SENIOR ADS
Contact us at [email protected]
Friendly reminder: this is a student-run publication and when you email us, you are communicating with Stratford students. While we are fully capable of making beautiful ads and truly enjoy helping you honor your senior, we're students first and foremost and ask for your patience and respect!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a senior ad? Senior ads are a long-time tradition at Stratford High School. For decades, graduating seniors have a dedicated section with personalized space that commemorates their hard work and success. This is a space for parents to congratulate their children and submit photographs and a message that will be a keepsake memory for years to come.
What am I paying for when I purchase an ad? When you order an ad, you are purchasing the page space. Prices are consistent whether you submit a pre-made ad or request that the yearbook staff create one for you. Many photographers offer to design and submit an ad as part of a senior photo package but the yearbook staff also has a team of designers ready to create something beautiful using your submitted photos and message.
When I buy an ad, where does the money go? Profits help cover the cost of printing the yearbook. Ads designers who work on the yearbook are students and are not compensated for their work. When you communicate with us via email, you are talking to a yearbook staffer. Please understand that while we enjoy making ads and we truly want to help you, we are students first and this is one of our eight classes (not our full-time job).
What if I am purchasing on behalf of a group? Many groups (ex: Spartanaires, Band, Baseball, Meaddowwood Class of 2022, etc) commemorate the members of their graduating class by placing an ad in the yearbook. If you are purchasing on behalf of a group, please let us know in the form. Elementary groups may want to coordinate their group photo for some time in September. When a parent places an order on behalf of a larger group of students, an email to our staff is helpful. The order is under the individual’s name which can cause confusion!
Why are the deadlines so early in the school year? Like any publication, we have deadlines with our publisher throughout the year that we cannot deviate from. The seniors ads pages are submitted in the first semester. Because of this, we have instituted a tiered pricing system to incentivize early orders and submissions. The yearbook staff needs to be able to plan exactly how many pages to dedicate to the senior ads section and cannot do that accurately if ads are turned in past the deadline. Please understand that there are many steps that go into planning a 350+ page book and we have strict deadlines that are out of our control.
How do I pick a size that works for me? Stratford Yearbook pages are 9x12 inches and we use a ½ inch margin. Ads pages are divided into nine blocks each. When you consider the space you’d like for your student, understanding our sizing is helpful. The largest size possible is a full page ad, referred to as a “nine block.” The smallest size possible is about the size of a business card and is referred to as a “one block.” When you select a 6, 3, or 2 block, you have the choice of a horizontal or vertical space. The photos you’d like to use will influence which size will work better and our staff is prepared to help you make that decision. Use the chart below to understand photo and word limits and/or share with your photographer if they are building the ad for you.
What am I paying for when I purchase an ad? When you order an ad, you are purchasing the page space. Prices are consistent whether you submit a pre-made ad or request that the yearbook staff create one for you. Many photographers offer to design and submit an ad as part of a senior photo package but the yearbook staff also has a team of designers ready to create something beautiful using your submitted photos and message.
When I buy an ad, where does the money go? Profits help cover the cost of printing the yearbook. Ads designers who work on the yearbook are students and are not compensated for their work. When you communicate with us via email, you are talking to a yearbook staffer. Please understand that while we enjoy making ads and we truly want to help you, we are students first and this is one of our eight classes (not our full-time job).
What if I am purchasing on behalf of a group? Many groups (ex: Spartanaires, Band, Baseball, Meaddowwood Class of 2022, etc) commemorate the members of their graduating class by placing an ad in the yearbook. If you are purchasing on behalf of a group, please let us know in the form. Elementary groups may want to coordinate their group photo for some time in September. When a parent places an order on behalf of a larger group of students, an email to our staff is helpful. The order is under the individual’s name which can cause confusion!
Why are the deadlines so early in the school year? Like any publication, we have deadlines with our publisher throughout the year that we cannot deviate from. The seniors ads pages are submitted in the first semester. Because of this, we have instituted a tiered pricing system to incentivize early orders and submissions. The yearbook staff needs to be able to plan exactly how many pages to dedicate to the senior ads section and cannot do that accurately if ads are turned in past the deadline. Please understand that there are many steps that go into planning a 350+ page book and we have strict deadlines that are out of our control.
How do I pick a size that works for me? Stratford Yearbook pages are 9x12 inches and we use a ½ inch margin. Ads pages are divided into nine blocks each. When you consider the space you’d like for your student, understanding our sizing is helpful. The largest size possible is a full page ad, referred to as a “nine block.” The smallest size possible is about the size of a business card and is referred to as a “one block.” When you select a 6, 3, or 2 block, you have the choice of a horizontal or vertical space. The photos you’d like to use will influence which size will work better and our staff is prepared to help you make that decision. Use the chart below to understand photo and word limits and/or share with your photographer if they are building the ad for you.
Once I know the size I’d like, what are my next steps?
Why am I limited to a number of photos based on size? Parents, we want your ad to be beautiful, no matter what size you select! We are proud of our tradition of creating an incredible senior ads section and we know what will look best. Trust our process--we promise you’ll be happy!
What is a “high quality” photo? Does that mean it has to be professional? When we ask for a high quality photo, we are talking about the photo resolution. When submitting your photos to us, we would like to ideally have 300ppi (pixels per inch) for press quality. Some tips we’ve learned that might be helpful to you:
Can we finally talk about prices? Now that we’ve walked through the reasoning behind deadlines, photo and word count, sizes, and more, it’s time to look at our pricing system and determine when you will be ready to purchase and submit.
- Fill out our Reservation form.
- Once we have your information, you can expect an email from our ads staff within 2 school days. From there, you'll get ordering information, available discount offers, and directions to submit your materials.
- Reservations received by October 1 are guaranteed.
- After October 1, orders will be accepted based on availability until October 15, which is the last day to order.
- All SHS-made ads materials are due by October 15. All pre-made (parent- or -photographer-created) ads are due by October 31. Because of our strict publisher deadlines, these due dates are firm.
- Check out our Design Inspiration. Consider our fonts, color schemes, design, etc. If you have no preference, just let our staff know! We can't wait to work with you!
Why am I limited to a number of photos based on size? Parents, we want your ad to be beautiful, no matter what size you select! We are proud of our tradition of creating an incredible senior ads section and we know what will look best. Trust our process--we promise you’ll be happy!
What is a “high quality” photo? Does that mean it has to be professional? When we ask for a high quality photo, we are talking about the photo resolution. When submitting your photos to us, we would like to ideally have 300ppi (pixels per inch) for press quality. Some tips we’ve learned that might be helpful to you:
- When sending photos from an iPhone, the highest quality will be sent when you email through the Photos app and select “Actual Size” when prompted at the end.
- Sending a photo pasted into the body of an email will shrink the resolution considerably. Instead, send it as an attachment in your email.
- If you have a printed photo you would like to include, we are happy to use our scanner to maintain the highest resolution possible. Please label your photos and we will return them as quickly as possible. Certainly it would be a bad idea to submit a photo of a photo.
Can we finally talk about prices? Now that we’ve walked through the reasoning behind deadlines, photo and word count, sizes, and more, it’s time to look at our pricing system and determine when you will be ready to purchase and submit.
I still have questions! Can you help me? Of course! Email us at [email protected]. We’re happy to help if this FAQ did not answer all of your questions.
Thank you for your support of the yearbook program!
Thank you for your support of the yearbook program!