How to order print online

Here is how to order print online with InstantBanners: pick the product, choose your options while the price updates, sort your artwork, then pay by card at checkout. That is the whole process. The rest of this page explains each step, what you see on screen and what happens once you have paid.

Before you start: what to have ready #

Ordering takes a few minutes if you know three things before you open a product page. Most delays come from missing details, not from the website.

• The size. Measure the wall, fence or window it is going on. For banners, our guide on what size banner you need helps you choose.
• The wording. Write it down and check phone numbers, email addresses and spellings twice.
• Your deadline and postcode. The date sets which turnaround you pick. The postcode decides the delivery charge.

How to order print online, step by step #

How to order print online is the same whether it is a banner, a sign, a pack of labels or a box of business cards. Only the options change from product to product.

1. Find the product. Use the menu or search. If you are not sure which material you need, the buying guides compare them, for example Foamex, Dibond or Correx for rigid signs.
2. Choose your options. Size, material, finish (such as hems and eyelets on a PVC banner) and quantity. The price updates as you choose, so you can compare combinations before you commit.
3. Pick a turnaround. Saver, Standard or Express, where the product offers them. Each shows its own price and the working days to dispatch next to it.
4. Choose how you will supply artwork. Design it online, upload your own file, or pick a paid artwork service. The options are explained below.
5. Add it to your basket. Any artwork fee shows as its own line, so you can see exactly what you are paying for.
6. Enter your delivery address. The delivery charge is worked out from your postcode and your basket, and shown before you pay.
7. Pay by card. Payments are handled securely by Stripe. We never see or store your full card number.
8. Watch your inbox. You get an order confirmation email straight away, and a dispatch email with tracking when the order leaves us.

Choosing your artwork route #

Artwork is the one step people get stuck on when they first learn how to order print online, so here are the choices side by side.

Option	Cost	What happens
Design it online	Free to design and preview	You build the design on screen and approve exactly what you see. That is what we print.
Upload print-ready artwork	£0	A person on our team gives it a free file check for resolution, size and bleed, and tells you if anything needs fixing.
Typesetting	£15	We set your text and logo on a clean layout. Includes 1 proof + 2 rounds of changes.
Design from your brief	£35	A full layout from your brief, logo and photos. 1 design + 2 rounds of changes.
Logo redraw	£50	We recreate a low-resolution logo as a clean vector file you keep.
New logo	£100	A new logo from your brief, supplied as vector files.

Designer previews carry a small watermark. The print file never does, and when you order printing the print-ready PDF is attached to your order. If you only want the file, it costs £9.99 per design with no printing. If you are uploading, read our artwork guidelines first; a file set up at the right size with bleed goes through the check fastest.

Ordering several items with the same design

If you want a banner and a matching sign, choose “same artwork as another item in my basket” on the second product. One design fee then covers every item with that design.

What you pay at checkout #

When you work out how to order print online on a budget, it helps to know that the price in the configurator is the price. We are not VAT registered, so no VAT is added. Three things can be added in the basket:

• Delivery: £7.95 per order to UK mainland addresses, free when your goods total is £99 or more after any discount code. Artwork and design fees do not count towards the £99.
• Oversize items: banners over 3 m on any side and boards larger than A0 add £15, once per order. Our oversize delivery charge article has examples.
• Mainland Scottish Highlands: +£10 once per order, even when delivery is otherwise free.

Northern Ireland, the Scottish islands, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight are quoted before you order. We do not deliver outside the UK.

Common mistakes when you order print online #

• Picking Saver for a close deadline. Saver is the cheapest, but it is also the slowest. Count working days back from your date before you choose.
• Forgetting delivery time. Turnaround is the time to make your order. Courier delivery usually takes a further 1 to 3 working days after dispatch.
• Approving a typo. In the online designer, what you approve is what we print. Read it aloud before you click approve.
• Uploading a small image. A logo that looks sharp on a phone can print blurred at 6 ft × 3 ft (1829 × 914 mm). The file check will flag it, but it is quicker to send the original file first time.

After you pay #

Production time starts when your order and artwork are confirmed, and it is counted in working days (Monday to Friday, not bank holidays). Uploaded files are checked first; designer orders go straight into production on your approval. Our guide to what happens after you order walks through each stage, from confirmation to tracking.

If you change your mind, tell us before production starts and we cancel and refund in full. Items printed to your specification cannot be returned for a change of mind once they are made, which is normal for personalised goods under UK consumer law. The gov.uk consumer protection rights page sets out the general rules.

Still not sure? #

Knowing how to order print online is easy once you have done it once, but if the job does not fit a product page (an unusual size, a very large quantity or a remote delivery address), use get a quote or call us on 0161 315 1151 and a person will help.