Calendar desk pads are a stylish way of keeping your appointments and deadlines close at hand. As they tend to become a display object on your desk, calendar pads also make a statement, putting the images (or lack thereof) that you choose to surround yourself with on display to your employees and clients.

As with many products sold online, you'll find a wide range of prices for various quantities of desk pad calendars. With such an abundance of products to choose from, you're sure to find a calendar desk pad that suits your individual taste and budget. The general pricing and costs of desk pad calendars fall into the following groups:

1. Refillable flat desk calendars that cost you less in the long run;

2. Customized desk pad calendars that double as advertorial or promotional products, and are usually purchased in bulk quantities;

3. Eco-friendly business desk calendars that make a green statement.

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Keep current with refillable desk pad calendars

Refillable desk pad calendars typically cost between $20 and $40, with discounted prices and the least expensive, less durable holders falling as low as $5--if you can find them. Refills typically contain all twelve months of the next year and cost anywhere from $3 to $10, not including shipping.

I recommend: iBuyOfficeSupply.com carries a designer collection of refillable desk pad calendars; refills are available through vendors like ReStockIt.com.

Use a personalized desk pad calendar to advertise

Expect to pay anywhere from $3 to $6 per single-color custom imprinted desk calendar, if you order a quantity of 1,000; smaller quantities typically cost more per item, and some printers will give you a discount for larger orders (5,000 units and up). Extra ink colors--if they're offered--typically add 10 to 30% to the cost, per unit.

I recommend: Genoa Business Forms and Armu Products provide useful information that can help buy custom desk pad calendars that display your logo, slogan or other advertising material.

Go green with earth-friendly flat desk calendars

Eco-friendly desk pad calendars typically run from about $10 to $30 each, including shipping, though you may occasionally find them on sale for as low as $5. A desk mat calendar with a higher percentage of post consumer content recycled paper usually costs more than one with a lower percentage, and as with other types of calendars for desks, fancy graphics and images will usually raise the cost as well.

I recommend: Dolphin Blue explains the importance of purchasing eco-friendly paper products for use in your office. The Green Office sells the eco-friendly line of EcoTONES Monthly Desk Pad Calendars, made with soy-based ink and 30% post-consumer content recycled paper.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you're having desk pad calendars custom-printed, be sure to ask about set-up charges that may not have been included in the initial estimate.
• •  If being eco-friendly is really important to you, consider 100% post-consumer-content calendars even though they usually cost more in the shop; their overall impact and cost to the earth, once you take into account the impact of their production, is actually less than that of conventional flat desk calendars.

Desk pad calendars serve as visual organizers and reminders of events for each month. Use them to record lists, notes, contact numbers, due dates, travel or vacation time.

If your desk area contains a cleared flat surface, place your desk mat calendar between your computer and close to your telephone. Calendar desk pads come in various sizes; the most common size measures approximately 24” x 18”.

You will need to:

1. Clear an area of your desk of approximately 24” x 18.”
2. Keep writing utensils near your desk mat calendar so that you can take notes in an instant.
3. Invest in additional visual organizers such as highlight markers to color-code or differentiate events.

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Obtain calendar desk pads made from recycled materials

Conserve our natural resources when choosing a calendar. You'll find that the quality of recycled calendars are equal to new calendars, and you'll feel better about your contribution to preserve our environment.

I recommend: Purchase a recycled calendar desk pad from Dolphin Blue and Recycled Business Gifts.

Organize each day at a glance

Desk calendar pads depict each day as a one-square block with enough room for you to record information. Choose a calendar desk pad with ruled daily blocks and an area in the margin for notes.

I recommend: Pre-printed desk pad calenders from LogoClick and calendar pads from Genoa Business Forms contain important reminders for special days, holidays and future months at a glance.

Transfer follow-up tasks to the next month

Desk pad calendars are non-refillable and disposable. Once a month passes, you'll discard the old month to expose the new. Don't forget to transfer important phone numbers or follow-up reminders to the next month.

I recommend: Cross out completed line-item events as they occur. When it’s time for the next month, you’ll only have to transfer what remains. This saves you from reading every line item and sorting through what you should and should not transfer. You could also use an electronic calendar management system, like the one from Advansys.

Take advantage of pre-printed Julian dates

If you use Julian dates to calculate universal time, you can find pre-printed desk pad calendars that contain Julian dates.

I recommend: Purchase a calendar desk pad that adds Julian dates to traditional calendar features.

Consider small desk pad calendars for smaller spaces

Compact desk pad calendars begin at approximately 17' by 10' and include the same features as the standard desk pad calendars. Some contain vinyl pocket corner protectors where you can store business cards or notes.

