Create a custom calendar to get organized in the new year. The crisp pages, beautiful artwork, and clear organization make it easy to consolidate your schedule into one convenient location. Custom wall calendar printing lets you craft your own layout—complete with photos, text, and graphics. Whether you want to make a photo calendar for your loved ones or print a calendar for business marketing, you can design a print that will remind you about your upcoming plans. Take advantage of this time of year to get a fresh start. At GotPrint, we can help you make a calendar design that people will be proud to display at home or in the office.
How to Make a Calendar
Select a Calendar Theme
Your design direction will depend on your printing purpose. Personalized calendars make excellent custom gifts. If you give everyone a family calendar full of your favorite memories, then you can ensure everyone knows about important group events, birthdays, and vacations. You can also give a dog calendar with pictures of your beloved pets. People will want to display those cute photos. But not all calendars are for sharing personal memories. Many companies have found printing calendars to be a useful promotional tactic. Use your branded imagery, promotional photos, your company logo, and business colors across the page layouts. These are great handouts as promo gifts for clients and customers. For your own team, a business calendar is a great corporate gifting option. Photographers and artists can compile their work into a custom art calendar to sell at craft fairs or online.
Whatever your goal is, there are some design guidelines you should keep in mind. When selecting artwork, you want the appearance to match across the months. Use similar colors, art styles, and fonts to craft a cohesive design. The twelve months should appear like they belong together. Use matching color palettes, visual styles, and font types.
Calendar Layout Options
Typically, calendars feature a booklet-style design, with one page dedicated to art and the other dedicated to the days of the month. Others will just print the grid with the days paired with graphic designs around the border. Clear boxes and lines easily delineate the days of the week, though some choose to use dotted lines or no lines at all. Leave plenty of white space for people to fill out their monthly schedules. Alternatively, you can print custom calendar magnets for an untraditional yet useful reminder.
Include Important Dates
You can further personalize calendars by marking important dates. Within your design, you can note holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. Businesses can share product launch dates, important business anniversaries, big sales, and company holidays. When you include these days, use a small font within the box for that date. This leaves people with room to write in their own information.
Choose a Calendar Size
The most popular calendar size is 8.5” x 11”. This provides enough space for your design and draws attention when it is displayed. If you want a small calendar, then 6” x 9.5” is a compact way to share your design. For a large calendar, select 12” x 12” dimensions.
Use High-Resolution Graphics
You want to ensure your unique calendar prints exactly how you envision it. We suggest using a 350 DPI for your design to print clearly. This ensures your designs will actually look good when hung.
What Calendar Paper Works Best?
There are several different options for what material to print your calendar on. The most popular calendar paper is 100 lb. Gloss Book, which is a thick paper stock that has a glossy finish. This classic calendar appearance has a slight shine that makes your layout look professional. A similar option is 80 lb. Gloss Book, which is slightly thinner. Both options highlight vibrant colors and feature a soft feel.
Free Calendar Templates
If you want to order a simple calendar for personal or professional use, then look no further. You can browse our free templates for calendars to find a layout that fits your organizational style.
Sometimes, simple is best. This design features bold colors around the borders and clear boxes with the days of the week. Each month is a different color, which adds some fun variety to the custom calendar template. Plus, there’s space at the bottom to write extra notes.
Use this custom pink calendar for a bold, eye-catching design. The pink text and date boxes will stand out wherever you hang your calendar.
Corporate designs don’t have to be boring. This custom work calendar features a fun triangle gradient along the side.
For professional spaces, this basic calendar template does the trick. With each month written in blocky text along the top right side.
Need more marketing materials for the new year? Stock up on business cards for your team. Matching stationery, like letterhead and notepads, can also help set your employees up for success. If you need a fresh advertising look, start designing postcards and flyers that will boost sales.