Let's talk about calendars

[Ann McRae]

Alrighty then. We know we won't have calendars available from smugmug this year. But I like the idea of making calendars and using them as gifts, for customers and also for coworkers.

Two years ago, I used Lulu. Nice enough, but not perfect, not spectacular print results. But I liked being able to get good pricing on small quantities, and to be able to offer them for sale (although sales did not happen).

I just put a calendar together at my day job (ran a contest among employees and then did the layout using these templates (http://asnailpace.com/blog/968/)). We are printing over 300 so a local commercial print shop is printing them.

I certainly won't be printing hundreds, unless I somehow manage to get them into a store and I am not working on that!

So, share your calendar printing stories and ideas please.

ann

And I just found that Zazzle has a 40% sale til the end of October.

[Elaine]

Alrighty then. We know we won't have calendars available from smugmug this year. But I like the idea of making calendars and using them as gifts, for customers and also for coworkers.

Two years ago, I used Lulu. Nice enough, but not perfect, not spectacular print results. But I liked being able to get good pricing on small quantities, and to be able to offer them for sale (although sales did not happen).

I just put a calendar together at my day job (ran a contest among employees and then did the layout using these templates (http://asnailpace.com/blog/968/)). We are printing over 300 so a local commercial print shop is printing them.

I certainly won't be printing hundreds, unless I somehow manage to get them into a store and I am not working on that!

So, share your calendar printing stories and ideas please.

ann

And I just found that Zazzle has a 40% sale til the end of October.

Nice templates!

I used Zazzle last year for just a couple calendars. I was rather disappointed...enough that I didn't give away the one I had planned on giving. The pics were over-all very dark and a bit saturated, and shadow detail disappeared completely. I've heard others have had fine results with Zazzle, however. :dunno I'm interested to learn of more options.

[dlibrach]

I've just created a few calenders here (http://www.redbubble.com/people/dlibrach/calendars). at RedBubble (http://www.redbubble.com). Free to set up an account and you can sell them online too at your price. Just about to order some so can't speak about the end product firsthand, but from what I've heard the quality is excellent. Do a search around the site and you can see a few journal entries and pictures of people with their calendars. Also a great site for visual artists and writers.

Cheers,
D

P.S. Should disclose that I do some work for that site but I wrote the above simply as a happy user there, not as an ad for the company or in any official capacity. I do not benefit one little bit by sales or new members. If any mods see a conflict here, please feel free to remove the post.

[Ann McRae]

Hi David

I am anxiously awaiting a review of the quality of the product. Please keep us posted once you see the finished work.

BTW, I love your logo!

ann

I've just created a few calenders here (http://www.redbubble.com/people/dlibrach/calendars). at RedBubble (http://www.redbubble.com). Free to set up an account and you can sell them online too at your price. Just about to order some so can't speak about the end product firsthand, but from what I've heard the quality is excellent. Do a search around the site and you can see a few journal entries and pictures of people with their calendars. Also a great site for visual artists and writers.

Cheers,
D

P.S. Should disclose that I do some work for that site but I wrote the above simply as a happy user there, not as an ad for the company or in any official capacity. I do not benefit one little bit by sales or new members. If any mods see a conflict here, please feel free to remove the post.

[dlibrach]

Hi David

I am anxiously awaiting a review of the quality of the product. Please keep us posted once you see the finished work.

BTW, I love your logo!

ann

Thanks Ann! :D Just sort of came to me one day. Did the first draught on a napkin at a bar.:beer

Will let you know how the calendars come out.

Cheers,
D

[mercphoto]

Two years ago, I used Lulu. Nice enough, but not perfect, not spectacular print results.
I was a bit disappointed with Lulu. I get better results from my Epson R200 on matte paper. Has anyone tried Costco for photo calendars?

[jrnylst]

ImageStation was the best of the photo printers I've tried, but they're gone. I, too, do a calendar at a local printer through and for my work, and they come out spectacularly when I work very closely with the printer. I have to convert everything to CMYK, and I'm still very much a novice at maintaining quality through that process. It takes me a good three months of 40-hour weeks AWAY from work to design, create, proofread and convert the final product and then proof the printer's proofs. ImageStation would take me about two hours.

My calendars are given to clients of my employer. I'm under contract not to produce a competitive product, but I've often thought if this arrangement one day ends (which the economy may take care of after this year), the local printer might be the best way to do this on my own. I've been very disappointed with the options and/or results from other commercial printers such as Lulu, Zazzle, Shutterfly, Kodak, Walgreen's, etc. I too am anxiously awaiting to hear how RedBubble does, but I'd almost be inclined to print photos myself or commercially and adhere them to blank calendars either purchased commercially or created by me. At least then I have control of how the final product looks. And it would actually be faster than what I'm doing for my work!

[ewold]

I've just created a few calenders here (http://www.redbubble.com/people/dlibrach/calendars). at RedBubble (http://www.redbubble.com). Free to set up an account and you can sell them online too at your price. Just about to order some so can't speak about the end product firsthand, but from what I've heard the quality is excellent. Do a search around the site and you can see a few journal entries and pictures of people with their calendars. Also a great site for visual artists and writers.

Cheers,
D



I've been seriously looking at the red bubble calendars they look so beautiful, such sophisticated designs. I just haven't liked any other templates as much as there's. I saw you have some beautiful calendars on your site there, please let us know how you like the end product.

[Ann McRae]

, but I'd almost be inclined to print photos myself or commercially and adhere them to blank calendars

The template I referenced in my OP would allow you to print the pages at a good photo printer or via smugmug as 11 x 17 sheets, and then bind them. But that would produce a pretty expensive product. I believe Costco price for 12x18 is about $5, so that means $60 for a 12 month calendar! I wonder whether Staples or their ilk could print those files for less (on non photo paper:dunno )

My ideal is to find a sub $15/calendar price point with excellent quality. Maybe I am asking too much?:dunno

[kungaloosh]

I also am very interested in this topic. I have it in my mind that I'm going to make a calender for my club to buy this Christmas. My first idea was just to make it put it out there on Lulu, but heard they have quality control issues when it comes to calender printing and high shipping costs.

