September 2007 –Want a full year of attention? Calendars are still a time honored marketing tool

Even in an age when it seems nearly everyone carries a PDA to keep track of their lives, many people continue to use printed calendars, making them an enduring favorite company give-away. Calendars are a great way for businesses to promote themselves throughout the year and connect with customers.

The most important consideration for a calendar project is timeliness and getting the design into production early. After all, the first calendar a customer receives is often the one they use all year, so you don’t want to lose out on an entire year of cost effective brand recognition. Allow plenty of time for printing and finishing. September is the ideal time to get started if you’re thinking about producing a calendar. If you have everything complete and ready to go by early November, you’ll likely be ahead of your competition.

Design Options: Let Form Follow Function
Before you choose a design, think about how the calendar will be used. Formats range from day-at-a-glance desk appointment calendars, to weekly pocket-sized schedules and full month hanging calendars. Will the end-user take notes on it, or is it intended for dates alone? The variety of layouts and elements is limitless.

Deciding whether it will be a desk, wall or planning calendar is the biggest factor in determining the binding style. Wire-O™ is a popular choice for many wall and desk calendars because of its versatility, even page layout across the gutter and classic aesthetic appeal. Try “split” Wire-O with a wire hanger and a half-moon thumb cut for a wall calendar. For an elegant, upscale desk calendar, consider a hard-cover Wire-O piece. A flip-chart with an easel back made to stand on a desk is another frequent Wire-O style option. Individual panels are a unique, eye-catching design feature. Three panel wall calendar designs can be used to provide a simultaneous view of past, present and coming months.

Smaller pocket diaries or date books are still a nice hand out.  Since they’re carried in a purse or briefcase, they are seen by more people than just the user. As company hand-outs, these tend to be higher-end pieces with a printed, leatherette or cloth-wrapped cover. For shorter run pocket diaries, plastic coil binding is a common choice because the binding element is crush resistant.

For calendars with high-color photos, UV coating will accent the color in the photo presentation. Decorations such as foil stamping, embossing or debossing can be added to calendar covers for extra appeal, depending on the cover style. Other design options include foldout panels, die-cuts, an extended hanging back panel for advertising purposes. For most calendar projects, there are very few restrictions about stock selection or sizing.

Talk to your finisher about the imposition, whether the piece will include signatures or flat sheets and where it will be cut and collated before binding. For best results, leave an adequate hole-to-edge margin so binding holes don’t interfere with copy or images. A minimum 3/8” between the binding edge and the punched holes is usually sufficient.

About the Riverside Group
Located in Rochester, New York, The Riverside Group is a leading provider for a broad range of binding and finishing services including perfect and PUR adhesive binding, case binding, mechanical binding, die-cutting, folding, gluing and attaching, UV coating, foil stamping and embossing, laminating and much more. From large runs to handwork, our skill and expertise shows in our attention to detail and exceptional customer service. Contact us today to discuss your organization’s next project.