What happens after a client orders
The path from checkout to a print on someone's doorstep, and what you have to do (very little).
The sequence
- The client pays by card in the gallery. The money goes to your Stripe account.
- Once payment succeeds, the order is sent to your lab automatically with the full-resolution file.
- The lab prints, packs and ships direct to the client. Nothing passes through you.
- Status updates flow back as the lab moves the order along, and you can follow them under Store → Orders.
Orders are submitted after payment clears, not at checkout. A card that fails means no order reaches the lab — which is the behaviour you want.
Order statuses
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Paid | Payment succeeded; about to go to the lab |
| Submitted to provider | The lab has it and will start production |
| In production | Being printed |
| Shipped | On its way, usually with tracking |
| Cancelled | Stopped before production |
Problems with a print
Damaged in transit, or a colour that's clearly wrong: contact the lab through your account with them, since they hold the production record and will usually reprint at their cost. Refunding the client is done in Stripe, because that's where their money is.
Crop warnings at checkout are worth heeding. The most common print complaint isn't quality, it's a portrait crop that lost the top of someone's head — the store warns the client when a photo's aspect ratio doesn't match the product, and it's usually right.