I recommend: Use compact desk pad calendars when you need additional hard copies of your calendar. Staples sells compact flat desk calendars that fit on office copiers for easy duplication.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Since you won't be carrying your desk pad calendar to meetings, it's best to jot down meeting information immediately when you return to your desk.
• •  If your boss makes a verbal request, note the request on that day and add your own due date or follow-up notes to ensure that you complete your requested task. Use your color-coded pen or pencil for urgent requests.
• •  Discipline yourself by blocking out squares to work on larger projects. When you physically block out the time, it helps you commit and dedicate those hours with a goal or objective in mind. Decide that when you see blocks that indicate uninterrupted work that you'll return phone calls and emails at the end of the day.

When a business wants to create great tools for day-to-day scheduling in-house, or elaborate gifts for clients to put the company name out there, desk pad calendars are an option for high-design utility. A nice desk pad calendar does a few different things: it informs the owner of any holidays or company events (as printed), it offers branding opportunities and it protects a desk. Learning about some of the terms for designing or buying desk pad calendars will help business decision makers optimize the potential of this kind of item.

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Julian dates

One aspect of desk calendars that may be a little confusing is the use of Julian dates. Julian dates are numbers applied to days on a specific basis -- they are used in some industries to identify time periods on calendars. Make sure you know what the Julian date system is about if this applies to your field.

I recommend: See more on Julian dates at WhatIs.

Fiscal year

If a business is crafting its own desk pad calendar, the fiscal year is another term that may come up. The fiscal year is the 12-month period that the company works within. This can be different from the conventional year starting in January. Business calendars can use a specific fiscal year for accounting and other issues.

I recommend: See more on the fiscal year at InvestorWords.

Post-consumer content

One important thing that buyers of desk pad calendars should be thinking of is the use of recycled content. Using recycled material for desk pad calendars and other gear helps protect the environment and is a good investment in the future. Post-consumer content is a specific type of recycled material that is often used for this kind of item.

I recommend: See details on post-consumer content and much more at Rethinking Recycling.

Day blocks

Day blocks on a desk pad calendar are the specific units of space for each day. In a lot of cases, users prefer their day blocks to be as large as possible to include notes. Holiday and other information can take up space on day blocks as well. Consider the design of day blocks when making purchases.

I recommend: For a visual example of large day blocks, check out Promo Peddler.

International business holidays

Another big component of choosing or designing a desk pad calendar is in anticipating which kinds of holidays will end up on the page. Different regions have their own prominent holidays. Buyers can carefully review holidays by region to see what is appropriate for their designs.

I recommend: See more on international business holidays at the International Business Center.

Custom printed calendars

Many businesses will want to customize their own desk calendars. Whether it's specific business events, logos, company name, or other information, a business will often customize calendars either for gifting to clients or for internal use.

I recommend: For a look at how printers can help companies create their own customized desk pad calendars, see VistaPrint online.

Desk calendar pads, also known as blotter calendars, are a staple in many offices. They are perfect for setting underneath a computer keyboard and have lots of room for writing down phone numbers and appointments.

There are several desk pad calendars types and styles you can order for your business. Since these calendars are fairly standard in size, most differences will be more subtle than with other calendar types. This means you have to look closely at what's offered. For example, consider the following:

1. Four-cornered calendar desk pads versus two-cornered ones.

2. Calendars with decorative trim.

3. Eco-friendly flat desk calendars made of recycled paper.

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Look at the difference between two- and four-cornered desk calendar pads

Of course, since all desk calendar pads are rectangular, they will all have paper with four corners. The style differences come in when you look at the base that sits under the calendars' paper. The calendar either slips into it only at the two bottom corners or at all four of them. Two-cornered bases give you more writing room but also give the paper more opportunity to slip out of the base.

I recommend: Visit Graphic Ice, Inc. for a good example of a calendar with a two-cornered base. Then go to the site for Promopeddler to check out the four-cornered style. Both of these companies allow you to put your company's information on the calendar.

Compare customized desk pad calendars with trim at the top

If you want to leave your calendar desk pad completely uncovered, or you're looking for another place to put your company's logo, you may want a desk pad that has trim across the top edge for a more interesting look. The trim usually consists of an inch or two of vinyl or leather that stays put even after the user tears off each calendar page.

I recommend: Check out Show Your Logo's calendars for desks. They have room for you to put your company name in white across the black vinyl trim. Then go to Office Depot's site and look at the At-A-Glance Personalize It calendar. You can place up to three 3" by 5" photographs in the slots in the trim, making it perfect for personal office use.

Consider a recycled desk mat calendar

Recycled flat desk calendars are perfect for you and your clients or potential ones. You can feel good about doing something to help the Earth and people you give them to may see your business in a little bit greener light.

I recommend: Look at the desk pad calendars House of Doolittle offers. This company specializes in recycled paper products. Then look at Dolphin Blue's products for more green options. Note that some of these calendars are not customizable. If you give them away you may want to package them with imprinted products, such as sticky notes and pens.