A green cutting mat with printed stickers resting on top, with a smartphone and tablet.

PRINTING TIPS

Transform your phone and more with print

We all love our smartphones, tablets and laptops, but they're so anonymous looking when taken straight out of the box. Thankfully, you can soon change that with your favourite photos, designs or patterns when you're armed with some Canon RP-101 Restickable Photo Paper and a Canon PIXMA printer. And because the Restickable Photo Paper lives up to its name, you can vary the look as often as you like and even change it to match your outfit!

Once you've got your phone, tablet and laptop looking good, you're bound to notice other things around the home that could use a little customisation. For example, your fridge could be transformed with your favourite photos printed onto Restickable Photo Paper, or you could even try MG-101 Magnetic Photo Paper, which is perfect for lots of metal items.

What you need

Making the prints

Canon's Magnetic Photo Paper and Restickable Photo Paper measure 4x6 inches (10.16x15.24 cm), which is perfect for printing photos, but you can also cut them to make smaller stickers and magnets in bespoke shapes. If you're clever with your layout, you can create more than one sticker or magnet from one sheet of paper.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Choose your design

A smartphone showing Creative Park, a tablet with printed stickers on it and a green cutting mat.
Whether you want to print your own images or a graphic from Creative Park to decorate your tech, the possibilities are endless.

Family photos make great stickers but you can also photograph things like your kids' drawings, a hand-written note or objects like leaves or flowers. If you don't want a photo-real look, try applying a filter effect to the image on your phone or computer.

There are also attractive designs available for download from Creative Park. You'll find an array of pretty motifs and patterns along with some generic smartphone cover templates that with careful cutting and alignment can be adjusted to cover the back of your phone or an existing cover.

2. Load the printer

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A woman loading photo paper into a white Canon PIXMA printer.
Before you load the printer, remember to choose your media, whether you want to display your shots as magnets on the fridge or as a sticker on your laptop.

Next you need to decide which media you want to use and load it into your PIXMA printer. The Restickable Photo Paper is a great choice for a huge range of surfaces, including delicate electrical items, while the Canon Magnetic Photo Paper works well with many metal objects. Before you commit your design to the Magnetic Photo Paper, check that the item you want to decorate is magnetic.

3. Print your design

A woman holding a printed photo of a flamingo graphic next to a Canon printer.
With the Wi-Fi capabilities of the Canon PIXMA series you can print your design straight from your smartphone.

Thanks to the Canon PRINT app you can print your design on compatible PIXMA printers direct from your smartphone – or, if you prefer, you can print from a computer. If your printer is compatible with Canon's PIXMA Cloud Link, you can print straight from your social media accounts, including Instagram and Facebook via the Canon PRINT app.

4. Cut out the design

A printed graphic of a flamingo being cut out on a green cutting mat.
Make sure to trim your print so it fits the size of your smartphone. If you're decorating a larger item such as a laptop or tablet, you might not need to trim anything and can go ahead and get decorating.

If you've printed a photo across the full sheet of the paper, you can skip straight to the next step, but if your design is smaller, you'll need to trim the sticker to size. A decent pair of sharp scissors is ideal for cutting the Restickable Photo Paper, but take your time and cut slowly around the design to give a neat edge. If you're cutting out a smartphone cover, remember to check the position and alignment of the camera and cut accordingly. It might be a good idea to make a template from plain paper or card first. You can then draw around the edges of the template with a pencil before cutting your print out.

A craft knife may be a better choice for cutting the Canon Magnetic Photo Paper, but use a cutting mat, a clean chopping board, or good depth of newspaper to protect the work surface below. A metal ruler or something similar makes a handy guide when you're cutting any straight sections, and try to cut with a smooth, steady movement.

5. Peel and stick

A person peeling a printed sticker off the backing paper.
Carefully peel your sticker off the backing paper and apply to your tech. If you're using the magnetic paper, there's no need to peel – simply apply to a suitable surface.

Now it's time to peel the backing from the Restickable Photo Paper and apply it to your smartphone or tech. Start at one corner or edge of the sticker and carefully peel off the backing and apply in one slow movement. A ruler can come in handy here to help peel and stick in a straight line, progressing steadily over the sticker.

The Magnetic Photo Paper doesn't have a backing paper, it's ready to attach as soon as you've finished cutting it out.

6. Reposition

A woman applying a cut-out printed sticker to the back of her smartphone.
Both media are restickable and leave no residue, so you can move those magnets from the fridge to the radiator, and you can change your new smartphone sticker whenever you want.

One of the great things about using Canon RP-101 Restickable Photo Paper and MG-101 Magnetic Photo Paper is that you can move the prints around to keep your tech looking fresh and new without leaving any sticky residue. You can have a new look for every day of the week!

Written by Angela Nicholson

*Restickable Photo Paper RP-101 compatibility: TS/TR/G series, MG7700, MG7500, MG7100, MG6800, MG6600, MG6400, MG5700, MG5600, MG5500, MG3600, MG3500, MG3000, MG2900, MG2500, MG2400 seriesMX530, MX490, MX470 series, iP2800 series, iP110
Magnetic Photo Paper MG-101 compatibility: TS/TR/G series, MG7700, MG7500, MG7100, MG6800, MG6600, MG6400, MG5700, MG5600, MG5500, MG3600, MG3500, MG3000, MG2900, MG2500, MG2400 series, MX530, MX490, MX470 series, iP8700 series, iP2800, iP110, iX6800 series

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