As an ASB Activities Director at West Valley High School in Hemet, California, Billy faced significant challenges with his school's previous yearbook publisher, including excessive overruns that created storage problems and unexpected financial burdens. When they decided to explore other options, Billy chose Treering as his solution because it offered a print-on-demand model with no overruns, more affordable pricing for his Title I school's families, and the ability to publish later in the year to include more school events. As a result, West Valley now maintains a balanced budget for their yearbook program, can include major spring events like prom in their publication, provides yearbooks at prices 20-30% lower than before, and has eliminated the stress of managing unsold inventory.
"The last couple years we were with our previous publisher, they did so many overruns that it became not just what to do with the overruns, because we weren't selling them, but where to store them."
Billy inherited a yearbook program plagued with financial and logistical issues from their previous publisher. The excessive overruns created both storage problems and financial strain on the program. These practices left them with just $60 in their yearbook budget—not even enough for an end-of-year pizza party for the staff. The school was left with approximately 100 unsold yearbooks from 2019 that they continue to move from classroom to classroom “like a $10,000 debt-collecting ghost.”
The problems Billy was facing:
"We found Treering, and we've never gone back. We're huge advocates. It has made our life easy and all those problems are solved."
Billy chose Treering to revitalize his school's yearbook program because it solved several critical problems he faced. The print-on-demand model eliminated overruns completely, removing both storage issues and financial liability. Treering's affordable pricing (20-30% lower than their previous vendor) made yearbooks accessible to more students. The flexible publishing timeline allowed the yearbook to include spring events like prom, baseball, softball, and track that other schools miss due to early deadlines. Billy also appreciated the easy-to-use software, comprehensive curriculum resources, and customer service team that assisted with yearbook production challenges.
Billy chose Treering because of our:
Billy's switch to Treering transformed his school’s yearbook program from a financial liability to a balanced operation. The school now sells a consistent number of books each year, maintains a healthy budget, and can afford extras like yearbook staff shirts and graduation sashes for senior editors. The yearbooks are 20-30% less expensive than before while maintaining the same quality and page count. The yearbooks can also include major spring events like prom, which would have been impossible with their previous publisher's early deadlines. The built-in indexing feature helps them ensure all 1,800 students appear in the book at least twice, making the yearbook truly representative of the entire student body.
"Our yearbook is 20 to 30% less expensive than the yearbooks we had. Same page count, same quality, includes more of the story, and just to know that I can get it for a good price, it makes me feel good as a parent, and it makes me feel good as a teacher. I want every kid to be able to get a yearbook, and Treering makes that possible."
Billy's success with Treering stemmed from its print-on-demand model that eliminated financial liability, flexible publishing deadlines that allowed for more comprehensive storytelling, affordable pricing that made yearbooks accessible to more students, and robust support resources that empowered him as an advisor with limited yearbook experience. The transition allowed him to focus on creating quality content rather than worrying about the financial impact.
Don't let financial burdens and publishing constraints limit your school's yearbook program. Whether you're facing challenges with overruns, affordability, or publishing deadlines, Treering provides a solution that puts students first while eliminating financial stress.
