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11/08/2010 04:32:25 PM · #1 |
I've been brainstorming on how to transform my Oregon Ducks photography into a product and today it hit me. A calendar. Instead of reinventing the wheel, and realizing I would have very little time before the Christmas season hits, I wondered if someone has already gone down that road.
Two areas of advice are needed:
1) Calendar construction. Are there programs or templates for making these things, or would you just make each page yourself in photoshop?
2) Printing. Does anybody have experience with any companies printing calendars in bulk?
DPC is always a wealth of info, so I thought I'd ask in the initial phases of this idea. |
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11/08/2010 04:50:03 PM · #2 |
| Go to Snapfish. I have experiment them last year, and loved. This year all my calendars are ready. |
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11/08/2010 04:55:08 PM · #3 |
A lot depends on whether you plan to print up a bunch in commercial quantites (500 and up) or to more-or-less print on demand. You can check with the print shop where I used to work for a free estimate for offset printing.
I know Costco has templates and good prices, but have never ordered one so I don't know about their quality. |
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11/08/2010 05:04:44 PM · #4 |
| Ya, I'm talking multi-thousand here so probably a proper printing company with offset printing. |
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11/08/2010 05:06:31 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
Ya, I'm talking multi-thousand here so probably a proper printing company with offset printing. |
Check the link I gave you -- they may not be the cheapest but they do quality work. |
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11/08/2010 06:18:01 PM · #6 |
| Does the university have a print shop? Worth checkingd into. They publish all those brochures and catalogs somewhere. |
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11/09/2010 07:10:14 AM · #7 |
my only experience is with lulu, and they do really nice work. with their templates and easy-to-follow guidelines, i've been able to produce some pretty nice calendars over the years. (the hardest part for me was picking the photos.)
they also have a lot of calendar date lists to add to your calendar (US holidays, religious holidays, etc), as well as the ability to add your own.
they have a lot of different sizes and styles, as well as the ability for you to set up your own shopping cart interface so that people can buy them one-off online. they offer discount prices for bulk purchases.
i don't get anything out of promoting them, just letting you know my experience.
one thing, though, jason, that is critical, is that you have something in writing from the university allowing you to do this. there was a HUGE case at the university of alabama a few years ago between the school and an artist over prints he made and sold of their football team. here in virginia, Va Tech is suing a local company for naming itself "Hokie Real Estate". just make sure your bases are covered, especially if you are the one going on the hook for the cost of bulk printing...
good luck! |
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11/09/2010 10:48:28 AM · #8 |
| Thanks for the ideas Skip. Yes, I'm fully planning on doing this through the proper channels. The UofO licensing guy is your typical bulldog who probably thinks that putting your hands in the "O" configuration is properly owned by them and one should not do it without their permission. |
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01/01/2011 10:07:17 AM · #9 |
| I have a question about LuLu...I'm at the publishing point but it will not proceed...it says it's "Lulu is making your print-ready file" but it gets about 1/100th of it done and it stalls...I kept it going all night last night and it never moved...and it's the same this am...any suggestions or experiences??? |
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01/01/2011 10:30:53 AM · #10 |
Originally posted by Ja-9:
I have a question about LuLu...I'm at the publishing point but it will not proceed...it says it's "Lulu is making your print-ready file" but it gets about 1/100th of it done and it stalls...I kept it going all night last night and it never moved...and it's the same this am...any suggestions or experiences??? |
you might need to restart that process. i haven't made any calendars recently enough to remember all the steps, but as long as you've saved your project, you should be ok. i remember this happening to me a few times at this time of year. hang in there; it will be worth it. |
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01/01/2011 10:34:30 AM · #11 |
Originally posted by Skip:
Originally posted by Ja-9:
I have a question about LuLu...I'm at the publishing point but it will not proceed...it says it's "Lulu is making your print-ready file" but it gets about 1/100th of it done and it stalls...I kept it going all night last night and it never moved...and it's the same this am...any suggestions or experiences??? |
you might need to restart that process. i haven't made any calendars recently enough to remember all the steps, but as long as you've saved your project, you should be ok. i remember this happening to me a few times at this time of year. hang in there; it will be worth it. |
I finally got a note to them and they "finished it via internet" so it's done now...just frustrating when you can't finish the project....
