About Us

About Tru Art Advertising Calendars

Since 1896, Tru Art Advertising Calendars has been helping businesses keep their brand in front of customers every single day. From our roots in Iowa to companies across the nation, we’ve built our reputation on one timeless marketing tool: the custom calendar.

A calendar is more than a date keeper—it’s a daily reminder of your business, your story, and your value. At Tru Art, we take the time to understand your goals so we can design calendars that do more than mark days; they strengthen connections, spark recognition, and keep your brand visible year-round.

What sets us apart is how we work alongside our clients. We believe in partnership, creativity, and attention to detail. With five generations of family leadership, we’ve combined tradition with forward-thinking innovation, always evolving to meet the needs of businesses in a changing marketplace.

When you choose Tru Art Advertising Calendars, you gain more than a product—you gain a proven strategy for visibility, loyalty, and growth. With us, every calendar becomes a year-long ambassador for your brand.

Tru Art® Distributors

Our business has always been built on partnership. That’s why we work exclusively through authorized promotional prod- ucts distributors, providing them with the tools, creativity, and support needed to deliver exceptional calendar programs. We honor that relationship by being responsive, reliable, and collaborative—an extension of the distributor’s own team.

Industry Memberships:

Our work is focused on you.

We measure our success by yours. From the earliest design conversation to the final delivery, every calendar we produce is guided by the goals of the distributor and their clients. Our role isn’t just manufacturing—it’s creating marketing assets that reflect your brand’s personality, reinforce loyalty, and generate measurable impact all year long.

What That Means for Us

We take pride in craftsmanship, but we’re never content to stand still. Innovation is at the heart of our work—whether it’s adopting new technology, experimenting with creative layouts, or refining processes to be more efficient and sustainable. Our team thrives on problem-solving, treating every project as an opportunity to bring fresh ideas and precision execution together.

What That Means for You

You can count on calendars that exceed expectations, not just meet them. Our expertise goes beyond production—we help with product selection, custom design, distribution planning, and pre-production needs, ensuring a seamless experience. For you, that means less stress, more confidence, and a marketing program that works harder, smarter, and longer.

You can count on us to be...

Advertising Calendars: Impactful and Sustainable

Calendars are one of the few advertising tools that earn a place in daily life. Tru Art enhances that impact with a commitment to sustainability. More than 85% of our production waste is recycled, and every calendar is fully recy- clable after use. By choosing soy-based inks and renewable materials, we ensure each piece supports a healthier planet while promoting your brand. Sustainability for us isn’t a trend—it’s a responsibility we’ve embraced for generations.

Tru Art Calendars are Printed & Assembled in America!

Our calendars don’t just promote brands—they support communities. Every project fuels local economies, supports jobs, and contributes to the vitality of American manufactur- ing. We also reinvest in nonprofit organizations that make a difference where we live and work. For us, being “Made in America” is about more than geography; it’s about pride, accountability, and shared success.

Creative Designs

Calendars are a blend of art and strategy, and our design team brings both to the table. Whether it’s a custom layout that mirrors a brand’s personality or artwork that inspires year-round, our calendars balance beauty with mar- keting value. Each design is crafted with creativity and care—because your brand deserves more than generic.

Your One-Stop Shop

With every step of the process handled under one roof—from design to prepress, printing to finishing—we ensure quality, consistency, and efficiency. Our distributors know that when they work with Tru Art, they’re working with a partner that keeps everything aligned, precise, and on schedule.

Annual Publication Date

Each summer, we release our new catalog of calendars and non-dated products. This annual tradition reflects our forward-looking mindset: introducing fresh formats, apply- ing the latest printing technologies, and responding to shifting marketing trends. It’s our way of keeping our distributors equipped with the best tools—innovative designs, competitive pricing, and dependable quality—to stay ahead in the marketplace.

G7 Master Qualified Printer

Excellence is measurable, and our G7 Master Qualification proves it. This industry recognition highlights our ability to maintain exacting standards of color accuracy and consistency across platforms. For our clients, it means calendars that are not only impactful but also produced with precision that reflects the professionalism of their brand.

Our History

In 1895, Samuel W. Mercer, the founder of Tru Art®, moved from Ohio to Iowa and pur- chased a newspaper, the Iowa State Press. A year later, in 1896, he printed his first adver- tising calendars. By 1904, the newspaper was sold, and the newly incorporated company focused exclusively on advertising products. It wasn’t long before calendars became the cornerstone of the business. Tru Art quickly established a national presence, and our product line has continued to evolve ever since.

Like any company with a long history, Tru Art has navigated both challenges and triumphs. During World War I, material shortages and workforce shifts tested the business, while our second president, Willis W. Mercer, was called into active military service. After the war, Tru Art quickly rebounded, investing in new press equipment, moving into a larger facility, and expanding into college yearbooks, which we proudly produced until the early 1970s.

The Great Depression of 1929 brought disruption to many of our customers, yet Tru Art remained strong. Careful leader- ship and financial stability allowed the company to continue producing calendars, supporting customers, and preparing for growth in the years ahead.

By the 1940s, Tru Art was firmly established as a leading supplier of both home and commercial calendars. World War II brought another period of change, and twelve Tru Art employees proudly served in the armed forces. At home, the company carried forward, producing calendars that kept brands and communities connected during uncertain times.

Generations of Mercer family leadership carried the business forward through the mid-20th century, continuously investing in new technology and expanding capabilities. The 1970s brought full-color custom calendars, while the 1980s saw reinvest- ment in advanced machinery and rapid growth that outgrew our longtime facility.

In 1986, Tru Art Advertising Calendars moved into its current 60,000-square-foot, climate-controlled building—purpose-built for modern manufacturing and equipped to house the newest technologies. Over the years, we’ve continued to reinvest, ensuring that our equipment, processes, and people remain at the forefront of the industry.

Today, Tru Art partners with more than 1,500 promotional product distributors world- wide. With a skilled staff, state-of-the-art equipment, and a dedication to quality, we produce high-impact, personalized calendars that carry brands into homes, businesses, and communities across the globe.

For more than 130 years, Tru Art has been defined by resilience, innovation, and a commitment to excellence. From Samuel Mercer’s first calendars in 1896 to the cutting-edge designs of today, our mission has remained the same: to create calendars that inspire connection, loyalty, and daily brand recognition.