While other printable coupon providers struggled in recent years with Java security concerns and customer complaints about printing issues, you could almost forgive the leading printable coupon provider for seeming, well, a little smug. “Security is job #1 at Coupons.com,” a company spokesperson told Coupons in the News at the time. “While all of our peers in the print-at-home coupon business in the U.S. have opted to use Java, Coupons.com has not,” instead opting for its own customized, secure coupon printing plugin.
By now, though, most of Coupons.com’s competitors have abandoned Java for more reliable and secure printing platforms of their own. And SmartSource in particular has arguably one-upped Coupons.com, by introducing a secure, PDF-based print solution that doesn’t require users to download any special software at all.
So Coupons.com is now quietly trying out its own download-free solution.
If you already have Coupons.com’s “Coupon Printer” browser add-on installed on your computer, you may not have even noticed any change. But those who don’t have the Coupon Printer installed, may have. Previously, if they wanted to print a coupon provided by Coupons.com, they had only one option – download the Coupon Printer. Recently, though, they were presented with a new option: “Please enter your mobile number below and we will text you a one-time code you can use to approve this device for printing coupons… There is no special software required to print.”
So if you’re using a public or work computer and can’t download the Coupon Printer, or if you’re using your own computer and just don’t want to download anything, you may no longer have to. The text-to-print option gives you a six-digit code that, once entered, allows you two unique coupon prints – just like you’d get if you had the Coupon Printer installed.
The new option first appeared on Bricks coupons, which are individual Coupons.com-powered printables typically hosted on a company’s own website. The option is not yet available on Coupons.com itself. A Coupons.com spokesperson confirmed to Coupons in the News that the text-to-print option is “a new feature we have”, but declined further comment until the company is ready to officially unveil it.
Perhaps because there are still a few kinks to work out. Because, so far, the new print solution does a couple of things that Coupons.com has long prided itself on not doing. According to the company’s FAQ for its original Coupon Printer, “our secure printing platform ensures that coupons will never display on screen, but will print directly to your printer.” That’s not the case with the new text-to-print option, which presents a PDF version of the printable coupon right on your screen. “Coupons cannot be printed to a fax machine or to digital formats such as PDF,” reads the Coupon Printer FAQ. Not so with text-to-print.
Of course, if you decide to save, print or share multiple PDF copies of the same coupon, then each coupon is going to have the same unique ID code, all of which can be traced to your computer and jeopardize your coupon printing privileges. So it’s certainly not advisable. But industry groups like the Coupon Information Corporation have long advised against offering coupons in PDF form at all, which it fears may prove too tempting for counterfeiters or other unethical couponers.
News America Marketing spent years working to avoid similar issues with its own PDF-based SmartSource coupon printing method. It ultimately unveiled a patented system that offers the convenience of PDF printing, while never actually displaying a coupon image on screen.
So give Coupons.com some time to perfect its own solution. Allowing users to print coupons without the hassle of having to download anything is an admirable goal, after all. It’s potentially profitable, too, considering that unlike some coupon providers, manufacturers pay Coupons.com for each coupon that’s printed – not just for each coupon redeemed. The easier Coupons.com can make it for consumers to print, then, the better it is for their own bottom line.
So what’s good for Coupons.com, is good for consumers. And if the new printing system takes off, the opposite may turn out to be true as well.
Look People. Calm down. I entered my cell number one time on coupons.com
and the coupon code was sent to me in less than 10 seconds. After they verify your devise, you don’t have to enter it again. They do this so that they can limit you to 2 prints on that devise per coupon. If you want more, you’ll have to use another computer verified with a different number.
I had lots of coupons clipped. The new system would not print all of them mind you I never printed them at all. The computer froze waiting for the coupons to print. I retried to no avail ‘”NOW IT SAYS I REACHED MY LIMIT” VERY FRUSTRATED
I was a loyal client of coupon.com for many, many years, but for the last 3 months I havent’ been able to print anything on any computer. I enter my phone # and it does nothing. I am through!!! They really don’t have many grocery coupons anyway and now it’s a huge waste of time – trying to print coupons for hours on end. It’s apparent they don’t care about their customers and I won’t care about them anymore either.
Same here. And I refuse to give them any phone number. They don’t need my phone number to add to their database of data to cell. If they don’t change their “verification” process, I will move on.
they don’t need my phone number is there any other coupon site to use
Too many people have my cell number already, i’m not giving it out anymore, ya jerks! Receiving texts COSTS me money, I’m here trying to SAVE money. It’s just a marketing scam – or trying to kill coupons.
