The Real Timeline Behind a Made-to-Order Print

Custom prints are produced after you order, so the clock includes production as well as transit. Here is how the days 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 business days from order to delivery. Production accounts for roughly 3 to 5 business days, printing and framing included, and domestic transit adds 3 to 7 more. International orders can run 2 to 3 weeks or longer once customs is factored in.

How the Days Actually Add Up

The honest answer starts with a distinction. A print held in stock ships in days. A print made to order does not exist until you pay for it, so the estimated delivery timeline for made-to-order prints always has two parts. Production comes first, then transit. Conflating them is why so many buyers feel a shipment is late when it is simply on schedule.

Production for a canvas or framed edition usually runs 3 to 5 business days. Large formats and framed pieces sit at the upper end because the frame is cut and assembled after the image is printed. Transit then adds 3 to 7 business days domestically. The same applies across the catalogue, whether the piece is a canvas like Sunny Morning or a framed poster in a smaller format.

None of this changes with the artist. The workflow is the same for a Pinajian image as for any other edition, because the printer does not care who painted the original. What changes the timeline is size, finish, and destination.

What Can Push the Date Back

Three things cause most delays. The first is format. A framed poster such as Cliffs near Camaret involves glazing, matting, and assembly, which adds a day or two over an unframed canvas like Landscape with a Wicket. The second is distance. International shipments sit in customs, and customs does not answer to the seller.

The third is the calendar. Orders placed in late November or mid December can double in lead time because carriers are saturated. If the print is needed for a specific date, order at least three weeks ahead. That buffer absorbs a slow production day and a slow carrier without drama.

A practical check before ordering: confirm the production window and the carrier's transit estimate separately. A seller who quotes only one combined number is hiding where the variability lives, and the variability is almost always in transit.

Factors that extend delivery

Framed editions add assembly time that unframed canvas prints do not require.
International destinations can add one to two weeks in customs alone.
Peak season orders may take twice the standard lead time to arrive.
Oversized formats need specialist packing, which can add a production day.

Ordering Against a Deadline

If the print is meant for an event, work backwards. Fix the date it must be on the wall, subtract the transit estimate for your region, then subtract the production window. The date left over is the last sensible order date. Anything after that is a gamble with a courier.

It is also worth deciding the format before the clock matters. The tradeoffs between canvas and framed poster affect both cost and lead time, and the choice is easier to make calmly a month out than a week out. Sizing decisions deserve the same early attention, since a last minute change of format resets production entirely.

One more concession. Made-to-order means no warehouse shelf to pull from, which is the entire reason the timeline exists. It is also why the piece arrives made for the order rather than pulled from stock, and why a rushed order placed too late cannot be rescued by paying extra for shipping alone.

The delay is almost never the printer. It is the distance between the printer and your door.

Stage	Typical duration	Main variable
Production	3 to 5 business days	Format and size
Domestic transit	3 to 7 business days	Carrier and region
International transit	1 to 3 weeks	Customs clearance

Typical made-to-order timeline by stage

Key takeaways

A custom print takes 7 to 14 business days door to door in most domestic cases.
Production and transit are separate stages, and each has its own variability.
Framed editions and international destinations sit at the slow end of the range.
For a fixed event date, order at least three weeks ahead to absorb delays.

Related questions

Do framed prints take longer to produce than canvas prints?

Usually by a day or two. A canvas is printed, coated, and stretched. A framed poster adds matting, glazing, and frame assembly after the image is printed. The difference is small for standard sizes but grows with oversized formats, which need specialist packing before they can leave the workshop.

Can I speed up a custom print order by paying for faster shipping?

Expedited shipping shortens transit only. It does nothing for production, which is where 3 to 5 business days of the timeline sits. If the order is against a deadline, the useful move is ordering earlier, not paying a carrier considered and hoping the workshop queue clears faster.

How accurate are delivery estimates for international orders?

Less accurate than domestic ones, and the gap is customs. A shipment can clear in a day or sit for two weeks depending on the destination country's workload. Sellers can quote carrier transit times honestly but cannot promise how a customs office will handle a parcel on a given week.

From the Auvrique collection

Made to order · Every size