How to Resize, Print and Frame Photos with Your Epson Stylus® Photo T60
Bringing your photo to a shop to have it custom framed with a decorative border mat can be very expensive. Including the service charge, such a frame for an A4-sized photo can cost US$50 upwards. The good news is that there are many very affordable and equally attractive looking pre-made frames costing much less and which are reusable that are available from art or furniture shops. Or you can salvage an old frame for reuse. However, these tend to come in odd sizes, so you would have to resize or crop your photograph to fit into them.
So how do you use your Epson Stylus® Photo T60 to print photos that can fit them?
Step 1 - Measure the photo size that can be accommodated by the frame
Disassemble your pre-made frame and measure the dimensions on the inside of the border mat to determine the size of the photo that can be accommodated. In this case, the frame we bought allows for a 17 x 12 cm photo to be fitted in.
Step 2 - Crop your photo to fit with Adobe Photoshop
In Adobe Photoshop, select the Crop Tool. The menu bar at the top will then automatically show the width and height dimensions for you to crop your photo to. Enter the dimensions of the photo that your pre-made frame will accommodate and crop your photo with the tool as you wish. The Crop Tool will automatically ensure that your scale is maintained.
Select the crop tool to resize and or crop your photo to fit the frame
After selecting the crop tool, enter the photo dimensions that your border mat can accommodate into the width and height boxes
After that, crop your photo as you like
Step 3 - Print your photo with preview
Before you print your photo, always preview it first by choosing the ‘Print with Preview' option in the ‘file' menu. This is to let you see how your photo will look like on the page you are printing it on.
If your photo does not show up on the page properly, select ‘print' from the menu, which will bring you to a Epson Stylus® Photo T60 printer dialog box. In that box, click on the ‘properties' in your print menu to adjust your printer settings to make sure that they are set according to your preference. Ensure that the orientation is selected properly and that the "borders" option is also chosen. Preview your print again, and if it looks right, you can proceed to print the image.
Step 4 - Fit your Photo into the pre-made frame
When your photo is printed, its dimensions on the page should match the border mat. Now you can begin to fit it into your pre-made frame.
- First, position the border mat over your photo until it fits nicely inside the border. On the photo print, mark the area around the outside of the border mat with a marker or pen
- Remove the border mat and cut the photo along the lines you have marked - now you have a photo that is the same size as the mat and which is ready to frame!
- Assemble the photo, the border mat, and the frame back together and you are done!
Important points to note:
- The photo size that your pre-made frame can accommodate must not exceed the maximum size that your Epson photo printer can print
- Always clean the glass, the border mat and photo and do a visual check before final assembly. If you accidentally enclose dust and dirt during the process and discover it later, it will be troublesome to disassemble and clean
- To preserve your framed photos, display them in areas that are not exposed to excessive humidity or direct sunlight
- To prevent accidental smudging of your photo or the frame's glass, gloves are recommended to be worn
