Printing coupons is a great way to save additional money at the grocery store, but it’s important to know a few things about those printable coupons…
1. Coupons run out of prints. The manufacture will release a coupon and allow it to be printed so many times. Once it reaches it’s limit, you won’t be able to print it again. If a coupon says you have already printed it and you haven’t, it’s run out of prints. I don’t know why they say that instead of saying it’s out of prints. If I tell you here on the blog to print something asap, it means I know I have never seen a coupon with that high of a value or for that specific product and it probably isn’t going to be around long. If you think you will use it, print it.
2. Your IP address is encoded in that printable coupon. You should never copy a printable coupon. They will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.
3. When looking at a coupon printed from Coupons.com, look at the expiration date box. Do you see the small soft gray (if you print black and white) or yellow (if you print color) circles? This authenticates the coupon. If the coupon were copied, those circles would NOT be there.
4. You can print coupons in black and white. I’ve been couponing for 3 years and I have never run into any issues by doing this. However, I recommend you ask at your local stores before you convert just to make sure it’s okay with them.
5. If a printable coupon sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You’ll never see a printable coupon for $5 off Tide or a FREE bag of Frito Lay chips. Those are fake coupons.
6. Never buy or trade for printable coupons on the internet. You never know if that person has copied the coupon and you don’t want to use a coupon the store will not be reimbursed from.
7. Most printable coupons can be printed twice by using your back button or closing the window and reopening it. And if you have multiple computers in your house, you can print 2 from each computer.
If you are new to Couponing, you might want to take a moment to read more in my Getting Started Couponing series. It will teach you how to coupon like I do!
(Thanks Courtney!)
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
thanks for the advice
Is it not considered copying it to use the back button and print it twice? I always wondered about that.
Autumn, it allows you so many prints per your IP address. Using the back button is ok.
Additionally, both times you print per computer, the printed coupon gets a unique ID code underneath that bar code. That’s the code you would put in if you wanted to authenticate your coupon on veri-fi.com.
Thanks ladies! I appreciate the info!
When I’ve gone to print coupons, it tells me I need to download something to print them. Which site would you recommend to go to for this?
Thanks.
It should have the instructions to download it right there on that screen. Each company has it’s own special software that tracks your IP and how many coupons you print.
Re #2: if each coupon has my IP address encoded on it, wouldn’t it be the same IP address if I use a different computer in my house? I thought the IP address would be the same.
I asked my resident computer guru (DS) and he said he thinks the address would be the same on all of our computers, but he had a need to know the answer.
I don’t think I will be trying other computers anytime soon. I’m happy with my 2 coupons off mine. (though I might try printing on DS’s computer and see if the coupons “look” the same)
I asked the IT guy about this unique IP address because your post got me to thinking. He told me that every computer has a unique IP address that identifies it. Even if all of the computers in a household share the same cable/internet line, each computer would still have a unique, recognizable IP address. I was glad to have the answer, so now I won’t worry. HTH :)
is that not an invasion of my privacy by having my ip address on my coupons. i wouldn’t want to copy, but to get my ip address is scary.
People have actually made copies?
Well not just anyone can see it. It’s coded in the coupon. The company that handles the printable coupons is the only one who can see it and the only reason they would need to see it is to come after you for copying coupons.
Every single website on the internet tracks you by IP address. :-)
my daughter and I use my wi-fi and I can not print from her laptop the same coupon I already printed (to get 4) it tells me that I have already printed the number of times allowed.
That’s weird! I can print from multiple computers in my household without issue. Have you tried it on like Coupons.com coupons?
Are you only supposed to be allowed to print 2 coupons for every coupon or do some coupons print more than that? Will it automatically stop you when you have reached the limit?
Most coupons only allow you to print 2 copies and it will stop you and not allow you to print any more. Occasionally there will be a coupon that offers more than 2 prints. But it is going to stop you when your limit is reached.
Thanks so much for the info! I was able to print 3 copies of a coupon the other day and I was worried that I had done something wrong without meaning to because I had no idea there was a limit. I feel much better now!
I have tried to set my parents computer up to print from coupons.com, but it never works. I can’t count how many times I have tried to download the software & it just gives me the same message over & over that I need to download the software to print the coupons. I have no problems printing the Target coupons. Does anyone have any ideas to solve this problem? Thanks!!!
What about PDF coupons from legit sources? For instance the Nexcare bandage coupon. I could have printed that as many times as I wanted. Any thoughts?
Wholly Guacamole does this, too. My experience has varied with these. If I just want to use one, I usually have no problem, but with multiples in one transaction, some stores have given me trouble. (Kroger has been a big problem for me with these.) And some stores will just not accept them.
I love PDF coupons when they work, though, not just because of being able to do multiples, but also because I can print them from ANYWHERE. Most coupons I can only print from machines on which I can install the Coupon Printer app, which means I can’t print at work or on our non-Windows machines at home.
Thank you so much for this post i have been wondering if I could print the coupons in black and white because the two times that i took printable coupons to Walgreen’s the register beeps. There is probably something wrong with my printer?
“If a printable coupon sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You’ll never see a printable coupon for $5 off Tide or a FREE bag of Frito Lay chips. Those are fake coupons.”
I wouldn’t say they ARE fake coupons, but that there’s a good chance they might be, and that it’s best to verify them with the manufacturer before printing. Sometimes companies really do have “too good to be true” promotions, like when Wholly Guacamole did their $4 off coupon a few months ago … but it’s rare.
Love to print coupons-thanks for the tips