Jänecke + Schneemann's annual print masterpiece proves lasting impressions beat fleeting ads
Every edition of the Jänecke + Schneemann wall calendar turns a simple annual giveaway into a year-long brand touchpoint, using colour, tactility, and craft to create something people genuinely want to live with. Designed to be seen and handled every day, it becomes a familiar companion as each new month begins — and one that stays relevant well past a single seasonal moment.
Printed on Algro Design 270 g/m² and now in its ninth year, the calendar shows how combining premium material with skilled, professional partners can elevate a classic format into a lasting brand experience. Twelve illustrations, twelve opportunities to surprise — and one consistent standard of print quality that holds the series together.
The challenge: reproduce highly pigmented High Body Series inks — including daylight luminous shades — and layer multiple finishing techniques without losing sharpness or consistency across all 12 months. Meeting that challenge requires a paperboard that can carry intense colour and precise detail, while staying stable through complex finishing.
A shared commitment to quality
The calendar exists because of a three-way creative partnership between Jänecke + Schneemann, Gräfe Druckveredelung, and Sappi. Each partner brings a distinct expertise to the project, and the success of the calendar depends on how seamlessly those roles combine.
For Jänecke + Schneemann, the calendar is a showcase of expressive print. Their High Body Series inks are formulated for maximum pigment impact and demand a surface that supports maximum dot sharpness and colour vitality. The brightness and smoothness of the substrate are essential to allow those shades to appear clean, saturated, and luminous.
Gräfe’s finishing work gives the calendar its distinctive character. Through cold transfer, soft-touch varnish, UV lacquer, blind embossing, and diffraction foil, each page becomes a layered object — a small monthly study in print craft that invites repeated viewing and handling.
Sappi provides the material foundation. Algro Design delivers the clarity and stability needed for demanding colour reproduction and finishing. Its coated surface allows fine screens to hold their edge, while the paperboard’s dimensional stability ensures that every finishing technique performs effortlessly and consistently across all twelve pages.
For us, the value of a project like this sits in how we use the board's strengths in our own way. The colour work and finishing choices push the material to show what it can really do, and that's where Algro Design proves its worth.
says Frank Denninghoff, Managing Director Gräfe Druckveredelung GmbH
Checking dates is habitual — and that makes a calendar uniquely powerful. Unlike promotional items that disappear into drawers, a wall calendar stays in view, turning each glance into a subtle reminder of care, quality, and brand character.
The J+S calendar is known for playful animal illustrations and vivid colour combinations. But its impact is not only visual. The tactile contrast of coatings, embossing, and sensory soft-touch effects encourages people to reach out and engage with the page. The visual elements draw you in. The feel of the surface keeps you there.
Every element works in harmony to support a consistent and premium expression of the brand. The calendar becomes something people return to daily without effort — reinforcing presence quietly, steadily, and memorably.
A result shaped by partnership and expertise
Each annual edition is the product of close collaboration. From the earliest colour trials to the final finishing passes, Jänecke + Schneemann, Gräfe, and Sappi align their expertise to create a cohesive experience across all twelve pages.
The result is a calendar that keeps its brilliance month after month: sharp screens, luminous colour, and reliable finishing performance on every sheet — proving Algro Design’s stability in real world premium applications. It demonstrates that when material, print, and finishing are developed together, the outcome is both technically outstanding and emotionally resonant.
"We see our role as providing a base that lets J+S and Gräfe work without limits," says Thomas Cotta, Sales Manager Packaging & Speciality Papers, Sappi Europe. "When their ideas involve fine screens, complex layers, or detailed textures, the material has to keep those decisions intact. That reliability is what matters most in a project where the challenge changes month by month."
A seasonal product with lasting impact
The J+S wall calendar has become an annual highlight that demonstrates how print can still surprise — through colour, through touch, and through craftsmanship that remains visible long after the new year begins.
It’s also a reminder that thoughtful material choices and strong partnerships can elevate even familiar formats. With the right substrate at its core, a calendar becomes not just a schedule, but a daily experience — one that builds recognition, deepens connection, and keeps a brand present in everyday routines.
Interested in achieving the same impact? Get in touch today to talk about Algro Design for your next premium print project.
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