until you find one that pleases you. Keep in mind that your card should have plenty of blank (white) space and be readable. Fancy fonts will detract from the readability and should not be used unless they are in inherent part of your image (i.e. your logo). Your card you say who you are, what you do and how to reach you in the minimum number of words.
After you have your initial placement and wording the vertical positioning and centering of text on your card is adjusted. To move text up place the cursor on a blank line above the body of text that is to be raised. Select the number of points to subtract by pressing F1 to remove 11 points, F2 to remove 10 points, F3 to remove 9 points or F4 to remove 6 points. Press the Space Bar and the selected line will change to the desired point size. Press the Backspace key once to remove the space and a second time to remove the line. The text will move up the number of points selected by the Function key. Adding points to move a body of text down is done by positioning the cursor at the end of a blank line above the text that is to be lowered then pressing F1 to add 1 point, F2 to add 2 points, F3 to add 3 points and F4 to add 6 points. Select the appropriate Function key, press the Space Bar and then press Return to add the space. Experimentation with addition or removal of space until you have everything lined up just the way you want it. You may need to select the dotted outline with Select Picture under the Edit menu and move it up or down slightly to balance white space at the top and bottom.
When you have finished editing the business card delete the unnecessary lines below the dotted outline. Copy the completed card with outline as a metafile by pressing the Alternate key while selecting Copy under the Edit menu. Now open a new document and set up the page for 8.5 by 11 inches with .5 inch border all around. Set a single left tab at 4.25 inches then press the Return key enough times to fill the page with that tab setting. Return the cursor to the top of the page, select Paste under the Edit menu and your card will be pasted into the
upper left corner of the page. Press the Tab key and select Paste again (or press Control-V) and the card will be pasted at the top right position. Press the Return key until the cursor advances a line or two below your cards then repeat the process. You should be able to get eight cards on a page.
Print the cards on good stock. A 25% cotton bond in 24 lb weight is a suitable choice and is usable in any printer. After the cards are printed laminate the paper with contact cement to 67 lb vellum paper for a lighter weight card. If you want a heavier card use 80 or 110 lb card stock. Two sheets of 67 lb vellum may be laminated for the same effect. Let the laminated cards set for a few hours to ensure adequate bonding then cut them out trimming just inside the dotted outline.
If your needs are for a small quantity of high quality business cards give this method a try. I think you will be pleased with the results. For high quantities use the card you have created as camera-ready copy for a commercial printer.
(.txt)