What happens after you order

What happens after you order is simple: you get a confirmation email, your artwork is confirmed, the order is made, and it is dispatched with a tracking email. The only step that changes from order to order is the artwork, because a design you approved online, an uploaded file and a paid design service each take a slightly different route. This page walks through every stage and tells you what, if anything, you need to do.

Stage 1: order confirmation #

As soon as your card payment goes through, you get an order confirmation email with your order number, the items and options you chose, any artwork fee and the delivery charge. Keep that number; it is the quickest way for us to find your order if you call or message.

Check the email straight away. If a size, quantity or delivery address is wrong, tell us now. Before production starts, changes are easy.

Stage 2: artwork, depending on how you supplied it #

Artwork is where what happens after you order differs most, so find your route below.

You designed it online

If you used the online designer, which is available on products such as PVC banners and Correx boards, you approved exactly what you saw on screen before it went in your basket, so there is nothing more to confirm. Your order goes into production on that approval. The preview watermark is not printed, and the print-ready PDF is attached to your order.

You uploaded your own file

Every uploaded file gets a free file check by a person on our team, not just software. We look at three things:

• Size. Does the file match the size you ordered, or the same proportions if it is set up to scale?
• Bleed. Rigid boards and signs need 3 mm on every edge. Banners with hems and eyelets need text at least 50 mm from the edges.
• Resolution. Will photos and logos print sharp at full size? Around 100 to 150 dpi is enough for large banners; small items read close up need 300 dpi.

If the file is fine, it goes into production. If something needs fixing, we contact you and explain what and why, and production waits until the file is sorted. The check is about print quality; we do not rewrite your wording, so spellings and phone numbers are still yours to get right. Our artwork guidelines list everything a file needs.

You will upload it later

You can order before your artwork is ready. We email you after you order to collect the file, and it then gets the same file check.

You chose a paid artwork service

For typesetting (£15) we set your text and logo on a clean layout and send it to you by email: 1 proof + 2 rounds of changes. Design from your brief (£35) works the same way with 1 design + 2 rounds of changes. Logo redraws (£50) and new logos (£100) are supplied as vector files. Nothing is printed until you approve the final version.

Stage 3: production #

Production is the longest part of what happens after you order. Once your order and artwork are confirmed, the turnaround clock starts. It counts working days (Monday to Friday, not bank holidays), using the Saver, Standard or Express days you chose on the product page. Some items are printed in our Manchester workshop; many others are made to order by our UK production partner. Either way, we look after the order from start to finish, and you deal only with us.

Our guide to print turnaround times shows how to work out a dispatch date from your deadline.

Stage 4: dispatch and tracking #

When your order leaves us, you get a dispatch email with tracking details. Courier delivery usually takes 1 to 3 working days after dispatch. A few things are worth knowing:

• Large items, such as long banners and hoarding panels, travel in long boxes or on a pallet, and someone should be there to sign.
• If tracking has not moved for a couple of working days, contact us with your order number and we will look into it.

Delivery charges and areas are on our delivery page.

Stage 5: when it arrives #

Open the parcel and check the order soon after it arrives, even if the event is weeks away. Unroll banners, count the items and compare them against your confirmation email. If anything is damaged, faulty or not what you ordered, tell us within 48 hours with photos of the item and the packaging, and we will reprint or refund. Please do not send anything back until we reply. Our article on a damaged print order covers the steps.

Printing that matches your approved design or supplied file is not a fault, and small colour differences between a screen and printed material are normal.

Changing or cancelling what happens after you order #

You can cancel for a full refund at any point before production starts. Just contact us with your order number as quickly as you can, by phone on 0161 315 1151, on WhatsApp, or through our contact page.

Once production has started, the order cannot be cancelled. Items printed to your specification (your artwork, wording, size or options) cannot be returned for a change of mind. That is because the usual 14-day cancellation right does not apply to personalised goods under regulation 28(1)(b) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. Your rights for faulty or wrong items always apply.

A quick checklist #

• Read the confirmation email and check size, quantity and address.
• If you uploaded a file, watch for our email in case the file check needs a fix.
• If you chose a design service, reply to each version promptly.
• Keep the dispatch email for the tracking link.
• Check the order on arrival and report problems within 48 hours.

Once you know what happens after you order, the only waiting you do is for the courier. If anything is unclear at any stage, call us on 0161 315 1151 and a person will look at your order.