About Printing Buddy
Printing Buddy is independently owned and developed by Sandra Lynn Stone and Michael George Stone.
Sandra and Mike have worked in the printer and consumables market for more than 20 years, supplying printers, inks, papers and specialist printing products. During the past 12 years, their work has increasingly focused on what they describe as bespoke printers—printers adapted for specialist applications beyond their original intended purpose, including edible printing and sublimation printing.
Their company began life as HomeMedia and later adopted the registered brand name HobbyPrint®. HobbyPrint is wholly owned by Sandra and Mike and supplies specialist printing equipment, consumables, craft products and practical customer support.
How Printing Buddy developed
Printing Buddy was originally created as a blog and information site. Its purpose was to help customers understand printers, images, print media and the practical steps required to produce better results.
Over the years, one problem appeared repeatedly: many customers found mainstream design and photo-editing programs unnecessarily complicated. Some customers used Microsoft Word to position and print images because conventional graphics software felt too difficult or time-consuming.
We experienced many of the same frustrations ourselves. Completing a relatively simple printing task could require moving between several programs, repeatedly changing screens and working through numerous menus and controls. This interrupted the natural workflow and reduced productivity.
Printing Buddy has therefore evolved from an information site into an independent learning and creative resource. It provides practical articles, blog posts, guides and software designed to make creating and printing more understandable.
Introducing PB Studio
PB Studio is our lightweight, browser-based creative application. It offers a different approach to design, template printing, drawing, photo editing and a growing range of craft-related subjects.
Our aim is not to recreate every feature found in large professional graphics packages. PB Studio is intended to provide useful tools in a clear, enjoyable environment, allowing customers to concentrate on what they want to create rather than constantly searching through complicated menus.
An important motivation for developing PB Studio was the need to position designs accurately on pre-cut icing sheets, sublimation sheets and other specialist print media.
To solve this, we developed a flexible template system that allows us to create templates for many different sheet layouts and printable products. Customers can place their designs accurately within the individual template areas before producing a correctly positioned print.
PB Studio also brings together tools for:
- Creating designs from a blank canvas
- Working with ready-made templates
- Uploading and arranging images
- Removing image backgrounds
- Adjusting and enhancing photographs
- Adding text, shapes, frames and backgrounds
- Drawing and creating simple artwork
- Preparing designs for printing
Video Library
The Printing Buddy Video Library is an important and growing part of our learning resources.
It provides step-by-step visual guides, demonstrations and practical walkthroughs covering PB Studio, printing techniques, design tips and specialist applications. These videos are designed to complement our written guides and help users see processes in action, making learning faster and more intuitive.
The Video Library will continue to expand as we add new tutorials, project ideas and real-world examples from our own work and customer feedback.
Live TV (Coming Soon)
We are also developing Printing Buddy Live TV, a dedicated space for live broadcasts, demonstrations and interactive sessions.
This will include live tutorials, product showcases, Q&A sessions and creative workshops where users can follow along in real time and ask questions directly.
Printing Buddy Live TV is currently in development and will be launched in the near future as part of our wider learning and community platform.
Ownership and availability
Printing Buddy, PB Studio and their associated original content are independently owned by Sandra and Mike. The software, articles and supporting materials are licensed to HobbyPrint for use in helping and supporting its customers.
Operating in this way also gives us the opportunity to make Printing Buddy and PB Studio available to other individuals, organisations and hobby users looking for a lightweight, practical and enjoyable creative solution.
PB Studio is currently browser-based and will continue to receive new features, templates and improvements. We also intend to develop desktop editions for Windows and Apple Mac computers in the future.
Printing Buddy will continue to grow as both a practical learning resource and a creative workspace—helping customers understand their images, make informed printing decisions and enjoy the process of turning their ideas into printed projects.