Every teacher already has a drawer full of "Number 1 Teacher" mugs. If you want to give something a teacher actually keeps, the trick is not spending more — it is making something only your class could have given them.
Here are six gifts you can design and print yourself on PrintedIn, plus the practical details that separate "nice" from "kept for years."
1. A "Classroom Year" board book
A teacher's classroom library is sacred, and a board book about this class earns a permanent shelf spot. Chronicle the school year, a field trip, or a short story with the teacher as the main character.
How to get it right:
- Board books take a beating from small hands, so we print them on 250gsm + 250gsm white cardbook — thick enough to survive a full year of page-turns.
- Every photo needs to be at least 300dpi at print size, or it will not go to print. Quick rule: a photo straight off a modern phone is fine full-page; a tiny cropped face from a group shot usually is not.
- Do not want to start from a blank page? Use one of the ready-made board-book templates in PrintedIn Studio and drop your photos in.
2. A "Memory Match" custom card game
Indoor recess and small-group time run on tactile games. A memory-match deck where the pairs are student photos, the classroom pet, or vocabulary words they have mastered is a tool the teacher will actually reach for.
How to get it right:
- Keep each card's key image centered and away from the edges — cards get trimmed, and you do not want a face cut in half.
- To hand a set to every kid you do not need a huge run. Order sizes start at 25 and go 50 / 100 / 150 — no minimum-order pressure.
3. A "Class Portrait" jigsaw puzzle
A puzzle of the whole class beats a generic landscape — every piece a student fits into place is a memory. It is a quiet-lunch-break project for the teacher or a group activity for the kids.
How to get it right:
- Use the highest-resolution version of the class photo you have. Puzzles enlarge the image, so a low-res file shows every flaw.
- Faces near a cut line can look odd — center the group and leave breathing room around the edges.
4. An educational "Learning Deck"
Want to make the teacher's actual job easier? Design a deck of flashcards or discussion-prompt cards built around their subject — STEM, literacy, art history, whatever they teach.
How to get it right:
- Bright, minimal illustrations read better across a classroom than busy ones.
- This is where PrintedIn Studio earns its keep — the editor was refined with feedback from working graphic designers, so aligning text and images across dozens of cards does not turn into a fight.
5. A "Year in Review" photo book
Teachers rarely get to see themselves through their students' eyes. A photo book of student projects, scanned handwritten notes, and shots of the teacher in action is a quieter, more personal keepsake than a board book.
How to get it right:
- Scan handwritten notes at 300dpi or higher so the pencil lines stay crisp in print.
- Mix full-bleed photos with plenty of white space — it reads as intentional, not cluttered.
6. A collaborative class puzzle
Instead of a photo, give every child a template square to draw an icon or sign their name, then print all of them as one puzzle. It says out loud what a classroom is: every student a necessary piece.
How to get it right:
- Scan each child's square at the same resolution and size so no one's drawing prints blurry next to another's.
- Templates for this kind of grid layout are in the Studio — you assemble, we print.
A few things that make any of these land
- Ask the students. Kids know the teacher's favorite color, the animal they love, the snack in their desk. Those details turn a nice gift into their gift.
- Mind the resolution. The single most common reason a design gets bounced is low-resolution images. If PrintedIn flags something under 300dpi, swap in a larger file — it is protecting the final print, not being fussy.
- You do not need a huge order. Print one for the teacher, or 25 for the whole class to take home. The quantity tiers (25 / 50 / 100 / 150) exist so a single classroom project does not have to become a bulk order.
Start your teacher gift
At PrintedIn everyone is a creator — we just supply the materials and the studio. Open PrintedIn Studio, pick a template or start blank, and build something only your class could give. Whether it is a board book that tells the year's story or a card game that sparks a laugh, you are not giving a gift — you are printing a memory.