Last updated on June 23rd, 2022 at 02:30 am

We get a lot of questions about printing turnaround times, especially from customers on a tight deadline. “Printing turnaround” isn’t an idea everyone has to deal with daily, so some confusion is understandable.

Take a few minutes to go through some of the most common questions our customers ask about printing turnaround times:

What is “Printing Turnaround”?

Simply put, it’s the estimated time necessary to complete a print job. This includes printing, cutting, binding, and other post-print processing and packing your orders for shipping.

We state printing turnaround times in business days. This estimate presumes there are no extraordinary circumstances that would stop production. Another term you may encounter is “production turnaround.”

Printing/Production turnaround is always separate from Shipping turnaround, depending on the courier.

What Turnaround Times Do You Offer?

UPrinting offers some of the fastest production turnaround times in the industry, leading our largest competitor by a wide margin. Just check any third-party review site!

Depending on the product, we have 1-day, 2-day, 4-day, and 6-day print turnaround options. Generally speaking, multi-page and bound products have longer default minimum turnaround times due to the extra processing needed.

Single sheet products can generally be shipped within one day, single-sheet stickers and labels being a notable exception requiring at least two days at the shortest turnaround option due to the extra processing needed to produce them.

Please remember that printing turnaround times are always stated on business days.

What’s the Difference Between a “day” and a “Business Day”?

“Business days” exclude days our production line is closed. We exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from our printing turnaround estimates.

When Do You Start Turnaround Time Estimates?

When we start producing your print job.

Production starts when:

• All print-ready artwork is uploaded to our cloud
• Full payment is received 

If a proof is requested, additional requirements need to be met:

• The returned proof has to be approved online through the customer’s account or by email. Online proofs are available within 8 hours of purchase. 6 hours if you order and purchase).
• If a hard copy is requested, production starts when we receive your signed proof.

If you decide not to have your files proofed: 

We can get started as soon as your files are uploaded and payments are made. However, we cannot assume responsibility for any final product errors arising from the lack of print proofing. We strongly recommend our free online proofing service if you’re not in a rush. Unlike other printing companies, we ensure a pre-press specialist manually inspects each file.

Other considerations:

• For one (1) day print turnaround times, if we receive your payment before 9 AM PST and approved proofs before 12 NN PST, you can expect shipping to start later that day.
• Production turnaround for approved orders and/or proofs between 12 NN PST and 5 PM PST starts the next business day.

What Can Affect Turnaround Times?

Unforeseen delays in supply delivery, accidents, inclement weather, and equipment failure are just some of the things that can negatively affect production turnaround. While we try our best to work around these issues, there’s always a chance that we may not be able to meet our estimates.

Is Shipping Time Included in Printing Turnaround Times?

Though we answered this in the first question, the answer bears repeating. Shipping turnaround is completely separate from printing turnaround.

Once ordered products are sent out for shipping, their safety and prompt delivery become the courier’s responsibility.

What Shipping Options are Available?

Our go-to couriers are FedEx or UPS. We do not ship using customer accounts.

Don’t hesitate to contact our customer service department for other shipping options.

How Do I Avoid Unexpected Delays?

• Know when the turnaround period begins. 
• Leave time for shipping and mailing. 
• Respond to 
• Include weekends and holidays in your delivery estimates.
• Don’t wait until the last minute. 

Understanding product turnaround times can be important, not just so you know when you can expect your print jobs to be finished. They allow you to plan time-sensitive print jobs better.

Image Credits: Card Calendar, Signage, and UPS Box images from Creative Commons via Wikimedia

Related posts:

The Truth on Offset Printing- Read Before You Print! Demystifying Turnaround Time Digital VS Offset Printing [Infographic]