The new Pictavo Tutorial Video and Community Webinar is now online.
View the videos online 24/7 by visiting our HELP CENTER! The 2012-2013 Welcome to Pictavo” video is 33 minutes in length and is great for demonstrating the power of Pictavo. It is designed for new advisers and staff members that haven’t seen Pictavo before.
The 2012-2013 “Pictavo BuyTheYearbook” video is 16 minutes in length and is designed for schools that just want to learn about the Pictavo BuyTheYearbook.
The best part about both videos is that they are short enough to be viewed during one class period or anytime that is convenient for the viewer(s)!
1. Since a yearbook and/or a DVD’s sole purpose is to let your students preserve memories for years to come, a DVD will be obsolete in only a few years. It’s virtually impossible to listen to an 8-Trak Tape, a vinyl record or Cassette Player today. The VHS recorder is basically gone forever. There are new emerging technologies today that will replace the DVD in the same way. Your students will find it almost impossible relive their most treasured memories in only a few years. What happens if it gets scratched and no longer works? A printed yearbook has a shelf life of 120 years.
2. There are 1,080 hours in the school year and that doesn’t include extracurricular activities. There are also 50 plus classes in most schools today, giving you a potential of over 50,000 hours of content. You can only get 45 minutes to an hour on a DVD. How many events and how many children do you think will not be included on a DVD? Every single student and staff member can be found in the pages of a print yearbook. Furthermore, when the vast majority of your parents don’t see their child on the DVD they won’t buy it again next year and many of them will want their money back this year.
3. Do you remember the fun of having all of your friends sign your yearbook with a message dedicated just for you? That is impossible with a DVD.
4. In some cases it may be beneficial to the school, students and staff to offer both choices. They may choose only a DVD, only a print yearbook or both. Since it doesn’t directly cost the PTA any money for either a DVD or a print yearbook give them a choice. Remember, by doing both it’s now a double fund-raiser! Keep in mind there are many parents who have purchased a yearbook since their child was in kindergarten and they have every expectation of building an entire collection. Don’t deprive them of that opportunity.
Welcome back from winter break! Now it’s time to get back to work!
If you plan on submitting your book to us this spring, here are some reminders of what you should be thinking about now:
1. Have you gotten your PSPA portrait CD from your school’s photographer?
2. Have you uploaded your portraits yet? Have you flowed them?
TIP: Be sure to print a draft copy of each classroom page once the portraits are flowed and have the teacher confirm the names match the faces and the names are spelled correctly. Then, have the teacher sign their class sheet! There is no way you will know every child in the school – but every teacher will know his/her students!
3. Have you activated your Pictavo BuyTheYearbook? (Pictavo Users only)
4. Have you started or completed your yearbook pre-sale?
5. Have you started selling ads? Business and personal?
TIP: If you need Yearbook Sales Banners or additional envelopes or sales flyers, please contact our office.
6. Have you designed your custom cover? Reminder: Custom Covers are due by February 1st.
7. Have you gotten photos from staff and family members at your school that you can use in your yearbook? (Pictavo users are encouraged to utilize the Photo Upload option in Community.)
8. Have you started panicking because you haven’t done any of this yet? Don’t worry! We’re here to help! 🙂
Please call us if you have any questions or need any assistance.
For Immediate Release:
RE: HIGHSCHOOL YEARBOOK PRICING CONCERNS
Tracie Boudreaux, a Houston, TX based community activist and concerned parent was interested in purchasing a yearbook for her son at a Houston area high school but much to her surprise the yearbook cost was so over the top she didn’t believe it at first. She made numerous calls to the school to get clarification and each time she was told the yearbook was $100. When she contacted her school she says, “I sent emails to the person who handles the yearbooks and I got a bounced email. She blocked me. It’s a sad day when adults put a wedge between economically disadvantaged students”
Boudreaux states, “Houston ISD has over 200k students and 60% are on reduced / free lunches. $100 for a yearbook is out of the scope for this demographic area. I believe that every student has the right to a yearbook. She continues, “I fought a situation for two years that is 730 days in this district and was victorious. I never take on a challenge I can’t conquer.
Her investigation found that the cost is similar around the country and this is not only a problem in Houston.
Why is the cost so expensive? Why were so many students deprived from purchasing a yearbook? Was there another alternative for the low income students in the school?
She found:
- The average high school yearbook price is $75.
- Based on quotes she received from regional companies easily found on the internet parents are paying 50% more than they should be for yearbooks across the country.
- Less than 5% of students on free and reduced lunch can afford to purchase a yearbook.
- Less than 50% of the student population can afford a yearbook this year.
Why is the price so high?
- It’s reported a high school yearbook representative can earn an annual commission upwards of $200,000 a year and this cost is passed on in the price of the book.
- The school’s yearbook pricing may not have been compared to other providers in at least three years.
- The decision makers, including the yearbook adviser, may have simply selected to stay with the status quo at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars to the parents rather than trying an alternative that may greatly reduce the expense.
- The administration may have never thoroughly reviewed the yearbook invoice or contract and probably has no idea this is happening in the school.
- 80% of the time the decision makers do not select the vendor with the most competitive price even if the final product is virtually the same quality.
