'How To' Tip #6: Printing Data Cards

Creating Your Own Card Template

If you decide to design your own card layout, these steps provide the necessary Excel
program instructions. Some printers may override your margins or other dimensional settings
and therefore may require additional layout refinements.

There is no direct way to easily set column widths and row heights in Excel without some trial
and error - the widths are specified as a number of characters in a Normal font (on your Excel
copy) as the unit of measure. Generally this is the number of non-bold, non-Italic, Arial 10 pt
zeroes. A width of 10.0 would hold ten zeroes. We have provided the exact dimensions for
each standard card size in the Data Card Specifications chart below.

To set-up a layout sheet from scratch, use the following procedure referring to the spec chart.

1. File - Page Set-up - Sheet tab - check box for Gridlines - OK

2. File - Page Set-up - Margins
      a. Set Top, Bottom, Left and Right margins to the values from the spec chart for your size
      b. Set Header and Footer value to 0

3. File - Print Preview - OK. You should see dotted lines outlining the sides of your page.

4. View - set Zoom to 50% or the level to see the entire sheet and dotted lines on your screen.

5. Refer to the spec chart for the number of columns across and rows down, then locate the
cell that would be in the lower right corner of the layout. For example, if the card dimensions
has 4 across and 12 down, the lower right cell would be D12. Type "TEST" in this cell.

6. Click the upper left corner of your worksheet (between headers 1 and A) to select the entire
worksheet (the entire sheet will become shaded).

7. Click and drag the column line between the A and B columns to adjust the column width.
Drag this column line to the right until the TEST cell just crosses over the dotted page side line
to the right, then gradually drag it back to the left until the TEST cell jumps back over to the left
side of the line. Important: Repeat the dragging as needed to adjust the column line to ensure
it is precisely placed.

8. Follow a similar procedure to set the height. Click and drag the line between rows 1 and
2 Headers to adjust the row height. Drag down until the TEST cell just crosses the bottom
dotted line, then move it slightly back up above the dotted line. Again, repeat to get it exact.

      NOTE: To make fine adjustments, select the TEST cell, then View - Zoom 200%.
      Select the upper left corner to select the entire sheet and then make height and width
      adjustments as necessary. Return to View - Zoom 50% (or your original view setting).

9. File - Save, then File - Print. Compare the cell sizes and locations on your printout to your
data card and make small adjustments at View - Zoom 200% as needed to compensate for
printer differences.

10. To adjust how your text will be displayed in the individual cells, select the entire worksheet
(upper left corner), then Format - Cell - Alignment to set text justification (generally Horizontal:
Center and Vertical: Center). You can also wrap text in a cell for multiple line data.

11. File - Save a copy of this worksheet to use as your master. Save another copy (or Save As)
to begin a page for your data entry.

12. When using our Perforated Card Sheets, turn off the Gridlines (from step 1 above). If you
are printing on plain paper or card stock, you can the leave the gridliness On as guides to cut
apart the cards.

Lastly, a degree of patience is often needed in creating and fine-tuning your own card layout
sheet. However, if you need some assistance, please call our Customer Service Department
for help.