Making Calendars
- Thread starter jks9199
- Start date
Calendars are expen$$$$ive to make in full-color. Someone told me that, milliliter for milliliter, color ink is more expensive than blood. If you do a calendar like Bob did, where the entire year is on one sheet of paper, it is much more affordable than doing a calendar where one month is on a sheet of paper.
A 12 month 8.5" x 11" calendar done at a professional print shop near me is approx. $20 each for a small quantity run. The provide the calendar shell, all I need to do is send them .jpg or PDF files of the image. The will assemble and run a proof test. $20 is expensive, esp. considering that I have to mark up the calendars to earn an money. However, it was cheaper and easier than buying all the toner and binding equipment needed to make such a run on my meek little inkjet.
What I'm grappling with now is....how do I get costs down so this is actually affordable?
The options that I am seeing are -- go to a larger print shop, bite the financial bullet, and have a large quantity made...such as 1000. This would mean I better have customers to buy them or...I'm screwed. I may do this if I can get some established local businesses to commit to a pre-order.
Don't take the risk of a print shop and invest 2-3 thousand or more in to a good dyesub printer that will give me a bit better image at a lower cost per page.
I'm hoping I can have a few established businesses (local banks, supermarket chain, etc) buy in to the project. I really don't want to buy any equipment, I'd rather pay other people with pro equipment to do the work...as long as the numbers work.
A 12 month 8.5" x 11" calendar done at a professional print shop near me is approx. $20 each for a small quantity run. The provide the calendar shell, all I need to do is send them .jpg or PDF files of the image. The will assemble and run a proof test. $20 is expensive, esp. considering that I have to mark up the calendars to earn an money. However, it was cheaper and easier than buying all the toner and binding equipment needed to make such a run on my meek little inkjet.
What I'm grappling with now is....how do I get costs down so this is actually affordable?
The options that I am seeing are -- go to a larger print shop, bite the financial bullet, and have a large quantity made...such as 1000. This would mean I better have customers to buy them or...I'm screwed. I may do this if I can get some established local businesses to commit to a pre-order.
Don't take the risk of a print shop and invest 2-3 thousand or more in to a good dyesub printer that will give me a bit better image at a lower cost per page.
I'm hoping I can have a few established businesses (local banks, supermarket chain, etc) buy in to the project. I really don't want to buy any equipment, I'd rather pay other people with pro equipment to do the work...as long as the numbers work.
Short runs will cost you a small fortune.
Referring to the 12 month, flip page style here
Zazzle for example starts off at $19 ea your cost. That's for a tiny one. The big one's $26 ea your cost.
Cafepress shows an 8x10 for $19 ea.
Other places are in that ball park.
One company I'm looking at has a 12x12 flip calendar.
250 = $2,225 $8.90ea
500 = $2,330 $4.66ea
1k = $2,625 $2.63ea
Cost jump from 250 to 1,000 is minimal.
Oh and for the folks wondering what the per-unit cost is for the mall-sales... under 94c each.
The ones I did were 18x24 year at a glance posters.
Lets just say....they could have sold better. We're still deep in the red right now.
Referring to the 12 month, flip page style here
Zazzle for example starts off at $19 ea your cost. That's for a tiny one. The big one's $26 ea your cost.
Cafepress shows an 8x10 for $19 ea.
Other places are in that ball park.
One company I'm looking at has a 12x12 flip calendar.
250 = $2,225 $8.90ea
500 = $2,330 $4.66ea
1k = $2,625 $2.63ea
Cost jump from 250 to 1,000 is minimal.
Oh and for the folks wondering what the per-unit cost is for the mall-sales... under 94c each.
The ones I did were 18x24 year at a glance posters.
Lets just say....they could have sold better. We're still deep in the red right now.
You can go with Lulu. No charge unless they sell; but you don't earn much; they get most. It's called "POD" or Print on Demand. I did a calendar once. Didn't sell too well. It was an experiment.
http://www.lulu.com/
http://www.lulu.com/
Those mall kiosks pay some serious coin for the spot they occupy in the mall. That's why the monster markup on sunglasses, watches, calendars, and all the other schlock they sell.
I haven't been in a mall in several years. Haven't missed a thing.
It was in direction of research for a fundraiser.
Not making much is not an option. you gotta make at least 25%!
It was in direction of research for a fundraiser.
Not making much is not an option. you gotta make at least 25%!
You can choose how much you make, it mean having higher prices. But POD is about the only way to make a calendar (or book, or any printed material) that doesn't require an investment up front. So choose your poison.
It was in direction of research for a fundraiser.
Not making much is not an option. you gotta make at least 25%!
Fundraising stuff is expensive. My co-worker's sons were doing a fundraiser, I bought a big box of microwave popcorn from them. 18 dollars! But...I have a commitment from him to buy a calendar.
I'll be selling some in hopes of my own profit and others as a fundraiser for the AMC. It would be REALLY super cool if I can get a commitment from the AMC to buy a batch of calendars (even if it is at cost) and resell them at their lodges in NH, but I haven't gone that far up the chain yet.Fundraising stuff is expensive. My co-worker's sons were doing a fundraiser, I bought a big box of microwave popcorn from them. 18 dollars! But...I have a commitment from him to buy a calendar.
No kidding...(are you talking Boy Scout popcorn? At least they are - or were - getting 70%, insane in the world of fund raising!)
25% is about standard on the take, anything else is gravy. Makes you wonder when you buy a product for 8 bucks yo can buy at the dollar store for 1!
I have too many scruples...I should put my own fundraiser catalogs together!
Plus I am thinking way too positive...
The band has 40+ musicians, the school 700 some students...Elementary and Middle Schools are right next door, I keep thinking 1000 in product ought to be easy to move.
Yes, it was Boy Scout popcorn....the brochure even said what percentage the kid's troop would be getting per box, it was hefty -- I appreciated their honesty too.
When I was in high school, all the activity groups (sports teams, cheerleaders, band, choir, etc) sold king size candy bars for a buck. Vending machine price was 50 cents for a regular size candy bar. However...at the time, the vending machines in the cafeteria were shut down during parts of the day...some silly rule. So...we were given a box of candy to carry with us from class to class...there was never a need to look outside school, we'd clear through our stock in a few days.
Some people would ***** if they were hanged with a new rope.
But of course!
Goes without saying!
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