What to Expect When Ordering a Custom Print

Custom framed prints are made after you order, not pulled from a shelf. Here is how production and shipping stack up, and where the delays actually happen.

Auvrique Editorial · Fine Art Editions

The short answer

A custom framed print typically arrives within two to three weeks of ordering. Production, meaning printing, drying and framing, takes roughly five to ten business days. Shipping adds another three to seven days depending on destination. Canvas editions often arrive a few days sooner because framing is skipped.

The timeline from order to doorstep

The honest answer is that a custom print is not a stock item. Nothing exists until you order it. That is the whole reason the wait runs longer than a warehouse shipment. For a framed poster, plan on five to ten business days of production followed by three to seven days in transit. Two to three weeks door to door is the realistic planning figure.

Canvas editions sit at the faster end. There is no frame to cut, join and fit, so production often finishes in four to seven business days. If a deadline matters, order with a week of buffer rather than counting on the fastest published estimate. The slow cases are almost always customs checks or a courier backlog, not the print itself. Details on current lead times sit in the Auvrique Shipping Policy.

Where the delays actually happen

Anxious buyers usually imagine the printing stage going wrong. In practice, printing is the quick part. The wait concentrates at the edges of the process. Ink needs time to cure before framing, large formats queue behind smaller ones, and international shipments can sit in customs for days with nobody able to hurry them.

The other variable is the frame itself. A standard size in a standard moulding moves fast. An unusual size or a wider profile adds handling steps. This is worth knowing before you order, and it is one reason the guidance on choosing between canvas and a framed poster leans toward canvas when speed matters. The same logic applies across the catalogue, if you are looking at a framed poster of Mosman Bay or something smaller.

What adds time

Ink curing before the print can be framed
Oversized formats queueing behind standard sizes
Customs inspection on international shipments
Courier backlogs during peak seasonal periods

A note on Alvar Aalto specifically

One thing to say plainly. Auvrique does not currently carry editions of Alvar Aalto's work, so there is no Aalto-specific lead time to quote. The timelines above describe how custom framed and canvas prints are made in general, and they apply to any artist ordered through a made-to-order service.

If you are set on Aalto, his architectural drawings and furniture sketches are the images people usually want on a wall. For the same clean Nordic register, the Aspen and Spruce framed poster sits closer than most. It is also worth reading what subjects define Aalto's work before ordering elsewhere, since many Aalto prints on the market are photographs of buildings rather than reproductions of his graphic work. For anything time sensitive, contact the team directly.

The printing is never the slow part. Customs is.

Format	Production	Shipping
Framed poster	5 to 10 business days	3 to 7 days
Canvas print	4 to 7 business days	3 to 7 days
Oversized framed	7 to 12 business days	3 to 7 days

Typical lead times for made-to-order prints

Key takeaways

Plan on two to three weeks door to door for a custom framed print.
Canvas editions usually arrive several days sooner because no framing is involved.
Most delays come from customs and courier backlogs, not the printing itself.
Auvrique does not currently offer Alvar Aalto editions, so any Aalto order would sit outside this timeline.

Related questions

Can I get a framed Alvar Aalto poster faster than two weeks?

Not through a made-to-order service, and Auvrique does not currently carry Aalto editions at all. Any service promising a framed custom print in under a week is likely shipping a stock item or skipping proper ink curing, which risks warping in the frame later.

Does a larger print take longer to produce?

Usually yes. Oversized formats need wider mouldings, more handling and sometimes reinforced packaging, which adds a few business days to production. Shipping time stays roughly the same, though very large framed pieces may move on a slower freight service.

Is shipping time different for international orders?

Yes. Domestic shipments typically run three to seven days in transit. International orders can add a week or more, almost all of it at customs. Ordering two to three weeks ahead of any hard deadline covers nearly every realistic scenario.

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