During the heightened activity of the holiday season–with people to see, places to go, and presents to buy–you still need to take care of your printing needs, whether they are manuals, brochures, and invitations for corporate events, meetings, and parties or they are custom greeting cards and calendars for mailings and gifts.
FedEx Kinko’s Office and Print Centers are often the people’s choice. Even during the holiday season, they can maintain their usual lead times for business printing jobs. And they have reasonable lead times for custom printing. I will give you those times later.
Order your greeting cards and calendars online. This is often the easiest and fastest method for digital files. Just go to printonline.fedexkinkos.com and follow the instructions. You can request a proof, which is recommended for greeting cards or for calendars that you want multiple copies of. If you request a proof, you’ll have to make an extra trip to the store to review it.
Twenty minutes after you place your order, call FedEx Kinko’s and ask for a Project Coordinator (PC). Ask him if your order was received, if your files open up, and if your instructions are clear. If you’ve requested a proof, ask when you can see it. And ask about the due date–online due dates can be inaccurate since they don’t reflect the store’s busyness, its available machines, and its available staff.
In fact, if the PC is busy when you call–with current jobs and customer traffic–save those questions for later and simply ask when he can call you back. Or, better yet, ask when you can call him back.
Go to Kinko’s to order your greeting cards and calendars. Take your actual photographs or digital photos1 to the store. If you order greeting cards, you may get to see a proof on the spot. If not, you can arrange to see one within a few hours. If you order one calendar, you won’t need a proof. But if you order several calendars, make sure you ask for a proof. A calendar proof may take up to 24 hours.
What you need to know about greeting cards. You can choose a border from an array of template designs, in vertical (portrait) and horizontal (landscape) formats. Or you can simply use your photo without a border. You can create your own message inside. The cards are printed in sets of twenty-five. You can order any number of sets, which come with envelopes–color choices are red, green, white, or blue.
What you need to know about calendars. There are four types of template calendars. Three of the calendar types require just one vertical or horizontal photo–the Year-on-a-Page letter-size calendar, the Year-on-a-Page tabloid-size calendar, and the tear-a-way calendar.
The fourth and most popular–the deluxe calendar–requires twelve photos plus another one for the cover. The cover photo should be horizontal for best results. The twelve photos are enlarged to fill most of a letter-size page. You need to designate which photo you want to see with which month. If you are submitting digital photo files, name them by month–remember to designate a cover. If you are submitting actual photos, label the months lightly in pencil on the backs–and/or wait until you’re at Kinko’s. They will give you removable month stickers to apply.
Lead time for greeting cards and single-photo calendars. Allow 24 hours from the time you place your order to pick up your custom printing. As Christmas Day draws closer, you may have to allow 48 hours, possibly more. Especially if you want to see a proof.
Lead time for deluxe calendars. Allow 24 to 48 hours from the time you place your order to pick up your calendars. As Christmas Day draws closer, you may have to allow four to five days. Keep this in mind if your calendars are to be given as Christmas gifts.
About the paper stock for greeting cards and calendars. Your cards will be printed on 10 point glossy cover (CC2) that is pre-scored down the middle. One side is glossy; the other side is matte. Most people want their photo on the glossy side! If you choose other cardstock, it will have to be outsourced for scoring–necessary for a clean fold. It will cost more and will add at least one business day to your lead time.
The two types of Year-on-a-Page calendars are printed on 28 lb laser paper and then laminated. The tear-away calendar is printed on cardstock, the same as–or similar to–60lb laser cardstock. The deluxe calendar is printed on the same. By the way, the tear-away is similar to the deluxe in style but whereas the tear-away displays the exact same photo month after month, the deluxe calendar displays a different photo for each month.
About other custom printing gifts. Custom gifts that FedEx Kinko’s outsource, such as ceramic photo mugs, need to be ordered weeks in advance. But gifts such as plastic mugs, mouse pads, and ornaments that take photo inserts, you can purchase on the spot. You may have to re-size your photos to fit the gifts. You can do that on self-service copiers or photo stations. If you need help in re-sizing your photos, just ask. Kinko’s team members are staffed in the Assisted Service area expressly to assist you.
You now know most of what you need to know. So, let’s wrap it up. Choose your photos or digital files2, organize them, and take them to your nearest FedEx Kinko’s–or to any copy place that offers greeting cards and calendars–as soon as you can. Get your printing done right–remember the proof–and on time–place your order well before your personal deadline. In this way, you will avert at least one potential stress during your holiday season. In fact, you will feel downright good about getting your cards and calendars done in good time and with good cheer.
1Store your digital files on jump drives (a.k.a. jump or flash) or CD discs. Zip discs are dated but are okay. Try not to use a floppy disc–floppies are unstable. Often, their files won’t open–or they themselves won’t open. Besides, they have a small storage capacity.
2Be aware that FedEx Kinko’s charges $5 to convert three digital files to Portable Document Files (PDFs) and then $1.50 for each file thereafter. These charges do not apply to online orders. My experience has been that most people with in-store orders don’t get charged for this service either–either because the Kinko’s employee is new and doesn’t yet know about the charge or because he simply waives it. Still, if you have Adobe Acrobat PDF maker, you may want to do the file conversion yourself. But do take your jpegs to the store with you. Unless the PDFs are created properly, the jpegs will yield better quality prints.
Services vary at different FedEx Kinko’s Office and Print Centers. Listed prices are subject to change. I am not affiliated with FedEx Kinko’s.
