# Printing tickets with sequential numbers from Illustrator or similar

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-tickets-with-sequential-numbers-from-illustrator-or-similar/374252>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 26, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-tickets-with-sequential-numbers-from-illustrator-or-similar/374252 "2006-09-26T19:25:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-tickets-with-sequential-numbers-from-illustrator-or-similar/374252/1 "2006-09-26T19:25:23Z")

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We need to print some tickets for a charity function. I’ve been sent files for the tickets, and have the option of a GIF or PDF format. I can pull this into Illustrator, Publisher or any other software that these files can be pulled into. I want to be able to print the tickets, four to a page, with each one sequentially numbered. The tickets are sold for $50 a piece, so it would be nice to keep track and know that someone with a color copier isn’t just slagging off a bunch of them.

Any ideas on how to do this would be greatly appreciated!

Shibb

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**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-tickets-with-sequential-numbers-from-illustrator-or-similar/374252/2 "2006-09-26T20:19:00Z")

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You can do this easily in Word with a field holding a number.

Even easier

Open up Word.  
In the Help or in the little paper clip, type “Raffle tickets”  
Download the template Raffle tickets 4 per page  
They are already sequentially numberd  
Edit so it says event ticket or whatever you want keeping the sequential numbers

They also have an event ticket template but these are not numbered.

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**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-tickets-with-sequential-numbers-from-illustrator-or-similar/374252/3 "2006-09-26T21:35:45Z")

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Or do it in FileMaker. Create one number field, auto-enter serial. Import your Illustrator image of ticket (or design it in FileMaker natively if you haven’t already got the design part down). Create as many records as you have tickets to print (you can automate this in a script to eliminate all tedium). Print.

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**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-tickets-with-sequential-numbers-from-illustrator-or-similar/374252/4 "2006-09-26T22:58:41Z")

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If you’re comfortable doing a little scripting, you can do this kind of thing pretty easily with [ImageMagick](http://www.imagemagick.org/script/index.php). Just get images for all the numbers, the cooridinates you want them to go at, and write a script that makes a composite image.

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**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-tickets-with-sequential-numbers-from-illustrator-or-similar/374252/5 "2006-09-27T15:26:35Z")

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[QUOTE=OldGuy]  
You can do this easily in Word with a field holding a number.

Even easier

Open up Word.  
In the Help or in the little paper clip, type “Raffle tickets”  
Download the template Raffle tickets 4 per page  
They are already sequentially numberd  
Edit so it says event ticket or whatever you want keeping the sequential numbers

They also have an event ticket template but these are not numbered.  
[/QUOTE]

I’ve been looking for this one, since it seems the simplest, but don’t find it in any of the versions of Word I have here. Is this a recently added feature?

Now I’ll check if I have the software to do either of the other suggested things above. My internet access here was down for much of the morning – sorry for the slow response.