Proof first.

We print what you meant, not only what you sent: every job gets a printed proof on the real stock before the run starts.

Start a job
Jobs
A row of bright printed posters pinned along a board
Sizes
A3 to A0
Paper
170 gsm silk or 135 gsm matt
Ready
Same day, files by 2 pm
From
£4 an A3

One printed proof on the real stock, free on runs of twenty or more.

Quote posters

Walk in. Walk out with it.

No appointment and no account. Bring a file, a memory stick or the original, and watch it come off the machine.

  1. Copies

    Black and white or colour, A4 and A3, single or double-sided.

    While you wait

    8p a side

    Ready

  2. Print from a file

    PDFs, photos and slides: email them to the counter or plug in a stick.

    While you wait

    15p a side

    Ready

  3. Scanning

    Documents, drawings and photos to PDF or TIFF, up to A3.

    While you wait

    £1 a scan

    Ready

  4. Laminating

    Gloss or matt pouches from A6 to A3, for menus, signs and rotas.

    Ten minutes

    £1.50

    Ready

  5. Binding

    Comb, wire or thermal binding for reports, theses and portfolios.

    Same day

    £3.50

    Ready

  6. Large format

    Plans, posters and banners up to A0 on the roll printer.

    Same day

    £9

    Ready
The edges of stacked card in many colours

Pick your paper.

Hold it before you choose it: every stock below sits in the swatch drawer by the counter.

StockWeightFeelGood for
Bond100 gsmSmooth, uncoatedLetters, zine pages
Silk170 gsmSoft sheenPosters, flyers
Recycled120 gsmFlecked, uncoatedReports, menus
Matt board350 gsmChalky and stiffPostcards, covers
Kraft300 gsmBrown and roughTags, invitations
Colour card240 gsmEighteen coloursSigns, school projects
A wall pasted edge to edge with colourful gig and event posters

Big is our small size.

Gig posters, plans and window bills from A3 to A0 on the roll printer, the same afternoon when the file is in by two.

Quote a poster
  1. A6
  2. A5
  3. A4
  4. A3
  5. A2
  6. A1
  7. A0

Off the press this week.

A few of the jobs that went over the counter, as they were written on the docket.

  1. Black and white exhibition posters with bold patterns on a wall

    Exhibition posters

    40 × A2 on 170 gsm silk

    Thursday, 3 pm

    Collected
  2. A sheet of holographic die-cut stickers on a table

    Holographic sticker sheets

    300 × A6, kiss-cut

    Friday, 11 am

    Posted
  3. A festival poster with a red patterned rooster on yellow

    Festival poster run

    250 × A3 on 170 gsm matt

    Monday, noon

    On the shelf
  4. Black and white photo prints laid out on a chequered cloth

    Photo zine, 32 pages

    60 copies, stapled

    Tuesday, 5 pm

    Collected
  5. A pink and white typographic workshop poster

    Workshop posters

    30 × A1 on recycled 120 gsm

    Wednesday, 10 am

    Posted
  6. Close-up of newspaper-style menus with large headlines

    Newspaper-style menus

    500 × A3 on 100 gsm bond

    Wednesday, 4 pm

    On the shelf

Fold it, stitch it, bind it, trim it.

Finishing happens on the back bench, by hand and by machine, while you wait for most jobs.

  1. Concertina-folded leaflets standing on a tiled floor

    Fold

    Half, letter, Z and concertina folds, creased first so card never cracks.

  2. A hand-stitched booklet with a black cover standing open

    Stitch

    Saddle stitching for zines and programmes up to 64 pages.

  3. A stack of wire-bound notebooks seen from the spine

    Bind

    Wire and comb binding that lies flat on a desk or a music stand.

  4. A paper trimmer cutting a sheet of red card on a green mat

    Trim

    Guillotined to the line with bleed, corners rounded on request.

Paper with a past.

Most of what we sell is recycled or FSC-certified. Toner cartridges go back to the maker, misprints come back as free notepads at the till, and offcuts go to the primary school round the corner.

  • Recycled by defaultHouse stock is recycled unless you ask for something else.
  • Notepads from misprintsGlued in pads of fifty, free with any order.
  • Offcuts to the art roomCollected every Friday by the school next door.
Sheets of yellow and green paper fanned out in soft focus

Send it right, get it right.

Four things we check on every file. Get them right and your job skips the fix-up queue.

  1. 3 mm bleed on every edge

    Let colour run past the trim, so no white hairline shows after the cut.

  2. Crop marks, or none at all

    Put them outside the bleed, or leave them off and we add our own.

  3. Words 5 mm inside the trim

    Keep text and logos clear of the blade.

  4. Colour at 300 dpi

    CMYK is best; RGB is fine too, we convert it and show you a proof first.

Email files to files@shortrun.example or bring them in on a stick.

A linen tester resting on a colour calibration chart
A proof sheet with its bleed, trim marks, safe area and colour bar

Asked at the counter.

The questions we hear most, answered the way we would answer them across the desk.

Do I need an appointment?

No. Walk in any time we are open. For runs over a thousand sheets, ring ahead so the machine is free.

Which files do you take?

A print-ready PDF is best. We also open Word, PowerPoint, JPG, PNG and packaged InDesign files, and we will tell you if anything looks off.

How fast is same day?

Files in by 2 pm are printed, finished and on the shelf by close. Copies and prints from a stick are done while you wait.

Can I see a proof first?

Yes. Every job gets a printed proof on the real stock; it is free on runs of twenty or more and a pound otherwise.

Do you deliver?

Inside the ring road a bike courier brings it over the same evening. Anywhere else, we post it tracked the next morning.

Can you fix my layout?

Small fixes at the counter are free. A new layout, a poster or a menu from scratch is charged by the half hour.

Come in, or send it over.

A small shop front with a bright yellow wall and blue barrels by the door
Address
1 Example Street, Leicester LE3 0ZZ
Hours
Monday to Friday 8:00–19:00, Saturday 9:00–17:00, closed Sunday

Ask for a quote

We answer within two working hours.