So next I downloaded the Photoshop templates. (These are excellent thanks so much for posting those, Ann McRae.) Designing with an eye to to taking the finished product to a place in town to get printed / bound.

I just today found Pro-pics and am intrigued by their calendar product. They claim to have a satisfaction promise to reprint it if you don't like the results the first time, which sounds like a nice perk. Also their downloaded software will let you completely customize the dates and appearance (as much as I was with the photoshop templates anyway)

I'm going to do one or the other (local or online) in the next month or so... will let everyone know how they turn out.

--april

[BradfordBenn]

This might be heresy, but have you looked at Kinkos? They have some nice simple ones that I have used for work.

[kungaloosh]

This might be heresy, but have you looked at Kinkos? They have some nice simple ones that I have used for work.

:) not one local to here, but I did get a pretty nice one done by Wallgreens last year, just looking for a better price for multiple printings.

just 2 more releases to get and the print can start :ivar

[Ann McRae]

David- any feedback yet on the Red Bubble product?



I've just created a few calenders here (http://www.redbubble.com/people/dlibrach/calendars). at RedBubble (http://www.redbubble.com). Free to set up an account and you can sell them online too at your price. Just about to order some so can't speak about the end product firsthand, but from what I've heard the quality is excellent. Do a search around the site and you can see a few journal entries and pictures of people with their calendars. Also a great site for visual artists and writers.

Cheers,
D

P.S. Should disclose that I do some work for that site but I wrote the above simply as a happy user there, not as an ad for the company or in any official capacity. I do not benefit one little bit by sales or new members. If any mods see a conflict here, please feel free to remove the post.

[dlibrach]

Didn't get a chance to order them until a week later. Should arrive shortly. Will post then.:wink

D

[kungaloosh]

I just wanted to give positive feedback towards my experiment with using Propicsexpress.com to print my calendars...

They are beautiful!!! the program was really easy to use and very fast printing and shipping and reasonable price too!

I'm just jazzed at the whole process!!!
:ivar :ivar :ivar

[Ann McRae]

I just wanted to give positive feedback towards my experiment with using Propicsexpress.com to print my calendars...

They are beautiful!!! the program was really easy to use and very fast printing and shipping and reasonable price too!

I'm just jazzed at the whole process!!!
:ivar :ivar :ivar

Show us pics of the goods!


ann

[Ann McRae]

Anybody with any updates? I have left this very late again, but may still make some.

ann

[Sticks]

I had a question involving calendars with Lulu. I have used them to make calendars for Christmas the passed two years, but when I went to do another one this year, they changed their format on me. Before, I used to be able to create my own images in photoshop using the dimensions 13.75" x 10.5" but now, they use this wizard program that screws up my images now. I tried to resize to get my image to fit, but nothing seems to be working. When I chatted with their online help, they had no clue how to help me either. I'm currently waiting for results from their tech support, but decided to see if anyone could help me on here while I'm waiting. Does anyone know how to make my dimensions so it fits and doesn't get cut off. I didn't anticipate running into a problem like this and really want to get this project done and ordered. Please help me. Thanks in advance.

Sarah

[Ann McRae]

Sorry Sarah, I haven't tried them this year. :dunno

ann

I had a question involving calendars with Lulu. I have used them to make calendars for Christmas the passed two years, but when I went to do another one this year, they changed their format on me. Before, I used to be able to create my own images in photoshop using the dimensions 13.75" x 10.5" but now, they use this wizard program that screws up my images now. I tried to resize to get my image to fit, but nothing seems to be working. When I chatted with their online help, they had no clue how to help me either. I'm currently waiting for results from their tech support, but decided to see if anyone could help me on here while I'm waiting. Does anyone know how to make my dimensions so it fits and doesn't get cut off. I didn't anticipate running into a problem like this and really want to get this project done and ordered. Please help me. Thanks in advance.

Sarah

[mrcoons]

I had the same difficulty Sarah and I did not get any satisfaction from their support folks either. I just kept resizing my photos until I got them to work.

Looking at the images I ended up using they ended up between 11.70 x 7.82 and 12.97 x 8.65inches in size at 300PPI.

I went ahead and setup my calendar with Lulu but I have started looking elsewhere as I was very frustrated with them this year. I asked them 3 times what their file size guidelines were and they would never directly answer the question.

I hope this helps.


I had a question involving calendars with Lulu. I have used them to make calendars for Christmas the passed two years, but when I went to do another one this year, they changed their format on me. Before, I used to be able to create my own images in photoshop using the dimensions 13.75" x 10.5" but now, they use this wizard program that screws up my images now. I tried to resize to get my image to fit, but nothing seems to be working. When I chatted with their online help, they had no clue how to help me either. I'm currently waiting for results from their tech support, but decided to see if anyone could help me on here while I'm waiting. Does anyone know how to make my dimensions so it fits and doesn't get cut off. I didn't anticipate running into a problem like this and really want to get this project done and ordered. Please help me. Thanks in advance.

Sarah

[redleash]

I've used Shutterfly to print cards, books, and calendars. Their notecards are great but a bit small for what my customers prefer. I haven't tried their greeting cards b/c they are not cost-effective. I've been extremely pleased with the quality of their books, but again they are more costly than other sites so I don't think they are a great source for commercial quantities. They do offer discounts if you pre-order in bulk, which I did for cards and books. The books make great gifts even if they aren't the best choice for sales. I created 2 calendars for gifts and was pleased. They don't have the glossy look and feel of commercial products such as you'd find at Barnes and Noble, for example, but my family were pleased. The pics were true to my uploads in color and clarity, and there was plenty of writing space on the days. I'm not sure they are the best choice for commercial use or for sending to clients if you need a "WOW" factor. But for a personalized gift, or for an organization, I think they would work.

