The Index Card Aka "Poor Man's" Polaroid

Ever since the first Polaroid photos became obsolete, there have been a number of other instant cameras that have replaced it. That one camera I think Kodak made I do not believe makes the cut when it comes to making a Polaroid picture. Sure it has the white border, but its close or actually the size of a business card. The new Polaroid Z2300 Instant Camera, like the one being offered as a prize for The Photography Contest, is like a close second to the feeling of an actual Polaroid from years past. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that Polaroid still makes Polaroids. I even love how the Zink paper photos can also become stickers, in a sense. The only thing that irks me is having a quality picture not be a good size. Which would you prefer? A quality Polaroid with a picture size of a business card or a size of a slice of processed cheese?

Thanks to the internet and the use of one program every computer should have, I have made a way to make my own Polaroid Pictures on either 3x5 or 4x6 inch Index Cards!

And since there is no instructable on how to print on index cards within what i put into the search engine, I figure i will make one.

Step 1: What You Will Need

The only things you need to make an Index Card Polaroid are:

a computer
Paint - the program, not the pigment
a printer ( i use an HP Photosmart D110 )
a Digital Camera ( Im using my trusty 3DS )
something to take a picture of
and last but not least... Index Cards ( either 3x4 or 4x6 )

Step 2: The Developing Process (Step 1)

The first thing you gots to do is take a picture of something. A Polaroid is not a Polaroid if the photo is a cheap drawing. Unless the photo is OF a cheap drawing, there are no exceptions. In this case, I took a photo of my paper sword "Winter's Thorn", a sword made on the cold and wintery day of New Year's Eve. It was wet outside, but sadly there was no snow. Anyways, once you have your picture, its going to have to be one in a portrait or vertical direction. That way the picture will take up more space on the index card.

For the "development process", open the picture file in Paint and resize the image so the vertical length is 288 pixels, or 4 inches. The horizontal length will be taken care of in Step 2. 

Step 3: The Developing Process (Step 2)

Since the length of the picture is at 288 pixels, the width of the workspace needs to be 432 pixels, or 6 inches. At the bottom of the Paint screen, there should be an area that shows the length and width of the workspace. By clicking and dragging the workspace and NOT the picture itself, widen the space to 6 inches.

If you prefer your picture to be vertical while you edit it, then you will have to rotate your picture to the right look. Remember to have the length and width of the workspace be 4 x 6 inches and not 6 x 4, like what i have shown in the first image of this step.

Save this edited image as a .jpeg so you can keep the 4 x 6 dimensions on the image.

Step 4: The Developing Process (Step 3)

Now go to the folder containing your edited picture, right-click on it, and select Print. Make sure that the paper size is set to whatever size index card you are using and that it's set to fit in the frame and it's in Portrait and not Landscape. Since the size of the image is smaller than the whole picture, this leaves a white space at the bottom of the index card, thus making it look like a Polaroid picture from years ago. The only differences are that its on really cheap paper and the picture is bigger than the old white Polaroids.

Step 5: Finished!

When you look at them, they do kinda remind you of a Polaroid photo of the 90's. And it only cost you way less than $5, depending if you already have the equipment for taking and making them. And since you can print them on index cards, you can make as many copies as you have index cards, so its like a cheap way of printing your photos without the expensive films or photo papers.

Sometimes its pretty good to be a "Poor Man"!