It’s important to understand the difference between resolution and blurriness or focus issues.
When you upload a file to our order system or use the “File Quality Check”, our site calculates the resolution (the total dots per inch) in your file and then determines the maximum size your image can be enlarged before it will start to pixelate or look distorted. This is because resolution determines how many pixels your source image contains, and the more pixels you have, (the higher resolution), the larger you can print a photo before distortion begins.
However, it’s impossible for the computer to know if your image is blurry to begin with. Just because you have a high resolution image doesn’t mean it isn’t already blurry or out of focus. When we enlarge your image for poster printing, we are ‘enlarging’ what you already send to us. We count on you to be choosing and uploading an image that is already crystal clear and in focus to begin with, then the resolution checking tool will be accurate.
If you upload an image that is already out of focus or blurry, you’re going to receive a larger version of the same image. We cannot be responsible for ‘blurry’ images when your source file is already blurry.
Always check your source image on your own screen at actual size to ensure you’re selecting an image that is perfectly clear, and in perfect focus, before sending to us for printing.
During checkout our system shows you a variety of shipping methods, grouped under “Express Shipping” and “Standard Shipping”. Express shipping is recommended for orders that you need by a specific date.
Under “Standard Shipping”, we state: “Orders with standard shipping are printed and shipped within 48 hours. For the most economical shipping, choose one of our standard shipping methods below when you have a little more time to receive your order.”
When you choose standard shipping (PRIORITY MAIL) your order is printed and shipped within 48 hours or 2 business days, the postal service then can take another day for pickup and another 2 -4 days for delivery. Our checkout screen also shows you the date your package will arrive by when you choose USPS Priority Mail, and it is 12 calendar days from the date you placed your order.
While we know it can be frustrating to wait for a package to arrive when it shows shipped, please keep in mind that you were shown a date 12 days from the date of your order as the arrival date and this is the method you chose. In virtually every case, your order will arrive by the date given to you on checkout. You can also find this date on your confirmation email.
It is never recommended to choose USPS Priority Mail for an order that you need to arrive by a guaranteed time or that you wish to watch the tracking progress. This is because the US Postal Service is notorious for rarely scanning or updating their tracking systems for Priority Mail. Most customers report that their package has arrived when the USPS tracking system still shows nothing more than “label generated.”
As our shipping screen states, USPS is a great and economical choice when you have time and patience to receive your print via a slower method at the cheapest price. If you need accurate tracking and faster delivery, we highly recommend FedEx.
Posterprintshop specializes in small “short-run” orders of 1 – 50 posters. Once you need more than 50 copies of the same poster, it can be more economical to go with an offset printer that specializes in mass-run printing.
With Posterprintshop, each individual copy of each poster is carefully and individually printed on large format photography quality inkjet printers, that can take from 15 minutes to several hours per poster to print one copy. This results in the high quality we are famous for.
Because each file submitted is individually opened, analyzed, prepared for printing, printed on one of our specialty printers, then carefully cut, rolled and packaged – we do have a minimum order value of $15. This minimum order amount barely covers the labor involved to cover the steps necessary to prepare, print and package your order. Because of the steps and labor involved, we do not accept orders of less than $15 in value.
Any order that would cost less than $15 is more of a “photo enlargement” and you should visit your local Walgreens or pharmacy for this type of inexpensive order.
Express Printing & Shipping
We can print and ship orders the same day if they are received by noon Pacific (3 pm Eastern) and you select an express shipping method (Fedex or UPS Next Day or 2nd Day Air). These orders receive priority processing and will ship the same day when ordered by 12 pm/3 pm and will ship the following day when ordered after 12 pm Pacfic/3 pm Eastern. This means you can have your order the next business day if you choose express shipping.
Remember that Saturday and Sunday are not business days and do not count for printing or shipping. Orders placed Friday can be received on Monday or Tuesday if you choose express shipping.
Saturday Delivery
In some areas Saturday delivery is available, but you must call our offices to request Saturday delivery if you need this service.
Standard Processing & Shipping
If you don’t need your order in a rush, you can choose a more economical shipping method such as FedEx and UPS Ground or USPS Priority Mail. Orders placed with these shipping methods print and ship within 48 hours. You should allow 4 – 7 business days for orders to arrive when you choose UPS Ground or USPS Priority Mail.
If you need your order in a hurry, please choose an express shipping method.
Calculating Shipping Time
We print and ship from Los Angeles California. When placing your order, our checkout screen will show you the estimated arrival date for your order based on the method you choose and the time you place your order.
On April 4th, 2014, we launched an all new site based on new technology. We know sometimes change can be disorienting, but it was time for us to give the site an overhaul. Our last site was built on server technology from 2008 and a lot has changed since then!
As computers and browsers get faster, files and camera resolutions get larger, and customers access the web and our site from new devices such as tablets and phones, we needed to be able to grow with the future and to serve YOU better.
