Penciled In

9. Use Economical Imprints
Planners and calendars are often ordered last minute and are only meant to last a year, so a high-tech imprint is not necessary to make a statement. Mahre mentioned that most planners are screen printed or hot stamped. "These are the most economical methods to deliver large quantities in a short time frame," he explained. Guthrie added foil stamping and digital printing to the list of best calendar and timeplanner imprint methods. "We feel [foil stamping] gives the best color resolution over all other methods," he stated. "For full-cover coverage, digital printing is definitely the future."

10. Customize It
Adding an imprint is obvious, but Mahre suggested making other amendments to further personalize the planners. "Any time an end-user receives something with their name on it the perceived value and usage exponentially increases," he said. Mahre suggested employing the most up-to-date printing technology to add pictures, messages and date block information. "The technology now available makes customization easy and impactful for any size business or order," he said. Guthrie also championed personalization. "The best way to make your calendar or planners stand out is either with using a great logo imprint or interior customization i.e. insert information pages, phantom imprint, etc.," he said.

11. Don't Fear Tech Advances
Guthrie and Mahre mentioned the relevance of paper calendars even in an age of smartphones and tablet computers. "A recent study found that 80 percent of the respondents had a physical calendar in their purse, briefcase or home," he said. "With all the advances in technology, this is a validation of the continued use of paper planners." Mahre added that while technological additions like QR codes are on the rise, they are not standard. "We are seeing more of those populating products especially like planners and calendars," he said. "The only real challenge is that there are so many variations and not all QR codes are accessible via the many different phones."