One caveat: I have not ordered anything from Shutterfly in several months, so I don't know if they've made any recent changes.

Good Luck!
Lauren

[Art Scott]

I just wanted to give positive feedback towards my experiment with using Propicsexpress.com to print my calendars...

They are beautiful!!! the program was really easy to use and very fast printing and shipping and reasonable price too!

I'm just jazzed at the whole process!!!
:ivar :ivar :ivar

I could not find a published price list.....do they have one???
link please if so.

[kungaloosh]

I could not find a published price list.....do they have one???
link please if so.

for 11x17 saddle-stitched, folded calendar the price was $17

for 12x18 spiral bound calendars price was $19

shipped fed-ex 2 day and were really quick. Nice print job, and excellent customer service. getting busy though due to Christmas.

[dlibrach]

OK, sorry for the late reply. Below are a few pictures of the calendars that I received from RedBubble. They are awesome! Nice and big (~12"x17"). It is a very clean style that works quite well for my work. Plus they did a great job rendering the colors from the original images. There is also a link back to your online portfolio on RedBubble on the back of each calendar. Unfortunately can't customize it to direct to your own personal website.

You can see my calendars on the site here (http://www.redbubble.com/people/dlibrach/calendars).

Happy to answer any questions.

Cheers,
Dave

P.S. Should note that I did have a slight QC problem with one page (June) on one of my calendars (I received 4 in total). However, their customer service is awesome and they'll be sending a replacement. Looked like something was wrong with the printer for that particular page.

http://dlphotography.smugmug.com/photos/419858939_WjT2K-M.jpg

Front cover on left. Example of inside page on right:
http://dlphotography.smugmug.com/photos/419858962_aE6Ly-M.jpg

Frong cover on left. Back cover on right. The back has thumbnail previews of the images for each month:
http://dlphotography.smugmug.com/photos/419858980_HuTL5-M.jpg

I apologize for the poor image quality of the photos. These were all quick grab shots at ISO 3200 in my dimly lit office with my shadow thrown in for good measures. They do not do the original product much justice but should give you a good idea of what they look like:)

[ewold]

OK, sorry for the late reply. Below are a few pictures of the calendars that I received from RedBubble. They are awesome!

Thanks for the update. The do look fantastic. Time for me to put one together!

[MaryBoo]

What's the printing & shipping costs on the RedBubble calendars?

Costco's calendars are OK, but not great. However their price is great. Calendars are $9.99, plus shipping at $4.95 + $2.50 for each addition calendar.

[ewold]

What's the printing & shipping costs on the RedBubble calendars?

Costco's calendars are OK, but not great. However their price is great. Calendars are $9.99, plus shipping at $4.95 + $2.50 for each addition calendar.

It's $19.00 for the calendar and shipping probably depends on where in the world it goes to. For me it's $5.17. It seems to be somewhat equivalent of other places I've looked such as Mpix.

[dlibrach]

It's $19.00 for the calendar and shipping probably depends on where in the world it goes to. For me it's $5.17. It seems to be somewhat equivalent of other places I've looked such as Mpix.

Yes, it's $19 (USD or CDN...they still have the CDN exchange rate at par to the US :D). I think I paid about $8 to have four shipped to Canada. The great thing is that you can sell them directly online and you can set your own markup price. They'll handle all the shipping, printing and money just like when someone orders your prints when you have a smugmug pro account.

I've already sold 2 of the ones above after people saw them firsthand! :barb I have also received great feedback about the calendars from people who bought them directly from the site.

Hope that helps.

D

PS: I should disclose that I used to work for RedBubble. However all I cared about was finding a great calendar. I find smugmug prints to be of much better quality (and the best I've seen anywhere online!) but I have not found an equal for RedBubble's cards or calendars (locally or online).

[fotofool]

MyCanvas and SmugMug have partnered to offer an awesome option for calendars. You can check out the calendars as well as photobooks and posters at smugmug.mycanvas.com.

There is a 20% off coupon code, SMHOLIDAY, that can be entered at checkout which is valid until midnight, December 24th.Please let us know what you like or don't like about the calendars so we can make it an even better product.

Thanks, Kelvin

[Ann McRae]

Hi Kelvin

Wow, thanks for this. Had a quick look and things look pretty nice.

Can you tell me how to make all months have the 'one photo' or blank template? I haven't really had a good look but my first glance shows each month with a specific fixed template.

Guess What! I figured it out! This is sweet.

ann


MyCanvas and SmugMug have partnered to offer an awesome option for calendars. You can check out the calendars as well as photobooks and posters at smugmug.mycanvas.com.

There is a 20% off coupon code, SMHOLIDAY, that can be entered at checkout which is valid until midnight, December 24th.Please let us know what you like or don't like about the calendars so we can make it an even better product.

Thanks, Kelvin

[fotofool]

Hi Kelvin

Wow, thanks for this. Had a quick look and things look pretty nice.

Can you tell me how to make all months have the 'one photo' or blank template? I haven't really had a good look but my first glance shows each month with a specific fixed template.

ann
Ann -

Unfortunately, to get this out before the new year, we had to launch without theme and layout selection capability which we are still working on. That functionality will make it very easy to do what you'd like but in the meantime you can do it on your own several different ways:

Drag an image onto the page and then drag it so that the upper left hand corner just snaps off the edges of the page. Scale and crop the image so that it's edges completely overlap the page area.
Go to a month that has a full-bleed image/image well and click on that image. Right click and select "copy element(s)". Go to the paqe where you want the full-bleed image and right click on that page and select "paste element(s)". You may have to drag the pasted image so that it is centered on the page. It will probably bounce around a bit so please be a bit patient. Drag the photo you want onto the image/image well.
Delete everything on the page and right click on one of your images under the My Photos section to the left. Click on "Use as background". The problem with this is that you can't scale or pan the image.Good luck.

