I am not familiar with using Corel Draw - I do have Paint Shop Pro, but I don't use it much.

I would recommend scanning your page and saving it as a .jpg, using your scanner software, then adding it to a blank page in your Corel program and giving yourself enough margin to be able to bind it.

You could even do that in Word, but Word is not super "graphics" friendly.

What kind of binder to you have? I have a Bind-It-All. I don't use it much, but it is handy to have!

Something else to think about....

You could scan all the pages/recipes and create a book using one of the online book printing services...there are many...

And just have it printed in book form!

There are many to choose from. Blurb is one that you download the software to create the book, then upload the completed book to be printed. Snapfish, Shutterfly, MPix... there are many more. Prices vary - and if you have a lot of pages it can get $$ - but so can regular scrapbook type of pages.

One thing about the printed ones - you can upload it, have your copies printed, and make it so if anyone else wants to get one, they can pay to have their own printed.

I have attached a link to a neat blog showing how this gal did her cookbook with Blurb.

Here is a link that might be useful: Custom Cookbook made with Blurb

I use Corel Draw 9.0. What version are you using?

I normally scan books in jpg format and use a photo editor tool to modify them (crop, resize, etc.) if needs to. Then, I import all pages into Corel Draw.

At the bottom of Corel Draw window, I add pages. I place one scanned photo per page. Once completed, I go to File and select Publish to PDF. It will create a PDF file with all the pages in the order you've arranged in CorelDraw.

If you have a camera, take pics of the pages and then download, change to jpg. This is a ton faster and the pages will be much clearer. Try a few shots with different lighting so there are no shadows. Once loaded on your PC, you can adjust the contrast and clean up if needed. I do this with my old photos and art.

I used Corel for years, but not familiar with current versions. Most photo editing has common selections for adjusting light, color, sizing, etc. NTT seems to know the best way for you.

Iowagirl, I have the CarlaCraft binder. I bought it a few years ago at Adventures in Stamping. I have yet to use it! This will be a good start with it.

Ntt_hou, I am using Corel Draw X5. When I first learned to use a scanner, it was using MicroGrafx. I absolutely loved it. MicroGrafx and Corel Draw work the same. I open CD, click on file, then on Aquire. I can crop, I can scan the page and crop out just the piece I want, then clean up any black edges, ect. It will also allow me to place it on a page wherever I want it. I forgot to mention that the pages are half sheets, with 347 pages,not counting the index pages!

I guess what I need help with is how do I get it to print the pages, say 7 & 9 with 8 & 10 in the correct places? sso that when you cut the page in half, you have pg 7 on the front of one page with pg 8 on the back of it, with 9 on the front of the next and 10 on the back of that? Does that make better sense? I can scan one page at a time, that's fine. In fact, that would be easiest anyway, as I have to take the book apart to make it lay on the scanner. And it will save as a jpg.

When I start inputting my grandmother's and MIL's, I will do them in Word and save to PDF.

About a year ago, I saw a free offer for a cook book kit from Morris Press. I sent for it but have not had time to even look at it. I put it away and forgot about it until now, so I will look at it and see if that will help, but I can't afford to pay much for the books, which is why I was going to do it myself. I know Staples doesn't charge much to bind them if I end up not being able to do it myself.

Ntt-hou, can you be more explicit? I am very limited on what I know how to do on a computer, and with many of the programs. I am mostly self taught, and reading the manuals/tutorials literally puts me to sleep, because I can't understand them.

I do appreciate the help.

Tami

Tami, if you're more familiar with Words and can output the document into PDF format, than do just that.

As for your question on how to set up the pages so it'd print as you'd want it. This will depend on where the spine of the book will be placed at. In other words, will you be turning pages as a regular book (spine set up vertically) or will you be flipping the pages (spine set up horizontally)? Below shows both set ups. Let me know if you're still not clear about it.

Just scan the pages to jpg or tiff files; one page to a file. Later, you can experiment with how you might print these. Once the gaphic files exist, there are a variety of way thess can be brought into various software publising applications. These can be imported into MS Word, Power Point, Adobe, etc.

Tami, I forgot to mention. After setting up the pages as shown, you'd need to print both sides of the page.

Most home printers only print 1 side. What I normally do is print the odd pages first (1, 3, 5,etc.). Then, I put these pages back in the tray to print the even pages (2, 4, 6, etc.) on the other side.

If you don't want to fiddle with your printer, you can also save the pdf or doc file into a disc. Bring it to a printing shop or office supplier and let them print it up for you. They can load it up into their computer and print 2 sided pages.

Thanks!

This is what my cook book looks like. I would like it set up the same. I suppose I can just take it all apart and lay the pages together and scan them, but not sure how to get the pages in the right place on the opposite side. I guess my biggest thing is placing each page, not only pg 13 on the opposite of pg 14, but also, centered so the binding doesn't cut off the print. I think I'm getting more confused as I think about it!

Hmm, I did rotate it!

Tami

Sorry, I forgot that I can't edit without removing the picture!

Ok, I figured out how to scan it, then put it into Microsoft Word, landscape, 2 columns, page 1, pg 3, pg 4, pg 2, to get it in the order I want it. Now, how do I move column 2 over another 5-6 spaces so when I cut the page in half and put the binding holes in it, it doesn't cut off part of the type? I am slowly getting somewhere with this, with your help. Thank you so much!

Tami

This is what I'd do. After scanning the pages, I would make 1 copy of each page. I then, have 2 copies of each page. I'd separate the 2 pages by cropping each copy in half. In doing it this way, I can place each scanned page in such way to avoid cutting off texts for the spine.

Wooo Hooo! I've got it! I can scan each page individually, then copy into Word, landscape 2 columns, and customize the 2nd column to move over a little which places the second page in just the right spot to have the margins right for the border! I have printed test pages and will make notes as to how I did it for future reference. Thank you for all your help!

Tami

You're very welcome Tami. Glad to know you got it working.

Well, I got it finished, now I just have to do a final print. What I finally did was scan each page individually, then went into Word and inserted each page. Landscape, .5" margins, 2 columns, more columns-(changes spacing) 4.5" margins, & 1.5 inches between columns. Then inserted page 1 and page 3, the next was inserted as page 4 then 2. This way, when I print the front then the back, the pages end up where they are supposed to be! I worked on it all evening last night, then started again this morning at 6:30, and finished it at 7:30. As I said, now all I need to do is print it and bind it. I will also put a note in my notebook of tips and tricks I have aquired over the years on how I did it for future reference!

Thanks again for all the help and suggestions

Tami