Enter the day it has to be in your hands and we work backward through business days and holidays to your artwork deadline — then tell you plainly whether the date is still makeable. If it isn't, you'll know now rather than the night before.
Most print sites quote production days. That's the time the job spends on press, and it deliberately leaves out the part that decides whether your banner is at the hall on Tuesday: shipping.
A "two day" job quoted in production days and shipped ground across the country is a week. Quoted the way we do it, two business days means two business days until it's in your hands — the clock starts when you approve the proof and stops when the boxes arrive. It's a less flattering number and it's the one you can actually plan against.
Files that land before 2:00 PM ET go onto the next business day's queue. After it, they go onto the one after that. Nothing gets added to a run that's already underway — the cutoff is simply the point at which the next day's schedule is set, and knowing it is worth a full day when you're close to the line.
Presses and carriers both keep business-day schedules, so neither counts. This calculator skips Saturdays, Sundays and the eleven US federal holidays, including the observed shift when one falls on a weekend. That matters more than people expect in late November and late December, when a week can quietly lose two days.
Turnaround isn't one number across a catalog — a business card and a printed tote don't go through the same process, so they don't take the same time. These are the ones we publish:
| Item | In hand |
|---|---|
| Business cards, postcards, retractable banners, foam core & Coroplast, aluminum & PVC | 2 business days |
| Table covers | 4 business days |
| Flyers & brochures, and swag — t-shirts, tote bags, mugs | 6 business days |
All of those are in hand, not in production — shipping is already inside the number, which is why a six-day tote and a two-day business card can still land on the same morning.
The longer figures assume two-day shipping, which is what most people pick at checkout. That's worth knowing if your date is tight: the shipping half of the number is yours to change. Choosing a faster service at checkout can pull an in-hands date in, and choosing ground will push it out. If you're close to the line, tell us the date and we'll work out which service actually makes it.
Ordering something not listed here? Ask and we'll confirm a date, usually the same business day.
Your order isn't held together and released in one box. Each piece ships on its own the moment it's finished, with its own tracking — so a slower item never delays a faster one, and you're not waiting on the back of the queue to get your business cards.
That's why the schedule above gives every piece its own deadline instead of one date for the whole order. If one item can't make your date, the rest still can, and you can order those now and talk to us about the rest.
Tell us anyway. The in-hands figures above assume two-day shipping because that's the usual choice at checkout — but that part of the number is a choice, not a fixed cost. A faster service can pull the date in, and on a specific job a smaller quantity or a different stock can move it further still. What we won't do is take the order and hope.
A no that arrives early is worth more than a maybe that arrives late. If we can't make your date we'd rather tell you today, while you still have time to solve it another way. That's the part that earns the next show.
It starts when you approve the proof. Ordering and approving are usually minutes apart, but if artwork needs fixing the clock pauses until the corrected proof is signed off — so getting files in clean is the single biggest thing you control.
Yes, or to your hotel. Tell us who it's addressed to and the day it has to land. Most venues have specific receiving windows and advance-warehouse rules, so check your exhibitor kit for where and when they'll accept a delivery.
The deadline in your schedule is for print-ready files. If your design is still moving, work backward from that date rather than the event, and give yourself a day for changes. If you need the file built, say so — that's a different timeline and we'll quote it.
No — it's a schedule. Typical timings, not a commitment on your specific job. Send us the details and we'll confirm the date in writing before anything goes to press.
Have you used this tool for a project? Tell people how it went → It takes a minute and it is the single most useful thing a customer can do for a small shop.
Printed and shipped anywhere in the continental US — to the venue, your hotel or your office.
See Pricing & Order →Or call (888) 868-4451 · Exhibitor printing
