By: Brad Kartel
Submitted: 2010-11-11 08:04:51 | Word Count: 747
It is not too complicated to print fundraising calendars. Even if you are an amateur and a layman in printing and in creating calendar layouts, it should be really easy for you to digest what you need to know, as well as figure out what you need to do. If you want to learn a few of the basics though to get you to a good start in printing those fundraising calendars, here is a reference guide to some of the important terms and concepts that you need to know. Read these and you should be able to deal with and understand all that is happening in the calendar printing and design process.
1. The printing quotations – This is the one thing you really need to learn about first. The printing quotation is basically the fancy name for how much the calendar printing will cost you. So you should pay attention to this. Your printing quotation is typically determined not only by how many custom calendars you are going to print, but also all the other customized options you decide upon. The shape, size, paper materials, inks and bindings will all play a factor on your printing costs. So make sure you choose wisely so that you can manage your resources for calendar printing.
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2. Calendar templates – Templates are your friend when making custom fundraising calendars. You won’t want to create all those calendar tables from scratch one by one. There are 12 of them of course plus your other supporting pages. That is why you should really know about calendar templates. You can find calendar layouts built in sometimes in your desktop publishing application and you can also download a few great templates from the Internet as well. Use them to start you off good in your designs and help you adapt your design for standard calendar printing.
3. Full colors and spot colors – Now in calendar printing you have the option of printing in full colors or in spot colors. Full color printing basically means that the whole calendar will be using a combination of color inks to get a wide range of different colors. Spot colors means that you will be using one kind of ink in specific spots on your calendar document. Spot colors are typically cheaper, but you won’t get a great looking color image out of it.
Typically of course it is better to print your calendars in full color so that the images look better for the readers/customers. However, you can creatively save money by using spot colors (maybe only black ink) for the calendar table. Just ask your printing company for your options with this.
4. Paper choices – You have different paper choices in calendar printing. Remember that there are actually lighter, thinner paper materials that is cheaper, while there are thicker, heavier paper that is more expensive but durable. Some paper materials also have coatings that make them look smoother, while others are more water resistant. Just always try to choose the best one that balances the look and the cost of your color calendars.
5. Binding – You also have a choice in binding. You can of course have your custom calendars use ring binding, comb binding, staple binding or even go for “perfect binding”. Each of these has different costs and strengths. I would go for ring binding personally because it has a good balance of cost, durability and functionality. However, you might consider the other binding methods depending on your design. Ask your calendar printer what options you have from them.
6. Turnaround times – Finally, we have what we call turnaround times. This is the time it takes for your calendar to be submitted to the printer and then delivered back to you finished. A typical turnaround time would be three to five days. You can have it rushed sometimes to one to two days at a cost of course. I would suggest thought that you print it normally so that you are sure of the quality of your calendars. Sometimes rush printing can have minor errors that is hard to control.
Great! Now you should know a lot more about the calendar printing process and how things work. Hopefully this will help you understand how to work with your fundraising calendars. Good luck!
Author Resource:-
Brad Kartel is a marketing executive whose passion is helping individuals or organizations build their fundraising campaign through fundraising calendars. Find more great calendar layouts.
