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With Word’s place card templates and name card generator, you're on your way quickly to showing folks to their seats. Choose a Name Card Generator.
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Whether you’re gathering new employees for orientation, welcoming stockholders to report on the year’s earnings or inviting everyone associated with the business to join you for the holidays, you’ll want to avoid a madhouse scene when it comes time for attendees to take their seats. This doesn’t mean you have to settle for generic index cards or a scrawled sign outside the seating area. Make your own printable place cards with Microsoft Word, a program typically already installed throughout your company’s software network. With Word’s place card templates and name card generator, you're on your way quickly to showing folks to their seats.
Choose a Name Card Generator
Launch Microsoft Word and click the File tab. Select “New” and click once on the “Cards” button on the top row of the Available Templates pane. You can choose from one of the already installed templates, or you can purchase a template from an outside company such as Gartner Studios templates.
Choose the Best Template
Double-click the “Name and place cards” file folder icon. Scroll through the template designs. You may not find one that exactly matches your business, but you’ll be able to modify any template you see here. Also check whether the template contains the number of cards to match your cardstock paper, usually 8 or 10 per page.
Launch the Template
Double-click a template. After a few moments, a new Word window opens with the place cards aligned on the page and the yellow Text Box Tools tab shown open at the top of the screen.
Fill Out the Card
Click into the placeholder default name on the first, top-left card. Double-click to highlight the name, then type over it with your first employee’s name or the name of the executive attending the event where the name cards will be used.
Customize the Card
Change the appearance of the type, which comes in with whatever template theme default you chose, to better match your company’s style. Highlight the new name and click the Home tab if it is not already enabled. Pull down the font, font size and font color menus to make adjustments. One way to customize the cards is to change the color of the font so everyone’s name matches your logo. Repeat the process to change all of the default or sample names on the card. Word’s default names look like real names, if you don't change them you'll waste your place cards. Click on any default image or picture that was included in the card template, which may be multiples if you chose holiday or other themed cards. Press the “Delete” key to remove them.
Insert Images and Logo
Click the Insert tab. Click the Picture button on the ribbon and browse to your company logo. Double-click to add it to the card. To resize the logo to fit attractively, press and hold down the “Shift” key, click the card and drag a corner to the middle to shrink it. It’s always better to shrink, rather than enlarge an image, because enlarging can lead to a breaking up or distorting of the image, called pixilation. Right-click the new logo and select “Copy.” Move to the next card, delete any unwanted template pictures, right-click and select “Paste” to add the logo. Repeat until all cards have the logo. Click the Clip Art button, also on the Insert tab’s ribbon. Search for your own themed artwork to go on the place cards, such as a trophy for a sales award dinner or briefcases for an employee retirement ceremony. Add them to the place cards as needed.
Select the Background
Click the Page Layout tab, then click the “Page Color” button. Experiment with the small colored squares or the “Fill Effects” link to give the place cards a colored, patterned or textured background. This can give the cards a striking look when placed on a white tablecloth, but skip this step if your cardstock already has a printed background.
Save Your Design
Click the File tab and select “Save As.” Choose the location on your company network to save the card file and give it a name in the “File name” box. Click the “Save” button.
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About the Author
Fionia LeChat is a technical writer whose major skill sets include the MS Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Publisher), Photoshop, Paint, desktop publishing, design and graphics. LeChat has a Master of Science in technical writing, a Master of Arts in public relations and communications and a Bachelor of Arts in writing/English.
Photo Credits
- Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
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Creating a custom business card template gives you the advantage of being able to add your own graphics, logo and company information to your calling card. Designing a business card template takes some thought and planning to ensure you achieve a high-quality result that will leave a favorable impression on present and future customers. You can move the creative process along and save time by basing your new business card template on an existing Word template. Another option is to create a template by using the Labels feature in Word.
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From an Existing Template
1.Open Word and click “File” on the application toolbar. Click “New” and select “Business Cards” from the template list.
2.Choose the template closest to the look you want for your business card and click “Download.”
3.Customize the text within the template by highlighting the existing text and typing in your own details. Copy and paste the text from the first card to the remaining cards in the template.
4.Customize the graphic and insert your own logo or image. Click on the graphic, then click “Insert” and “Picture.” Choose the graphic you want to use and click “Insert.” Resize the graphic as needed by dragging on the handles. Copy and paste the graphic to each card in the template.
5.Print a test page. Make any necessary adjustments and print another test page. Continue this process until you are completely satisfied with the result.
6.Save your custom template by clicking “File” and “Save As.” Enter a filename in the “File Name” field. Click on the “Save as Type” down-arrow and select “Word Template (DOTX)” to save your template.
Make Your Own Template From Scratch
1.Open Word and click on “Mailings.” Click “Labels,” then click “Options.”
2.Click the “Label Vendor” drop-down arrow and select a business card manufacturer. Select the “Product Number” and click “OK.”
3.Type your information into the business card. Press “Shift+Enter” between lines that you want to keep together so they'll be easier to format later.
4.Highlight the text and right-click with your mouse. Select 'Font' from the drop-down menu and choose the font face and size for your text.
5.Highlight the text again, right-click and select 'Paragraph' from the drop-down list. Make adjustments to your alignment, indentation and spacing as needed.
6.Confirm that the “Full Page of the Same Label” radio button under 'Print' is checked, then click the 'New Document' button to generate a full page of your cards.
7.Click on the 'Insert' tab to add graphics. Choose 'Picture,' find your logo and then click 'Insert.' Adjust the graphic size by dragging using the picture handles.
8.Reposition the graphic as desired by right-clicking on the image and selecting 'Text Wrapping' to set how the text flows around the graphic. Adjust the placement by right-clicking on the graphic and selecting 'Text Wrapping' and 'More Layout Options.'
9.Copy and paste the graphic to the remaining cards on the page.
10.Test your template by printing it on card stock. Make any final adjustments.
11.Save your customized template by clicking “File” and “Save As.” Enter a filename, click on the “Save as Type” down-arrow and select “Word Template (DOTX)” to save your template.
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About the Author
Translating technical jargon into everyday English is one of Anni Martin’s specialties. She is an educator and writer who spent over 13 years teaching and creating documentation at the University of Missouri. She holds a Master’s Degree in educational technology as well as Bachelor’s degrees in journalism and political science from the University of Missouri.
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