Same-Day Printing in Vancouver

Need it today? Minuteman Press East Vancouver offers same-day printing in Vancouver for many of our most popular digital printing products. If your business cards ran out before a meeting, your event flyers need to be in hand this afternoon, or your open house is tomorrow morning, we can often print your job the same day you order it.

Please read this page carefully before you order, because same-day printing is not a guarantee for every job. Whether we can print your order today depends on the product, the quantity, the stock we have on hand and whether your artwork is print-ready. That is an honest limit, not a sales line: we would rather tell you today what is possible than promise a deadline we cannot meet. Before you count on a same-day turnaround, please call us at (604) 558-2858 to confirm for your specific job. We will give you a straight answer, and if same-day is not possible, we will tell you the fastest realistic option.

Our shop is at 871 East Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6A 3Y1, and we are open Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. You can pick up a same-day order at the shop, or we can deliver it locally. For the full range of what we print, see our printing in Vancouver page.

What Can Be Printed Same-Day

The products below are the ones most often available for same-day printing. Treat this list as “typically available” — the final answer for your job depends on quantity, stock and print-ready artwork, so please call to confirm.

• Business cards — our most common same-day job. Standard business cards are typically available same-day in normal quantities; premium, foil and NFC business cards may need extra time because of the special materials and finishes involved.
• Flyers — single- and double-sided flyers are typically available same-day in standard sizes and quantities, making them a good choice for events, promotions and last-minute announcements.
• Postcards — postcards for invitations, open houses, thank-you notes and direct mail are typically available same-day in normal quantities.
• Brochures — simple folded brochures are typically available same-day; multi-page or heavily finished brochures may need a next-day turnaround.
• Posters — posters for events, in-store displays and community boards are typically available same-day in standard sizes.
• Documents and CAD printing — everyday documents, reports and CAD drawings and blueprints can often be printed the same day, which is useful when a meeting or a site deadline cannot move.
• Vinyl stickers and labels — stickers and labels are often available same-day in standard sizes and quantities, depending on the material and cutting required.

Not on this list? Ask us. Banners, signs and other large format printing, UV printing and custom clothing sometimes can be rushed too, but they usually need more production time — call us and we will check.

How Same-Day Printing Works

Same-day printing works when every step moves quickly. Here is the process:

1. Call us first. Call (604) 558-2858 as early in the day as you can and tell us the product, size, quantity and when you need it. We will confirm whether same-day is possible for your job and what time you can collect it.
2. Send print-ready files. Send your files through our online file upload, or email them to hastings@minutemanpress.com. A print-ready PDF is the fastest option — see the tips below.
3. Approve your proof fast. We check your artwork and send you a proof to approve before we print. On a same-day job, the clock is running during proofing, so please watch for the proof and approve it — or ask for changes — as quickly as you can.
4. We print your order. Once you approve the proof, your job goes straight into production on our digital printing equipment.
5. Pick up or get it delivered. Pick up your order at 871 East Hastings Street, or have it delivered locally. Make sure you know our closing time — 5:30 p.m., Monday to Friday — and allow time to collect your order before we close.

You can also get a free quote for a rush job. Tell us your deadline in the quote request and we will confirm the fastest turnaround we can offer.

Tips to Hit a Same-Day Deadline

Most same-day jobs are delayed by artwork, not by printing. These tips give your job the best chance of finishing today:

• Send a print-ready PDF. Export your artwork as a PDF with bleed (usually 3 mm / 0.125 inch on each side) and crop marks, at the finished size you want printed.
• Use CMYK colour. Set your colours to CMYK rather than RGB, so what you see on screen is close to what comes off the press.
• Outline your fonts, or embed them. Outlining fonts — or embedding them in the PDF — stops text from reflowing or substituting when your file is opened on another computer.
• Use high-resolution images. Photos and logos should be high resolution at the printed size, so the result looks sharp rather than pixelated.
• Approve your proof quickly. Check the proof carefully — spelling, phone numbers, dates, prices — and then approve it right away. Every minute spent waiting for approval is a minute less for printing.
• Order early in the day. The earlier we receive your files and your proof approval, the more production time we have. A file that arrives at 4:00 p.m. leaves very little time before our 5:30 p.m. closing.
• Call before you order. A quick call to (604) 558-2858 confirms the product, quantity and stock — and saves you from ordering a job that cannot be finished today.

If your file is not print-ready, our design team may still be able to help, but design work takes time and can push a job to next-day. Send your best file first and let us know what needs fixing.

When Same-Day Isn’t Possible

Some jobs simply need more time, and we will always tell you when that is the case. Same-day printing is usually not possible for:

• Large quantities. Big runs take longer to print, cut and finish, and may need to be scheduled across the day or overnight.
• Specialty finishes. Foil, embossing and other special finishes add production steps and drying or curing time, so they are usually a next-day or longer job.
• Books and booklets. Multi-page books and booklets need printing, folding, binding and trimming, which rarely fits into a same-day window.
• Special materials. Some papers, boards and UV-printing materials need to be ordered in, or need extra handling and curing time.

When same-day is not possible, ask us about next-day and rush options. We will give you the earliest realistic completion time and a quote, so you can plan around it. For anything that is not urgent, our regular turnaround and our full range of services are on our printing in Vancouver page.