[Elaine]

MyCanvas and SmugMug have partnered to offer an awesome option for calendars. You can check out the calendars as well as photobooks and posters at smugmug.mycanvas.com.
There is a 20% off coupon code, SMHOLIDAY, that can be entered at checkout which is valid until midnight, December 24th.Please let us know what you like or don't like about the calendars so we can make it an even better product.

Thanks, Kelvin

I am SO glad to have a calendar option through Smug! I played with it last night and this morning, and it looks really nice. I just did a full bleed image rather than use the given templates. It was a bit tricky at times to get them set just right (kinda jumped around a bit, which I think you mentioned somewhere), but I was able to make it work.

I wanted to suggest that somehow the name of the project be included in the shopping cart view. I'm doing a number of slightly different calendars, and if I needed to change anything on one of them after they were added to the cart, it would be troublesome to go through my cart and determine which one I needed to remove.

Thanks!

[Ann McRae]

I put my first calendar together tonight (been busy - shot a soccer game, edited and posted those shots, then made 4 5x7 custom cards and then 1 calendar!!) and it was a pleasant experience. I am really happy with the result that I see on screen and if the print looks like the screen does, I will be thrilled.

For me icing this cake would be the ability to sell through smugmug (or My Canvas).

I am veryhappy to have the ability to create these items through smug, as my originals are scattered hither and yon on a variety of discs, hard drives etc. Very few are on this mac.......

I do intend to try red bubble too, as an alternative to lulu, for on line sales. I am quite taken by the 11x17 format of them.

Overall, so far, :thumb

[Ann McRae]

My Canvas seems to cause Safari to close down on my mac..... never while I was working on something(ie no work lost), but when I was proofing and then just now, trying to start a second project. FYI.

[Ann McRae]

My Canvas: I am greatly concerned by the shipping prices that you have charged on the order that I would like to place. For my potential order of 33 calendars, the charge is $125 or $4 each.

ann

[mrcoons]

For me icing this cake would be the ability to sell through smugmug (or My Canvas).

I am veryhappy to have the ability to create these items through smug, as my originals are scattered hither and yon on a variety of discs, hard drives etc. Very few are on this mac.......

I do intend to try red bubble too, as an alternative to lulu, for on line sales. I am quite taken by the 11x17 format of them.

Overall, so far, :thumb

Ann, I just got my Red Bubble test calendar and my MyCanvas test calendar in the mail yesterday.

I think I can safely say I have used Lulu for the last time. Red Bubble absolutely blows Lulu away: in color reproduction , in print quality and paper quality. They are a little more but I'd have to say that they are worth it. On the downside I do not really care for their online storefront. It is not that easy to work with and their upload facility is very slow.

The MyCanvas calendar is also stunning, great color reproduction on excellent paper. I'll have to check to see what I paid for shipping as I do not recall and do not have the paperwork in front of me. If I could sell this product through my Smugmug site then they would be the winner in my calendar test and I'd happily tell all the others good bye!

Until that time I guess Red Bubble is now my calendar provider. :barb

[fotofool]

My Canvas: I am greatly concerned by the shipping prices that you have charged on the order that I would like to place. For my potential order of 33 calendars, the charge is $125 or $4 each.

ann

Shipping is FREE at MyCanvas through December 11th on orders of $50 or more.

[Ann McRae]

Thanks for the review Mark! I appreciate the details, and am really hoping to order some calendars. They look great on screen - and I liked the user interface.

ann


Ann, I just got my Red Bubble test calendar and my MyCanvas test calendar in the mail yesterday.

I think I can safely say I have used Lulu for the last time. Red Bubble absolutely blows Lulu away: in color reproduction , in print quality and paper quality. They are a little more but I'd have to say that they are worth it. On the downside I do not really care for their online storefront. It is not that easy to work with and their upload facility is very slow.

The MyCanvas calendar is also stunning, great color reproduction on excellent paper. I'll have to check to see what I paid for shipping as I do not recall and do not have the paperwork in front of me. If I could sell this product through my Smugmug site then they would be the winner in my calendar test and I'd happily tell all the others good bye!

Until that time I guess Red Bubble is now my calendar provider. :barb

[Ann McRae]

Shipping is FREE at MyCanvas through December 11th on orders of $50 or more.


Hi again. Thanks for all your customer support! I am still getting a $125.00 shipping and processing charge being added. Is this for processing only? Can you help me understand?

Thanks

ann

[Elaine]

I've PMed you with a question about my order.

...

Woops! That was for fotofool!

[jrnylst]

I was looking for a new calendar printer after ImageStation went away and tried some of the recommendations here just to see how they looked.

First of all, I have to say, I love the stock used in Cafe Press and MyCanvas. I also was very happy with the colors in both, and the prices for all of the brands suggested here were reasonable, in my opinion.

Second, I have to say MyCanvas won my own personal test because of the customization available.

I have a friend who is on her second round of cancer. Two years ago she asked me to photograph some of her crafts for a calendar she planned to give to her family for Christmas. But she was diagnosed the day I was supposed to shoot for her, and she said she'd wait until the next year because she just didn't feel like it. Last year she was still going through chemo, and she still didn't feel like it. So I was thrilled when we were able to actually book the shoot this year.

Then, she was diagnosed again after I shot her stuff. She really wasn't too excited about the calendar anymore because her attention was elsewhere. But I went ahead and made samples from the different companies, and I hand-delivered them to her in the hospital as they arrived. Her MyCanvas calendars came in this week, and once again I took them to her, and you would not believe the smiles! I can honestly say it's the first time I've seen her smile in a week!

She, too, loved these ones best, specifically because of the customizations (she had allowed me to add family birthdays and anniversaries), and I think it was the perfect shot of happiness for what is a very difficult time for her. In minutes, she had her doctor and all her nurses in the room perusing her calendars, and they, too, were extremely impressed. Those simple little pieces of cardstock took everyone's mind off something depressing for a while.

