Frequently Asked Questions

General

printMe1.com is a simple PDF printing service designed to deliver convenient, utilitarian, PDF prints to your US or Canadian Mailbox in just a few easy clicks at a low price. Designed for PDF's you have all rights to print but don't want to print yourself. No log-in or account set-up required for the basic print service. Just click "Try us now" and upload a PDF to get started. 

You can choose either all color or all B&W printing, and can select a binding from ones that fit your pdf. Our service prints on 8 ½” x 11” (US Letter) white paper. If bound, it will have a clear glossy front cover over your first page and sturdy black linen back cover. Then we ship it to your US Address with final delivery via the USPS for US Addresses (including PR & APO locations) or Canada Post for Canadian addresses.  We accept major credit cards in addition to PayPal.  Standard US Shipping is included in our price. Canadian shipping is a small additional charge. USPS Priority shipping is an option for US addresses for an additional charge.

Most orders usually are shipping to a single address, however we have created a way to place orders from a CSV of addresses to either send a print of one PDF to many addresses, or send prints of specific PDF's to specific addresses, all in one transaction.

Our service is very simple, affordable, and makes obtaining a print of your PDF a very convenient experience.

We also have some other features that operate independently of the basic print service.  Our PDF Hosting feature hosts your PDF on a unique link so others can order a print without uploading the file, or can download for free. With PDF Hosting, we created optional features that allow the PDF Hoster to approve print orders as they come in, if desired, and also reverse the payment flow so end users can order at no cost. Our PDF Builder is a free PDF tool to merge & edit multiple PDF's into one file.  We have an API and new features in development. Please see the FAQ's on those topics for more information. 

For US users, the price for BW printing is $11.99 base charge per PDF and 5.4¢ per pdf page after the first 52 pages. Color printing is 24.9¢ per PDF page. The $11.99 base charge includes shipping & GBC binding.

The printing price includes a standard GBC comb bind with a cover set (Clear-Front, Black Linen- Back.) You can also substitute 3HP or no binding at checkout for no additional charge. This price also includes shipping for US recipients. Sales tax is applicable for PA residents.

For Canadian users, the price for BW is CAD$ 15.49 base plus 6.3¢ per pdf page. The base charge for BW includes 65 pages and includes a free GBC binding. Color prices are CAD$ 15.49 base plus 26¢ per pdf page.  There is an additional shipping charge for Canadian recipients.

Domestic US Shipping via the USPS is included in our pricing. We ship to US Addresses including Puerto Rico and APO locations that are served by regular US Postal Services at no extra charge.

Note on APO Addresses: If you place an order with an APO address that the USPS charges additionally to deliver to, we will contact you by email with the option to pay the extra charge or cancel your order.

Orders are ready for shipping within 2 business days. Shipping times are not guaranteed.


Standard shipping to US recipients: 
Approx 5-9 days in transit. 
Receive your order in 1-2 weeks from placing it, on average.


Priority shipping to US recipients: 
Approx 3-4 days in transit. 
Receive your order in 1 week or less.

Standard shipping to Canadian recipients: 
Approx 10 days in transit. Please allow up to 7 days to ship. 
Canadian orders arrive in 2-3 weeks from placing the order, on average. 

 

You will receive an email from us  when your order is labeled for shipping. This occurs up to 2 business days after the print job is completed. Prior to that time, you will not receive any updates. In the event you might have not received an email from us after 2 business days have passed, please check your spam folder for an email from printMe1.com. 

If you do not find an email at that point, please use our contact page to request your tracking information. Please include your name and printMe1 order number in your request. 

If we are unable to print any part of your order your order for any reason, we will refund your payment for the non-printed PDF's. We will place a brief explanation in the details of the refund. 

Files

No. We only print from PDF's.

Yes on both.   Our site allows multiple PDFs to be included in the same payment & shipping transaction, each file with separate binding instructions. And you may also combine multiple PDF’s into one single file to be bound together using our PDF BUILDER feature.

If you have multiple pdf files to print and bind individually, you can upload each into the same transaction. Each PDF is charged the base price, and other charges based on print type and binding options. 

If you have a bunch of PDF's you want bound in the same document, start at our PDF BUILDER to combine & edit multiple pdf's into a single document for binding. The PDF Builder process will let you download a proof, then take you automatically to checkout for a print.  There is no charge to use the PDF Builder, and it will allow you to combine multiple PDF's into one PDF's so you are only charged the base price one time.