To do so, we re-built our site on the latest technology, optimized it for speed and large files, and incorporated new customer order management, databases, and more. With this new technology we’ll be able to add new features faster and grow with you. We have a lot more improvements in store, please bear with us as we fine-tune the shopping experience for you over the next few months.
Unfortunately, moving to the new system required an all new back-end system and database, and as such, we were not able to keep previous customer or order history. Please create a new account with your first order on this system and then all new orders will be saved and tracked. We apologize for this inconvenience but hope you soon will agree that the benefits of the new system architecture and speed will be worth the changes!
If you encounter problems or have feature requests for us, please don’t hesitate to let us know by sending a message, via live chat, or through the contact us page.
All of our orders are custom printed specifically for you from your files. Therefore, there are no refunds on orders unless a print is damaged during shipment. If for any reason a print does not live up to your expectations, please contact us so that we can re-print it to your liking. We must be notified within one week of delivery of your print(s) of any issues for a re-print to be sent.
Our output is carefully rolled and packaged to protect the contents in rigid cardboard tubes and boxes. Laminating and mounting services significantly increase the time to complete your order as well as increase the weight, dimensions and shipping cost of your order. Vinyl, cloth and film output cannot be mounted or laminated. If you require your paper output to be mounted or laminated, we suggest taking the poster to your local Kinko’s or similar print-shop for finishing once you receive it from us.
Our Onyx output system provides the highest quality output with the closest possible representation of your original file. We recommend you do any color correction necessary before sending your file to us. If you have the time and require a proof, we will send you a color sample before printing your poster. If you would like to provide us with your original file and wait to approve a sample, we will send a sample to you for $20 (+ shipping & handling) on the media of your choice.
With our state-of-the art 6 color inkjet printing system we are able to print in full 2400 dpi resolution on the highest quality materials available, including: photographic quality gloss paper; matte paper; scrim vinyl; soft fabrics such as cotton, polyester & silk satin; artist canvas; backlit film, adhesive vinyl and outdoor billboard paper. If you are looking for a specific material and don’t see it in our list, please call – we can probably get it for you.
You can review our full catalog of media here.
All of our posters are printed with the latest and highest quality UV inks. These new inks are specially formulated to provide excellent UV and fade resistance while still providing all of the vibrant colors and rich details previously available only with dye inks. Outdoor posters and banners can last as long as 6 months to 1 year in direct sunlight without any color loss. Images used indoors will rarely, if ever, fade.
Unfortunately we do not offer scanning services, we can only accept digital files. You can take printed photos to most photo labs or your local Fedex/Kinkos for scanning and then upload the digital file to us.
If your files are too large or your internet connection too slow, you can always burn your files to a CD-R and send them to us. Visit our contact page for our address.
Yes, this is the fastest and preferred method of getting your files to us. As you complete your online order, you will be given the opportunity to upload your files directly to our servers. You can also email them. Because graphic files can often be large in size, we recommend you have a high speed internet connection such as DSL to upload or email your files. If you have a slower or dialup modem connection, you may want to send your files to us on CD-R.
The maximum printable width for large format printing is 59.5″ on 60″ media. (53.5″ printable on up to 54″ media for artist canvas and all cloths). We can print up to 180″ (15 feet) in length. Keep in mind that we can only enlarge your original file up to 400%. We recommend 75 – 150 dpi of resolution at the final size (300 – 450 dpi at 25%). See our file preparation guidelines for help.
We offer SAME DAY printing AND shipping of all orders received by noon Pacific time. If you have your order to us by noon, you can have it the next day (if you choose overnight shipping). (We print and ship the same day, but it’s up to you to choose a shipping method that will get the posters to you within the timeframe you desire. Choosing next day shipping gets your poster to you tomorrow, 2nd Day Air in 2 days, 3 Day Select in 3 days, and ground can vary – 1-2 days for west cost orders, 2-3 for central and 4-5 days for east coast customers. Orders received after noon will ship the following day. Large orders (10 or more prints) may require extra time. We pride ourselves on providing the fastest on-demand printing at the best price. Please call to determine turn times for your large jobs, we will try to accomodate your needs!
For optimal large format output, we recommend 100-150 dpi of info at final print size for photographic images. 75 dpi at final print size is adequate for most jobs. A good rule of thumb is to try and have an original source file at 25% of the final output size with 300 – 450 dpi resolution. See our file preparation guidelines for help.
Yes, we support files and can print from both platforms.
We recommend you provide flattened .tif or high quality (uncompressed) .jpg files for output. We can also accept files from most popular photo and page design software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark XPress, InDesign, and Corel Draw. Other applications and file types may require additional setup time and costs. See our file preparation guidelines for help.
We can print from either CMYK or RGB image files. However, we recommend supplying CMYK files for optimal output. All inkjet and large format printers print in CMYK. There can be a slight color shift when converting from RGB to CMYK, so it is best that you have already converted the file so you can check the colors yourself. If you do send an RGB file, our high quality output system will provide the best possible conversion.