So I guess this isn't just about how great the calendars look, but how they can make someone feel when they literally are at their worst.

[meatpop]

I guess I wasn't looking hard enough... didn't see the MyCanvas/Smuggy coop and nice perks. Bummer for me.

I did give ProPics Express a try, and while their product looks good enough for our family calendars I am disappointed to say they fu... screwed up our order. They only sent one unit, and neglected to include the 7 other copies! Argh, so we will not be able to hand out the family calendar at our Christmas get-together. Yeah, everyone makes mistakes, and maybe it is a freak accident. But I am disappointed that one calendar got shipped on a $150 order. :bluduh

Oh, BTW, they recently dumped their good pricing. The first calendar is still a few bills under $20, but the copies are no longer $10; same price for all. That makes them less competetive with the rest. I did like to have the software download so uploads are unnecessary, but if the MyCanvas interface accesses my Smuggy albums then that is no biggie eh?

[meatpop]

...

I did give ProPics Express a try, and while their product looks good enough for our family calendars I am disappointed to say they fu... screwed up our order. They only sent one unit, and neglected to include the 7 other copies! Argh, so we will not be able to hand out the family calendar at our Christmas get-together. Yeah, everyone makes mistakes, and maybe it is a freak accident. But I am disappointed that one calendar got shipped on a $150 order. :bluduh

...

Want to update my experiences: I emailed ProPics and let them know about the mistake. They appologized (temp staff for the holiday rush) and I believe have fully rectified their mistake. I needed the calendars by tomorrow and I just got a shipping notification: FedEx overnight (7 calendars)! :wink

I am once again pleased, just wish they had kept their very nice bulk discount pricing...

[kungaloosh]

Want to update my experiences: I emailed ProPics and let them know about the mistake. They appologized (temp staff for the holiday rush) and I believe have fully rectified their mistake. I needed the calendars by tomorrow and I just got a shipping notification: FedEx overnight (7 calendars)! :wink

I am once again pleased, just wish they had kept their very nice bulk discount pricing...

Yes, despite their change in pricing, I have only good things to say about their customer service. (had to deal with them on both my orders) Glad they worked it out for you and I hope you and your family all enjoy their calendars.

[Ann McRae]

MyCanvas fumbled - shipped my single order as five packages and now I face 5X the brokerage fees......

Currently NOT a satisfied customer.


ann

[JPCanvas]

MyCanvas fumbled - shipped my single order as five packages and now I face 5X the brokerage fees......

Currently NOT a satisfied customer.


ann

Hi Ann, in case you haven't seen it yet below is a reply I just sent you in another post. We'll get this worked out for you right away.

Ann, looks like we've still got an issue with your shipments. Sorry for the mess. I'm not going to make any excuses but UPS ground is a pain to Canada. It's a known issue and we'll be looking into alternatives. In the meantime please PM me your MyCanvas username and your email and we'll work something out.

[Ann McRae]

Thanks, JP. And I am pleased at how you have handled the problem! Good customer service/relationships = repeat business.

I now actually have my calendars and can comment on the quality - very nice. Great paper weight, great color, nice binding.

I have one nit, and it is probably photo specific. There is slight print banding in the dark sky of one photo. This is nothing like the banding that lulu calendar printing produced, but it is noticeable.

I used templates for the calendars for my kids, and totally customized the others I made, and both processes worked well.

So, overall the experience and product get a :thumb (how problems are fixed is more important than the problems themselves.)

ann

Hi Ann, in case you haven't seen it yet below is a reply I just sent you in another post. We'll get this worked out for you right away.

Ann, looks like we've still got an issue with your shipments. Sorry for the mess. I'm not going to make any excuses but UPS ground is a pain to Canada. It's a known issue and we'll be looking into alternatives. In the meantime please PM me your MyCanvas username and your email and we'll work something out.

[johng]

Just wanted to say I'm another satisfied Mycanvas calendar customer.

First, the negatives:

Not a big fan of flash-based sites - wanted to do some work at lunch at work and couldn't because of the flash (don't have admin rights at work so couldn't download flash drivers).
In several instances I would drag a photo over to the calendar and it just disappeared. Turns out it didn't really disappear it just didn't show during that session or my review of the calendar. But I got a call the next day from mycanvas letting me know one page had about 4 images on top of one another. So, a big plus that they reviewed and caught the problem and let me know in time to correct. On the negative side it would have been better if it hadn't happened to begin with.
I didn't like that when I first went to mycanvas the site kept trying to import ALL my smugmug galleries. I have quite a few. It tried and failed several times and after finally completing it left off the one gallery I really wanted so I had to add that manually. All in all it was a couple hours of wasted time.Now, on to the good side:

First and foremost I was very pleased with the print quality. Top notch. Quality stock as well.
Price was competitive
I liked the different layout options - lots of choices
I liked the ability to include info on the calendar itself - birthdays, anniversaries etc... I didn't use the feature as this was a calendar for someone else but I like the fact it was there.Given the newness of the offering I'm fairly comfortable the interface glitches I experienced will be worked out so that's not a major concern of mine. Overall I felt it was great quality at a reasonable price.

[Montec]

I made some calendars with MyCanvas as well and give them top marks on quality and UI as well.

To be honest though these things are just too expensive (not just MyCanvas) to be a cost effective marketing tool. I have used another option that I thought you might be interested in. Print your own!

If you have a wide format printer or acess to one then you can really save your self some money, I have been creating my own and printing 16x30 wall calendars that my clients love, and because they are completely customizable you can individualize each one. I estimate they are costing me $5 each.

