Terms & Conditions
1. Provider and scope
Printchen is operated by Stuart Acklam, Ehestorfer Heuweg 74A, 21149 Hamburg, Germany. Contact: stuart@printchen.com. These terms describe consumer use of Printchen and the unlocking of digital designs.
At launch, Printchen offers digital 3MF design unlocks only. This service does not sell printed goods or STL files.
2. Plans and !CHEN
Personal: €4 once for 1 !CHEN, providing one new personal-use design unlock. Maker: €30 per month with 12 !CHEN after each full €30 monthly payment. A prorated plan switch does not add 12 !CHEN. Unlimited: €79 per month with unlimited new design unlocks during an active, paid subscription. All prices include applicable VAT.
Maker and Unlimited renew automatically every month until canceled. Cancel in Plans / Subscription or through Paddle. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the period already paid for. Upgrades require a zero !CHEN wallet balance. Upgrades take effect immediately after confirmation; prorated charges are shown beforehand. Downgrades take effect at the next renewal date. Current paid benefits continue until then, without credit for unused days. A downgrade to Personal ends commercial rights and account access to exclusive designs on that date, including previously unlocked exclusive designs. Credits and ordinary unlocked designs remain available.
Unused !CHEN roll over and remain available after cancellation for personal unlocks, without a fixed expiry date. Example: use 5 of 12 !CHEN; after the next successful monthly payment, 19 !CHEN are available. Unlimited does not create monthly or accumulated credits.
Extra !CHEN cost €4 each. While your paid commercial subscription is active, its commercial rights also cover designs unlocked with these credits. Repeat downloads of an unchanged unlocked revision use no further !CHEN. Existing credits and gifts are preserved; exclusive designs still require an active commercial subscription.
Paddle acts as seller and Merchant of Record for payments, taxes and receipts. The Paddle Buyer Terms identified at checkout also apply. !CHEN are not normally redeemable for cash. Mandatory statutory rights are unaffected.
3. Your design revision
You unlock a specific design revision. Repeat downloads of that unchanged revision use no further !CHEN. Exclusive designs, including previously unlocked ones, are accessible in your account only during an active commercial subscription. Design changes require a new unlock.
4. Personal and commercial use
Without an active, paid Maker or Unlimited subscription, unlocked designs are for personal printing only. You may give physical pieces you print yourself to friends or family free of charge.
During an active, paid Maker or Unlimited subscription, you may sell physical prints of your unlocked Printchen designs. Every product listing and sales description must include “Design licensed from Printchen.com” or “Design unter Lizenz von Printchen.com”, linked to Printchen.com where the platform supports links.
Commercial rights and access to exclusive products end with the paid subscription. Further commercial sales are then not permitted. Your !CHEN balance and ordinary unlocked revisions remain available for personal use. Previously unlocked exclusive designs also require an active commercial subscription for account access.
Resale and redistribution of digital files are prohibited, including under a commercial subscription. A print service may receive files solely to manufacture on your behalf and acquires no independent rights. Slicing and technical print settings are allowed; material alterations to the 3MF are not. Rights in content you enter yourself remain unaffected.
5. File format and technical characteristics
You receive a 3MF file, which may contain your selected colour information. The format and known product-specific characteristics are shown before unlocking. Universal compatibility with every printer or slicer is not promised. Statutory rights relating to defects remain unaffected.
7. Account and sign-in
An account is required for saving, the wallet, unlocks and access to your own files. Printchen uses email one-time codes and, where offered on the sign-in page, Google. You do not create a separate Printchen customer password. Your email address is required to create an account.
Minors may use the designer. Purchases are intended to be made by adults. Parents may purchase through their own account and send !CHEN to their child’s matching account email address where the gift feature is available.
8. Gifting !CHEN
Where supported, you can send !CHEN to an email address, including immediately after purchase. The recipient must use an account with exactly that email address. The gift email includes your sender name, email address and any personal message you provide.
The recipient has 14 days from sending in Printchen to accept. You can cancel in myPrintchen before acceptance. The recipient does not need to decline; ignoring the gift is sufficient. On cancellation or expiry, reserved !CHEN return to your wallet and count as unused again.
Accepted gifts carry no additional voluntary refund promise. Mandatory statutory rights remain unaffected.
9. Promotions and bonus !CHEN
Printchen may grant free promotional or reward !CHEN. Individual campaigns do not create a permanent entitlement to future promotions. Promotional !CHEN have no fixed expiry date and can be gifted.
Purchase-linked bonus !CHEN are credited only after the 14-day withdrawal period. If that purchase is withdrawn in full or in part, its linked bonus is forfeited in full.
10. Content and specific rights concerns
Use only content you are entitled to use. At launch, text, names and predefined elements are available; uploading your own images or logos is not part of the service.
Where there is a concrete suspicion of a rights violation, Printchen may remove affected shared designs and temporarily suspend affected new unlocks or repeat downloads. We will inform you and provide a clarification channel at stuart@printchen.com. If the suspicion proves unfounded, access to previously unlocked revisions will be restored without another !CHEN charge.
11. Availability, liability and statutory rights
Uninterrupted technical availability is not promised. If you experience access or file problems, please contact stuart@printchen.com so we can investigate. These terms do not restrict your statutory rights to performance, remedies for defects, damages or consumer protection. Statutory liability rules apply.
See “Withdrawal & Refund” for information about withdrawal, unused purchase portions and refunds. Printchen offers no additional voluntary refunds of purchased !CHEN. Statutory withdrawal rights, remedies for defects and other mandatory claims remain unaffected.