As you get ready to fire up the grill, why not consider putting together a cookbook of your favorite all time BBQ recipes. Or collaborate with family members for the perfect gift or family get-together memento.

To help you get started, we modified one of our Microsoft Word Templates as an inspiration for designing your own barbecue cookbook. You can further customize the colors, fonts and more by following our Word template tips. When using this template also make sure you select “US Letter Borderless” as the paper type in your page set-up so your cookbook will be ready to print via MagCloud.  For more info on how to create a MagCloud-ready PDF, see our Getting Started information and be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page to download specific software instructions for Microsoft Word.

Not a Microsoft Word user?  No problem, we also have cookbook templates for Adobe InDesign and Apple Pages as well.

Love to barbecue but need recipe ideas, then browse selections from other grill savvy MagCloud publishers.

And while you are flipping burgers and hanging out with friends, why not enjoy some of the MagCloud team’s favorite groovy grilling tunes in our Spotify playlist below.

Share your favorite grill tips, recipes and summer playlist must haves in the comments section below.

Enjoy the beginning of summer and happy grilling!

Feel like your business collateral needs a little refresh?  Let us help out with our new brochure and flyer templates.

Business Services Brochure

This four page 8.5 x 11 Pamphlet template is an easy way to create a great looking company, product or service brochure that is MagCloud-ready.

Once you’ve finished designing your brochure in InDesign or Pages using the templates below, be sure to follow our software-specific instructions to export your MagCloud-ready PDF:

Click here to download instructions for Adobe InDesign   |   Click here to download instructions for Apple Pages

To learn how to use MagCloud with a variety of software applications and print products see our Getting Started page.

Sample Brochure PDF

• http://bit.ly/YmRHx3

Template for Adobe InDesign (CS4 or higher):

• http://bit.ly/Wnfld5 (zip file)

Template for Apple iWork Pages (’09 or newer):

• http://bit.ly/WHAkK3 (zip file)

Business Customer Case Study Flyer

Our Flyer product is great for customer case studies, data sheets, real-estate sales sheets, menus and more.  Download our new case study template to showcase your latest sales wins and solutions.

Once you’ve finished designing your flyer in InDesign or Pages using the templates below, be sure to follow our software-specific instructions to export your MagCloud-ready PDF:

Click here to download instructions for Adobe InDesign   |   Click here to download instructions for Apple Pages

To learn how to use MagCloud with a variety of software applications and print products see our Getting Started page.

Sample Flyer PDF

• http://bit.ly/WaalcY

Template for Adobe InDesign (CS4 or higher):

• http://bit.ly/ZmtTZu (zip file)

Template for Apple iWork Pages (’09 or newer):

• http://bit.ly/YaRL0z (zip file)

Let us know what you think of the new templates and how you might use them in the comments section.

It’s February, which means it’s officially time to start thinking about gifts for your friends and loved-ones for Valentine’s Day. But rather than buying an impersonal card at the store, why not make the holiday more meaningful with a DIY Recipe Book, Instagram-style poster or custom card? We’ve designed templates to help you get started and we can’t wait to see what you’re inspired to create!

Recipe Booklet

Around the holidays, we’re a big fan of the K.I.S.S method (Keep it simple, Silly!), so with that in mind we’ve created a template that makes for a great little gift, but doesn’t take a whole lot of time to create.

You can choose how little or how much to customize of this 12-page Digest Landscape recipe booklet. Make it personal by including photos, love notes and your favorite recipes, or you can use ours (don’t worry we won’t tell).

We’re offering the same template in some of your favorite software applications, so click on the links below to download the template of your choosing and get started!