- A standard practice in the industry is for the yearbook company to keep the school owing a significant balance on the yearbook year after year which forces the school to stay with the same vendor at much higher prices.
- The yearbook invoice received this year may be, on average, 20% more than agreed because of the “fine print”.
What can parents do?
- Bring this to the attention of administration.
- Ask to receive competitive bids and form a committee to evaluate each offer
- Make all parents aware of these issues that are costing them thousands
- Know there is a better alternative that may save more than 50% on the yearbook price for the exact same yearbook.
Boudreaux contacted yearbook providers throughout the country and found pricing for the same yearbook at 50% of the cost she was required to pay. “If the parents knew they were being overcharged in excess of $40,000 in some schools they would revolt, especially in this economy”, Boudreaux says. “Something needs to be done. Parents are victims and they need to step up and contact their school today and start asking questions”.
There are five major parts of a yearbook that can have a significant impact on your
budget. They are as follows:
• Endsheet Specifications
• Type of Paper
• Binding of Pages
• Special Inserts
• Add-On Options/Features
What you choose in each of the areas listed above can raise or lower the cost of your yearbook. In each category there is usually a standard feature for the yearbook, and a custom or “additional cost” option. The more “customization” you do, the more increase in budget you will have to plan. (The more customization, the higher the price you may have to charge your students, or the more advertising you may have to sell or fund-raising you will have to do to underwrite these costs.)
COVER DESIGN & APPLICATION
• Full-Color Printed Cover: This is the most popular type of cover since it is easy to create and can produce stunning visual results. For a HARD COVER the design is printed in the 4-color process on a thin sheet of paper which is coated and glued to thick cover cardboard. Schools create full-color covers with sophisticated design programs such as Pictavo™, Adobe® Photoshop® and Adobe® InDesign®. Make sure to review your layout with your yearbook representative and publisher. Hard cover layout specifications are included in the kit you will receive.
Designs can also be used for SOFT COVER books, which are printed in the 4-color process on a thick, rigid sheet of paper before being attached to the book. Soft covers are very economical.
• Embossing: This is the use of hand-carved or machine-carved dies and pressure plates producing decoration that is raised above the surface of the cover. The opposite —Debossing—lowers the decoration below the surface of the cover. It is possible to use these features on EITHER a hard or soft cover book. Schools who traditionally use hard covers often choose to have a vinyl or leather-like material to cover their books with, and typically use foil stamping (see below) and embossing or debossing to accentuate their school name and cover design. These covers have a powerful appearance, but often involve the creation of costly dies and additional processing which make them more expensive. The larger the design size, the more expensive the cover will be. Embossed and debossed covers will require a specific price quote from your yearbook representative because of their custom nature. Note: If the school creates a design that is used year after year, some cost will be eliminated because the embossing/debossing die can be reused.
Costs are also considerably reduced if using one of your yearbook publisher’s standard dies.
• Foil Stamping: This is the process of applying a metallic “foil” by heat and pressure to the yearbook cover. This, too, can be used on both hard and soft cover yearbooks. As with embossing, a custom or stock die is needed to “stamp” the foil into the cover material. These dies can also be costly, and will require specific pricing from your yearbook representative. The die is reusable.
Instructions for creating the artwork for a foil stamping die is included in your kit. Talk with your yearbook representative about your proposed designs.
ENDSHEETS: Endsheets are the thick paper glued to both the inside front and back covers of a hard cover yearbook, and are attached to a reinforced fabric strip which in turn is glued to the flyleaves (first and last sheets in a book before and after your yearbook content). The quality of the paper is usually different than what is used in the rest of your yearbook. For additional fees, printing can be done on the endsheet and fly sheets of your yearbook. Review this option with your representative.
PAPER: The type of paper your yearbook is printed on can have an impact on the price of your book. Yearbooks are traditionally printed on a coated glossy paper. The paper is glossy because the coating (clay) has been calendarized—a process whereby the paper is pulled over several steel drums to polish the coating to a shiny finish. The clay coating helps give the paper opacity, which keeps the printing on either side from showing through to the other side. Standard paper weight for yearbooks is 80 pound paper, which provides excellent opacity and durability. 100 pound paper is another weight which is heftier and gives a yearbook a more distinctive, durable feel. You can request 100 pound paper for an additional charge. Since 100 pound is heavier paper stock, it will also cost slightly more to ship your books. Changing to heavier weight paper can go unappreciated and unnoticed by students, so make sure it is a necessary upgrade for your yearbook.
SOFT SADDLE-STAPLED BINDING: This binding method involves gathering folded signatures over a “saddle” where they are stapled together on the spine of the yearbook. This feature comes standard on most soft cover books, and is very durable for books under 96 pages. It is not recommended for yearbooks over 96-pages. A new method of squaring the spine on these books makes them look similar to Perfect Binding, but they are more durable because of the staples.
SOFT PERFECT-BOUND: Perfect binding uses a process similar to hard cover book binding, but instead of sewing a book’s signatures together, they are glued on the spine and, at the same time, glued to the cover of the book, usually a soft cover. This is a very common binding technique you see often in catalogs and directories. You can generally tell a book is perfect-bound by the soft cover and square back. This type of binding also allows the books to lie flat when opened.