Thanks |
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09/05/2011 10:14:02 AM · #12 |
well after lots of brainstorming and lots of search..my search ends at vistaprint.com.au they provide the Cheap Business Cards and Calendar Print
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09/05/2011 12:02:07 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by phpvicky:
well after lots of brainstorming and lots of search..my search ends at vistaprint.com.au they provide the Cheap Business Cards and Calendar Print |
Welcome to the site spammer. |
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09/06/2011 05:25:26 AM · #14 |
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
Thanks for the ideas Skip. Yes, I'm fully planning on doing this through the proper channels. The UofO licensing guy is your typical bulldog who probably thinks that putting your hands in the "O" configuration is properly owned by them and one should not do it without their permission. |
...but you can't blame him for being careful. :U)
Ray |
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09/06/2011 12:51:30 PM · #15 |
Short answer is - calendars for profit is best left to the big boys...
I've used lulu.com also, and have had very good success with them - even had to work through some quality problems with a book, and their help folks were great. My experience with calendars is less than sterling. The drawback with lulu.com (and, I presume, other print on demand places) is that your overhead is so high that you have to price your calendar so high that it is out of the market - $15 retail for their basic 12-month calendar (and that nets you about $1 per calendar). So, if you want the price down to where it is competitive, you have to mass-produce. That leads to the 2nd issue - marketing and promotion - you have to have outlets for your calendar, and have the time (or $$) to market it to potential customers. The last big issue is that on Jan 1, your inventory value drops to $0.00 - you may be able to get rid of a few at 1/2 price or less, but...
On the other hand, using lulu.com, I've been able to sell 5-10 calendars at work, etc. each year, and people seem to have really enjoyed them... |
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10/20/2011 05:49:24 AM · #16 |
I would't necessarily go with VistaPrint, since their service seems to be pretty low. Try Print24 or Printcarier. The prices are much more competitive, and the service is unbeatable.
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10/20/2011 08:45:32 AM · #17 |
I've been telling myself the last few years that I'll do some calendars with my photography. But not worrying about profit, these are as holiday gifts for the family, with all the birthdays and other family dates of note on them. I need to actually get started now if I plan on finally doing one.
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10/20/2011 09:06:46 AM · #18 |
The best time to put together a calendar is August of the previous year. Not sure about others, but lulu.com typically runs some specials towards the latter part of August / early Sept. with 20% - 30% off calendar orders (for a basic 12-month wall calendar, qty 5+, this drops the price each to under $10). About the last you can order calendars and get them in time for Christmas is around the end of November.
If you've never done a calendar, I recommend it. It is a bit different experience, and a bit different picture-selection process. First, you are limited to 12 pictures (13 if you use a different one for the cover). Next, each picture must be something someone is willing to look at for an entire month. From month to month, you want to vary the images enough (subject, color, etc.) to make the new one not seem like a repeat of a previous image, and especially not a repeat of the previous month's image. Certain times of year represent certain holidays, celebrations, or seasons, and you probably want to match colors / subjects with those seasons. (For example, colorful fall leaves in the spring, or bare branched trees in the summer.)
Very, very few folks that participate here at dpchallenge do not have enough quality pictures to make an extremely nice 2012 (or 2013) calendar.
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10/20/2011 10:08:00 AM · #19 |
Anybody use Cafe Press? I have my 12 picked out and properly sized, and have set up shop on an print-on-demand basis...just haven't actually put it all together, set price and pulled the trigger. Anybody with experience, it would be helpful to know pros & cons.
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