Adobe InDesign CS4 or newer

• Download the .zip package

***InDesign users: There are multiple layers in your file for you to get instructions and customize the design. Please note the “Example” layer is currently set to not print, so if you want to use our recipes and just edit the design directly, select the “Example” layer in the Layers palette and right-click to edit the “layer options” (just check the box that says “Print Layer”)

Apple iWork Pages

• Download the .zip package

Personalized Instagram Poster or Card

If the recipe booklet seems like too much, or you’d rather make a big impression without too much work, then the Instagram Poster or greeting card templates will be perfect for you. Swap in some personal photos of you and your loved one, or artistic shots they might enjoy and add a personalized message and you’re good to go!

Just be sure to use images that are high-enough resolution:

• Poster – the squares require images that are at least 900 x 900 pixels  and the rectangular images need to be a minimum of 1900 x 900 pixels.
• Card – the square images need to be a minimum of 600×600 pixels and the rectangular images need to be a minimum of 1200×600 pixels.

Get the poster Template:

Adobe InDesign CS4 or newer

• Download the .zip package

Apple iWork Pages

• Download the .zip package

Get the card template:

Adobe InDesign CS4 or newer

• Download the .zip package

Apple iWork Pages

• Download the .zip package

Word

• Download the .zip package

Play with Typography for a More Personal Feel

All of the templates include standard system fonts, but to emulate that custom handmade look in our examples we recommend you swap out the typefaces for something more creative:

Well, it’s that time of year again–when we all take a moment to reflect on the last 12 months and set goals for the future. The beginning of 2013 is less than a week away, so it’s time to set your New Year’s Resolutions and figure out how you will stick to them this year.

Some of us write them down and start off resolute, yet a good portion of us will likely forget about them or give up by March. This year, to keep us on track, the MagCloud team decided to decorate our offices with empowering words and goals printed on our awesome Poster product.

If you’re not familiar with HP MagCloud’s Poster product, you should definitely check it out. Available in 12″ x 18″ and 18″ x 12″ trim size options, our posters are printed on 80# premium cover stock, and come standard with UV Coating for increased durability. At just $2 a piece (plus shipping) they make for very affordable gifts, or leave plenty of room to mark-up and sell. We’ve seen folks use them to show off their love for cars, create unique calendars, or even as an alternative to guest books.

But let’s not to get distracted from our resolutions already.  To get you started creating your own resolution posters we’ve created some templates and design inspirations below.

Please note that our Poster product offers you the ability to print on both sides (we like to put a little message on the back for gifts/clients) but if you choose to upload a file with only one “facing page” the MagCloud uploader will warn you that you should have two “pages.” Don’t worry about this–we will add a blank side to the back for you.

Adobe InDesign (CS4 or higher):

• Download the .zip file

Apple iWork Pages (’09 or newer):

• Download the .zip file

Microsoft Word:

• Download the .zip file

Adobe InDesign (CS4 or higher):

• Download the .zip file

Apple iWork Pages (’09 or newer):

• Download the .zip file

Microsoft Word:

• Download the .zip file

Special Italicized Font used: EXMOUTH

The New Year is rapidly approaching, so if you’ve been wanting to put together a calendar for client gifts or to promote your business, then stop procrastinating and get to it!

No matter what business you’re in, calendars are a great way to keep your name in front of your client all year long.

We know that assembling a calendar can be time consuming, so to save you time, we’ve created templates for some of your favorite design software, in multiple sizes that fit just about any budget and style. Just pick your software and product size, then get your content and imagery together. With just a few edits to typeface and colors you can create a calendar that is uniquely your own.

<< Want to get inspired? Check out Merritt Photography’s Seasonal Reflections 2013 Calendar. Jennifer Koskinen created a fabulous calendar that celebrates the seasons with artful iphoneography and inspired quotations by distinguished photographers and designers. Koskinen did so using our 8″ x 8″ Small Square product to create an elegant and minimalist calendar that fits her brand and budget.

Product Options:

Small Square (8″ x 8″) calendars

These are ideal for square photos like those from Instagram. With Saddle-Stitch Binding a 28 page calendar will cost $5.60/each + Shipping.

Standard (8.25″ x 10.75″) calendars

Our classic letter-sized publication. With Saddle-Stitch Binding a 28 page calendar will cost $5.60/each + Shipping.

