Printing Calendars

Hello, I have recently started asking around if friends and family would like a calendar of my wildlife and Landscape photographs and surprisingly about 15 people said yes. I've never made a calendar before.

I have been reading forums all day and I am leaning towards ordering from Vista Print or going to Walmart and having them made up.

I obviously want a quality print. I like the $10 price point from Walmart, but I cant vouch for the quality.

I was wondering if anyone here had any advice or experiences to share about printing calendars.

What printing service would you recommend?

here is a link to some of my photographs if your interested, https://500px.com/ccni​ckels

Yeah!
definitely, you should try it once. But sorry to say as I don't have any experience with the same. You can check it out with some other calendar printers which can help you.

LobsterNuts wrote in post #18554446
I obviously want a quality print. I like the $10 price point from Walmart, but I cant vouch for the quality.

If you are wanting quality, then I think the best you will find is the 13" by 19" Premium Calendar from Lulu.com

This is the calendar that I order every year, because it is the best quality, and the price is quite good considering the size and quality. . They are $18.99 each, and Lulu frequently offers coupon codes that will get you either percentage discounts or free shipping.

I usually use AdoramaPix for my printing needs, but their comparable calendar is $30, and not quite as nice or as big as the one from Lulu. . As much as I like AdoramaPix, I can't justify spending $30 for something when I can get something higher quality and a bit bigger for just $19. . I wish AdoramaPix would be more competitive with some of their printed products. . Most of their prices are AWESOME, but then for certain items they just don't even try to compete.

Here's a link to the Lulu calendar that I like so much:
http://calendar.lulu.c​om …ub2hjHBhxgFhoCx​8UQAvD_BwE

Oddly enough, once you click on the "Get Started" button, this is the thing you'll need to click on:

LobsterNuts wrote in post #18554446
What printing service would you recommend?

I think mixbook does a great job with calendars. Excellent print quality. Lots of calendar styles to select from.

In the past I used another popular print service, but mixbook is better.

Great feedback everyone! Thank you.

Now I see a problem! About the time I posted this people started asking how much the calendars would cost. I had been researching "cheap" places to get calendars made up so I figured $10 dollars was about what it was going to cost to make them so I told everyone $25 dollars. Silly on my part I guess. Now I feel obligated to offer them at $25.

With that said, looks like I'll be ordering the 11 x 8.5 calendar. I will probably get them from lulu. If the shipping is too high, I may try walmart I guess, or another site. If some better alternatives get recommended here within the next couple days, I will consider those as well.

thanks again.

I printed calendars for the last 6 years (around Christmas time). In that time Ive used Vistaprint, PrintingCenterUSA, and have gotten good results from both. I normally find out the amount of interest before I order. And once I know the approx qty. I usually order extras and have always sold those as well once others see the calendars. The quality might not be as high as Lulu. but I am able to sell a 16 month calendar for $15 and make a profit on that. Have not had a single complaint about quality in that time.

Vistaprint did have an issue one year, but they replaced the order at no charge, so all was good.

PrintingCenterUSA

^ this looks great! Thank you!

LobsterNuts wrote in post #18554561
Now I see a problem! About the time I posted this people started asking how much the calendars would cost. I had been researching "cheap" places to get calendars made up so I figured $10 dollars was about what it was going to cost to make them so I told everyone $25 dollars. Silly on my part I guess. Now I feel obligated to offer them at $25.

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Oh, you never said that you were going to be trying to sell these calendars, much less trying to sell them at a profit.
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LobsterNuts wrote in post #18554446
Hello, I have recently started asking around if friends and family would like a calendar of my wildlife and landscape photographs .
. .

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I make my photography profit on image licensing, so I don't have to try to make money off of my friends and family. . I could see charging your friends and family members for the calendars, I suppose ..... but only to recoup the printing costs. . It seems kind of crass to try to make a profit off of people that are close to you personally.

The calendars that I order from Lulu, I just give them as gifts to friends, family, and clients. . When giving calendars to people that I know and work with personally, quality is very important, and I just don't think that you will be able to get real nice quality from a place that sells calendars for low prices like $10 each.

The calendars that sell for those low prices, well, the paper isn't nice and heavy, and the calendar size is small, and the printing is sub-par, because the photos often look weird when viewed at certain obtuse angles, relative to the light source.

