How Long a Made to Order Print Takes to Arrive

Custom prints are not stocked, so the clock starts with production, not with your order. Here is how the two stages add up, and where delays actually happen.

Auvrique Editorial · Fine Art Editions

The short answer

A made to order print typically arrives within 7 to 14 working days. Production takes 2 to 5 working days, then shipping adds roughly 3 to 9 more depending on destination. Framed pieces and canvas prints sit at the slower end because mounting and framing happen after printing.

The Two Stages Behind Every Order

Nothing sits in a warehouse waiting for you. A print is produced after the order is placed, which is why the shipping time for artist prints is longer than for a book or a phone case. The first stage is production. Printing, drying, and any mounting or framing work take 2 to 5 working days, with framed pieces usually at the top of that range because the frame is assembled around the print rather than pulled from a shelf.

The second stage is transit. Domestic shipments generally move in 3 to 5 working days once they leave the facility, while international destinations can take 7 to 9 or occasionally longer if customs inspects the parcel. Added together, most orders land inside two weeks. A framed poster ordered on a Monday is realistically on a wall within a fortnight, not within a weekend. Anyone who needs a specific date should count working days, not calendar days, and add a margin for the border.

What Actually Slows a Print Down

The honest answer to how fast can I get a framed poster is that framing is the bottleneck, not printing. A flat print on paper is the quickest item to produce. A canvas edition needs the image printed, stretched, and checked before it can be packed, which pushes production toward the five day mark. Size matters too, since larger formats take longer to print and cost more to move.

Destination is the other variable. A domestic address rarely surprises anyone. Cross border shipments can sit in customs for days with no tracking movement, which looks alarming and usually is not. If a gift date is fixed, order at least three weeks ahead rather than trusting the upper estimate. The same logic applies when choosing between formats, as covered in the guide to choosing between a canvas print and a framed poster for a living room choosing between canvas and framed prints. Similar timing applies to a canvas edition such as Art Forms in Nature 1 the Art Forms in Nature canvas edition or a framed piece like Pothius Quay in Pontoise the Pontoise framed poster.

Where the Days Go

Printing and quality checks take 2 to 5 working days before anything ships
Framed and canvas formats sit at the slow end because assembly follows printing
Domestic transit usually adds 3 to 5 working days to the total
International orders can add a week or more, with customs the main wildcard

Planning Around a Fixed Date

The anxious question underneath this one is usually about a deadline. A birthday, a move in date, a wall that is currently bare. The reliable approach is to work backwards. Take the arrival date you need, subtract 9 working days for a domestic framed order or 14 for an international one, and place the order before that point. Anything faster is luck, and luck is not a plan.

It is worth saying plainly that made to order means no instant gratification. The tradeoff is that the print is produced to the size and format you chose rather than picked from a bin. If timing is the priority over format, a flat paper print beats a framed one by a few days. If the format matters more, order earlier. Either way, the tracking number that arrives once the parcel ships is the moment the remaining uncertainty mostly ends.

The frame is the bottleneck, not the printer. Order the paper version and you save days.

Stage	Typical duration	Notes
Production	2 to 5 working days	Framed and canvas formats take longer than flat prints
Domestic shipping	3 to 5 working days	Starts after production is complete
International shipping	7 to 9 working days	Customs checks can add further delay
Total, framed domestic	7 to 14 working days	Order three weeks ahead for a fixed date

Typical timeline from order to doorstep

Key takeaways

Made to order prints arrive in roughly 7 to 14 working days from order to door.
Production accounts for 2 to 5 working days before the parcel ever ships.
Framed and canvas formats take longer than flat paper prints because assembly follows printing.
For a fixed date, order at least three weeks ahead and count working days, not calendar days.

Related questions

Do framed posters take longer to arrive than unframed prints?

Yes, usually by a few days. A flat print only needs printing and drying before it is packed. A framed poster needs the frame cut, the print mounted, and the finished piece inspected and packed more carefully. Production for framed items tends to sit at the upper end of the 2 to 5 working day range.

Does the tracking number appear as soon as I order?

No. Tracking activates when the finished parcel is handed to the carrier, which happens after production is complete. For the first few days after ordering there may be nothing to track, which is normal for made to order items and not a sign that anything has gone wrong.

Can I speed up delivery if I am ordering a print as a gift?

The most reliable lever is ordering earlier, not faster. Choose a flat paper print rather than a framed or canvas format to shave a few days off production, order at least three weeks before the date, and pick a domestic shipping address if possible. International customs is the least predictable part of the journey.

From the Auvrique collection

Made to order · Every size