As the end of the year approaches, we receive more inquiries about how to print a calendar. Calendars are a popular marketing tool, so many companies will print a calendar for the holiday season, for a few good reasons.
Branded calendars are a great marketing tool and often a company will print them and give them to customers as end of the year thank you gifts, and it works because;
- Everyone uses calendars.
- The sooner someone gets something for free, the sooner they will use it.
- It is a great tool for brand awareness as it keeps your brand in front of your customer all the time.
While you may think about going the DIY route, having your product professionally made will result in a high-quality end result that will make your business proud, and actually work out cheaper per piece. Keep these tips in mind:
1.) The design should be uniform and in line with your brand
You want the calendar to serve as more than just a tool to keep track of dates, but also something that showcases your business and brand in the best light possible.
Choose typography, images, color and layout that visually communicate and connect with your business. For example, if your business is a top-tier interior designer, you won’t go for bold colors, cartoony images, and thick, childish typefaces. I’d go for muted, elegant colors, clean, elegant fonts, and high-resolution images that showcase some of your work.
2.) A Template Design Might Do The Trick
Finding a template online that is exactly what you’re looking for, or at least comes very close to your intended design, is a snap. Using a template also eliminates printing problems such as misalignment and bleed and crop lines. Even if you give the final design work to a professional, playing around with a few templates will make your creative uses work.
3.) Images: Size Matters
Due to their size, this is especially important for poster calendars, but is also important for other calendar formats. Low-quality images will often appear blurry or pixelated when printed. Professional printing services are capable of creating photo-quality prints, but you may not be able to take full advantage of them when using low-quality images. When possible, try to use only high-quality uncompressed image file formats or vector images as recommended by your printing service.
Often calendars, such as wall mounted calendars, will require large images and it is crucial to use high resolution images to avoid ending up with images that are pixelated, blurry and just look “yuck”. Using good quality uncompressed image file formats or vector images will do the trick. Whether your calendars are large or small, the quality of the image will send the subliminal message that your business is also a quality business.
Also, keep in mind that most monitors use an RGB color model while most printers use CMYK. This is automatically accounted for when printing. However, if your monitor is not calibrated correctly, the colors you see on your screen may not match what actually comes out in print. Another reason to let the professionals do what they do best.
4.) What will be the use?
Consider where potential recipients are in the sales funnel. Are they in the middle of the funnel and are you just trying to get attention? Don’t waste money on expensive high gloss wall calendars, but rather consider card calendars even with magnetic options.
Conversely, poster calendars and wall calendars would be handy for more targeted distribution at the bottom of the funnel. At this point, you’re pretty sure your customer is closer to a sale, or has already made a purchase and may be close to buying again.
On the other hand, if you know your customers are at the bottom of the funnel, have bought before, and you want to maintain their loyalty, then top-of-mind awareness is key. Consider high-gloss, premium-quality calendars of grand proportions that a customer wouldn’t mind hanging in their office because of the visual appeal.
Be sure to ask yourself all of the above questions before committing to the printing process. I hope these tips have been helpful and that your calendar printing project turns out with great success!