Large Square (12″ x 12″) calendars

One of our larger products, this Wire-O bound style has heavier stock paper and is well suited for showing off beautiful images. At 28 pages a calendar costs $12.08/each + Shipping

InDesign CS5 and Newer

• Small Square Template (.zip download)
• Standard Template (.zip download)
• Last year’s Standard design re-worked for 2013 (zip download) *see last year’s post here.
• Large Square Template (.zip download)

InDesign CS4

• Small Square Template (.zip download)
• Standard Template (.zip download)
• Last year’s Standard design re-worked for 2013 (zip download) *see last year’s post here.
• Large Square Template (.zip download)

Pages

• Small Square (Saddle Stitched) Pages Template (.zip download)
• Standard (Saddle Stitched) Pages Template (.zip download)
• Large Square (Wire-O) Pages Template (.zip download)

Microsoft Word

Restrictions in Microsoft Word make it difficult to have an editable calendar grid in the Word template, so we’ve created three different templates for our Standard size calendar that offer a variety of grid styles as static images. Choose from a classic “Grid style”, a sleek “Line style” or a clean “Corner Style” and add your images to get the look you want.

• Standard MS Word Template (grid)
• Standard MS Word Template (lines)
• Standard MS Word Template (corners)
• pdf zip file of just the grids for use in your own design

Poyomi

Tabloid 14″ x 11″ calendar

Don’t want to use any of the above applications? MagCloud’s Partner Poyomi has an easy-to-use web-based platform that helps you create impressive 14″ x 11″ calendars that are printed by MagCloud. With their service you can easily upload photos from your computer or connect to your accounts on photo-sharing services like Flickr, Smugmug, Picasa and Facebook.

*Please note that using the Poyomi tool and templates to create a calendar or photo book will affect the pricing. For Poyomi pricing, visit poyomi.com/pricing

To get started with the Poyomi calendar tool click here.

Check out some of our favorite calendars currently on MagCloud:

In the last few weeks, we’ve been talking about ways to turn your photos into something special with MagCloud. Whether that’s creating a photo book with Photoshop, Lightroom or Aperture, or creating a Summer Memory Magazine, MagCloud makes it easy to enjoy your photos in beautiful print and digital formats. So why not enjoy Summer all year-round by creating a calendar with your photographs?

To help you get started, we’ve created 6 templates for you to use with Adobe InDesign and Apple Pages. Simply add your own photos, special dates and details, upload your PDF to MagCloud and you’re set! You can sell your calendar online in the MagCloud Storefront or use our Direct Mail feature to send a copy to all of your friends with just a few clicks of the mouse.

Let’s get started!

Select the Format/Size of Calendar

Our templates are available in 3 sizes:

• Small Square (8″ x8″) calendars (ideal for square photos like those from Instagram) with Saddle  Stitch Binding (28 pages – $5.60/each + Shipping)
• Standard (10.75″ x 8.25″) calendars with Saddle Stitch Binding (28 pages – $5.60/each + Shipping)
• Large Square (12″ x 12″) calendars with Wire-O Binding (28 pages – $12.08/each + Shipping)

*Remember that prices drop 25% off when you order 20 copies or more. So if you’re looking to order gifts for friends and family, or a great way to promote your business–a MagCloud-published calendar may be the perfect solution.

Select Your Software

InDesign CS5 & Newer

• Small Square Template (.zip download)
• Standard Template (.zip download)
• Large Square Template (.zip download)

InDesign CS4

• Small Square Template (.zip download)
• Standard Template (.zip download)
• Large Square Template (.zip download)

Pages

• Small Square Template (.zip download)
• Standard Template (.zip download)
• Large Square Template (.zip download)

Script (handwriting) Typeface used in templates: Jenna Sue

Calendars for Business

You may also remember that last year we talked about using a MagCloud-printed calendar to promote your business. In exchange for you summer vacation photos, you can easily add images of your products, team members, or local scenery. Add your logo to the back cover along with a bit about your business and contact information and voila–you’ll keep your brand top-of-mind and in front of your customers all-year-round.

