How to Make your Amateur Calendars Look Professional

When people print calendars for the first time, the usual insecurity with the end result is commonly about its overall look. Many people want their calendar printing to look professional and not amateurish. While it is near impossible to create the most dazzling and professional looking calendar printing on the first try, there are things that you can do to make it look at least decently professional. It is all about the calendar printing process and the decisions that you make with it. In this small guide to printing calendars, I will share with you five simple tips on how to make your amateur calendars look like they were made by professionals.

1. Use a professional template – The easiest thing that you can do at the outset of making your calendars is to use a professional template. Many color calendars will look amateurish if an amateur builds the template from scratch. It is best to use some professional templates that already has the proper dimensions, guidelines and other features that make calendar printing better and more effective. You can easily download a professional calendar template online, and usually it can be easily edited with most common layout software at your disposal. Since you are using a professional template, more or less you should be on the right path in making a professional looking color calendar.

2. Mind your photography – Calendar photography is also a good area to focus on to make your calendars look more professional. You must not only take good photographs of the objects that you want, it must be always be done with taste and style. Use different angles, lighting effects and image enhancements to make the picture truly come alive. Also, on the technical side, always try to use high resolution images with proper lighting corrections so that your calendar photographs look crisp and crystal clear. The better your photographs are, the more professional your calendar should look.

3. Avoid getting “too creative” - You must also try to reign in your creativity a bit when you want your calendars to look professional. The common mistake that an amateur calendar designer makes is to add too many creative elements and gimmicks. One may use fonts that are too wild, colors that are very loud and layouts that are too far out. Professionals usually go for a functional and beautiful approach that does not get too messy. So try to aim for that and avoid letting your imagination run away too much.

4. Use good printing materials – You may also notice that the printing materials for the color calendar can have a great impact on people's impressions on it. Most amateur calendar makers will use simple and affordable paper for their prints. To make your color calendars look professional however, you can simply invest in some glossy high strength paper to get that dignified effect. The better the paper is, the more people will think that it is a professional calendar. So if your budget allows for some good printing materials, do not hesitate to use it in calendar printing.

5. Let professionals print your calendars – Finally, if possible you should try to hire professional printing companies to print your calendars. It will be very hard for you to print them in your own printer especially if you are an amateur. At least, by having the professionals print your custom calendars, you will be sure that all the cuts, inks and bindings will turn out okay with a professional finish. So, even if an amateur made the whole thing, it will still be able to compete with the more professional looking color calendars out there.


That should be all the things you need to know to print your calendars professionally while you are still an amateur. Good Luck!