The Real Timeline for a Made-to-Order Orpen Print

Made-to-order means the print does not exist until you ask for it. Here is how production and shipping stack up, and where deadlines go wrong.

Auvrique Editorial · Fine Art Editions

The short answer

A made-to-order Orpen print typically takes 5 to 14 days door to door. Production runs 3 to 5 business days, then shipping adds 2 to 5 days domestically or 7 to 10 internationally. Framed pieces can add a day or two. If a gift deadline is close, order at least three weeks ahead.

How Production Time Actually Works

Nothing is pulled from a shelf. A made-to-order print is printed, checked and framed after the order lands, which is why the honest answer is a range rather than a date. Production for a paper print usually takes 3 to 5 business days. A canvas stretch adds handling time, and a frame adds more, because the moulding is cut and assembled to the ordered size. Expect the framed route to sit at the upper end of that window.

The same production path applies across the catalogue, so the timing for a canvas edition of another work, such as In the Woods, is a fair proxy for what an Orpen canvas would take see how a canvas edition is made to order. Orpen himself is not currently offered here, which is worth stating plainly. The timelines below describe the made-to-order process in general, and they hold for any artist printed this way.

Shipping and the Deadline Problem

Shipping is the variable you cannot control. Domestic delivery typically adds 2 to 5 business days after production. International shipments, particularly anything crossing customs, can take 7 to 10 business days and occasionally longer during peak seasons. A framed poster travels in more protective packaging than a rolled canvas, which can add a day at the dispatch stage. The full journey for an international framed order is realistically two weeks, sometimes three.

For a gift or a fixed date, work backwards from the deadline rather than forwards from today. Order three weeks out for domestic delivery and four for international, then treat anything faster as a bonus. The specifics of dispatch and transit windows are set out in the shipping policy the full shipping policy. If the date is immovable and close, contact the support team before ordering rather than after contact support about a deadline.

Planning a firm deadline

Count production days first, then add shipping on top
Add a buffer of at least five days for international customs
Choose unframed if the date is tight, since framing adds time
Confirm the last safe order date before you commit

What Slows an Order Down

Three things push a print past its estimate. Large formats take longer to print and dry, and a canvas at any size needs curing before it is stretched or shipped. Peak periods, meaning the weeks before major holidays, stretch both production queues and carrier networks. And an address problem, a missing apartment number or an unattended delivery point, costs more days than any print shop ever will.

The choice between formats matters here as much as the artist does. A framed poster arrives ready to hang but takes the longest route through production and packing. A canvas sits in the middle. A paper print shipped rolled is the fastest and the cheapest, though it hands the framing job back to you. The trade-offs are set out in more detail elsewhere choosing between canvas and framed Orpen prints. If black and white suits the room, that option is covered separately Orpen prints in black and white.

The print is quick. The frame, the customs queue and the courier are what eat your deadline.

Order type	Production	Total estimate
Paper print, domestic	3 to 5 business days	5 to 10 business days
Framed poster, domestic	4 to 6 business days	7 to 12 business days
Canvas, international	4 to 6 business days	10 to 16 business days

Typical door-to-door timings for a made-to-order print

Key takeaways

A made-to-order print takes 5 to 14 days door to door, with framed international orders at the top of that range.
Production and shipping are separate stages, so add them rather than reading one number.
Order three weeks ahead for a domestic gift deadline and four weeks for international delivery.
William Orpen editions are not currently offered, and the timelines here describe the made-to-order process generally.

Related questions

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

Rarely, and only for a small unframed paper print shipped domestically. Production alone typically consumes 3 to 5 business days, which leaves little room for transit. Framed pieces and international shipments will not make a seven-day window. Treat one week as the floor, not the expectation.

Does framing add much time to an Orpen print order?

Yes, usually one to three business days over an unframed print, because the moulding is cut and assembled to size and the packing is heavier. If a deadline is pressing, ordering the print rolled and framing it locally is often the faster route, though it shifts the work to you.

What if the print does not arrive before the date I need it?

Order early enough that this does not happen, and if the date is fixed and close, confirm the last safe order date before paying. If a shipment is genuinely delayed in transit, the refund policy sets out the remedies [[S1|the refund and delay policy]]. A delayed parcel is a carrier problem, not a printing one.

Is shipping faster for smaller Orpen prints?

Marginally. Small formats print and dry faster, and lighter parcels move through carrier networks with fewer handling stops. The difference is a day or two at most, not a week. Format and destination matter far more than dimensions, so plan around those first.

From the Auvrique collection

Made to order · Every size