You can create your own custom books and wall calendars by uploading your photos to an on-line Print On Demand (POD) service, which prints the product and ships it to you. Order as few or as many copies as you like. This is in contrast to traditional offset printing which is used for print runs over 200 copies.
More than a year ago, I printed my calendar in two separate print runs, each with a different provider, VistaPrint and Photobook America. As the calendar was essentially identical, I can offer you an apples-to-apples comparison.
First off, I have to say that both calendars provided very good image quality. One was a touch better than the other – the color on the cover image is not perfect. But nobody would know without placing the two side by side.
The Photobook calendar includes 15 images, including front cover, rear cover, and a page (following December) which shows 12 months of the subsequent year. The VistaPrint calendar includes 13 images, including the front cover. Score one point for Photobook.
Both calendars are spiral-bound. When opened, a photo appears on the upper page and a one-month calendar on the lower page. The Photobook calendar pages are 8×11” and each one-month grid is 5” high by 9.75” wide. The VistaPrint pages are 8.5×11” and each one-month grid is 6” high by 9.25” wide. As this grid offers more space for writing, score one point for VistaPrint.
VistaPrint includes an easy to use interface for assigning holidays and other special days. Photobook does not. Score one point for VistaPrint.
In the October-November time frame, both companies offer promotional discounts that brought the price per calendar to less than $9 each. Don’t pay full price; discounts of 40% or more are quite common.