Printing Turnaround Time

Printing Turnaround Time Basics

For online printing, turnaround time begins after you have approved your proof, not when you place your order. When a proof is ready for your review, you will receive an email notification with a link to your job.

• We recommend you add No-Reply@Smartpress.com to your email program’s “safe senders” list to ensure you always receive your order status updates from our system.
• We will provide a PDF soft proof within 24 business hours and process proofs during our regular business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST, Monday through Friday, excluding weekends and holidays.

You are responsible for logging in to your Smartpress account and approving your proof. We usually combine orders to save on shipping costs, so please note that if you have two or more jobs with your order, your entire order will ship based on the job with the longest turnaround time.

How Production Turnaround Times are Calculated

Printing turnaround time begins at the next occurrence of 9 a.m. CST on a business day following your approval of a proof for every job in your order. Orders are scheduled to ship out by the end of the last day of production for an order.

Example 1

You place an order on Monday morning with a two-day production turnaround and you approve a proof before 9 a.m. CST on Tuesday:

• The first day of production for that job would be that Tuesday.
• It would expect to be finished and ship out by end of day Wednesday.

Example 2

You approve a proof for your order at 11:10 a.m. CST on Friday:

• The first day of production for that job will be the following Monday.

Example 3

You approve the proof for a job with a three-day production turnaround at 5:40 p.m. on Tuesday:

• It will begin production Wednesday morning and would be expected to ship out of our facility by the end of the business day on Friday.

Example 4

You place an order on Friday afternoon, Saturday, Sunday or before 9 a.m. on Monday:

• You will likely not receive your proof until after 9 a.m. on Monday.
• If you approve your proof by 9 a.m. on Tuesday, the first day of production on your order would be Tuesday.
• Smartpress is closed Saturdays, Sundays and holidays and these days are not counted when calculating production turnaround time.

Turn Time and Proofs

If your proof is not approved and changes need to be made before online printing can occur, the proofing cycle will start over and turnaround time will be recalculated based on your final approval.

As part of our online printing services, we will make every effort to produce your order as soon as possible. In many cases, orders may ship sooner than the policy requires.

Have a hard deadline by which you need to have your printing project? Please communicate that in your order or to your customer service representative. We will do whatever we can to ensure you receive your print project in time.

Long Runs May Require Additional Turnaround Time

Turnaround times may be extended for orders that have a high quantity or numerous finishing options. As an online printer, Smartpress reserves the right to extend the turnaround time for long runs, complex die cutting, or process-intensive jobs.

Jobs that May Require Additional Turnaround Time:

• High-quantity
• Numerous finishing options
• Certain types of coatings
• Complex die cuts or folds

If your particular job requires additional time to complete, a customer service prepress professional will let you know how your turnaround time will be impacted before the production of your job begins.

If you have a fast-approaching hard deadline, please contact customer service before placing your order. We can estimate how long it will take to print, finish and ship your order, provided that your proof is approved in a timely manner.