When it comes to printing Advent devotional booklets, there are two kinds of people: the ones who start in September and tell themselves, “We'll make it work...” and the ones who start in spring, sipping their coffee in December while everyone is is panicking, rushing to order prints, and apologizing to their congregation.
With this guide, our goal is to make you the latter. That's because although the printing process is fast, in as little as 2–5 business days with OnPress Book Printing, the planning process isn't. Here's how to make sure yours is flawless from start to finish.
How to get your devotional in hands by December 1
If your devotional needs to be in your congregants' hands by December 1, your planning doesn't start in November. Work backwards with a timeline like this:
- December 1: Distribution deadline
- November 15–20: Final books delivered (plus an added buffer)
- November 5–10: Final print run
- Late October: Final proof approval
- Early October: Files finalized
- September: Editing and design decision finalized
- July–August: Content creation
- May–June: Planning and structure
If you read that timeline and thought, “May?!” you didn't read that wrong. The biggest mistake people make when printing Advent devotionals is assuming that the production time alone is the project timeline, when it isn't.
The hidden timeline saboteur: prepress
Prepress is the moment where your files get checked, corrected, and prepared for production. It can also be the time where things fall apart if you're not prepared. Common issues like fonts not being embedded or images too low in resolution can derail even the smartest planning process.
Think of the prepress process like “dress rehearsal before opening night,” and that's no exaggeration. By skipping it, rushing it, or ignoring it entirely, you end up with revisions, re-exports, lots of back-and-forth emails, and several days lost, at a minimum.
For this reason, we recommend building in at least 1–2 weeks for prepress and proofing, even if everything looks perfect. That's because what looks perfect on a screen and what actually prints perfectly can be two very different things.
Here's how to handle each phase of the timeline:
July-August: content creation
Devotional content feels “short,” so it's easy to put off. A page a day, a verse, a reflection, how hard could it be? But with printing Advent devotionals, consistency matters more than speed. You have to maintain tone, make sure the theological message is in line with what you want to share, and create a kind of journey that pulls it all together.
You can even set a mini deadline range, such as:
- Week 1: Outline all days
- Week 2–4: Draft content
- Week 5: Internal review
September: design and formatting
September is where your devotional becomes an actual product. At this stage, design decisions matter more than you might think, so things like trim size, margins and bleed, image resolution (300 DPI minimum), and color mode (CMYK, not RGB) are absolutely crucial to get right.
At OnPress Book Printing, we offer free book layout templates to help with printing Advent devotionals and other types of booklets, saving you hours of time. Our free templates define the trim size, bleed, and safe zones so nothing gets left to chance.
October: proofing
Proofing is the phase most people try to rush. But it's also the phase that will punish you if you rush it. You have two types of proofs:
- Digital proof (fast and best for checking layout)
- Physical proof (slower, a must-have for final approval)
If your devotional is going into churches, communities, and events, you absolutely want the physical proof. Don't skip it!
Late October-Early November: printing and production
Once everything is approved, the production process for magazine and booklet printing itself is fast. We run in-house production systems that run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which lets us complete most orders in just a few days. Small runs take around 2–3 days, while larger runs take around 6–9 days, but that speed only matters if everything before this step is locked in.
Mid-November: shipping and distribution
It's a good idea to build in a buffer at this stage, because even with fast production, you still have to account for things like shipping delays or internal distribution, like managing events, churches, and mailing lists. We recommend that if you need it by December 1, that you aim to receive it by November 15–20. That extra buffer is truly a godsend.
Don't think of December as your deadline
Move the deadline mentally to October. December is just the moment where all your effort and planning comes to fruition. When you go into the process calm, prepared, and confident, you can be certain that your Advent devotionals will arrive early, while the content itself feels memorable and purposeful.
Of course, no one but you and your team know about all the work that went into it, but you can still look back on the process with a smile. That's because with careful planning and a bit of guidance from an expert printing team, you've delivered something that was meant to arrive exactly on time while still exceeding your expectations.
OnPress Book Printing can help you take your next steps with confidence. Contact us today or get started with a free, no obligation quote on our website. Our team is available to help with any questions you have, and we'll work with you to get your Advent devotionals looking and reading perfectly.
TLDR
Planning an Advent devotional printing timeline requires starting much earlier than most expect. While printing itself can be completed quickly, the real work lies in content creation, design, proofing, and prepress preparation, all of which take time and can cause delays if rushed. Working backwards from a December 1 distribution deadline, teams should begin planning as early as May, with content finalized by late summer and design completed by early fall. Proofing, especially physical proofs, is a critical step that should not be skipped, and at least one to two weeks should be built in for revisions. Printing and shipping should be completed by mid November to allow for a buffer. With proper planning and realistic timelines, you can avoid last-minute stress and ensure your devotional arrives on time and ready to distribute.