Unfortunately, we do not accept PDF's by email. 

Printing

The document is printed using a digital printing process. We offer double-sided and single-sided printing options. 

B&W prints use standard US Letter size 20# white paper. Color prints use standard US Letter size 24# paper.

We use two kinds of paper. For B&W printing, we use US Letter size 20# white paper. This is a common paper type for black & white digital printing. For color printing, we use US Letter size 24# white paper. This is slightly heavier than standard copy paper.

Yes. Just choose the 'Color' option when asked. Color printing has an additional charge

There is no efficient way to do this through our service. You must choose either Color or BW printing for the entire document. 

We set our printing devices to "print to fit". This means the pages will be automatically scaled to fit the 8 1/2" x 11" print size.  

The short answer is no.  Our site is designed to print in a book-like format, and we print a set of the PDF for the quantity you indicate. If you put in a quantity of 1, you get 1 of your PDF.  We are designed to print multiple page PDF's.  

Note for business users who are distributing forms:   Just create a single PDF that includes the number of  form or forms your employees or clients will need printed, and distribute that PDF. We can also host that PDF as well in our PDF Hosting service.

Binding

We offer several different binding choices. (Samples here) The bindings are GBC comb, Three hole punch, coil, wire-o, and velo. You can also choose no binding and have your prints shipped without any finishing.  All bound documents have a clear front cover and heavy black linen back cover, and are bound on the long edge. If you choose 3HP or No Binding, no covers are included.

Our site only displays binding options that will fit your PDF. Here are the pagecount limits for each binding type we offer. GBC Comb: 820 pages, Coil: 400 pages, Velo: 900 pages, Wire-o: 400 pages. (Note a page is one side of a double-sided print.)

Yes. Covers are included with the binding. The front cover is clear acetate. The back cover is black linen cardstock.

We bind on the left for typical European languages, and bind on the right for Arabic and Hebrew languages. 

Our Standard shipping to US addresses qualifies for a book rate with the USPS and is only available for bound prints. Unbound prints are not considered books by the USPS and do not qualify for the standard shipping we offer therefore USPS Priority is the only option available for any order with unbound materials for US recipients.

We bind all prints on the long edge. If your PDF is in landscape format, the binding will be on the top.

Order printing from a CSV file

All you need is a CSV of addresses (simple), or a CSV of all print details and addresses (complex), or combinations thereof.

Place your order the same as any other by uploading PDFs at any of the green upload buttons on the site. 

As each PDF uploads, you can set or change the default print details for each, or skip that and set all print & binding details from the CSV. 

The site's defaults are: BW printing, GBC Comb bind, quantity of 1, Standard shipping. If you don't make any changes with each PDF upload, or omit including any of these variables for any address, they will revert to these defaults above.

Advance until you get to the shipping page, then click the button Manage Multiple Addresses (CSV). This will take you to an instruction page with a button to upload your CSV file. Attach your CSV file. Review the site's application of your CSV data for shipments.  If you need to fix anything, just stop and fix your CSV, then re-upload it until it looks the way you want it. 

When everything is correct, click the green text  “Replace all shipping details with...”  You will go back to shipping with all of your CSV data applied to the order. 

Back in Shipping, each shipment can be reviewed and edited by finding & selecting it in the dark gray shipping dropdown menu. 

If the addresses are ok, proceed. to payment.  

In payment, you can change a quantity for any print, or delete a shipment, and review the entire order. The site will display each shipment and its print details, and calculate a total price. To pay, use a major credit card. 

That's it!

Formatting a CSV is simple. 

•The first row may contain headers, but all other rows must contain addressing and or print details. 

•Each row is a print going to an address. 

•Upload your pdfs first.

•The 1st 4 columns can be blank, if you set those details as each pdf is uploaded. If everyone is getting prints of the same file or set of files, you do not need to include the filename. For any addresses receiving variations in shipments from your default, just fill in the entire row as needed for those recipients.

