Learn iPad Week: Create your own custom paper designs

There are plenty of note-taking apps available for the iPad (we’ve covered a few of them in previous issues) but every one has its own features and quirks that make it different. What sets Penultimate out from the best is its ability to accept custom notepaper designers. Alongside the usual lined, graph and blank paper, Penultimate lets you create a paper design from images in your iPad’s photo album. Custom notepaper designs have a lot of uses and can really benefit anyone who uses their iPad in a business environment. With Penultimate, you can import your company’s letterhead and use that as a notepaper design to create business notes and even invoices on the go. Once you’ve created your note you can save it to sync with your computer at a later date or even email it directly to a customer. Some images work better than others for custom notepaper designs, particularly ones that are simple, plain and work well with a single-colour image, but once you’ve found something that suits you can have it imported into Penultimate in just a few simple steps. Penultimate has plenty of great features beyond custom notepaper designs including a clever function that allows you to rest your wrist on your iPad while writing without making any accidental marks.

1: Name your notepads

When you create a new notepad in Penultimate you can give it a name that differentiates it from the rest. This is well worth doing, especially if you’re using the app for business purposes.

2: Pick paper styles

Tap the Papers icon at the top of the app to switch between the different paper styles. You can also tap on The Paper Shop to buy premium designs from within the app or the ‘plus’ icon to create your own.

3: Create your own

Tap on the ‘plus’ icon to add your own designs from your iPad’s photo album. Selecting an image in here works exactly the same as any other iOS app, so you should have no trouble finding it.

4: Add it in

Once you’ve found the image you want to use for your custom notepaper design, tap on it to add it. Bear in mind that it’ll appear on a plain sheet of notepaper as a single-colour design.

5: Add your notes

Make sure the pen tool at the base of the app is selected and write away. It’s easier to use a stylus if you want your notes to be neater, and if you make a mistake you can always hit undo.

6: Change your colours

Tap and hold the pen icon at the base of the app
to change the ink colour. You can also alter the thickness of the stroke if you’re drawing diagrams or want to make certain notes clearer than others.

7: Finishing off

Once you’re happy with your note, double-check it to make sure there are no mistakes. If you want start over again, tap the cross towards the bottom of the app to clear the page; tap again to confirm this.

8: Export and email

Tap the export icon in the top-right to bring up your note’s export options. You can email single notes or the entire notebook or even print your work if you’re near to a compatible, AirPlay-enabled printer.

9: Mailing it out

If you choose to send your note via email, a new mail window will appear. Type in a recipient’s email address and you’re good to go. It’s always a good idea to Cc yourself into the email as backup.

This tutorial is the eighth in our Learn iPad Week series; for more articles just like this, visit the Learn iPad Week tag. At the end of the week, we’ll be giving away a prize to one lucky person who gets in touch with a question or problem related to the iPad. To get involved, simply tweet your question, plus the hashtag #LearniPadWeek, to @iCreateMagazine or post on our Facebook wall.