Help Center

Acme will be closed 12/25/24 - 1/1/2025.  Orders will not be processed or shipped on these days.  Normal order processing will begin 1/2/2025.  Happy Holidays!

Acme Archives is located in Burbank, California.  Our business hours are 9:30am-5:30pm PT Monday through Friday.  If you wish to contact us, you can call us at (818) 252-1500, email us through our Contact Form (recommended for a quicker response) or directly at info@acmearchivesdirect.com.

Correspondence can be addressed to us at:

Acme Archives Limited
7575 San Fernando Rd
Burbank, CA 91505

Please note that we are not open to the public and do not have pick up available.

Acme is closed on the following holidays:  Thanksgiving (and the day after), Christmas, New Years Day, Martin Luther King Day and Memorial Day. Orders are not processed on these days.

Acme also has a specialty release site; Dark Ink which is located at www.darkinkart.com and a gallery/vendor wholesale site at acmearchivesgallery.com.

Created in 1996 by founder Lisa McLain, Acme Archives has grown to be a leader in officially licensed art products from many pop-culture titles.  Acme Archives is the official licensee for art products from many motion picture, gaming and television studios including The Simpsons, Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Marvel.  Acme has worked with Twentieth Century Fox, Halo, DreamWorks, Disney, Warner Brothers, DC Comics, Blizzard, Power Rangers and many more entertainment companies. Acme is a staple at San Diego Comic-Con and Star Wars Celebration and engages in many other art events throughout the year.

Please note if you had an account on our previous website, you will need to set up a new account.

You can register for an account here: CREATE ACCOUNT

You do not need to set up an account to purchase from our website, there is an option to check out as a guest when making your purchase.

Please be sure to sign up for our mailing list to find out more about our new releases and sales.

We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and Paypal.

We do not offer layaway options.

ORDER PROCESSING IS TAKING ADDITIONAL TIME DUE TO LIMITED STAFF.  WE APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE.

Standard order processing time is 3-4 business days for in stock items (prior to shipping). Please note that original production art may take longer to process. Orders placed during a sale will take longer to process.

If you absolutely need same day shipping, please contact us before placing the order.  If you have a specific date your order must be delivered by please contact us to check stock and processing time before placing the order. Once the order has been shipped, your estimated time of arrival will be determined by your selected shipping method for delivery.  

A framed item will take 15-22 business days* to process due to the fact that we do not keep framed items in stock.  Stretching or Gallery Wrap will also add 15-22 business days* to your process time. Editions that are signed by the artist may take longer to ship.  Orders placed over the weekend are not processed until the following Monday.

New releases may take several extra days to ship depending on demand and availability. Some items may be pre-orders.  If an item is a pre-order the estimated shipment date will be noted on the product page.

Once your order is shipped, you will receive an email shipping confirmation with tracking number.

*business days means that weekends and holidays are excluded, please keep that in mind when calculating your process time

We are closed on Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas Day and New Years Eve. Orders will not be processed on these days.

Some new releases may be limited to only 1 or 2 prints per customer.  This information will be noted on the product page.  Orders that circumvent our quantity limits will be canceled and refunded in their entirety without notice.  Our general stock items without quantity limitations listed are limited to 4 prints per customer.  If you wish to purchase more than 4 prints please contact us via our contact form.

We do not accept returns of original production artwork, this includes animation cels and drawings.  Please note that original artwork has been used in production and may have small scratches on cels or slight creases in drawings.  This is normal wear and tear.

CANCELLATIONS

If you would like to cancel an order prior to shipment please contact us soon as possible via our contact form. (using our contact form is the quickest way to receive a response) Refunds are generally issued within 24-48 hours during business days.

If cancelling an order before shipping that has an option selected like gallery wrap, stretching or frame selected, please cancel the order within 24-48 hours of placement as these options are done custom to the order.

DAMAGED ARTWORK

If artwork arrives damaged, please contact us within 10 days of receipt and we will work with you to get a suitable replacement.  Please do not throw away packaging or damaged pieces until we have confirmed they are no longer needed for any claims.  Please email us through the contact form about any damaged artwork for the fastest response. Do not send images unless requested. Sending images may delay response time. 

RETURNS

We do accept returns on limited editions.  We try our best to accurately represent the printed images, but due to monitor differences, there may be some differences in the colors displayed on our website and in the final print received. We must be contacted within 10 days from the date you received your order.  Once we have approved the return, the customer is responsible for the cost of shipping the artwork back as well as a 15% restocking fee.  We will not issue a credit or exchange until the returned artwork has arrived in house.  If a piece arrives damaged or has a problem please contact us within 10 days of receipt.  We will issue a return label and assist the customer in the return and replacement of the artwork. Please do not send a return without first receiving authorization from us. We do not accept returns on items that are custom orders.  Paypal refunds may take 4-5 days to process through Paypal.  Credit card refunds usually take 1-2 days to process through Authorize.net.  Once a return has begun processing, if 5 days go by without a response from the customer, the return will be canceled.  Returns must be processed in a timely manner. Please note that the refunds are only issued to the original payment method used on the order.

