What Happens After You Order a Print

Delivery time is two separate clocks. Production runs first, shipping runs second, and the honest answer adds them together rather than quoting the smaller number.

Auvrique Editorial · Fine Art Editions

The short answer

A print typically arrives within 7 to 14 working days of ordering. Production takes roughly 3 to 5 working days, then shipping adds 4 to 9 depending on destination. Framed pieces and canvases sit at the slower end because mounting and framing happen after printing. Order early if a specific date matters.

The Two Stages Behind Delivery

Every print passes through two stages before it reaches a door. The first is production. The image is printed, checked, and for framed or canvas editions mounted to its final support. That stage usually takes 3 to 5 working days. The second stage is transit, which runs 4 to 9 working days depending on where the parcel is going. Neither number alone is the answer. The shipping time for a Lin Fengmian print, or any print, is the sum of both.

This matters most for anyone working toward a date. A guest arriving, a room needing to be finished, a gift with a deadline. If the event is two weeks out, the arithmetic is tight but workable. If it is under ten days, the honest advice is to choose the fastest format rather than the preferred one, because a framed poster and an unframed print do not move through production at the same speed.

Format Changes the Timeline

Unframed prints are the quickest path. They leave production as soon as the ink is dry and the quality check is done. Framed editions take longer because the frame is assembled around the print after printing, and canvas editions longer still, since the image is stretched and set before it can be packed. The difference between formats is usually a few working days, not weeks, but a few days can decide whether a deadline is met.

Format also changes how the parcel travels. A framed piece is packed more heavily and moves more slowly through carriers as a result. Anyone weighing the choice between formats can read how a canvas edition compares with a framed poster canvas or framed for Lin Fengmian before ordering. The same trade-off applies across the catalogue, including pieces like the Laguna Eucalyptus canvas buy the canvas edition, which follows the canvas timeline rather than the poster one.

Planning Around a Hard Date

The practical move is to work backwards. Take the date the artwork needs to be on the wall, subtract the transit estimate for the destination, then subtract production. What remains is the last sensible ordering day. Building in two or three buffer days is not caution for its own sake. Carriers miss estimates occasionally, and a parcel that arrives late for an event arrives late no matter how well it was printed.

It is worth saying plainly that no reproduction service can guarantee a carrier's transit time, only its own production window. Anyone ordering against a firm deadline should order as early as the schedule allows rather than testing the outer edge of the estimate. For readers comparing turnaround across studios, the same production-plus-transit logic applies to a custom Spencer print custom print delivery times and to most made-to-order art generally.

The number that matters is never the shipping estimate. It is the estimate plus the days spent printing and framing.

Format	Production	Total estimate
Unframed print	3 to 5 working days	7 to 12 working days
Framed poster	4 to 6 working days	8 to 14 working days
Canvas	5 to 7 working days	9 to 16 working days

Typical timeline by format

Key takeaways

Delivery time is production time plus transit time, and only the sum is useful.
Production usually runs 3 to 5 working days before the parcel ships.
Transit adds roughly 4 to 9 working days depending on destination.
Ordering early is the only reliable way to protect a fixed deadline.

Related questions

Do framed prints take longer to arrive than unframed ones?

Yes, usually by a few working days. An unframed print ships as soon as production finishes. A framed edition needs the frame assembled around it first, and the heavier packing can slow transit slightly. The difference is measured in days, not weeks, but it counts against a deadline.

Can I track a print once it has shipped?

Orders ship with tracking, so the parcel can be followed from dispatch to delivery. Tracking begins only after production ends, which is why the first few days after ordering show no movement. That silence is the production stage, not a lost parcel.

What if the print arrives after my event?

This is the risk of ordering against a fixed date, and the only real fix is ordering early. If a delivery goes wrong, the refund policy [[S2|refund and returns policy]] sets out the options. No estimate can promise a carrier's performance, so buffer days are the practical safeguard.

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