Each row in your CSV should represent an address. The columns in your uploaded CSV are very important:

1
A
2
B
3
C
4
D
5
E
6
F
7
G
8
H
9
I
10
J
11
K
12
L
13
M
14
N
15
O
FilenameQuantityMethodBindingShippingNameEmailPhoneCompanyAddress 1Address 2CityStateZipCountry
  • Column 1: The filename you wish to be sent to the address on line this (this needs to match exactly to the filename as it was uploaded to the order). If you want the address to receive all the files in the order, simply leave this blank, rather than repeat the address lots of times.
  • Column 2: The number of copies to send to this address, if you leave it blank we'll set it to 1.
  • Column 3: The print method to use, if different to the method chosen at upload.
    • bw: B/W
    • color: Color
    • 1stpcolor: 1st page color
  • Column 4: The binding type to use after printing, if different to the binding chosen at upload.
    • 3hp: Three Hole Punch - only available with priority shipping
    • comb: Comb bind - our standard
    • coil: Plastic coil
    • velo: Velo binding
    • wire: Silver wire
    • nobind: No binding - only available with priority shipping
    • stapled: Only available with a print method of 'bw' or 'color'
    • folded: Only available with a print method of 'bw' or 'color'
  • Column 5: The Shipping Method to use, by default (if left blank) we'll use Standard Shipping, possible values are:
    • standard: Standard shipping, 4-9 days in transit
    • priority: Priority shipping, 3-4 days in transit
  • Column 6: The full name of the recipient.
  • Column 7: The email address of the recipient (for postal tracking purposes).
  • Column 8: The telephone number of the recipient (for postal tracking purposes).
  • Column 9: The company name at the address (if applicable).
  • Column 10: The first line of the recipients address.
  • Column 11: The second line of the recipients address (if applicable).
  • Column 12: The town or city of the recipient.
  • Column 13: The state of the recipient.
  • Column 14: The ZIP code of the recipient.
  • Column 15: The country of the recipient, e.g. US.

 

Simple

 

Shipping

We ship to United States addresses including Puerto Rico and APO locations, and Canadian addresses.  

We expect to be serving additional countries soon, so please check back periodically for updates.

Yes, this is possible by changing the "Ship to:" address when you are in our checkout. In addition, you can specify multiple addresses in checkout. Your initial input quantity is automatically applied to each address and the cost for the additional prints are itemized in checkout per address. Also, if the shipping service you choose is not included in the print price, you are charged for the shipping for each set to the addresses you indicate.  

[Updated 12-17-2020] The USPS update indicates that Priority will take 1 day longer than usual ( 2 days to 3, and 3 days to 4).

We are noticing occasional and isolated delays with our free standard USPS shipping and recommend that anyone with materials they need to have in under 2-3 weeks upgrade to USPS Priority shipping

Most orders using our Standard free shipping are received between 1-2 weeks, but due to local USPS conditions, sometimes they can take much longer without notification. USPS tracking for the standard shipping we use is updated less frequently than expected sometimes.

We offer a promo code "3-off-priority"  to use in checkout  to discount USPS Priority Shipping by $3. To use this promo code, please make sure you choose USPS Priority as your shipping method and then use this code.

We are not able to offer any refunds related to shipping delays. 

Yes.  To ship your order to multiple addresses, just upload your PDF or PDF's you would like to distribute, then proceed through the checkout process. 

Before payment, you have the opportunity to confirm your shipping address. At this point you also are able to add additional recipients & addresses. 

If you add additional addresses (US addresses only), your print pricing adjusts to account for the additional prints, as well as the additional shipping. Before payment, you will see the detail of the PDF's and addresses in your order. 

All recipients receive the same PDF or set of PDF's when you manually input additional addresses.

Additionally, if you have many addresses, our site accepts a CSV of addresses. In shipping, simply click “Manage multiple addresses (CSV)”, then follow the CSV formatting instructions provided there. Using a CSV also allows you to send specific PDF's to specific addresses if you include the filename each user is to receive.  This is a powerful feature we explain in more detail elsewhere. Please see the FAQ for Order prints from a CSV file.  

We also have an api that larger sites can connect into. Please contact us for more information. 

We are maintaining a page with updates regarding any potential impacts from a UPS strike on August 1, 2023.  

Please refer to this link:  https://www.printme1.com/blog/shipping-options

PDF Builder

Our PDF BUILDER is a standalone free feature that lets you manipulate PDF's. Combine multiple PDF's into one file, remove pages from a file, or add new set of page numbers to the edited file. You can also add a new front cover at the end of the process. The PDF BUILDER feature has the option to automatically add blank pages at the end of each uploaded PDF to ensure that the first page of each uploaded PDF starts on the right hand side, like it should in a book. You can also download your PDF BUILDER file to proof (or distribute) before printing, or go directly to printMe1's checkout with your PDF BUILDER pdf. Uploaded files must be under 1750 MB each. Start at the PDF BUILDER link at the top of our website to use this FREE feature.

