Plan on six to ten weeks for an Indianapolis date. Our presses ship from Fullerton as freight and the crew flies in the day before load-in, so the shipping calendar sets the pace, not the press. For race week in May or Gen Con in August, treat eight weeks as the floor.
What that lead time buys you
- A freight slot that fits your load-in. The crates have to reach Indiana before the crew does. More runway means a normal shipping rate and no scramble.
- Hotel rooms near the venue. When the Indiana Convention Center has a big show on, rooms along the skywalk tighten fast, and the crew needs a bed close to the dock.
- Time to proof the art. Artwork should be final about a week out, and blank orders lock at the same point. Custom patches for a hat bar add roughly three weeks, so decide those first.
- Room to change the date. Date changes are easiest with two weeks' notice, because the freight is booked against the original day.
Shorter than six weeks? Ask anyway and we'll tell you straight whether the freight can still make it. Simple art and standard blanks are what make a tight Indy timeline possible. Planning an Indy 500 race-week activation or a convention booth months out is even better, since we can hold the date now. Either way it starts the same: send your date and headcount and we'll confirm availability within 24 hours.
A moving headcount delays an Indianapolis job more often than press availability does. If you're still waiting on registration numbers, give us your best guess and a date when the real figure lands.