While many people use their mobile devies to keep track of their schedules, some people prefer printed calendars to keep track of appointments, important dates, or simply to stay organized. For that reason, custom calendars make great marketing material. You can use them to showcase your services if you are a creative professional or send them as free gifts to your customers to keep your name top of mind.
Wondering how to create a calendar that looks professional and makes a great impression? It might be easier than you think! Just follow our step-by-step guide to create a calendar that anyone would be glad to display on their office wall.
How to Make a Calendar in 5 Simple Steps
Here’s how to to make your own calendar and prepare it for print:
1. Set the Color Profile
Most, if not all, products in the Adobe Creative Suite offer advanced color management. Make sure you’re designing in the CMYK color scheme and that all visual elements are designed at 300 DPI for high-quality printing. If you design using RGB, you may find that the colors on your printed product look different than what you expected.
2. Establish the Dimensions
You can make your own calendar in a variety of sizes and bindings, but for the purpose of this article, we are going to stick with the standard calendar size of 8.5” x 11” that’s compatible with Saddle Stitch Booklet Printing.
The full bleed dimensions are are 8.625” x 11.25” for an 8.5” x 11” saddle stitch booklet. Extend your backgrounds to the edge of the pages to ensure you won’t have white borders around the edges after printing. Important note: the safety margin is at 8.25” x 10.75” (an additional .125” from the final cut line of 8.5” x 11”) and anything that falls beyond that risks being cut off.
3. Layout the Pages For Photo Calendars
A standard 12-month photo calendar designed for print will have 28 pages total:
- 1 page for the front cover
- 12 pages for images
- 12 pages for the months
- 2 additional pages required for saddle-stitch booklets
- 1 and a back cover
Even though the calendar design will be in landscape, you’ll order calendars with portrait binding.
Pro tip: When making a calendar, create the layout for the month of January using ruler guides to ensure even spacing for each box. Once you’ve finalized the layout, duplicate that page and adjust the month, days, and holidays as needed for the remaining months.
If you plan on creating a personalized calendar each year, save your design as a working file version as well as a final PDF so you can customizere the same calendar design to create a new one the next year.
For easy mounting, Printivity recommends leaving space for a drill hole when you design calendars. The drill hole should be located between the safe margin and the cut line, with no important design elements around it.
4. Don’t Forget to Market Your Business
Important to include any pertinent business information on the front and back covers as these are the first pages your customers will see. Make sure to include your company logo, website and contact information. Take advantage of all the design space, including the extra pages needed for a saddle stitch booklet. You can use these pages to spotlight different services or business locations.
5. Prepare Your Calendar for Printing
Digitally flatten your files before you upload them to Printivity. We recommend that you save your final file as a PDF, the preferred file format, though we also accept file formats of DOC, JPEG, JPG, PNG, TIFF, AI, PSD, PUB, and PPT.
If you designed your saddle stitch calendar in Photoshop or Illustrator you can save your file as a PDF. Finalize all edits, go to “File” in the top left hand corner and click “Save As” in the drop down. In Illustrator, make sure the the format is “Adobe PDF” and in Photoshop, make sure the format is “Photoshop PDF,” then click “Save.” Another pop up will appear- ensure the Adobe PDF Preset is “High Quality Print,” then click “Save PDF.”
Pro tip: Always save a working version of your file in case you need to make new edits.
Tips on Creating Calendar for Print
One of the most important tips to know before you create calendars for print is to double check everything. The last thing you want is to receive 100 print calendars with the wrong dates and/or holidays.
Once you’re ready to place your order, you can customize your calendar style preferences for the final printed product, such as coating on the cover. Printivity offers UV Coating, Matte Lamination and Clear Lamination.
Download saddle stitch booklet templates directly from Printivity.com before you start designing. Once you’re ready to order, or if you have questions during the ordering process, contact our expert customer service department for help at 1-877-649-5463.
FAQ
What is the best site to make a calendar?
If you’re looking for more than a calendar maker tool, try Printivity. Our professional customer service team can help you create a calendar you’ll love, printed on high quality paper that lasts.
Can I create my own calendar if I don’t have graphic design skills?
If you’re not sure how to make a calendar or don’t have much design experience, Printivity can help you! Just tell us about your project to get a quote.
How do you make a calendar in different sizes?
Printivity can create your custom calendar in two portrait sizes or square shapes, or you can request custom sizes.
