PrintNinja - online printing made easy for creators

Our customer service team has helped deliver more than seven million pieces to happy customers around the world. Lean more about that team and quote your printing project today!

Shipping Methods

This article will teach you about PrintNinja’s shipping methods.

We have established trade channels to get books from the factory right to our customers’ doors with as little hassle as possible. We offer freight forwarding, air shipping, and split shipping. We take care of all customs paperwork and processes for customers in the USA and Canada and for customers in other countries, we guide you through the import process step-by-step.

Expedited Air Shipping Plane Being Loaded

Expedited (Air)

Expedited shipping is sent via air freight, and
is the fastest option we offer. It’s more
expensive than standard shipping, but it only
takes approximately 1 week for your project to
travel from China to your door.

We also have a Premium Expedited option that can bring the 1-week expedited turnaround down to about 3 days. These shipments must be custom quoted and your timeline must be confirmed with your account manager before your order is placed.


Standard Ocean Shipping Linear Carrying Containers

Standard (Ocean)

Standard shipping is sent via ocean liner and takes
approximately 6 weeks to get your project from
China to your door once production is complete.
However, timing can never be guaranteed for
standard shipments, since they have to go through
an extensive customs process at both the import
and export stages.*

*Heavy volume and COVID restricted labor at the ports are causing shipping delays of 2-3 weeks on Ocean Shipping.


Shipping Option Split

Hybrid Shipping Method

If you need part of your project fast, but still want to save money overall, you can choose our partial expediting option. A portion of your project will be sent via air, while the rest arrive via ocean freight. Our online instant quote calculator can handle calculating shipping cost for this option.
Go to the Shipping Calculation section for a walkthrough.


Split Shipping

We can ship your order to multiple addresses. For example you can send a portion of your order to our warehouse for storage and a portion to your home address. Many companies take advantage of this option to send large portions of their catalog order to all their stores.

If this option is right for you, please let us know before you place your order. You can email your account rep or let us know through our “specialty add-ons” form found on our calculator after you lock in your quote. We will need to know how many units you would like to send to each address.

Shipping Methods International

Domestic Shipping Options

We ship most orders printed domestically with UPS. You have the options of Ground Shipping, 2nd Day Air, and Next Day air to choose from. Orders printed domestically usually take 5 – 7 business days from the ship date to arrive at your door. We may utilize USPS for low quantity orders (like a single unit) in some cases. Orders printed in the U.S. can still utilize split shipping and shipping to fulfillment warehouses. Drop-shipping is not available.

Tracking Numbers

You will receive a tracking number right away for any expedited air copies. However, standard (ocean) shipments don’t have tracking information available until they have cleared customs in the USA (approximately five weeks into the shipping process). Once they have cleared customs and been delivered to the UPS warehouse, you will receive a tracking number for the final leg of your shipment.

Potential Delays

With the exception of our guaranteed delivery date service available for expedited orders, all of our shipping times are approximate. For standard speed (ocean) shipments, your order may arrive before, during or after the estimated timeframe provided. Shipping time will vary based on weather conditions, port and boat capacity, labor fluctuations, customs approval and other factors.

To be completely safe, we recommend adding a few weeks onto your expected delivery date to account for the many unforeseen events that can take place in international ocean shipping. For example, occasionally one of our shipping containers will be flagged for a random customs inspection by Customs and Border Protection, adding a 1-2 week delay that is out of our control.

Freshly updated customer reviews from TrustPilot