Since last year’s calendar template was so popular we also decided to revamp it for 2013. Enjoy!

• Standard template for InDesign CS4 & newer (.zip download) *2012 design reworked for 2013*

That sounds too complicated for me.

Don’t want to use either of the above applications? MagCloud Partner Poyomi has an easy-to-use web-based platform that helps you create 14″ x 11″ calendars that are printed by MagCloud. With their service you can easily upload photos from your computer or connect to your accounts on photo-sharing services like Flickr, Smugmug, Picasa and Facebook.

*Please note that using the Poyomi tool and templates to create a calendar or photo book will affect the pricing. For Poyomi pricing, visit poyomi.com/pricing

To get started with the Poyomi calendar tool click here.

A great resource is www.367AddisonAvenue.com. This HP small business blog features tips and tricks on basic business technology, how-to’s to grow your business, advice from leading experts on trends and upcoming small business technology, and stories about small businesses across the U.S. that are practicing technology innovation.

To all the small business owners and independent publishers out there who are trying to get your businesses off the ground, we encourage you to visit this blog to learn more on topics including:

• Back to Entrepreneur School: What is Innovation?
• Free, Simple Marketing Methods for Small Businesses
• How Social Media can Improve Your Customer Service
• How to Back Up Your PC in Three Easy Steps
• Should Your Business Engage in Online Gaming?
• TOOBYDOO: Child’s Fashion Possible with MagCloud

You can also join the conversation or be the one to start it at HP’s Small Biz Nation community.

Well, now you can worry less, because you have MagCloud–and we’re working to make it easier for you. With Ship to Group functionality we can take on the heavy-lifting of drop-shipping to your mailing list and you won’t have to deal with pesky paper-cuts or trips to the post office. Digital distribution gives you the option to share a PDF with your users who prefer to stay up-to-date with their iPad or other digital device. And you can get it all done without having to leave your desk or get out of your PJs (no judgement here).

So since it’s the start of a new year, what better way to turn over a new leaf with your organization, than to turn a glossy page? Your publication can look professional and still be affordable if you publish through MagCloud and we’re going to help you get started right now.

To make the process easier, we created a classic newsletter template designed for printing as a 4-page MagCloud publication (which comes to just 60¢/copy if you order 20 or more copies). It’s easy to edit and available in three software formats. Check out the original and a variation of the template on the left, and then get started creating your own in Adobe InDesign (CS3 or newer), Microsoft Word or Apple Pages. *Please note, you may have to “right-click” or “ctrl+click” to start the download.

Starting with a template is a great trick for speeding up the design process (don’t tell anyone I told you, but a lot of professional designers do it themselves) and many well-designed templates have style sheets built in that make it easy to change fonts and styles with just a few clicks of the mouse. So with a few simple typeface changes, tweaks to color, and some new imagery, you can easily transform this basic template into a newsletter that fits your organization’s image. We used Neutra typefaces and swapped in orange for our example, but how you customize it is up to you.

Want to try a different design?
Depending on your software of choice, you can also find great resources built into some applications or as free downloads in their online resources.

Apple Pages has built-in templates that can be great starting points, just be sure to check your margins and settings because these layouts may need a bit of adjusting so that they are properly centered on the page after printing/trimming. For more detailed help with this task check out the “Add guides to pages and adjust layout for trim” section of last year’s blog post.

Microsoft also has free templates available for Word and Publisher online at office.microsoft.com.

If you’re willing to splurge and buy a template, from an online source like stocklayouts.com, be aware that most of these templates are not designed to MagCloud specs and will need to be adjusted to 8.5″ x 11″ pages in order to output a properly-sized, MagCloud-ready PDF. So before you spend the money, be sure you select a file format for software you are comfortable with, and that you are prepared to make the necessary changes to set the file up to match our PDF specifications.