These Lulu calendars are great and the paper they use is first-rate. . I wouldn't be surprised if each 12 month calendar weights well over a pound!


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Tom Reichner wrote in post #18554727
and I just don't think that you will be able to get real nice quality from a place that sells calendars for low prices like $10 each. thats a very broad statement that just happens to be wrong

The calendars that sell for those low prices, well, the paper isn't nice and heavy, and the calendar size is small, and the printing is sub-par, because the photos often look weird when viewed at certain obtuse angles, relative to the light source. Wrong Again. I have not seen that issue the last 6 years. I'm sure it happens, just not with the 2 companies I have used

.

PrintingCenterUSA is not a fly by night company...they are capable of doing runs of 1,000 or more...you can get saddle stitch, wire, spiral....etc.

Size/Qty 10 50 100 150 200 250 500 1,000
8.5 x 11 $166.92 $316.72 $49​8.62 $712.62 $841.02 $​926.62 $1,397.42 $2,27​4.82

I get the 8.5x11 version (which is actually 11x17 when you add the bottom) and if I order at least 25 the discount is enough so that I can sell them at a reasonable price. I sell at least 50 every year (usually more)...maybe you can afford to eat that kind of outlay from Lulu, but I can't. I only started selling when I kept getting requests for them. And I get asked every year if I am going to do another one...so

I've had good results from VistaPrint. I give my calendars away.

What's the difference between a price point and a price?

digirebelva wrote in post #18554744
PrintingCenterUSA is not a fly by night company...they are capable of doing runs of 1,000 or more...you can get saddle stitch, wire, spiral....etc.

Size/Qty 10 50 100 150 200 250 500 1,000
8.5 x 11 $166.92 $316.72 $49​8.62 $712.62 $841.02 $​926.62 $1,397.42 $2,27​4.82

I get the 8.5x11 version (which is actually 11x17 when you add the bottom) and if I order at least 25 the discount is enough so that I can sell them at a reasonable price. I sell at least 50 every year (usually more)...maybe you can afford to eat that kind of outlay from Lulu, but I can't. I only started selling when I kept getting requests for them. And I get asked every year if I am going to do another one...so

The problem with that is that the good prices seem to be based on larger runs. The way I do calendars, each person that I give one to gets one that is made specifically for them.

Ken really loves trophy-caliber Whitetail Deer, so I make a calendar at Lulu that is just for Ken, featuring Whitetail Deer.

Mike M. loves trophy big game, while his wife loves songbirds. So I make a calendar for them that features big game animals during the fall and winter (hunting months) and songbirds in the spring and summer.

I make a calendar for the regional art gallery that features images that are taken locally, and that appeal mostly to women and kids, because they are the ones that mostly frequent the gallery. This calendar is used to generate interest in my work, which in turn results in some print sales there at the gallery, or in people contacting me to inquire about my photography.

I make a calendar for the local Land Trust office that features images taken locally, mostly on Land Trust properties. This is to inspire local landowners to become more interested in the wildlife that lives on their property (many landowners don't even know what species of animals are on their own land until they see these photos).

Brian likes amphibians - in fact, he did his masters thesis on toads! So I make a calendar for Brian every year that features amphibians (and some big game because he is also a big game hunter).

And so on and so forth for 25-30 different people and agencies every year. . I just don't see how you are going to get such a great degree of individual customization AND top-shelf quality (extremely heavy linen-like paper) with these larger print runs.

If you want to make money off of your friends and family, then these bigger runs would work. But if you want to do something special for them in the way of a custom presentation, I just don't see how one can beat making "one-offs" from a place like Lulu.

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I agree with you that they are not setup for that, so yes, Lulu is probably they best answer for you.

Same here

LobsterNuts wrote in post #18554561
With that said, looks like I'll be ordering the 11 x 8.5 calendar. I will probably get them from lulu. If the shipping is too high, I may try walmart I guess, or another site.

Here is a current Lulu discount offer that I just got in my inbox today:

I missed this thread back in Feb. I am working on my Christmas Calendars right now. The print shop I use is having a summer sale (-20%). I have used this shop for several years and have had great customer service and high quality calendars. I have tried a couple of other print companies but always return to
Print Pelican https://printpelican.c​om/

I pay a little extra for heavier covers and pages and have always been happy with their final product. Just thought I would mention them, in case you are still shopping.