Ask anyone in the printing trade where daily calendars come from and the answer is almost always the same: Sivakasi. This small town in Virudhunagar district, Tamil Nadu, has been printing calendars for generations, and today its presses supply shops, traders, printing presses and dealers across the country.
But “Sivakasi” is not one supplier — it is hundreds of units, from small job printers to large manufacturers. If you are a press or dealer buying calendars to resell or to print your customers’ advertisements on, choosing the right manufacturer matters. Here is what to look for.
What a daily calendar manufacturer actually does
A daily calendar is more than a printed picture. A manufacturer brings together the artwork, the board, the finish and the date pad:
- Design artwork — deity pictures, scenery and themes, each with its own design number.
- Printing — multi-colour offset printing of the picture and calendar details.
- Finishing — lamination, fancy cutting to shape, foil, gold emboss and UV glitter effects.
- Mounting and date pads — the board is mounted and the tear-off date slips (the “cake”) are attached.
Some buyers want the finished calendar ready to hang; many presses buy the printed boards and date slips separately and add their customers’ advertisements themselves.
Five things to check before you choose a supplier
- Range of designs. Your customers want choice. Look for a supplier with hundreds of designs across every size, each identified by a design number you can order by.
- Every size and finish in one place. Ordering 10x15 boards from one printer and 20x28 fancy cut from another multiplies your follow-up. A single supplier for Plain Art, Lamination, Fancy Cut, Foil and UV Glitter keeps it simple.
- Clear wholesale pricing. You should know the per-piece rate, the discount off MRP and your total before you commit — not after three phone calls.
- Print quality you can see. Ask for catalogues or clear photos of each design, and check colour, finish and cutting.
- Dispatch across India. Calendar season is short. A supplier who packs and ships reliably to your state is worth more than a slightly lower rate.
Senthaamarai Press — Lotus calendars, direct from the manufacturer
Senthaamarai Press is a daily calendar manufacturer and offset printer with its head office in Gandhi Nagar, Malaiyadipatti, Rajapalayam, and a branch on Sattur Road, near the bus stand, Sivakasi. Its calendars carry the Lotus brand — senthaamarai is Tamil for the lotus.
Senthaamarai Press sells at wholesale rates to printing presses and dealers, with a range that covers:
- 10x15 Plain Art Mount (PAM), Laminated Art Mount (LAM) and Lamination Boards
- Fancy cut boards from 6x9 and 10x15 up to 14x40
- UV glitter boards in 14x24, 20x28 and 23x36
- Special gold and silver foil mounts, and gold emboss bed foil sheets
- Cake daily slips, panchangam back sheets and ready-to-hang finished calendars
Ordering made simple
Instead of phone calls and paper price lists, Senthaamarai Press puts its whole range online. Open the price list, type a quantity against each design number, and the total — MRP, discount and final amount — updates as you type. You can download a quotation to share, browse every design offline in the PDF catalogues, and prices are inclusive of GST.
New to buying calendars wholesale? Start with our guides on choosing the right size and choosing a finish, or send us your requirement and we will help you put your order together.
