---
title: Where to get a poster printed
description: Staples, FedEx Office, Pixartprinting, CEWE, Saal Digital, Bay Photo or a local framer: which to use, what each costs roughly, and how fast each one is.
canonical: https://paperanniversarygift.com/print-guide/where-to-print/
last-updated: 2026-09-09
---

# Where to get a poster printed

> For same-day printing use a walk-in shop: Staples or FedEx Office in the US, or a local print or copy shop anywhere else. For better paper at a lower price per print, use an online lab: Pixartprinting in the UK and Europe, CEWE and Saal Digital in Europe, Bay Photo in the US. A local framer often prints and frames together for less than doing both separately.

Staples, FedEx Office, Pixartprinting, CEWE, Saal Digital, Bay Photo or a local framer: which to use, what each costs roughly, and how fast each one is.

Source: https://paperanniversarygift.com/print-guide/where-to-print/
Published: 2026-09-09 | Updated: 2026-09-09

---

## Same day, walk in

| Where | Region | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Staples | US | Poster printing while you wait. Ask for matte, not glossy |
| FedEx Office | US | Large format up to 60 × 90 cm, same day |
| Local print or copy shop | Anywhere | Usually does A3 on the spot; ask what stock they carry |
| Ryman, Prontaprint and similar | UK | Varies by branch; call first for anything above A3 |

Two things to do when you walk in: **take the file on a USB stick as well as emailing it**, because shop mail filters are unpredictable, and **say no to auto-enhance**. Some machines apply sharpening by default, which on line art produces hard, slightly jagged edges.

## Online labs

Cheaper per print, better paper, two to five days.

| Lab | Region | Good for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pixartprinting | UK / EU | Cheap at large sizes, good matte stock |
| CEWE | EU | Reliable consumer lab, frequent offers |
| Saal Digital | EU | Strong fine-art paper options |
| Bay Photo | US | Professional lab; giclée and canvas |
| Printful | Global | Print on demand, will ship framed |
| Shutterfly, Vistaprint | US | Convenient, adequate; not fine-art quality |

## A local framer

Frequently the best value and the least obvious option. A framer will usually print and frame in one job, and because they are already handling the print they will mount it properly and cut a mount to fit.

Ask for a price on "print and frame, 30 × 45 cm, premium matte, thin black frame". In most towns this comes in below the cost of an online lab print plus a shop-bought frame, and the result is better.

## Rough costs

Prices vary by country and by year, so treat these as orders of magnitude rather than quotes.

- **A3 / 30 × 45 cm matte:** the price of a couple of coffees at a walk-in shop
- **50 × 75 cm matte:** two to three times that
- **60 × 90 cm:** meaningfully more, and worth a proof first
- **Fine-art giclée:** two to four times the equivalent matte print
- **Off-the-shelf frame:** cheap at standard sizes; a custom frame is three to five times more

## Order a proof for large prints

At 50 × 75 cm and above, ask the lab for a small proof before the full run, or print an A4 section at home first. What you are checking is not colour but **line weight**: whether the smallest labels are as crisp as you expect at that scale.

This costs almost nothing and it is the only way to catch a problem before you have paid for a large print.

## What to send

- The original 300 DPI PDF, unedited
- sRGB colour profile
- No border, unless you want one, say which
- The exact size in cm or inches, not "A2-ish"

If a printer asks for CMYK, let them convert it. A black-and-white line drawing converts cleanly, and converting it yourself is where blacks go grey.

## International orders

If you are buying a printed poster from abroad rather than printing a file locally, budget for customs delay. This is the main reason a digital file beats a posted print for a gift with a date attached, [the comparison is here](/digital-download-vs-printed-poster-gift/).