Here is a sample. I also do these for clients with their info on them, in any size they want. Charge them $50 a copy. I use an Epson 7880 and print them on glossy, matt and even canvas.

http://kootenay.smugmug.com/photos/451624582_3bRDE-X2.jpg

[fotofool]

Just wanted to say I'm another satisfied Mycanvas calendar customer.

First, the negatives:
Not a big fan of flash-based sites - wanted to do some work at lunch at work and couldn't because of the flash (don't have admin rights at work so couldn't download flash drivers).
In several instances I would drag a photo over to the calendar and it just disappeared. Turns out it didn't really disappear it just didn't show during that session or my review of the calendar. But I got a call the next day from mycanvas letting me know one page had about 4 images on top of one another. So, a big plus that they reviewed and caught the problem and let me know in time to correct. On the negative side it would have been better if it hadn't happened to begin with.
I didn't like that when I first went to mycanvas the site kept trying to import ALL my smugmug galleries. I have quite a few. It tried and failed several times and after finally completing it left off the one gallery I really wanted so I had to add that manually. All in all it was a couple hours of wasted time.Now, on to the good side:
First and foremost I was very pleased with the print quality. Top notch. Quality stock as well.
Price was competitive
I liked the different layout options - lots of choices
I liked the ability to include info on the calendar itself - birthdays, anniversaries etc... I didn't use the feature as this was a calendar for someone else but I like the fact it was there.Given the newness of the offering I'm fairly comfortable the interface glitches I experienced will be worked out so that's not a major concern of mine. Overall I felt it was great quality at a reasonable price.

Thanks for the feedback, johng.

This is the first time I've heard of photos being drug onto the canvas and disappearing. Please let me know if you see it again. Glad to hear that we were able to catch the problem while QAing your calendar.

I don't understand why ALL your galleries were being imported at the same time...we provide the option to select which gallery or galleries to import. Are you saying you only selected one or a limited number of galleries and yet they were all imported anyway? Yes, that would definitely be a problem. More detail would be helpful as we try to resolve this issue.

[SavingFlorida]

I have printed calendars for the last two years through Vistaprint. They usually run specials where they are half off, making them sellable. I print about 30 at Christmas and sell all of them. I'm looking forward to trying out a few other places, but I haven't found any with comparable prices or ability to customize. Hope I helped.
Oh yeah, I'm registered as a reseller, so I get the discounts. I don't think they offer them often for "regular" buyers. It didn't cost anything, and no paperwork.. :)

[johng]

Thanks for the feedback, johng.

This is the first time I've heard of photos being drug onto the canvas and disappearing. Please let me know if you see it again. Glad to hear that we were able to catch the problem while QAing your calendar.

I don't understand why ALL your galleries were being imported at the same time...we provide the option to select which gallery or galleries to import. Are you saying you only selected one or a limited number of galleries and yet they were all imported anyway? Yes, that would definitely be a problem. More detail would be helpful as we try to resolve this issue.

I started in Smugmug and linked over from there and it just started trying to bring my galleries over. Maybe it differs by what your starting point is? Could have been a one time glitch. But, calendars isn't a huge need for me and given the year has already started it's unlikely I would try to make one for another 8 months or so. Thanks for following up though.

[BladeFlap]

Anyone know if there will be a promo code providing a discount on Smugmug/MyCanvas calendars this year?

[Photometric]

Anyone know if there will be a promo code providing a discount on Smugmug/MyCanvas calendars this year?

On the Mycanvas homepage, there is a special for printing calendars 25% off if ordered before Nov15th.

[Eia]

On the Mycanvas homepage, there is a special for printing calendars 25% off if ordered before Nov15th.

I just ordered two calendars from Mycanvas at their sale price. They should be here in a couple of days. I used Zazzle last year - good enough but could be better. I just like their easy to design site!

[BladeFlap]

On the Mycanvas homepage, there is a special for printing calendars 25% off if ordered before Nov15th.


Thanks for the heads up. I wish this discount would be more visible when you get directed to their site from Smugmug. :scratch

I don't think I'll be able to get my photos ready for submission before the days out. :cry

[Ann McRae]

Well I am back at square one with calendars. MyCanvas has had to stop shipping to Canada, so although I would definitely use them again this year I cannot.

So far my research has me leaning to.......Costco. On line templates look really nice, the Costco ordering interface is easy to use, and the pricing in Cdn $ is very competitive.

Zazzle now has a Cdn web presence: Zazzle.ca
Their pricing is also good, but I have read the mixed reviews of quality.

I am going to look at Red Bubble again now, but I have a feeling Costco will win this one.

ann

[christinamae]

Well I am back at square one with calendars. MyCanvas has had to stop shipping to Canada, so although I would definitely use them again this year I cannot.

So far my research has me leaning to.......Costco. On line templates look really nice, the Costco ordering interface is easy to use, and the pricing in Cdn $ is very competitive.

Zazzle now has a Cdn web presence: Zazzle.ca
Their pricing is also good, but I have read the mixed reviews of quality.

I am going to look at Red Bubble again now, but I have a feeling Costco will win this one.

ann
Check out this link for printer profiles at Costco. Try to pick a facility with a Noritsu 34-Pro. You can download the printer profile and soft proof before you send your calendars to print.

http://www.drycreekphoto.com/icc/Profiles/Canada_profiles.htm#CA

[Ann McRae]

Check out this link for printer profiles at Costco. Try to pick a facility with a Noritsu 34-Pro. You can download the printer profile and soft proof before you send your calendars to print.

http://www.drycreekphoto.com/icc/Profiles/Canada_profiles.htm#CA

Thanks, from what I can tell the calendars are outsourced - two week turn around time on them, so I doubt Costco actually prints them.

ann

[eoren1]

I did a number of searches for info on calendars and this seemed to be the most thorough in exploring available options. I'm planning to offer a calendar this year based on photos from my blog. Was hoping to hear your thoughts on any of the following:
Lulu
Zazzle
Redbubble
Mycanvas
-open to other suggestions as well...