Start at our PDF Builder. Click to add a PDF. Then add any other PDFs. You'll have additional options to change the file order, remove unwanted pages, or add a new set of page numbers or new front cover along the way before downloading the new PDF. The PDF Builder takes you to checkout at the end of the builder process. 

After uploading your PDF or PDF's, you can click "Change file order" to go back to the upload page, and use the little arrows on the right to change the position of the PDF in the order.  The sequence is top to bottom, with the files at the top appearing first in your new PDF.  

After uploading your PDF or PDF's, you can select pages to appear, or deselect the pages you don't want to appear in the new PDF. You can start by "selecting all" or "deselect all" click each thumbnail to change specific pages. There is also a numerical range feature similar to that found in most print drivers to type in the pages or page ranges you want to use.

If you have added a bunch of PDF's that were already formatted, or removed pages from them, you might have made some changes that changed the "chapterization" of the pdf's. Chapterization means formatting a pdf so that each new chapter starts on the right hand side of an open book. If you select this "Ensure..." box,  our site will analyze your additions, changes, and sections to make sure each PDF file will on the right hand side of an open book, printed double-sided, like at printMe1.com. This feature assumes all of the PDF's were chapterized properly to begin with.

Selecting this box: "Enable new page numbers" will put new set of page numbers on your final PDF, starting with the first page of your first PDF, and sequentially numbering each page after that. When combined with our "table of contents" feature (coming soon), this is a handy way to unify your final PDF from a variety of PDF's, or put new page numbers on a single PDF that needs them.

The location of the new page numbers is not modifiable at this time. 

Any old page numbers will also remain on your PDF, along with the new page number created by our PDF Builder. We are not able to remove old page numbers.

API & Feature Development

Yes.  We are able to provide connecting points between our service and your website after a consultation between our development teams to determine transaction details and feasibility.  API users must provide written permission from the copyright holder designating printMe1.com & our affiliates non-exclusive, royalty free permission to print the PDF's submitted to our service.  Please contact us here to express interest.

Almost!  We are developing a way to send one PDF to many addresses and it should be ready very soon. 

Please contact us here to be notified when its ready to go.

PDF Hosting

Our PDF Hosting service is a free, hosted checkout solution that creates a unique link to your PDF in our checkout to share with your US users, students or bookstores so they can purchase a print without uploading the file.  We host the PDF on our site, and you can pre-set a preferred print format and binding type to appear with the PDF at printme1.com's checkout from the unique link.  Your users click the link and are provided a landing page for your PDF, from which they can order a print in our checkout, or download the PDF first for no charge. This is a convenient way to distribute printed materials used in a course you are teaching, as long as the content meets our guidelines.

In addition, at your option, a hosted PDF can also be configured with prepaid printing by the PDF Hoster for your end users, and print jobs charged to the PDF Hoster's account balance. This is designed for situations where an organization or individual wants to distribute a print option by our hosted link at no additional cost to the end user. For more details, please see PDF Hosting- Prepaid Printing.

PDF Hosting is designed only for works you created, own or control the copyright to, works in the Public Domain, or copyrighted items with a Creative Commons license used in course you are teaching.  We review all content before activating the link.  

If your PDF does not meet these requirements, and you do have all rights and permissions for us to distribute and print the PDF, please contact us directly.
 

New users to our PDF Hosting first create a free account. Then, upload the PDF that you want to create a hosted link for, and choose the preferred print & binding formats you would like to appear on the landing page for your hosted PDF. 

The preferred formats can be changed by the end user before checking out, so if you are requiring a specific format for your class or user base, please instruct them when you distribute the link to the PDF that the format should not be changed.

After you submit your PDF, we review the PDF to ensure the PDF meets our requirements.  The PDF content must be user created, or Creative Commons Licensed, or in the Public Domain.   Once we receive the submission and if it meets our requirements, we activate the link. If the content does not meet our requirements, we reject the link. In either case, you are contacted by email with details. If your PDF does not meet these requirements, and you do have all rights and permissions for us to distribute and print the PDF, please contact us directly.

When your PDF is activated, simply share the link to your users, students or bookstores. 

We would like to hear from you if you have a question. Please use our contact form and indicate a preferred way to contact you. 