More Resources
Still needing more inspiration? Check out some of our past blog posts for newsletter content and design tips, or great sample publications. And as always you can find all of MagCloud’s design Tips and Tricks and all of our free templates in our Design Resources section of the blog.

Have you found other great templates or resources to use when creating your MagCloud publications? Then please share them below in the comments section.

This multi-page template is for Adobe InDesign users and is perfect for product or service brochures.  We’ve created a sample publication using this template to show you how easy it is to make a great looking catalog that is MagCloud-ready.

If you are new to using Adobe InDesign to create MagCloud-ready publications make sure to download our Adobe InDesign Getting Started Guide for tips on settings for trim, bleeds, image resolution and more.

Let us know what you think of the new template in our comments section below.

Whether you are planning a large conference, an intimate meeting for VIP customers, a quarterly gathering for club members, or an annual fundraising event, content plays a pivotal role in attracting and pleasing attendees.

Compelling speakers are the most important factor in attracting attendees to your event.  Finding speakers who are relevant, experienced and have a unique story to tell will not only drive attendees to your event, but keep them talking about it well after the event is over. You should even consider soliciting potential attendee feedback in the process of selecting keynote speakers, panelists and meeting topics.  A great example of this is the South by Southwest Panel Picker, which allows their community to vote on proposals for various speakers and panel topics, thus engaging their audience in the actual content programming of the event.

Networking is more than a handshake. Besides great speakers the other reason people attend events is to network.  As an event organizer you can help your attendees get the most out of the event by making networking easier before, during and after your event.  Use the existing social networks to get attendees talking prior to an event—event Facebook Pages or Groups, Twitter Hashtags, LinkedIn Groups etc.  Consider hosting Birds-of-a-Feather sessions or lunches where attendees can gather to informally discuss topics of mutual interest.

Attention grabbing materials.  Print and digital materials you use to promote your event—brochures, flyers, newsletters; and inform attendees while at your event—programs, daily papers, agendas etc. are an important factor in audience engagement. Events like music festivals, sporting events and business conferences are complemented well by programs that can serve as both a guide to attendees as well as used for marketing material down the road. An event program is a great way to showcase the talent you’ve organized, share the purpose of your event, promote your sponsors and acknowledge those who deserve thanks.

Here are a few of our MagCloud favorites (from MagCloud publishers as well as others) to provide some inspiration:

• Conference of Creative Entrepreneurs published the program for their August 2011 event in San Francisco. This program does a great job of posting the packed schedule along with speaker bios and ads for local businesses (It’s clear they put a priority on great design – a top MagCloud tip!)
• 2010 Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta – it’s not just about a one-week event in October. This program delves into the history of the annual Balloon Fiesta and gives details on each balloon flying at the event – it’s sort of like the “speaker bios” of the balloon festival world.
• 2010 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open program has a clear focus on great photography especially the shots of the individual holes (pages 50-66) not to mention beautiful integrations with their sponsors. The ads are woven into the program and don’t feel forced or out of place.
• SXSW 2012 Event Marketing brochure is chock full of impressive stats, engaging content and gorgeous design.
• TED Fellows 2011 Booklet gives shout outs and thank yous up front along with a brief description of the program and of course a look at each TED Fellow and the work they are up to.
• Guide to Davos dives into the topics at hand for the 2011 Davos Conference and gives the reader a feel for the tone and sheer importance of the event. Layout is unique and could work well for an event that requires articles in their program to communicate its story.

And if you are ready to get started on materials for your next event and need a little help check out our collection of free event program and brochure templates:

• Adobe InDesign Event Program Template
• Apple iWork Pages Event Program Template
• Microsoft Word Event Program Template
• Adobe InDesign Event Brochure Template

Have you taken a unique approach to selecting speakers, creating networking opportunities or created killer event materials? If so please feel free to share those ideas in the comments section and tell us what kind of feedback you received from event attendees and partners.