How long does pen engraving take? Working out your delivery date

If you are ordering an engraved pen for a particular date, the question is not how long engraving takes — it is how many working days sit between your order and the moment it needs to be in someone's hands. Here is how to work that out.

Engraving itself is quick

The cut takes minutes. What determines your delivery date is when the order reaches us and which postal service you choose, not the engraving.

Orders placed before 3pm on a working day are engraved and dispatched the same day. Orders after 3pm, or at weekends, go out the next working day.

Then add the post

Our delivery options are:

• Standard — Royal Mail, 2 to 4 working days, free on every UK order
• Express — Royal Mail, 1 to 2 working days, £4.50

Royal Mail does not deliver on Sundays, and bank holidays do not count as working days. An order placed after 3pm on a Friday is dispatched on Monday; on standard delivery it usually arrives between Wednesday and Friday.

A simple rule

For a gift with a fixed date, order at least five working days ahead on standard delivery, or three on express. That gives you a day in hand if something goes wrong at either end.

For anything genuinely important — a retirement presentation, a wedding — give yourself a week. Not because we need it, but because you want the pen sitting safely in a drawer before the day rather than tracking a parcel the night before.

Ordering several pens

Small numbers go out on the same schedule. For larger runs, particularly with individual names or a logo, timings depend on the artwork and how quickly a proof is approved — that back-and-forth is usually the longest part. Tell us your deadline when you enquire and we will confirm what is achievable. See Corporate & Bulk Orders.

Leaving it late

If the date is tight, say so. Put it in the order notes or email us. We cannot bend Royal Mail, but we can make sure your order is the one that goes out first, and we will tell you honestly if it is not going to make it rather than let you find out on the day.

International

International delivery is £9.95 to the EU and the rest of the world. Customs timings are outside anyone's control, so allow considerably longer for a dated gift going abroad.

Full details are on our Delivery & Returns page. If you are working to a deadline and want to check before ordering, email hello@penspersonalised.co.uk.