I live in a rural area that does not have cell service. I have been using the coupons.com printing software without issue for years. I tried to print coupons yesterday and the software would no longer load. I needed to enter my cell number to get a printing code. This will not work for me and everyone else that does not have cell service in their homes.
What am I supposed to do?
Enter my cell number into the computer.
Drive 10 miles to where I can get cell service to receive my code.
Drive another 10 miles back to my house to enter the code into my computer so I can print.
Then drive another 10 miles to go shopping with my coupons.
That is insane; any money saved with the coupons will be wasted on gas.
I suppose I can always call coupons.com on my landline to request a code and hang around my house for 24 hours or more waiting for the phone to ring. I don’t think so; my time is much more valuable than a couple of coupons.
I am going to stop purchasing products from brand name manufactures that require a coupon to get savings. Until this utterly ridiculous text verification from coupons.com is done away with I will be buying generic store products that basically do the same thing and have built in savings.
I was sent TEN verification codes. Each one said “verification code not acceptable”. I am not sure what scheme they are up but I am not impressed.
Same here! I have been able to print coupons other times with no problems. For some reason today I’ve been sent several verification codes and each time I’ve been told “verification code not valid” even though I just got the code. Very irritating to say the least…
DO YOU UNDERSTAND
I NEED A VERIFICATION CODE TO PRINT COUPONS
NO CODE
NO COUPONS
SHAKE YOUR THICK HEAD AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND.
I understand, and it’s no deal. You should need to give them your phone number to print coupons. Just more invasion of privacy. TOTAL DEAL BREAKER for me.
WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE DOING
I CAN NOT ENTER MY MOBILE PHONE AS YOU ASK.
ITS ALWAYS SOMETHING WITH THE SCAMMERS.
I really prefer coupons.com over Smart Source coupons. I rarely have trouble with Bricks coupons. I have the Smart Source Adobe DC file installed and every time I forget they don’t support Chrome. Sometimes the coupons will print in IE, but last time they wouldn’t and Edge didn’t work either. Fortunately I had a second link directly to the manufacturers’s website and the coupons printed fine from there. I got the pop-up, will you complete a survey, at the mfg’s site and complained up a storm about them using Smart Source!
That’s not cool at all if we already have the printer installed and still have to put in phone to verify. Here’s my reason to why. What if someone don’t have a cellphone they wouldn’t be able to have access to the coupons. In my case my phone number don’t go through even though I can receive text I still ended up having to use someone else phone to get the verification code. Not cool. This alone just discourage me from printing coupons because even after having installed the printer sometime multiple times and I have to go through this bull is too much of a hassle.
Same here
i had this on my computer couple of weeks ago and its now not doing pdf anymore.. i want this to save ink.. i am tired of printing bricks coupons with ads on it.
Smartsource’s Customer Service is not helpful at all. I’ve downloaded their “special version” of adobe probably 10 times (and removed them after they don’t work), but something in the setup doesn’t work. Tired of trying to print and not being able to.
Coupons dot com better have better customer service, or lots of folks will be up in arms.
I hope it is an option and not the permanent new way for c.com. Haven’t tried c.com, but Smart Source takes longer to print and a few extra clicks to get a coupon now.
In addition with SS you still have to download a program, which I have no need for. I have full Acrobat Pro on my computer, downloading Adobe D is something I don’t need either.
I came across this a month or so ago with a bricks coupon, interestingly, on a laptop with the Coupon printer already installed. Anyways, I input my mobile number and the resulting code and was quite surprised to end up with a PDF of the coupon on screen, in a savable, digital format. I saved it for the novelty, shocked I could actually save it. However, the scale of the coupon I printed (2 unique copies) was off (maybe 5-10% larger than usual). When I attempted to redeem on at the store, it beeped when scanned and actually said something to the affect of “Invalid Code” on the Meijer POS terminal when customer service was intervening. The same Bricks coupon printed on another device through the typical Coupons.com downloaded plugin looked perfectly normal and scanned without issue.
Certainly some kinks to work out still.
Yesterday, I printed two bricks coupons from a computer from which I had previously been asked for my cell number and received the text to enter before printing (to identify my device). I then pulled out my laptop, thinking I could print two more from another device. I had to enter my cell number and receive a code again for the new device. After I entered the code and tried to print, I received a message that I had already printed the coupon ( which was true–on a different device). Was this a fluke, or will we now be allowed only two prints period, not two per device? In other words, will a cell number be our personal identifier that limits us to only two prints total?
That’s entirely possible, though when I tried it, I was able to print from multiple devices using the same cell number. But since they’re still experimenting with it, there’s no telling…
Same issue for me. My household has multiple tablets floating around and now I can’t use them for coupons. Its no longer 2 per device with this. I’m not happy at all.