Customer Reviews

Hallmark Card Studio 2010 [Old Version]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Hallmark Card Studio 2010 Review

4 stars
I had been wanting to try a greeting card software for sometime now in hopes of being able to print cards for the seemingly endess amounts of birthdays:) I felt like this had a really nice selection of cards to choose from for all types of occasions, the kids birthday cards were especially impressive as there were over 100 to choose from. I loved the photo card feature and the fact that I could make my own photo cards for Christmas.Another feature that I liked was the ability to search by theme or keyword. I found the program to be extremely user friendly, the card quality was great, and the program downloaded and ran on my computer with no problems. Lots of cute cards and a great way to save a little money on those $5 a piece greeting cards at the store!

*This review was posted by a member of the Nova Development User Community (NDUC). NDUC members are real people who use Nova Development products and share relevant feedback about the products they use in order to help other users. More information about NDUC, its programs and members is available on the Nova Development website.

I have tried installing this program on three different computers to find one that will enable it to print. I found one of the three and that's all. All 3 computers are running Windows 7 32-bit Home Premium. The program runs fine until it's time to print. Hit print and the program crashes. At first it seems that the problem stems from an inability to install the .NET framework 3.5 that comes on the program disc, but that's not it. 3.5 comes with Windows 7. (Further, I've installed .NET framework 4.0 and still no luck printing.

I wrote Hallmark tech support for assistance 3 days ago and no response. I will say that I've used previous versions of this software and although its construction is fairly old school, I have really enjoyed it. I've spent hours making cards and had fun doing it. I hope to get this thing working. I've spent hours trying to do that too!

If it installs successfully for you I'm sure you'll enjoy the program, but if it doesn't it would seem that their tech support won't be much help.

No fix here. Every time I print, the program crashes. There is no fix. Customer support was useless. I've used this product for sometime in its earlier versions, but apparently here is the final straw. I would NOT recommend this product unless you have an OS other than Win 7 64 bit.

UPDATE: Yes they fixed the print issue....ALMOST. Now you have to re set up your printer each time. I won't remember the previous time you set up the printer. Still NO real fix and customer support pages are still useless. I would NOT recommend this product.

You can't go wrong with Hallmark. They are the experts in card making, and this software is no exception. It was easy to learn and navigate the software. I think I will enjoy making cards and using the images to coincide with some of my other software for scrapbooking etc. I liked being able to send cards via e-mail and adding sounds. That is a fun feature.

I installed the 2010 version on my mom's pc. We spent so much time trying to get the printing to work right. After much paper and ink waste I found online that they have a print problem. Trying to resolve this with them is a joke. They want my 92 year old mother to find the print ini file to send them. I wish there was some other software we could use. If you don't mind wasting paper and ink or going through tedious steps then you might like the program. She liked the new features.

I was very disappointed to get a DVD..which I was unable to use on my computer.. and had a very trying time getting the refund from the company..it took over 6 weeks to arrive.
There was NO way I knew it would be a DVD and not a CD..
So those of you who don't have DVD ability for your computers..
be sure to ask before purchasing..I was told that is all they make now.

Received this software for Christmas 2009. Created my first cards. My first printed one came out OK. I discovered afterward the print quality can be set higher. Once I did that, using Avery card stock the second one came out terrific. Then on New Year's Day sent some emails using the program. Text was less than sharp. Have discovered it handles emailed cards pretty much in low resolution. Discovered by sending it as a .pdf file it looks MUCH better. The recipients can also PRINT the card using the .pdf method. Hallmark COULD have explained this better. We have found the emailed cards one can send from their website... sends out cards in much better resolution. We also discovered that before sending an e-card you may need to enlarge the text by using the Art Studio. Why did we need to discover this on our own? Hallmark SHOULD have their software perfected by now. Wouldn't ya think? UPDATE 1/12/2010: Now that I am used to the program I do like it better. Be sure you use the higher print quality, and pay special attention to the paper stock you use. E-cards still need improvement. Also they have included some nice choices for cards.

