Two Calendars From Wolfgang

A busy week at Wolfgang, with a blog that’s one day late to boot.

Monday was somehow consumed by the normal Monday morning BS, complicated by a stop at the printer we’ve chosen to run the Triumph and Norton calendars. Choosing a printer is more than just making a phone call, getting a quote and then saying yes or no. I’ve learned the hard way that sometimes it’s better to pay a little more in order to get the quality or timeliness that’s required. Timing is extra important for a calendar. I always tell people that calendars are like fruit, past its certain date even the best calendar isn’t worth a dime. It reminds me a bit of my truck driving days. The first time we needed a tire fixed at a truck stop in the middle of the night I quickly learned that there’s a list, it’s short and goes like this: Reefer trucks always come first. In fact if there are three trucks waiting for service, a reefer (truck pulling a refrigerated trailer) can butt in line. It’s a rule that everyone understands and accepts without any rancor – simply because those drivers are running under non-negotiable deadlines and the driver (sometimes the owner as well) is often responsible for the meat or fruit being hauled.

I digress. Monday afternoon I drove my (little) truck to Brooklyn Printing where we talked at length about the delivery schedule, the print run itself, and the size of a dot. The “dot” size that a particular press lays down helps to determine the effective resolution. The other topic on the agenda is money of course. How much are the calendars going to cost, what’s included in that cost, and what sort of terms do they require. Like everything else about running a small business, producing the calendar is a balancing act. How many can we sell, how much does it cost us, when do we have to pay the printer and when do we get paid?

The good news is, the calendars will be available through either Wolfgang or Baxter Cycle by late July, watch my blog for the final announcement. With any luck at all they will: look great, contain zero typos, ship on time - and make a profit.

If late July of 2011 seems a little early to produce a 2012 calendar, it is. Though you have to remember that some of the calendars go overseas, and even the ones that don’t still have to work their way through the distribution chain, all of which takes time.