Behind the Scenes: How We Create Stunning Personalised Calendars for Your Business
Discover the art of printing stunning personalised calendars for your business.
Looking for a unique and eye-catching way to promote your business? Look no further!
Publishing a calendar for your business or event can be a daunting and time-consuming process but at Judges, we aim to support you throughout the whole process. Calendar printing is a great way to show off your business/brand, boost customer engagement, and foster loyalty with your customers.
With over 100 years of print experience, we specialise in publishing lithographic and digital calendars for charities, artists and photographers, retailers, and attractions across the UK.
So, how do we print our calendars?
Calendar Printing Process:
- Assessing Picture Perfect Quality
- Crafting Calendar Covers
- Printing Process: Lithographic or Digital
- Production: Collating and Binding
- Let’s create your calendar!
The First Step in Calendar Production: Assessing Picture Perfect Quality
The first stage of our process involves our dedicated design team assessing the quality of the pictures you provide. If necessary, we’ll retouch and enhance them to ensure top-notch results. In case some images are not suitable, we’ll discuss alternatives or offer access to our associate picture library.
We’ve teamed up with Alamy and their library of 210 million images. Contact us for more details.
A printed calendar provides the perfect canvas to promote the qualities and image of your brand, business, or event. Incorporating high-quality imagery and the right theme will help create an impactful calendar that resonates with your customers.
Crafting Captivating Calendar Covers
Once we have all the required text, captions, and logos, we focus on crafting your cover, one of the most important features of any calendar. We invest ample time in getting it just right, either bringing your ideas to life or showcasing examples of previous work for inspiration.
After completing the design work, we create a digital proof for your approval. We welcome any amendments and ensure all details are confirmed before production.
The Printing Process: Lithographic and Digital
The magic starts with the printing process. All our printing takes place under one roof in our premises by the sea in Hastings. This means our team can work together effectively throughout the process.
Our state-of-the-art digital press prints, staples and cuts the product so that a finished calendar comes out in one pass, allowing us to offer low quantities, fast turnaround times and cost-effective short-run options. We use sustainably sourced materials and have stringent procedures for recycling and energy efficiency within our factory.
For bigger projects, we employ our trusted Heidelberg printing press. Here we make aluminium printing plates, ink the units for the four-colour lithographic process and run the machine at impressive rates, exceeding 5000 sheets per hour.
Once dried, the sheets are cut using a ‘Polar’ guillotine, controlled by digital cutting coordinates and an array of safety features!
The Final Stages of Production: Collating and Binding your Calendar
Putting the pages into the correct months is the job of the collator. Suction heads pick up the months and overlay them on a moving table. A quality detector ensures accurate date placement and page sequencing so that your calendar doesn’t end up with ‘two Junes’ and ‘no November’!
The ‘piece de resistance’ in our machinery collection is the purpose-built binding machine. This is one of only two made in the world by renowned calendar equipment supplier James Burn. The marvel of mechanical engineering punches holes in the entire calendar before transporting it along a table, where a pneumatic clamp inserts and closes the wire-o-loops together with a hanger.
One of our trained operators quality checks each calendar at the end of the line before placing them in a carton for despatch, or sending it for final packaging.
Finally, we can offer the option to finish the calendars with our dedicated team of packers, who hand pack them individually with envelopes in clear bags, adding that extra touch of care and attention to detail.
Let’s create your calendar!
Personalised calendars hold unique value in leaving an impression on your customers. With our commitment to quality, sustainability, and innovation, we take great pride in delivering high-quality calendars, from design and concept to production and delivery.
Take the first steps and enquire now on 01424 420919 or email sales@judges.co.uk to get your personalised 2024 calendar!
Click here to find out more about our calendar offering.
See what our customers are saying:
Judges have helped us develop some of our key ranges and work with us in a creative and collaborative way. Their UK based product together with their packaging solutions are helping us develop a more sustainable offer as well as trial new ranges.
- Jo from National Museum of Wales
Judges continue to go above and beyond in their service and support to us. They are outstanding in their ability to understand our requirements, offering us low run items with prices where we can effectively retail the items to our visitors to support our fundraising. I would highly recommend anyone within the sector to explore collaborating with Judges.
- Matthew Henderson, New Product Development Officer, Durham Cathedral
We have dealt with Judges for a number of years and they have always been extremely helpful and accommodating. We work closely with the whole team to develop new lines for our shops. They get to know your business and suggest products might suit. Products are always good quality and excellent personalisation to include our logos and designs.
- Rebecca from Exmoor National Park Authority
Having worked with Judges for the last seventeen years, I can safely say you need look no further for cards, calendars, promotional merchandise – and always with a cheery smile! Printed in the UK, you are guaranteed high-quality products with excellent customer service. Would definitely recommend!
- Perdita from St Michael's Hospice
Judges have played a key role in supporting our growth; through working flexibly alongside us as we expand our range and being adaptable to the needs of a start-up business. We have built a great working relationship and thank you to all of the team for making us feel so welcome.
- Tori Nunn, C.E.O from Knoops Ltd
Working with Judges on the Birmingham Colour Palette range has been wonderful. Nothing is too much trouble – from the designs to the labels on the products, everything was super smooth. Tim kept me in the loop throughout so we could plan product launches accordingly. I can’t wait to have another project to work on with the team!
- Emma from Birmingham Museums Trust
Having worked with Judges for several years now, they have been at the heart of our bespoke product development work. With small minimum order quantities, fantastic designers and brilliant service, they help to minimise risk and allow us to be creative across our multiple retail exhibits and outlets.
- Matthew from Beamish
Working with Judges over an extended period and through several projects has always been a pleasure. Trevor and his team are efficient, helpful and offer expert design and printing capabilities. Their low MOQ’s and willingness to bring your product vision to life make Judge Sampson a very valuable supplier.
- Ailsa Forbes
Judges guided me every step of the way and have produced mugs for me at an exceptionally high standard. Always very quick to respond to any questions or queries. A traditional family business with traditional values. I am now about to embark on further projects and wouldn’t think twice about going any where else.
- Claire Walford
Judges have been producing the Derbyshire Federation of Women's Institutes calendar for many years and we wouldn't use anyone else. We have just received our 2023 calendar and it looks amazing, as always. We highly recommend them.
- Derbyshire Federation of Women's Institutes
Would throughly recommend Judge Sampson as a company to work alongside. Trevor was a great support and really proactive. The design team created a piece of bespoke artwork exclusive to us and used this across several new item lines with the plan to add more to it as we develop.
- Danielle Crozier
Judge created art postcards for us and they look absolutely great. I really appreciate all the care Judges take to get it right. You've clearly got a lot of experience.
- Gemma, The Hepatitis C Trust