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A single 50 × 70 framed chart weighs under three kilograms, but it occupies roughly 20 litres of space. Carriers know that a truck fills up long before it reaches its weight limit, so they bill on whichever is greater: actual weight, or volumetric weight.
The formula
Volumetric weight equals length × width × height in centimetres, divided by 5,000. For our 50 × 70 example that is 74 × 54 × 5 ÷ 5,000 = 4.0 kg — comfortably above the physical weight. The 4.0 kg figure is the one that sets your freight cost.
What this means for your order
- Filling a shipment to its volumetric threshold costs nothing extra in freight, so adding a few more units is often free.
- Unframed prints ship flat and cost a fraction of framed freight — consider a print-only mix if your margin is tight.
- Orders above 150 kg chargeable move as palletised freight, which is quoted manually and usually works out cheaper per unit.
Our checkout shows both the actual and volumetric weight before you pay, along with the zone rate and transit estimate. Nothing is hidden behind a "calculated at checkout" placeholder.
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Knowposter — wholesale reference charts, published minimums and predictable freight for independent retailers.
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