The Real Timeline for a Made-to-Order Print

Made-to-order means the clock starts when you order, not before. Here is how production and shipping add up, and where delays actually come from.

Auvrique Editorial · Fine Art Editions

The short answer

A made-to-order print typically takes 7 to 14 days in production, plus 3 to 10 days in transit depending on destination. Framed pieces sit at the longer end because framing happens after printing. Plan on roughly two to three weeks door to door, and longer for international addresses.

How the Timeline Actually Builds

The honest answer is that nothing is waiting on a shelf. A made-to-order print is printed, checked, framed or stretched, and packed after the order is placed. Production for a standard framed poster usually runs 5 to 10 working days. Canvas takes slightly longer because stretching and drying add steps. Neither figure includes shipping.

Transit is its own variable. Domestic shipments commonly arrive within 3 to 5 days of dispatch. International orders can take 10 days or more, and customs occasionally adds a week that nobody can control. If the piece is for a specific date, work backwards from it and add a buffer. A birthday gift ordered three days before the day is a gamble, not a plan. The same logic applies whether the print is a landscape by a familiar name or something less catalogued, like a work chosen after reading about Nína Tryggvadóttir's themes what her paintings actually depict.

What Slows an Order Down

Most delays are predictable. Large formats print slower and ship in heavier packaging. Framed orders wait on moulding stock, and a popular moulding can run out mid-week. Peak seasons, particularly November and December, stretch both production and carrier timelines. None of this is hidden cost, but it is real time.

The practical move is to order early and choose the simplest format that suits the room. A framed poster ships faster than a stretched canvas of the same image, and a smaller size clears production sooner. If you are weighing formats anyway, the comparison between canvas and framed poster options covers the trade-offs in detail. Smaller rooms often suit modest dimensions better regardless, as the sizing guide for prints in a small living room explains.

Common sources of delay

Large formats, which print and pack more slowly than standard sizes
Framing stock, since a moulding shortage pauses the whole order
International customs, which can hold a parcel without warning
Peak season volumes in late November and December

Ordering Against a Deadline

If the print needs to arrive by a date, say so at checkout and order at least three weeks ahead for domestic delivery, five for international. That buffer absorbs a slow carrier without drama. It also leaves room to fix a problem, because a damaged or misprinted piece needs a replacement cycle, not an apology.

One caution worth stating plainly. Auvrique does not currently offer editions of Nína Tryggvadóttir's work, so any timeline quoted here applies to made-to-order prints generally rather than to her catalogue specifically. Where her work is available elsewhere, availability and lead times will differ. The same patience applies to gift orders crossing borders, a situation covered more fully in the guide to shipping prints to another country.

The printing is the fast part. The frame, the drying, and the customs queue are where deadlines go to die.

Order type	Production	Transit
Framed poster, domestic	5 to 10 working days	3 to 5 days
Canvas, domestic	7 to 12 working days	3 to 5 days
Any format, international	5 to 12 working days	10 days or more

Typical door-to-door estimates

Key takeaways

Made-to-order prints take 7 to 14 days in production before anything ships.
Transit adds 3 to 5 days domestically and 10 or more internationally.
Framed and canvas formats run longer than unframed prints.
Order at least three weeks ahead of any hard deadline.

Related questions

Can a made-to-order print arrive in under a week?

Rarely, and only for small unframed formats with a fast domestic carrier. Production alone usually consumes 5 to 10 working days, so a sub-week delivery would require expedited production and shipping, which not every seller offers. Treat any promise of three-day framed delivery with suspicion.

Does framing add time to the order?

Yes. A framed print is printed first, then fitted to moulding, glazed, and packed, which adds several days over an unframed sheet. The upside is that it arrives ready to hang, with no separate trip to a framer and no second wait on your end.

What happens if a print arrives damaged?

Reputable sellers replace damaged pieces rather than argue about them, but a replacement restarts the production clock. That is the strongest argument for ordering well ahead of a fixed date. Photograph the damage on arrival and contact the seller the same day to start the claim cleanly.

From the Auvrique collection

Made to order · Every size