[denisegoldberg]

...hoping to hear your thoughts on any of the following:
Redbubble
Mycanvas
I've created and purchased calendars from both redbubble and mycanvas.

I prefer the look of the redbubble calendars but after my order for 2010 calendars took over a month to reach me I won't order from them again unless they offer reasonably priced expedited shipping or start printing somewhere in North America. I wrote to them about the shipping issues and added to my report after I received the calendars and figured out the cause. They apparently shipped in bulk from Australia to a reshipper in Iowa. The inside package had a computer-printed label, but the outside package was sloppily hand-written and stamped. I wonder how long the package sat in Iowa before it was reshipped. Again, beautiful product but unacceptable fulfillment.

My 2011 calendars were done at mycanvas. The product has a more ordinary calendar look to it (as opposed to the redbubble product which had more of an "art" look). Funny thing is, one of the folks who got the new calendar had one of my previous redbubble calendars too, and she prefers the look of the mycanvas calendar. Fulfillment was very quick - I don't remember the exact number of days but I believe it took around a week with an order placed in early December.

--- Denise

[eoren1]

Thanks Denise.
Looks like there is a clear difference between lulu/zazzle and mycanvas/redbubble. The pricing of lulu is so tempting though. I figure that I can offer a calendar from lulu for under $20 but would be stuck at a more premium $25-30 price with the mycanvas/redbubble products. I definitely want to turn out a quality product however.
Hoping someone has more recent experience with the less expensive options. If banding is still an issue, I'll quickly take them off my list.

[eoren1]

My head is spinning! I've looked at the following: Bay, nations, vista, lulu, viovio, mycanvas, magcloud, redbubble, officemax, staples, kinkos, and my local printer. Seems stapling is only an option with Bay (but I don't like the cover option with that one), possibly Staples, MacCloud and the local printer. I'm torn as to whether stapling is really a 'deal breaker' though. What have others found as far as preference for their clients? Seems that the lower end at the cost spectrum are lulu, vista, viovio and staples. Those would allow me to keep the selling price down to $15. Any thoughts on these? Could I possibly have missed someone else??
Thanks!

[mrcoons]

My head is spinning! I've looked at the following: Bay, nations, vista, lulu, viovio, mycanvas, magcloud, redbubble, officemax, staples, kinkos, and my local printer. Seems stapling is only an option with Bay (but I don't like the cover option with that one), possibly Staples, MacCloud and the local printer. I'm torn as to whether stapling is really a 'deal breaker' though. What have others found as far as preference for their clients? Seems that the lower end at the cost spectrum are lulu, vista, viovio and staples. Those would allow me to keep the selling price down to $15. Any thoughts on these? Could I possibly have missed someone else??
Thanks!


I have used Lulu for several years and have always been happy with their quality and turnaround time. Only other one you list that I have used was Redbubble. I loved the quality of their calendars but the turnaround time was way to slow and they are more expensive. Hope this helps.

[eoren1]

Thanks Mark
I started making one at lulu but then got to the last page and realized it would be blank! No room for copyright info, directing customers to my website, etc.

[mrcoons]

Thanks Mark
I started making one at lulu but then got to the last page and realized it would be blank! No room for copyright info, directing customers to my website, etc.

Yes that's a problem. I considered put that info as a watermark on each month's image but in the end decided that it wasn't that big a deal for my situation. But I may revisit that position for my 2012 calendars.

[eoren1]

I'm now thinking about doing a 13 month calendar with the last one being the contact info possibly presented on a blank page with the tides for the year (liveing in a coastal town that's almost a given on any wall calendar)

[eoren1]

So I got the Lulu calendar in the mail today. I have to say that I am very impressed! Got the standard calendar. Excellent card stock and color reproduction. I don't see any banding in my photos - there is a faint 'texture' appearance when looked at very close.
I did full bleed photos but, next time, will leave some white space beneath to include the photo title and my website info.
There is a local printer who gave me an incredible price on a 12 month calendar on 100 to 110# stock with staples (200 for $100!). Will meet with them next week and see what that product looks like. For now, though, I think Lulu does a great job for the price.

[mrcoons]

So I got the Lulu calendar in the mail today. I have to say that I am very impressed! Got the standard calendar. Excellent card stock and color reproduction. I don't see any banding in my photos - there is a faint 'texture' appearance when looked at very close.
I did full bleed photos but, next time, will leave some white space beneath to include the photo title and my website info.
There is a local printer who gave me an incredible price on a 12 month calendar on 100 to 110# stock with staples (200 for $100!). Will meet with them next week and see what that product looks like. For now, though, I think Lulu does a great job for the price.

Cool. Glad to hear you liked Lulu (and no I do not work for them :rofl) I like to use them because of their quality and storefront that allows me to sell online. At least until this becomes an option here at Smugmug.

[SlowWalkere]

So I got the Lulu calendar in the mail today. I have to say that I am very impressed! Got the standard calendar. Excellent card stock and color reproduction.

I just ordered a test calendar from Lulu, and I agree. I had gotten a full color, hardcover book from them 2 years ago and I wasn't all that impressed with the print resolution on the book's paper. However, the images looked great in the calendar. And, compared to the other options people listed, I like the price. A friend of mine wants to order a small lot (50-100) to go with a fashion show that he's organizing this fall, and he's not going to pay a premium of $20/calendar.

I considered UPrinting (http://uprinting.com). I've ordered postcards from them, and the print quality is good. The prices are decent, too, but there are fairly large order requirements.

There is a local printer who gave me an incredible price on a 12 month calendar on 100 to 110# stock with staples (200 for $100!). Will meet with them next week and see what that product looks like.

Holy geez. Can you send that printer over to the NY Metro area...? I thought about looking for a local printer to do a short run, but I haven't found a deal like that.

