Student Planners Custom Material

Custom Cover Guidelines

No Bleed Bleed
No Bleed
Bleed

For a press-ready cover, all text and artwork must fit our margins.
See our Custom Cover Guidelines (PDF).

Planner Cover Design

  • For a press-ready custom cover, please follow specifications in our Custom Cover Guidelines (PDF) and follow our Artwork Guidelines. A press-ready digital cover should be sent to us online.
  • For a non press-ready custom cover, submit artwork proportionate to
    7 1/8" x 9 7/8" for Kindergarten, Primary, Elementary, Middle School, and Budget Classic Student Planners, 4 3/8" x 7 5/8" for High School and Budget Scholar Student Planners, and 5 3/4" x 8" for Custom Dated Agendas. We will reduce or enlarge artwork as needed. See Artwork Guidelines.
  • Indicate color(s) for the artwork, photos, and wording. Full-color or black/white photos will be printed in the chosen ink color(s), unless a full-color design is ordered.
  • If type needs to be set, indicate wording and its placement.
  • Design fees may apply for complex material which needs to be recreated.
  • Do NOT fax artwork or press-ready material.

Handbook Pages

Handbook pages are priced by the page. Count ALL pages: table of contents, calendars, charts, maps, blank pages, title page, advertising pages, and any other pages. All handbook pages, including photos and artwork, will be printed in black ink only. One page is one side of a sheet of paper.

For your convenience, download our Advertising Kit (PDF) and Calendar Templates:

Sample Handbook PageView Larger

Click to Enlarge

Submit Your Handbook Pages One of Two Ways:

1. Press-Ready Handbook Pages

Pages must be typed the way you want them to print. We will NOT proofread, edit, or make alterations. Pages must be ready to print. Contact us if you need help. Corrections or replacements will cause delays. Also use these guidelines for Advertising Pages.

Kindergarten, Primary, Elementary, Middle School, Budget Classic Template

High School & Budget
Scholar Template

Custom Dated
Agenda Template

All page elements, including text, headers, footers, artwork, and page numbers, must be contained within the yellow areas.

Do Submit:

Do NOT Submit:

  • Pages with colored type or paper, printed on a dot matrix or color printer, or printed on both sides of a sheet of paper.
  • Pages in the wrong size (e.g., High School or Budget Scholar pages on the larger template). If we reduce the pages to fit, we will not be responsible for hard-to-read type or undesirable results.
  • Pages with incorrect dates or corrections.
  • Artwork or text with staples, tape, glue, rips, or smudges on it.
  • Artwork and photos from the "NOT Acceptable" list.

2. Not Press-Ready Handbook Pages

  • School Mate® will typeset pages for you in 9 pt. Helvetica.
  • Send typed pages to eliminate errors and confusion.
  • Use the same paper size for all pages. We prefer all pages on 8 1/2" x 11" sheets.
  • Submit handbook pages the way you want them typeset. Do not abbreviate any words you want spelled out.
  • Handbook pages entered on a word processor can be submitted as printouts.
  • Submit original pages or a clear copy. Keep a backup copy of your pages in case we have questions.
  • If corrections need to be made, write directly on the page in red ink or list changes on a separate sheet of paper.
  • Write the page number on the top right-hand corner and submit the pages in that order (e.g., If there are 20 handbook pages, number each page from 1 to 20).
  • Missing material, incomplete material, or failure to follow these instructions will delay production.

Typesetting Fee: $25/page
Note: If changes are needed to pages we typeset in prior years, typesetting fees will apply.

Advertising Pages

Sample Advertising PageView Larger

Click to Enlarge

  • Sell advertising to help pay for your planners.
  • Download our FREE Advertising Kit (PDF).
  • Ads will be grouped together and placed behind other handbook pages.
  • If you are not submitting any other handbook pages, ads will be placed in the back of the book.
  • Include advertising pages with your handbook page count.
  • We recommend submitting press-ready pages to save money. Entire pages must be press-ready, or a typesetting fee of $25/page will apply.
  • Business card artwork is not press-ready unless it is black line art without shading, printed on white paper.

Artwork Guidelines - Cover & Handbook Pages

Acceptable:

yes
  • Artwork (mascots, maps, charts, calendars, etc.) MUST be line drawings in black ink on white paper. Substitute gray screens or color in artwork with outlines or solids. Scan at 600 dpi and save as a TIFF file.
  • Clear, sharp artwork and original photos. Printing of photos on handbook pages will be good, but not high quality (similar to newspaper printing).
  • Digital photos scanned or saved at 150 – 300 dpi minimum (cannot resave 72 dpi photos to 300 dpi) and saved as a TIFF, EPS, JPG, or PNG file. See Digital Image Specifications (PDF).
  • Artwork sent flat and protected by heavy cardboard.
  • Artwork as close to desired size as possible.
  • For press-ready pages, mascots, photos, and artwork should be included on the pages.

Note: Design fes may apply to complex material (maps, calendars, charts) that must be recreated.

Not Acceptable:

no
  • Artwork from photocopies, colored clip art, or pencil, marker, or crayon drawings - NO shades, screens, or colors.
  • Photos that are Polaroids,™ negatives, printed photos (magazine or newspaper), photocopies, or low-resolution digital photos (72 dpi).
  • Type, mascots, artwork, or boxes with fine lines, screens, shades, or reverses.
  • Large areas of solid black, including black boxes, bars, thick lines, or artwork with heavy black.
  • Copyrighted or trademarked material (e.g., professional sports logos, Character CountsSM, D'Nealian® alphabet, etc.), unless written approval by the owner is submitted.
  • Do NOT fax artwork or photos.
  • If the material listed above is submitted, School Mate® is not responsible for poor print quality.