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Calendar Design - A 2-Year Folding Calendar Cover in Photoshop

Every year I look for a new promotional tool for my business. Last year, I used 2-year calendar/planners. The kind that fit in a purse or briefacse, and often will have a section for names and numbers, as well as two years worth of calendar space in them.

I found these at a dollar shop - at a variety of dollar shops, actually. There are a number of different styles on the market - solid colour plastic colours in the usual staid colours (red, black, green, brown) and some with pictures printed on cardboard covers with a plastic sleeve over the planner. These are the ones I purchased. Some shops had them for $1 each, some had them at 2 for $1. There also was one shop that had 1-year planners like this, rather than the 2-Year, and they were marked at 4 for $1.

On the whole, inexpensive and useful products. I bought a bunch of these and turned them into a marketing tool simply by replacing the picture on the planner cover with one of my own that had my business info printed on the back.

Remove the plastic sleeve from the calendar and open the booklet part flat. If you are very industrious and own a large stapler suitable for fastening large thicknesses of paper, you can also remove the cardboard cover from the calendar by undoing the stalples. I just left the cardboard cover in place. Measure the length and height of the open booklet, and add maybe an extra 1/16" around all four sides (allows for trimming).

When selecting your photos, keep in mind that the right hand side of your photo will be the front cover, and the left hand side will be the back cover if you are using a portrait oriented photo. If you are using a landscape oriented photo, the bottom of the image will be the front, while the top will be the back. Make sure you selet appropriate photos or artwork to fit the space.

Open your photo(s) in photoshop and resize it to fit (as close as possible) the measurements you took.  To add your business name and location (or any other text) to the back of the cover, create a new layer. Make a selection on the left hand side of the photo and fill it with solid white. Then select your text tool and type your information. Position it appropriately over the white square. You can if you prefer reduce the opacity of the white square so some of the background shows through.

Once you are satisfied, then flatten the image. When I created mine, I prepared a folder full of images, all sized and fitted with my logo and business details in psd format, and then as .jpg files, ready to print. Once I had a sizeable number I ran the prints. If you are printing your own, be sure to use good quality photo paper that matches your printer and inks (for instance if you use an epson printer and ink, buy the epson photo paper). Photo papers are designed to give the best quality and longetivy without fading when you use them with the inks they were intended for.

If you are printing at a lab or photo center, have each image printed on an 8 X 10 sheet - unless  you have a great place to get these at very low cost, it can increase your expenses dramatically. The idea behind doing these yourself is that you can buy and print only as many as you need at a time.

If you advertise a lot, then you would consider taking one or two images and sending them to a manufacturer who makes these planners and have your own printed up. That would usually necessitate very large orders (1000 or more) with a large initial outlay, which is fine if you have an advertising or promotions budget.

Once printed (and dry) lay the open calendar over the printed area and using an exacto knife, cut away the excess photo paper, leaving a very small edge BEYOND the edge of the booklet itself. Remember that when folded, the booklet spine will cause a slight change in the photo size required.

Once trimmed you do a "fitting" into the plastic sleeve, trimming as necessary to ensure the image fits snuggly (not tight so that it pulls or bubbles, but snuggly against the edges). Then replace the planner in the sleeve and close it. Check to ensure no edges of the original cover show. If you notice this is a problem, remove the planner and carefully trim (with your exacto knife) a sliver away from all four edges of the cover without cutting any of the paper included in the planner.

Almost done - the last step is to insert one of your business cards into the front of the planner (on the inside) just under the plastic sleeve.

(A screenshot of my image folder containing a few of the images made for the planners)