Six bookmarks to a sheet at 52 by 132mm, or eight slimmer ones at 44 by 132mm. Each has rounded corners, an inner border, a hole marked at the top for a ribbon and a column of festive artwork running down it with a short greeting set across the middle.
Six borders
The design list is the same one the gift tags use: holly, stars, snowflakes, candy stripes, a scallop edge and small trees. Holly is the default. They are drawn as repeating artwork down the length of the bookmark rather than as a single picture, which is what suits a shape this narrow.
The artwork is line work, so the whole sheet prints in black and white without losing anything. If you want colour, the paper does more work than the ink here: a kraft or deep coloured card with black line art looks considerably better than colour on white.
Two sizes and why they are not the same
Six to a sheet gives bookmarks 52mm wide, which is the comfortable size for an adult and the one to use if they are going in a card or being given away. Eight to a sheet drops them to 44mm, which is slimmer than a standard bookmark and fits a paperback without overhanging the page edge.
Both are 132mm tall. That is shorter than a mass produced bookmark on purpose, because 132mm plus a tassel sits inside a paperback rather than sticking out of the top of it.
Colour in
The Artwork control switches from Printed to Colour in, which opens the line art out so there is something to fill. It turns the sheet into a class activity: cut, colour, punch, thread, and every child has a bookmark they made for a book they are reading.
For that, print on 160gsm. For bookmarks that will actually be used for a year, 250gsm card is the right weight, and the corners will survive being pushed in and out of a book.
Cutting, punching and threading
Cut along the rounded outline rather than squaring the corners off. A rounded corner is the part of a bookmark that stops it getting dog eared, and it is already drawn for you.
Punch the marked hole with a single hole punch. Thread a ribbon through, fold it in half and pass the ends through the loop, which holds without a knot and lies flatter in a closed book than a knotted tassel does.
Questions
- What size are the printable Christmas bookmarks?
- At six to a sheet they are 52mm wide by 132mm tall. At eight to a sheet they are slimmer, 44mm by 132mm, which fits inside a paperback without the bookmark overhanging the page.
- How many bookmarks print on one sheet?
- Six or eight, set by the control above the paper. Six gives the wider bookmark and eight gives the slimmer one, and both come out on a single A4 or US Letter page.
- Can children colour the bookmarks in?
- Yes. Switch the Artwork control from Printed to Colour in and the designs print as open line art with space to fill. Print those on 160gsm card so felt tips do not go through.
- What card weight should I use?
- Around 250gsm for bookmarks that will be used all year, because thinner card creases at the top where it is pulled out of a book. 160gsm is fine for a one off or for a colouring activity.
- Can I put a name on the bookmark?
- Not from the controls. Each design carries its own fixed greeting, which is Merry Christmas on four of the six, Happy Christmas on the snowflakes and Season's Greetings on the scallop. Write a name on by hand after printing, which on a handmade bookmark usually looks better anyway.