Interesting - reinstalled this program on Windows 7 64bit. The program will not start (says the folder is empty, even after installing), and to make matters worse, I CANNOT GET RID OF IT! Neither the add/remove program feature in windows nor the remove program function within the Card Studio will remove it. Is SAYS it does, then it requires me to reboot, which I tried, four times, but lo and behold, the program, in it's non functional state still remains! Like a bad dream or relative that won't take the hint.

My only somewhat major criticism is the e-mail option. It's disappointing because the resulting resolution is so poor when the receiver views it. I think the publisher's idea was to create small files; it does that at the expense of resolution--they really went overboard in trying to keep the file size small. Nowadays, to e-mail something that's, say, half a meg or even 1 mb, is no huge big deal. Most everyone has dsl or better. I'd have rated the program five out of five if that feature worked better because you can e-mail virtually any project, not just greeting cards. If they can't improve the crappy resolution, they should just drop the e-mail feature in my opinion.

One way to save some money on card paper is to go to your local office supply store and ask for plain 8½ x 11 card stock in their copy department. Or Michael's sells 50-packs very reasonably--if you can wait for a sale, the on-sale price was about $2.60 for a 50-pack of 8½ x 11 card stock. Or use one of their frequent 40%-off coupons.

Don't miss out on the "Other Projects" option which features a huge list of things you can do besides greeting cards (see another review in which someone listed them all). That option hides on one side of the screen--so it's not just greeting cards.

I've had no printing problems; guess it depends on your printer. I did some experimenting and it handled odd/custom size papers perfectly. I'm running Windows 7, 64-bit. Another reviewer mentioned it didn't run on 64-bit.

I too noticed occasional missing words in the greetings text. Although it's not mentioned in the docs, it may be intentional. The program is highly customizable, and maybe the intent is that you supply your own word in the event one's missing. That's my take on it.

For those considering the program but who are concerned about some of the problems that reviewers have mentioned, they seem to have a liberal return policy. It's mentioned in the docs and elsewhere how to get your money back. So if need be, you can just return it within 30 days for a refund, less shipping. Be careful, though. It does mention that if you send in the registration card, or do the rebate, the program can't be returned.

Well, that's my 2¢ worth!

Dan Kap,
Whittier, CA
DanK5@hotmail.com

I recently decided to upgrade to this new version of software when I discovered that I had accidentally thrown away my Hallmark CD's from an earlier version. I loved most things about the older version and thought this would be a great new investment. Boy was I wrong.

First of all I didn't realize it was actually a DVD and not CD when I purchased it. Yes, my computer is that old. Fortunately Hallmark has a trade in program so I just sent them the DVD and they sent me back four CD's. I installed them with no problem but when I went to print out the cards I discovered that the pictures on the front didn't print out. The letters and borders printed, but no darn picture! So anytime I wanted to print a card I had to print a test page first on cheap paper to see if it would even work. After four tries with different cards and only one printing out the picture I gave up. Now I am going online to Amazon to see if I can find an older version like what I had because I never had any problems with it.

Update: I contacted Hallmark Customer Service about the problem I was having and this was the response they gave me:

Thank you for contacting Hallmark.

The Card/Scrapbook Studio software was created by the Sierra Company and is sold at office supply stores and other retailers that sell computer software. Creative Homes has acquired the software that Sierra had created, including servicing consumers who had purchased the Card/Scrapbook Studio software made by Sierra.

The Card/Scrapbook Studio includes Hallmark's artwork, but it is not a Hallmark product. We have no information about the product itself. For technical support or other inquiries for this product, please go to [...] or call 1-818-222-7200.

For Creative Homes customer service, please call 818-591-9600.

We apologize we are not able to give you the type of service you expected.

???????? Why do they have their name on a product that they can't help me with? Last time I ever buy a Hallmark product.

LATEST UPDATE:
If you would like to know what has happened since please read the comments under this review. At this point I would have to say that if you encounter the same problem I had with pictures not printing, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, download the updated printer drives recommended by Hallmark (especially if you have a Dell V505 printer). You are better off either getting another printer, or giving the software away. Believe me it would be A LOT CHEAPER than the money lost by purchasing this software and save you many hours of agony!!!!!!.