Please note that if a framed item is damaged that is a larger piece or has been shipped internationally, we may issue a partial refund for the frame cost instead of having the piece shipped back to us and the frame replaced.

Please note that discount codes (including rewards discounts) are not stackable.  Only one discount code can be applied per order.  Discounts can't be applied to past orders.

Some items may be exempt from discount codes.

We do normally have 2 set yearly sales - our Memorial Weekend sale and our Thanksgiving Holiday sale.  We also usually have a May the 4th sale.

Some new releases may be limited to only 1 or 2 prints per customer.  This information will be noted on the product page.  Our general stock items without quantity limitations listed are limited to 4 of the same print per customer. Orders that circumvent our quantity limits will be canceled and refunded in their entirety without notice. Please contact us if you need to purchase larger quantities of a print.

We recommend shopping as early as possible for the holidays. **USPS and Fedex may have additional shipping delays.**

Due to extended shipping times, we can't guarantee holiday delivery for international shipments. We recommend ordering no later than Dec 3rd for international shipments (unframed items).

International customers: our products can also be ordered through our UK partner Pulse Gallery

For domestic delivery for gallery wrap or framed items we recommend ordering by December 3rd for holiday delivery. (note that gallery wrapping/framing takes an additional 12-18 business days)

For domestic delivery for unframed items, we recommend ordering by December 13th.

Please note that some items signed by the artist may take additional time to ship.

Contact us here with any questions.

**We cannot guarantee delivery times due to Fedex and USPS delays**

We ship via Fedex and USPS (United States Postal Service) both internationally and domestically. Listed below are the methods available.  The majority of our shipments originate from our warehouse located in Burbank, California. These shipment estimates are from the time the order is shipped and are not relative to the order processing time. Please note that Fedex does not ship to PO Boxes unless there is a street address listed in addition to the PO Box.

USPS First Class Mail

USPS Priority Mail

Fedex Home Delivery

USPS International First Class Mail

USPS Priority Mail International

UK orders can be placed through our UK partner Pulse Gallery

$9.95 shipping option is via USPS Priority Mail or Fedex Ground/Home (only available on Acme Direct to US customers)

We are not responsible for missing packages once a shipment has been marked as delivered if a no signature option is chosen ($9.95 flat fee or USPS no signature). If you need to have a signature required for delivery, please choose an option that requires a signature. If your package shows delivered but you have not received it, please check around and ask neighbors if they have it. If you think it was stolen we recommend filing a police report in order to file a claim with the carrier.  You can also contact USPS for more information at this link

Oversized pieces with a shipment option of USPS chosen may be changed to Fedex to ensure safer delivery. 

Lithographs, silk screens and rolled canvas print prints are shipped rolled in tubes. Orders of 6 or more rolled prints are not guaranteed mint.  We recommend splitting orders for rolled orders above 6 prints to minimize possible damage. Giclee paper prints ordered with lithographs, silk screens and canvas prints will be shipped rolled unless there is a request to ship flat noted on the order.  Additional shipping costs may apply.  Giclee prints larger than 13" x 19" sized may be shipped rolled or flat depending on the shipping method chosen.

Please note that international customers may be subject to additional customs charges or clearance fees.  Acme is not responsible for these additional fees.  Orders are marked with the full order value for customs and will not be sent at lessor values or as samples.  Tracking information for USPS may not be in real time and orders may be received before USPS has updated their website that they have received the package.  USPS orders for countries outside the US ship to that country's postal service for delivery which can cause further delivery delays. Pulse Gallery located in the UK also carries our products.

Please note that prints with dimensions over 24" may need to be shipped via USPS Priority International Mail as the postal service in some countries have dimension limits and won't accept tubes longer than 24" when shipping USPS First Class International. Please check your country's requirements to select the correct shipping method. 

Please note that orders returned as unclaimed will not have their shipping charges refunded.  If an order is requested to be reshipped after being returned, additional shipping charges will be added. We recommend using the tracking number provided in the shipment confirmation email to track your package - this is the best way to stay informed of any delivery issues.

If you would like to combine shipping on multiple orders, please email us so we can change your order to a different process (please note that we may not be able to accommodate all requests, especially on framed and gallery wrapped items).  If you note that you want combined shipments during the order process, we may not be able to accommodate you as our shipping labels are automated. If you have placed an order with multiple items and an item is out of stock, the order will generally be held until all items are in stock.  We do not ship items as they becomes available unless requested.

