Printlooper FAQs by role

Frequently asked questions

How do I get started as a designer?

Create your account, verify your email and connect Stripe Connect for payouts. Then upload your first STL or 3MF from Designer > Files. Keep it in draft while you add renders, tags and pricing notes.

What file formats and size limits do you support?

STL and 3MF, up to 500 MB per file. Upload the printable file itself. There is no packaging into a generic asset bundle first.

What validation checks happen when I upload?

We check the mesh is watertight, manifold and at least 2 mm in every dimension. We also calculate the bounding box, volume and estimated weight, so bad geometry is caught before a seller lists it.

How many designs can I upload on each plan?

50 files on Free, 100 on Basic and 300 on Pro. The limit counts your whole library, drafts included.

How do royalties work?

Your rate depends on your plan: 6% on Free, 9% on Basic, 12% on Pro. The rate is stored on the file when you upload it, and that stored rate pays out on every sale.

When do I get paid?

Through Stripe Connect. Free pays every 2 weeks, Basic weekly and Pro within 48 hours, once shipped orders clear the normal review window.

Can buyers or sellers download my raw files?

No. Sellers can list your design but never download it. Buyers see product pages and renders only. Print farms get an order scoped signed link that expires after 14 days and is cut off shortly after the order ships.

Can I keep a design private until it is ready?

Yes. Uploads stay in draft until you publish. Nothing is visible in the marketplace before that.

How do I update or replace a design file?

Edit listing details any time, and upload a new file version when the geometry changes. Existing orders stay on the version they were placed with. New orders use the latest.

What makes a design more likely to get listed?

Clean printable geometry and practical listing detail: watertight files, realistic tolerances, material and orientation notes, strong titles and tags, and good renders or photos. Make seller setup easy and you get listed faster.

How do I list a product with an existing design?

Pick a compatible print farm, choose the material and variants, add colors and photos, then set your price. Publish to your Printlooper storefront, Shopify or both.

How is my cost calculated on each order?

Print and ship cost, plus the designer royalty if the file is from the marketplace, plus your plan's platform fee and transaction fee. Your profit is the retail price minus those four. Tax is shown separately in the live calculator.

What platform fees do sellers pay by plan?

6% plus $1.29 per order on Free, 5% plus $0.79 on Basic, 4% with no transaction fee on Pro. The subscription covers software access only. Print cost and royalties are still charged per order.

How does the margin calculator work?

Before you publish, the listing flow shows a live calculator. Change the price, the print farm or the royalty and it updates print cost, royalty, fees, tax estimate and your remaining profit.

What exactly syncs with Shopify?

Title, description, variants, images, pricing and COGS on publish. Shopify orders flow into Printlooper for routing. When the print farm ships, carrier and tracking sync back to Shopify.

What happens after a customer orders?

The paid order goes to the print farm you picked for that product. If they decline or are at capacity, it reroutes to another eligible farm, up to 3 times. You watch it move from accepted to shipped in Seller > Orders.

What if a supplier declines the order?

The next eligible print farm is tried automatically, up to 3 attempts. After that the order is flagged for a manual reroute. You never rebuild the listing.

How is shipping handled?

Print farms create labels through Shippo inside the job. The label and tracking number attach to the order and sync to Shopify when applicable. Shipping is a pass through label cost, not a markup.

How do I compare materials, pricing and lead times?

Supplier selection is per product. You see supported materials, colors, ratings, average lead time and pricing side by side. Shops that cannot make the product are filtered out.

When do print farms and designers get paid on my orders?

After the order ships, each payee follows the payout schedule of their own plan: every 2 weeks, weekly or within 48 hours. The hold leaves time for quality checks, refunds or disputes.

Can I get paid for viral posts about Printlooper?

Yes. A public post that tags @printlooper and reaches 1,000 likes earns $25. Include your share link, keep the post public and follow FTC disclosure rules (#ad). Send the post link and your account email to support@printlooper.com or share it in our Discord. Up to 5 posts a month, paid through Stripe Connect.

How do I onboard as a supplier?

Set up your business profile, shipping address, default lead time, printer fleet and Stripe Connect payouts. Then configure materials, pricing, storefront products and capacity before you take live jobs.

How do I price print on demand jobs?

You set the price per gram for each material family, an optional minimum job price, a failure rate buffer, a setup fee, a post processing fee and a default lead time. Tiny parts clear the floor price. Big jobs scale with weight.

How are orders routed to me?

Orders go first to the print farm the seller picked. On a decline, we score other eligible farms on rating, SLA, acceptance rate, completion rate and lead time fit. Sellers only ever see farms that match the material, build volume and capacity.

How do I set capacity limits?

Set a daily order cap by hand, or take the suggestion based on your printers and bed sizes. Mark yourself at capacity to pause new assignments and reroute pending work.

What do I receive for each order?

The 3D file, material and color, seller notes, shipping details and any insert requirements. The download is a signed link that expires after 14 days and is cut off shortly after you mark the order shipped.

When do I get paid?

Through Stripe Connect after the order is marked shipped. Free pays every 2 weeks, Basic weekly and Pro within 48 hours. Holds can apply during a dispute or refund review.

What happens if I decline an order?

Pick a reason: capacity, maintenance, timeline or a technical limit. The order reroutes to the next eligible farm automatically, up to 3 attempts, then becomes a manual case.

Can I decline without being penalized?

Yes, operational declines are part of the workflow. Decline quickly and with the right reason. Repeated late declines or a high decline rate lower your SLA score, and routing starts to favor other farms.

How are supplier ratings calculated?

A Bayesian customer rating blended with an SLA component, with breaches weighted by severity. One bad review does not sink you. Consistent fulfillment lifts you.

How do shipping labels and tracking work?

Labels come from Shippo inside the job. Origin is your address, destination is the customer, parcel weight comes from the file metadata. Tracking is stored on the order and synced to the seller's Shopify store.