What goes on the card, line by line
One photo per line, three parts split with the vertical bar |:
| Part | What belongs there | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Full names, and maiden names in brackets; nicknames only alongside the real name | Ana Novak, born Kowalski |
| Where | Place, as exactly as you know it: a town beats a country, a house beats a town | Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| When | Any honest shape: a year, a season, a whole day, a guess | 1952 · circa 1952 · 9 June 1954 |
The circa tick adds “circa” to the bare years and the dateless phrases (“the war years”) and leaves exact days alone. The written by line prints small on every card: “Written by Vera on 12 Oct 2026”. That line matters more than it looks: it is the difference between a name someone in the family vouches for and a guess that hardened into fact.
How the cards fit the sleeves and the album
| Card | Size | Per A4 / Letter sheet | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typed caption card | 75 × 50 mm | 8 | inside a 3 × 4 in or bigger sleeve, next to the print |
| Large-print card | 90 × 60 mm | 6 | inside a 4 × 6 in sleeve, or loose in the box |
Both are true sizes when you print at 100 per cent: “actual size” in the print dialog, never “fit to page”. Cut along the solid borders. The cards are ordinary printer paper; if one will sit face-to-face with a print for decades, give the stack a quick check once a year, the same as you would any paper in a drawer. The cards are one step of the bigger rescue: the restoring old photos page walks the whole journey from the negatives to the labeled, printed copy.
What this tool does not do
It does not write on your photos; that is the point. The safest label lives in the sleeve, the envelope or the album page, and the guide how to label old family photos covers the pencil rules for the times a print itself must carry the name. And the job the cards serve, one box, one table and one labeled pile at a time, is walked end to end in how to organize old family photos, with this card maker embedded at the labeling step. And it does not store anything: type, download, and the list stays on your device.
Questions
What should I write on a caption card for an old photo?
Who is in the picture: full names, and a maiden name in brackets where there is one, because married names change and nicknames die with the family. Where it was taken, as exactly as you know it. When, in whatever shape you honestly know: 1952, spring 1963, 9 June 1954, or circa 1952 when the year is a guess. The card's small print carries who wrote it down and when, so the next generation knows whose word it is.
Where do the cards go: on the photo or in the sleeve?
In the sleeve, the envelope or the album page, next to the photo, not taped or written on the print itself. Card and paper can carry a little offset ink or pressure, and old emulsions pick up whatever touches them; the guides that advise writing directly on a print all say lightly, along one edge, with a soft pencil, and only when there is no other way. A card in the sleeve keeps the print untouched and the names just as safe.
What size are the cards?
The typed card is 75 × 50 mm, a flat cut-out that lies inside a 3 × 4 inch or bigger photo sleeve next to the print, or in the box on top of a stack. Eight print per A4 or US Letter sheet. The large-print card is 90 × 60 mm, six per sheet, and lies flat inside a 4 × 6 inch sleeve. Print at 100 per cent ('actual size' in the print dialog, never 'fit to page'), or the sizes shrink.
Is there a version I can write on by hand?
Yes: the blank write-in cards print the same grid with four ruled lines and small WHO / WHERE / WHEN / NOTES labels, so handwriting stays straight and nothing gets forgotten. Use a soft pencil (a number 2 for older fiber prints, a 4B or 6B for the waxy 1970s-and-later prints) and never a ballpoint pen, which dents and ghosts through.
Why a large-print version?
For a parent with dementia or fading eyesight, the names on photos are memory aids: a card that can be read across the table does the job a phone note cannot. The large-print cards put the who, where and when in big type on a 90 × 60 mm card. Families use them in memory boxes, on photo rings, and next to the seat where a parent looks at the album.
Is anything uploaded from this page?
No. The names, the dates and the PDF are all built inside your browser, and no request carries anything you typed. Closing the tab erases everything.