- Brian

[eoren1]

Brian
That deal ended up 'too good to be true'
Updated price was 80# paper for $6 per calendar. Up front $50 for test run and first batch
Now thinking of just going the lulu route. If I order more than 5 I can get the price to just under $10 for a much better product

[daylightimages]

I'm now thinking about doing a 13 month calendar with the last one being the contact info possibly presented on a blank page with the tides for the year (liveing in a coastal town that's almost a given on any wall calendar)

I'm putting together my 2012 calendars now through Lulu and I'm going with a 13-month calendar. January 2013 will have website info, etc., etc., as well as detailed captions for the cover and the dozen 2012 photos.

[eoren1]

I finished mine. Ended up putting my name and website info (spelled out; not the URL) on the front page.
Mentioned it on my FB page and already sold 14 units.
Ordered a test run of 5 for myself to show/put in some local stores. Will need to bump up the price locally to 24.95 to make up for the commission paid to the stores but will likely allow much broader reach. I see this as a really nice way to distribute samples of my work and build awareness of the site (and the ability to purchase prints from there).
My lulu link: http://www.lulu.com/product/calendar/marblehead-2012/16430335?showPreview
Also, their 'embed' option looks amazing on my wordpress site. See it at the bottom here: http://wednesdaysinmhd.com

[chipj]

eoren1,
Very nice calendar/photos... my only comment would be that it would be great to see info about the location of each shot at the bottom.

Questions
1) Did the color of the photos you submitted turn out about right in the finished piece?
2) Do they have a printer profile that you could use for more exact printing.
3) Did you submit these to them as CMYK or RGB,
4) If RGB, what flavor? Adobe RGB, Pro RGB, sRGB...

Lastly, I was curious, you mentioned earlier that you were planning on using a 13th page to include info about you, your website etc., but I didn't see that. Are you able to add that info if you'd like?

I finished mine. Ended up putting my name and website info (spelled out; not the URL) on the front page.
Mentioned it on my FB page and already sold 14 units.
Ordered a test run of 5 for myself to show/put in some local stores. Will need to bump up the price locally to 24.95 to make up for the commission paid to the stores but will likely allow much broader reach. I see this as a really nice way to distribute samples of my work and build awareness of the site (and the ability to purchase prints from there).
My lulu link: http://www.lulu.com/product/calendar/marblehead-2012/16430335?showPreview
Also, their 'embed' option looks amazing on my wordpress site. See it at the bottom here: http://wednesdaysinmhd.com

[eoren1]

Thanks Chip
I did a few variations and showed them to my wife. She preferred the full bleed/no text ones.
Answers
1. Colors matched - I work on a calibrated iMac
2. Didn't profile; don't think they have one
3. sRGB

I should add that I got a second batch of 5 copies to sell in a local store and noticed a bit of banding in the sky. Looked at the original copy and saw it there as well. Not sure that 'banding' describes it correctly. It looks like very fine crosspatch if that describes it any better. In any event, it was minor enough that I didn't notice it initially. I have sold 18 copies in the past few weeks and heard nothing but raves about the final product.

The other really nice thing about Lulu is that they put out coupons that go toward their cost and not your profit. I sell mine for 19.99 and they had a coupon for 20% off last week. This week they have a 31% off coupon. I advertised this on my site and FB page which is a great way to drum up sales and not take a hit on profit margin. I actually plan on using that coupon myself to purchase 20-30 more so that I can sell them in person at an upcoming Fall festival. If that works out well, I'll order even more for a Christmas event in town.

[chipj]

The part that seems a bit odd to me (about Lulu.com) is that they don't really have any detailed specs on what image sizes to submit, what resolution they can print, or what color profile is best. They do mention that images 150 DPI or above produce "better" results.., I would hope that their print quality would be 300 DPI.

One more question, I've played around with their calendar creations tool and was wondering how you got your name on the front cover. In preview mode, I didn't see this on the cover.

Thanks Chip
I did a few variations and showed them to my wife. She preferred the full bleed/no text ones.
Answers
1. Colors matched - I work on a calibrated iMac
2. Didn't profile; don't think they have one
3. sRGB

[eoren1]

I did that in Photoshop - opened up a 8 1/2 x 11 file; pasted in my photo and added text; saved as jpg and opened in the calendar wizard

[SlowWalkere]

The part that seems a bit odd to me (about Lulu.com) is that they don't really have any detailed specs on what image sizes to submit, what resolution they can print, or what color profile is best. They do mention that images 150 DPI or above produce "better" results.., I would hope that their print quality would be 300 DPI.

One more question, I've played around with their calendar creations tool and was wondering how you got your name on the front cover. In preview mode, I didn't see this on the cover.

If you start designing a calendar in the LuLu studio, each image box should have a set of dimensions. A full page image, for example, says, "11.25" x 8.75" or 3375 x 2625 pixels (300 dpi)."

So, I'm pretty sure the product is printed at 300 dpi - up to you to deliver the proper resolution image.

As for the cover (and the same for the insides), like eoren said, you can design it yourself. I prefer InDesign, but Photoshop works too. If you choose a calendar template that lets you drop a full-size image in, you can just create your own layout on a blank slate and not be constrained by their templates.

- Brian

[chipj]

SlowWalkere, yes you're right. I finally did find the image sizes in each blank image box on Lulu.com. The print was so small that I initially didn't even notice them. In terms of color space, I've spoken to a few folks offline since my post and the consensus seems to be to just submit images as sRGB, and let Lulu do the conversion to CMYK for their printer.

I'm doing a test calendar with an embedded color chart to see how the colors on my monitor compare to the printed version.

If you start designing a calendar in the LuLu studio, each image box should have a set of dimensions. A full page image, for example, says, "11.25" x 8.75" or 3375 x 2625 pixels (300 dpi)."

So, I'm pretty sure the product is printed at 300 dpi - up to you to deliver the proper resolution image.
- Brian

[MomaZunk]

Does anyone have experience with
http://www.createphotocalendars.com/