In planning any calendar printing project, the obvious truth to pay attention to is that each calendar is a time-sensitive product with a built-in distribution deadline. For a standard 2014 calendar, in case your calendar is not in the long run person’s fingers before January 1, 2014, they may already have found another. For a non-standard calendar that deadline may be sooner (eg., a school-year calendar needs to be in the consumer’s fingers near the start of faculty if it will be helpful to them). Working backwards from this absolute deadline can provide you a good timeline for your entire mission.
How are you getting your calendars into the tip user’s arms? Are you giving them away? If so, then it must be relatively straight-forward to determine the distribution logistics and determine by what date you will need to have calendars in hand. Or possibly you might be mailing them out to your customers or members; in that case you just must be sure to enable sufficient time for inserting into envelopes, adding a canopy letter, addressing and mailing. Or consider having the printer or an area mailhouse handle mailing the calendars – it can most likely be cheaper and easier for you. Simply be sure you find out from the printer or mailhouse how much additional time they will want and factor it in.
If, on the other hand, you propose to print a calendar and sell it, either as a nonprofit fundraiser or as a profit-making enterprise, then distribution is a bit more sophisticated. How a lot time you want for sales depends on your gross sales technique. Are you promoting at an area festival or different occasion? If so, then that provides you a deadline, but keep in mind that you’ll be better off if you happen to can promote at a number of events, in case attendance or sales at one event aren’t what you expect. Or perhaps you might be having volunteers sell calendars to friends and family or door-to-door. If so, it’s best to permit not less than two weeks, and preferably as much as 4 weeks, since volunteers all have their very own totally different schedules, and a few will want reminders and encouragement.
In the event you print a calendar that you plan to sell, it is best to remember to develop and implement a solid advertising plan. Marketing doesn’t have to add to the overall length of the calendar undertaking – you can and should start advertising through the planning and production stages of the mission. Nonetheless, if you happen to wait to start advertising until you’ve got the calendars in hand, then you’ll need to permit a minimum of a number of further weeks, perhaps extra, to your marketing message to succeed in the meant viewers and motivate them to buy.
The production section of a calendar printing project begins once you hand off all the pictures, text, logos, promoting, and so on. to the printer, and the printer turns it into calendar artwork for you to approve and then puts it on the press and delivers to you the completed product. Ensure you speak to your printer early on to fins out how lengthy this takes. In our case at Yearbox, it is normally about three weeks (typically sooner you probably have a specific deadline). In the event you anticipate last-minute changes or additions, or if you may be proofing by committee, then it’s best to probably allow a little additional time – possibly a month in complete – for production.
