337. The international application is published promptly after 18 months from the priority date except where early publication has been requested (Article 21(1) and (2)). International applications are usually published on Thursdays, and technical preparations for international publication are generally completed 15 calendar days before the actual publication date. When there is no international publication on a given Thursday because it is a day when the International Bureau is not open for business, publication may, but does not always, take place on the preceding day (Wednesday). In such cases, the receiving Office may contact the International Bureau for confirmation of the exact day of international publication or look up the target publication date in the ePCT system. A document, notification or communication which is to be published by the International Bureau (Rule 48.2), and might not reach the International Bureau before the date of completion of technical preparations if sent by ordinary communication means, should be transmitted through ePCT, preferably using the specific Action corresponding to the document type or using Documents upload indicating the relevant document type. Using ePCT to transmit documents will ensure that they are made directly available in the International Bureau’s processing system for urgent processing based on proximity to the target publication date. In the rare situation where ePCT cannot be used, the upload service is available at www.wipo.int/pct/en/epct/contingencyupload.html.