A good wall calendar is one that stays on the wall all year: a format that suits the spot, paper that doesn't curl, room to write, and the right days off. On December 23, it's already late for an elaborate 2025 calendar, but it's a good time to note what you want for next year's and when to start.
The format: where the calendar will hang
The A sizes in the ISO 216 standard all share the same aspect ratio, so a design made for one adapts easily to another.
| Format | Size | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| A4 | 210 × 297 mm | a small desk, next to a monitor, on a cabinet door |
| A3 | 297 × 420 mm | offices, reception desks, a client's kitchen; the most common |
| A2 | 420 × 594 mm | workshops, warehouses, meeting rooms, anywhere it's read from a distance |
You also choose how to split the months:
- one month per page: 12 pages plus a cover, with room for a big image and for notes in the day boxes;
- two months per page: fewer pages, fewer images, smaller boxes;
- the whole year on one sheet: good as a planner in a workshop or office, without much room to write.
If people will write appointments, deliveries or shifts on it, each day box has to fit a handwritten word. That often decides between A4 and A3.
Paper and binding
For the pages, two things matter: how the photos look and whether you can write on them.
- Matte coated paper reproduces photos well and doesn't shine under office lights. One manufacturer example: Arctic Paper's G-Print is a coated paper with a matte, low-reflecting surface, made in weights from 70 to 300 g/m².
- Uncoated paper has a natural look and takes a pen or pencil easily, but photos look different than on coated paper, so we ask for a print proof first. Arctic Paper's Munken range is one example of a quality uncoated paper.
- Gloss looks good in the hand, but it reflects light and is hard to write on. For a calendar people write on, we avoid it.
For the pages we pick a weight heavy enough for the sheet to hang flat and keep the back from showing through, while the cover and the back board are thicker. We settle the exact weight with the printer, based on format and binding.
The usual binding for wall calendars is double wire binding at the top, with a hanger. The pages flip easily and the calendar hangs straight. For A2 or single-sheet planners, wooden or plastic rails at the top and bottom are also common.
Cost depends on the format, page count, paper, binding and print run; the price comes in the quote.
What has to be right on it
A calendar with a wrong day off gets noticed immediately and undermines trust in the rest. For Romania, the public holidays are the ones in Article 139 of the Labor Code:
- January 1 and 2, January 6 (Epiphany) and January 7 (Saint John the Baptist);
- January 24, Union Day;
- Orthodox Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday;
- May 1 and June 1;
- Orthodox Pentecost Sunday and Monday;
- the Dormition of the Mother of God (August 15);
- November 30, Saint Andrew's Day, and December 1;
- Christmas Day and the day after.
Watch for two traps. First, January 6 and 7 were added by Law 52/2023, so an old calendar template won't have them. Second, Easter and Pentecost move from year to year, so check them for the year you're printing instead of copying them from last year's calendar.
Besides the holidays, double-check your company details on the calendar (phone, website, address) and, if you're giving it to clients in other countries, whether the week starts on Monday or Sunday.
Deadlines: count back from the day you hand it out
Calendars usually go out in December, along with end-of-year gifts. That's exactly when printers are busiest. A plan that works:
- September–October: pick the format, theme and images. If you're shooting your own photos (the team, your work, the place), do it now, while the light is good.
- October: design, then proofreading. Every date gets checked by two people.
- Early November: approve the final file and we send it to print, with bleed and a safety margin, as explained in our article on bleed.
- November: printing, binding, packing.
- Early December: the calendars are with you, ready to hand out.
If you want them couriered to clients, add a few days and think about packaging early: a tube or a rigid envelope, so they don't arrive bent.
Calendars are part of what we make for businesses, alongside stationery and branded gifts.
Sources
- International standard paper sizes (ISO 216), University of Cambridge, Markus KuhnA2, A3 and A4 dimensions and the shared aspect ratio
- Romanian Labor Code (Law No. 53/2003), Art. 139, legislatie.just.rothe list of public holidays and the addition of January 6 and 7 by Law No. 52/2023
- G-Print, Arctic Papermatte coated paper with a low-reflecting surface, weights from 70 to 300 g/m²
- Munken, Arctic Paperuncoated paper with a natural feel
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