As of September 2012, I no longer sell printed collage sheets and sets. I converted everything to digital. When you buy a collage sheet from me, you are buying a download that you will print yourself.

Why Digital?

  • Lower Cost: Because I’m no longer printing products for you, I can keep the cost of the sheets and sets at the same low prices they’ve been since I started Ten Two Studios. I don’t have to increase prices to cover the rising costs of paper and toner for my color laser printer.
  • No Shipping: Along with the lower prices, there’s no added shipping costs, since the products are going out via download links. Those of you who live overseas, or live in places where I didn’t used to ship physical goods can now purchase almost everything folks in the US can. And hey, for that $5. in Priority Mail shipping charges, you can buy another collage sheet 🙂
  • Print What You Want: Probably the biggest advantage is the ability to print as many sheets as you like, on whatever you like, for your own use. Want images on nice paper? Print them on nice paper. Want transparencies? Print the images on transparencies. Want to make transfers? Use a toner-based printer. Want to make a dozen cards? Print as many sheets as you need to make them. The only limitation here is that, as it says on every sheet and set, you may only print them for yourself—not for your friends, or your students.

About Printing

When I announced that I was going to stop producing printed collage sheets, the first gripe I heard was, “I don’t have a decent printer, so I can’t use downloads.” Even if you don’t have a printer at all you can use digital files.

  • Load them on a flash drive or a cd, and take them to your local print shop or office supply center. Most places like Office Depot, Staples, and Kinko’s will be happy to print them for you, on your choice of paper.
  • Upload them to a printing service. Those same office supply centers that print for you when you walk in will all let you upload your files from home, place your order online, and pay with a credit or debit card. Next time you’re out—go pick up your printed sheets.

If you’re not sure what to ask for, here’s the information I would give any print shop if I wanted them to print sheets the way I did here:

  • Use a color laser printer.
  • Print on 32lb color laser paper with a brightness of 98. I use Hammermill laser print paper with those specifications, but there are other brands that will fit the bill.

About Backups

Once you’ve purchased a digital file, it’s up to you to take care of it. That means backing up your files regularly, to protect against loss. There are several ways to do this:

  • Burn your files to a CD. Most desktop systems have CD or DVD burners.
  • Copy them to a flash drive or SD card. These are available at any computer store, and also places like Walmart and Target. Flash drives fit into any USB port. SD cards require a card reader slot, which many desktop and laptop computers have.
  • Use an online backup service like Mozy or Carbonite.
  • Use an external backup drive. This is the method I use to back up all my business files. I have a 1TB external hard drive the size of a cell phone that plugs into a USB slot, and a scheduling software that runs a backup of my files every Monday morning at 10AM. Whenever we have a tornado warning, I grab that little backup drive, and slip it in my back pocket. The house can fall down—I’ll still have all the Ten Two Studios files.

I cannot act as your backup service. If you email telling me that you’ve lost your files, I’ll direct you to this article. It’s up to you to take care of your digital items in a responsible way, and not just hope that your computer will never crash.