Prepaid Printing is a feature that allows any user with an account to prepay for printing on their account.  When Prepaid Printing is used with our PDF Hosting feature, the PDF Hoster is able to pay for the printing costs of their Hosted PDF's from the PDF Hoster's prepaid account balance. This setting can be activated in the PDF Hosting details for any Hosted PDF in the PDF Hoster's account. The end user is provided the link to the landing page for the Hosted PDF as usual, but will not be charged for printing the PDF if they place an order.

This is designed for situations where the end user is provided materials for at no additional charge. Examples are purchases where a registration fee or a price for an item or service already includes the printed materials, and the PDF Hoster want the registrants or buyers to be able to order their printed materials at no additional cost.  

1.) The PDF Hoster can activate or deactivate this feature any time in the settings for any Hosted PDF by checking the box beside "Pay for prints using my account balance".  

Orders will then be charged agains the PDF Hoster account balance. The PDF Hoster can add money to their account when they log in to printMe1.com. The Prepaid Balance is used to pay for the printing costs for any of their Hosted PDF's with the Prepaid Printing setting activated.   

When Prepaid Printing is activated on a Hosted PDF, the settings print type (Color/BW Printing), binding, and shipping are locked to the end user, and only one print that specific PDF can be ordered in checkout. The PDF Hosted receives the link to the typical Hosted PDF landing page to distribute to their users.

2.) If the "Pay for prints using my account balance" is checked, the PDF Hoster can also activate the feature to require approval before an order is charged to their account by checking the box "Require approval before paying and printing". 

When this is checked, the PDF Hoster will receive an email that an order have been received that requires approval. The orders requiring approval appear in the PDF Hoster's account under "Approvals".

3.) Add funds to your prepaid account balance by clicking "Account Balance". Then click "Topup". Add the amount of funds you want to add to Prepaid Printing. The amount is charged to your credit card. This feature is not available to use with Paypal.

Contact

printMe1.com is located in Altoona, PA.

Before you contact us about your order, please note that you will receive a shipping tracking email from us within 3 business days after your order is placed. Prior to that, your order is in the printing process and we do not update until printing is completed.  If you have not heard from us after 3 business days have passed, please check your spam folder for a shipping tracking email from us. 

If 3 business days have passed, and you havent heard from us, please use our Contact Form.

If you think there's something we should be doing that will make our service better, we would love to hear from you. Please use our contact form, and choose "General Question".

Refund & Return Policy

When you place an order with the printMe1.com service, you are placing a firm, non-refundable order for custom non-returnable items.  

We do not accept returns under any circumstances.
 

When you place an order with the printMe1.com service, you are placing a firm, non-refundable order for custom non-returnable items. 

We only offer a refund under limited circumstances. We will offer a refund if we are unable to print the file submitted. We reserve the right to charge a processing fee of up to $4.00 for any refund or modifications to an order after it has been placed. 

Also, we may, in our sole opinion, offer either a refund or replacement if the order was not delivered after three weeks of placing the order to the address provided, and due to circumstances beyond either parties control. We use the tracking provided by our shipping service to determine if the order was delivered. If the product is received in a damaged condition, you must contact us within 48 hours of delivery confirmation for instructions. We will not provide any refund or replacement for orders that have been delivered to the address provided to us in the order. This includes deliveries that may have been accepted by another person on the property and mishandled. If the shipping tracking shows the order was delivered to the address provided in the sale, in our opinion, the order has been delivered properly. There are rare instances where a properly addressed item is lost in transit. Please contact us if your order has not been received after 3 weeks of placing it. Please consider the ability to receive US domestic mail reliably at your location in your decision to use our standard printMe1.com shipping service, and also if your materials are time sensitive, please consider upgrading to a priority shipping method we offer. Please contact us immediately if your product was damaged in shipping. 

Privacy

Yes. We do not share any information with 3rd parties. We use Paypal for payment processing, so there is no personal financial information supplied to us. We do retain your name and email address for our own records.

Troubleshooting

When we receive a file that does not seem correct and if you paid with a credit card, we generate a refund back to you automatically with this message “File received does not seem correct”. 

A common situation that causes us to not print the file we received and send this message is when we receive a PDF of download instructions (1, 2, or 3 pages) instead of the actual PDF.  To use our service for a PDF that was shared to you electronically, please make sure you download the file to your device so you can then upload the actual PDF into our service.