Yes. Nothing about placing an order requires it.
You choose a format and a size on the site, pay at checkout, and get a confirmation email with a tracking code. None of that touches a messaging app.
One stage is genuinely easier on WhatsApp, and it is worth knowing which, so you can decide rather than discover.
What happens where
| Stage | On the site | On WhatsApp | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choosing and paying | Yes | — | — |
| Order confirmation | — | — | Yes |
| Sending photographs | Upload link | Easiest | Works |
| The design proof | — | Easiest | Works |
| Approving it | — | Yes | Yes |
| Tracking | Yes | — | Yes, linked |
| Delivery updates | Yes | — | Yes |
The stage that favours WhatsApp
Sending photographs, and then going back and forth on the proof.
It is not a policy — it is that sixty photographs and four rounds of “can this one be bigger” is simply a conversation, and a conversation is what a chat thread is good at. Email does the same job in longer round trips.
⚠️ If you do use WhatsApp, send photographs as a Document rather than as a Photo. Sent as a Photo they are compressed on the way and print soft. It is a common cause of a disappointing print, and avoiding it costs one extra tap. Sending photos without losing quality →
Doing it entirely by email
Works, with two things to plan for.
Attachments have size limits. Sixty full-resolution photographs will not fit in one email. Send them in batches, or share a drive link — a link is often the cleanest route for a large archive and it does not compress anything.
Round trips are slower. Each proof revision that would take ten minutes in a chat takes a few hours by email. That matters because dispatch is weekly: an order placed by Friday goes out the coming Monday as long as the proof is approved when it arrives, and an approval that comes very late waits for the Monday after. Two or three slow email rounds are how a 5 to 14 day window drifts towards its far end. What happens after you order →
Tell us early that you prefer email
After an order, the studio’s first message normally goes to WhatsApp, within hours during working hours. If you do not use it, say so — in the note at checkout, or by replying to your confirmation email — so the first question about your photographs lands somewhere you will actually read it. A message waiting in an app you never open is the one delay that has nothing to do with anyone’s speed.
When email is genuinely the better choice
Not only a fallback. Three situations where it is the right channel from the start:
A company order. Procurement, finance or a manager may need the brief, the proof and the approval in writing, in one thread they can forward. Email does that without screenshots.
A shared or family phone. If the phone that has WhatsApp is also the one the recipient picks up, a surprise does not survive the first notification.
A large archive on a laptop. Photographs already sorted into folders on a computer are easier to send from there than to move to a phone first. Corporate and bulk gifting →
The upload link
The simplest route for photographs if you would rather not use WhatsApp. Your order-confirmation page and confirmation email both carry a link that sends files straight to your order — JPG, PNG and HEIC, at full size, with nothing compressed on the way. It suits a large batch from a laptop, and it keeps the photographs out of your inbox and your chats.
Use it once for the main set rather than a few files at a time; one complete batch is easier to work from than five partial ones. If one file refuses to upload, send that one by email rather than holding back the rest.
Writing emails that move quickly
Email works best when every message can be understood without scrolling back through the thread. Write to theprintstory21@gmail.com and:
Put your tracking code in the subject line. It is on your confirmation email — TPS followed by six characters. It ties every message to the right order at a glance.
Keep one thread per order. Reply to the last message rather than starting a new one, so the photographs, the notes and the proof stay together.
Number your photographs. Rename the files 01, 02, 03 before attaching them, and refer to the numbers in your notes. “Put 07 on the cover” cannot be misread.
Write captions and names in the body of the email, not in an attached document. They are easier to copy exactly, and exactness is the point.
Approving by email
The approval is the moment your book goes to print, so make it unmistakable. A reply that says “Approved as it is” leaves no doubt. A reply that says “looks lovely, maybe the cover could be brighter?” is a change request, not an approval — and the book waits while that is resolved.
If you want changes, list them by page in one email: “Page 4 — swap the second photo for 12. Page 9 — Nanaji’s name is spelt Hari, not Harry.” Then approve the corrected version in a separate, clear reply. The design proof →
Tracking without messaging anyone
The tracking page needs only your tracking code and the last four digits of the phone number on the order. No account, no password, and no need to ask anybody for a status. Once the parcel is dispatched, the tracking link also arrives by email, so nothing about the delivery depends on a chat either. How to track your order →
If you are ordering for someone else
A reason people ask this: they do not want a delivery notification or a design discussion landing on the recipient’s phone. Nothing from us will — the order, the proof and the tracking all belong to whoever placed it, whatever channel you use. Only the parcel goes to the recipient, and the courier may ring the number given for delivery.
Frequently asked
Do I need WhatsApp to order? No. Choosing, paying, tracking and approving can all happen without it.
How do I send photos if not on WhatsApp? Through the upload link on your order-confirmation page and email, by email in batches, or as a shared drive link. A link is usually cleanest for a large set and it does not compress anything.
Is it slower without WhatsApp? Slightly, at the proof stage — email round trips take longer than a chat, and a proof still going back and forth when the Monday dispatch comes round waits for the following Monday.
Will the recipient see anything? Nothing from us. The order, proof and tracking stay with whoever placed the order. Only the parcel goes to the recipient, though the courier may call the delivery number.
Can I track without an account? Yes. The tracking code plus the last four digits of the order phone number is the whole verification.
Part of our questions people ask before ordering. See also: how ordering works, end to end and changing an order after placing it.
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