Please note that most orders go out within 3-4 days.**  There may be some exceptions if a piece is out of stock.  If this happens, you will receive an email with an estimated ship date.  Framed pieces are not normally kept in stock.  Framing can add an additional 10-14 business days to the ship date. Please contact us via the Contact Form on our site with special requests or to check stock on an item.  Signed artwork may take longer to ship (up to 3 weeks) depending on artist availability.

**orders placed during sales, holidays or Comic-Con may take longer to ship out, original production cels may take longer to process and ship

If you would like to calculate shipping prior to checking out, please add the items you are interested in to the shopping cart and go to the shopping cart page here:

Shopping Cart

We offer gallery wrapping as an option for our canvas artwork. (all our canvases have a border for wrapping, the image itself is not wrapped). Gallery wrapping adds an additional 15-22 days to the processing time.

Gallery Wrap is a canvas stretched and secured to a thick wooden frame (approx 1.5" thick) stapled on the back with a hanging wire. A gallery wrapped canvas is suitable for hanging on the wall.

Please note that for international orders, we recommend gallery wrapping/framing locally. If you wish to ship a gallery wrapped item internationally please check that your country accepts oversize packages through their postal service.  Our gallery wrapped gems are smaller and are fine to ship internationally.

We do offer framing on the majority of our products. When adding an item to your shopping cart, there is an option to choose framing. Framing varies in cost and type. Some items have custom framing. Our general framing for paper prints is square black polystyrene frame with acid-free mat and plexiglass (non UV). See example below (matting style may vary)

Canvas artwork is stretched and framed without plexiglass, generally in a polystyrene float frame. When possible, we put up a framed image of the product on the product page.

If you would like to find out about the framing of an item, please contact us via our Contact Form and we will do our best to send you an image or a description of the framing available. Please note that we do not do custom framing.

We do not generally keep framed items in stock (this includes gallery wrapped items as well).  When ordering a framed item, please be aware that it may take up to 22 business days to process and ship the order.  Please let us know if you need something within a specific time frame and we will try our best to accommodate you.

Although we do ship framed items internationally, we recommend purchasing unframed and framing with your local framer.  If you wish to ship a framed item internationally please check that your country accepts oversize packages through their postal service.  Please note that if a framed item is damaged that has been shipped internationally, we may issue a partial refund for the frame cost instead of having the piece shipped back to us and the frame replaced.

If ordering off our website to have a print framed, we recommend waiting until you actually have the piece before purchasing frame materials as our sizing may refer to either the image size or the paper size (and may be rounded to the nearest quarter inch) or may vary from the description on the website. Many of our prints have borders to make it easier for framers to mat and frame them.

*business days means that weekends and holidays are excluded, please keep that in mind when calculating your processing time

Since our prints are limited editions, once a print is marked sold out, it means all prints in the edition have been sold and there are no more available in the edition to sell.  Limited editions are not reprinted.  A print may be temporarily marked out of stock if we run out of inhouse inventory and are expecting to receive more inventory in the near future (for example, we are waiting for an artist to sign prints or we are waiting for more prints to be shipped from the printer).

A giclee print is a high-resolution reproduction done on a special large format printer.  Giclees are printed with archival quality inks onto a variety of substrates such as convas and fine art paper.  The French term "Giclee" literally meaning "spray of ink," is used to describe these prints.  Precision nozzles spray up to a million microscopic droplets per second onto fine art paper.  The giclee printing process provides excellent color accuracy and highly detailed prints.

The majority of our giclee paper prints are printed on acid-free fine art archival paper (Somerset Velvet 255/300 gsm) using Epson UltraChrome PRO Ink.

The majority of our giclee canvas prints are printed on Urth Gloss canvas (archival certified, OBA-free) using Epson UltraChrome GS3 solvent ink.

From the Epson website:

Fade Resistance / Print Longevity:
UltraChrome PRO, our next-generation pigment ink technology, is independently rated by Wilhelm Research for up to 200 years for color prints and up to 400 years for black-and-white prints.
*Ink lightfastness rating based on accelerated testing of prints on specialty media, displayed indoors, under glass. Actual print stability will vary according to media, printed image, display conditions, light intensity, humidity and atmospheric conditions. Epson does not guarantee longevity of prints. For maximum print life, display all prints under glass or lamination or properly store them. Visit www.wilhelm-research.com for the latest information.

An offset lithograph print is created by creating a plate with the image to be printed.  Color images are produced using a four-color separation process, in which four different plates are made for the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks; when the plates are printed, the colors blend together visually, creating a color image. This printing technique takes advantage of the fact that oil and water do not mix.  The plate is brushed with rollers coated in water, and then with rollers covered in ink.  The ink is attracted to the parts of the plate which were exposed earlier, while the water keeps the unexposed portions clear so that they do not smear or transfer ink.  Then, the plate transfers the ink to a rubber roller know as a "blanket," and the blanket rolls across the paper; typically the paper is fed between the blanket and another roller to ensure that the image stays crisp.

