How to set up a Calendar in InDesign (new at InDesign)

Question

I've been trying to create a calendar in Adobe InDesign, and found what I thought was a good template to make things easier.

However when I try to print it, I have no idea how to get the pages in order to fold up the way how a typical wall calendar does. I printed a very rough version of the calendar, but it does not seem to fold up right. Is there a way specifically designed to set up a calendar with a fold in InDesign?

In college I always had a hard time figuring out page order of a book, especially with folding pages by hand. I did manage to find the print book feature in InDesign but it seems useless for managing the folds in the calendar.

Here are some pictures of my setup. It is an A3 piece of paper.

It seems that in order for it to print properly the images need to be in a different order so that the image folds in place for each month.

barbara_a7746676 · Accepted Answer

F.Quill has good suggestions.

In order for me to add to that information, I'd need to know in what way is the calendar not folding correctly? Please be specific about exactly what the problem is and what you have tried.

It is possible that the thickness of the paper may be throwing off the folds. Spiral bind as F.Quill suggested would take care of that, if it is an option for you. Otherwise, you need to allow for what is called 'creep'. You will see the creep setting in the Print Booklet dialog box.

F.Quill · Answer

Hi Shawn! Good for you! Looks like a sweet project for the new year! To be clear, and up front - I am not an Adobe Community Pro and came to this forum because I am trying to get my chops up with InDesign (I come from Adobe Photoshop). But your post was the first one that popped up and I totally get where you are coming from.

Two points I would like to offer: First, is that if you are printing this on a typical home sheet-printer, the paper will physically shift and will not line up 100% accurately, and especially if you are printing on both sides (which I assume is the case). Second, if you do want a fold, you will have to allow for a bleed on the image and add cut/fold marks. Most home printers cannot bleed to the edge of the paper. This means that you will have to actually cut/trim the printed paper after.

Just a suggestion, but you could consider NOT using a fold. That means that you will need to consider how the calendar hangs and flips. But it is a bit easier to make sure the pages are in order. Where I live, usually, I can just take it to a local quick-print shop and they can put a coil-bind on the top (and drill a hole in the top ... so there is a way to hang your lovely calendar!

Lastly, for page order, make a physical mock-up with some sheets of paper. Sometimes I will print a screenshot or small file of each page (not to resolution) and will assemble the whole project to test my idea. Or if I am in a real hurry, I will make a mock-up and just pencil mark-up how I expect the pages to order. Like they say ... measure twice, cut once. I say mock-up twice, print once.

As far as the print order goes for a multi-page project, I have not tried this from InDesign, yet - usually go to Photoshop. As long as my printer stays updated with my OS & Adobe products it comes out fine but I will check all the print & layout options, first, and will test-run one or two pages/sheets.

Good luck with your project!

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