About TruArt
For 125 years, Tru Art Advertising Calendars has provided support to promotional products distributors to create, build, and manufacture exceptional calendar advertising solutions. Tru Art utilizes state-of-the-art technology and environmentally friendly products and processes to deliver calendars with exceptional style, function, and advertising effectiveness. All Tru Art calendars are made in the USA and assembled from parts and paper stocks sourced from U.S. suppliers.
Tru Art® works only through authorized promotional products distributors and can be contacted through industry membership numbers:
PPAI 113720 • SAGE 56130 • ASI 92255 • UPIC TRUART
Our work is focused on you.
Here, you will find the support you expect, to create, build, and manufacture exceptional calendar advertising solutions.
What that means for us.
We are passionate about everything we do for you. We want you to experience the best in manufacturing technologies to produce calendars that reflect creativity and innovation and deliver advertising value. We are dedicated to making this happen for you.
What that means for you.
We are committed to finding the right approaches and solutions that exceed your expectations. We will help with product selection, custom design, distribution plans, and pre-production needs.
You can count on us to be...
Reliable
We live up to our responsibilities.
Experienced
Tru Art has been an expert voice in the advertising calendar industry since 1896
State-of-the-Art
Tru Art is dedicated to using the latest technology when producing advertising calendars and promotional materials. We are proud to house a talented prepress department, short-run offset digital printing, six-color and five-color sheet-fed offset and two-color web presses, ink-jet and screen printing capabilities, and a complete bindery.
Environmentally Friendly
We use recycled paper and print with vegetable based inks whenever possible.
Made in the USA
Tru Art products are not only “Made in the USA”—all component parts and paper stocks are procured from U.S. suppliers.
Creative
Tru Art’s artistic team can design and build completely custom calendars.
Your one-stop-shop
From design to file prep to printing and finishing, all aspects of production are right here, in-house.
Annual publication date
Tru Art publishes its full line calendar and non-dated products catalog annually at mid-year. This provides unique and important advantages to advertisers:
- New products are introduced that reflect the latest marketing trends and consumer preferences.
- New technologies in prepress, printing, and bindery are applied to provide manufacturing innovations for custom and stock designs across all product formats
- Tru Art takes advantage of the most current, market-driven materials and technology resources to offer the best quality and the best prices in our product categories.
We are a G7 Master Qualified Printer
G7 Master Qualification is a sought-after recognition of excellence in printing, and identifies print service providers that excel in implementing the G7 Proof-to-Print Process. A G7 Master Qualified Printer implements a calibration method that allows printers to achieve a visual simulation across multiple print platforms.
Our History
In 1895, Samuel W. Mercer, the founder of Tru Art® , moved to Iowa from Ohio and purchased a newspaper, the Iowa State Press. In 1896, he began printing advertising calendars. The newspaper was sold in 1904, and the newly incorporated company focused exclusively on advertising products and printing. It was not long before advertising calendars became the cornerstone of the business. Tru Art quickly gained national presence and the company and product line has been evolving ever since.
Since its founding, Tru Art has had several trials and triumphs. The company prospered and grew until the start of World War I. Like many companies of the day, Tru Art struggled with material shortages, and it struggled to maintain a skilled work force. In addition to these difficulties brought on by the war, Tru Art's second president, Willis W. Mercer, was called into active military service.
After the war, Tru Art began to prosper once again. New press equipment was purchased, the company moved into a new facility, and Tru Art added a side business of printing college yearbooks. (Yearbooks were printed until the early 1970s).
In 1929, the stock market crash slowed business as many of Tru Art's customers were forced to close and reorganize. Thousands of finished goods were dumped because the customers no longer existed. Thankfully, Tru Art was well capitalized and was able to survive through the depression.
Tru Art entered the 1940s well established as a calendar supplier producing both home and commercial style calendars. World War II brought with it a new set of challenges. However, this war was different from World War I. Workers were again in short supply, but not to the extent that they were during World War I. Twelve of Tru Art's employees proudly served in the armed forces.
Direct descendants of the founder continued to produce quality "stock line" products and they embraced technological advancements so as to remain competitive in the printing industry. During the 1970s, Tru Art expanded its capabilities to produce custom color calendars. In the 1980s, the company reinvested earnings into new machinery and quickly outgrew the facility it had occupied since 1923.
In 1986, Tru Art Advertising Calendars moved into its present facility, a 60,000 square foot, climate controlled, precast concrete and steel building. In addition to occupying a modern facility, Tru Art uses the newest technology when producing calendars. Moreover, all of Tru Art's major equipment was purchased within the past ten years.
Currently, Tru Art® works with over 1,500 promotional product distributors and uses a fully capable digital pre-press department, six color and five color sheet-fed offset and two-color web presses, and a complete bindery to manufacture its products. An outstanding staff and state-of-the-art equipment work to produce high quality, personalized calendars that are shipped around the globe year after year.