Our lithograph prints are printed on acid-free paper. The majority of our prints are printed on 95# paper with a dull aqueous finish.

Silk screen printing utilizes a stencil method of print making in which a design is imposed on a screen of polyester or other fine mesh, with blank areas coated with an impermeable substance. Ink is forced into the mesh openings by the fill blade or squeegee and by wetting the substrate, transferred onto the printing surface during the squeegee stroke. As the screen rebounds away from the substrate the ink remains on the substrate. It is also known as silk-screen, screen, serigraphy, and serigraph printing. One color is printed at a time, so several screens can be used to produce a multicoloured image or design. There are various terms used for what is essentially the same technique. Traditionally the process was called screen printing or silkscreen printing because silk was used in the process prior to the invention of polyester mesh.

ORIGINAL PRODUCTION CELS:

Original production cels are one of a kind pieces of original production art that was actually used in the making of the animated show.  A series of cels are photographed in sequential order creating the illusion of movement.  While some cels from a sequence may look similar, each cel is unique.  Cels are hand-painted by overseas studios on clear acetate that are either 12-field size (10.5 x 12.5 inches) or 16-field size (16.5 x 13.5 inches).

The majority of animated shows and movies are now digital which means that the only production element available are drawings.  Some shows were originally done on cel, but have moved to the digital process like The Simpsons which went digital beginning with Season 14.  Other shows like Family Guy and Futurama have been digital from the beginning and have never had cels available from the show unless it was a specially created one of one or limited edition.

Please note that some images of cels on our site may show the cels before they are restored - before shipping, linework is inspected and restored if needed.

The term cel is derived from the word "celluloid" an early form of the material used in the animation industry until the mid-1940's.  More recent cels are painted on clear acetate.  Cel is commonly misspelled as "cell."

Please note that since the cels have been used in the production of the show, there may be some scratches or slight paint imperfections.  Depending on how many cels are part of the setup, there may be a slight "fogginess" due to the layers.

ORIGINAL PRODUCTION DRAWINGS:

Prior to creating cels or scanning artwork into a computer, the production process begins with a drawing. Rough drawings or layouts are created by key animators to establish pose and action while clean up drawings are done by clean up artists to produce finished line art that is ready to be painted either manually or digitally. Please note that since the drawings have been used in the production of the show, there may be some discoloration or creases in the paper. There may also be erasure marks from production.

ORIGINAL PRODUCTION BACKGROUNDS:

Most of our cel setups come with reproduced backgrounds, but select setups are released with the original background which makes them an exact representation of what was shot on camera in order to animate the scene. Simpsons backgrounds are unique in the fact that the original backgrounds are painted on cels with cel paint. The majority of original backgrounds for animated shows were painted on watercolor paper using cel or watercolor paint.

Cels that are sold with original backgrounds are called Collectors Portfolio pieces or Key Master Setups.

Serigraphing is a silk screen process. To produce a serigraph cel, a hand-cut master screen is prepared for each color in the scene. The serigrapher applies each distinct color separately one screen at a time in an exact process. Sericels are generally laid on a lithographic background. Edition sizes may range from 1000 to 5000 pieces and may or may no be numbered. Each limited edition comes with a certificate of authenticity.

This type of artwork was not used in the production of the animated show, but depicts a scene or the characters in a memorable pose. These edition have a hand-painted cel layer (or layers) and are laid upon a giclee or lithographic background. Edition sizes generally range from 100-500 pieces and are hand-numbered with certificates of authenticity.

The Pix-Cel is a trademarked product developed by Acme and Epson utilizing proprietary technology to give a fully rendered continuous tone 3-D image directly from digital production files onto clear acetate and positioned on a giclee background also from a digital production file. Each pix-cel is hand-numbered and comes with a certificate of authenticity. Edition sizes may range from 25-500.

An old-time traditional animator's term, a "Key" is a thumbnail of a character or a background element with color reference.  Acme's Character Keys are composed of a cel layer floated over a lithographic background.  The cel features a color rendition of the character while the background features sketches and color reference.   

Each character key comes matted with a title tag and a certificate of authenticity.  

Matted measurements are 8 inches by 6 inches.

If you would like to submit your artwork to us, please email artsubmissions[at]acmearchives.com (do not use our contact form for submissions).  When emailing us let us know where we can see your artwork, either online or select one image to send to us as an example of your work.  Please do not submit artists that you think would be good for our program, those artists will need to approach us directly.