Before I was a couponer, I just assumed I could print as many coupons as I wanted. Since then, I’ve learned that’s definitely not the case. It is possible to print more than one coupon, though! Here’s what you need to know about legally printing multiple coupons:
What controls how many coupons you can print?
The coupon issuer (the manufacturer, the store) controls how many coupons you can print from home by establishing certain security settings on its end. For example, some websites will note your IP address or the serial number on your device, using this marker to limit how many times you can print out a coupon.
By the way, your printer has nothing to do with the legal print limit!
Note: Coupons.com allows you to print two of the same coupon.
A word of caution about coupon fraud
Coupon fraud happens every day. Perpetrators include deliberate criminals and also many innocent, ignorant people just like you and me!
What you need to know to avoid fraud:
- It is always illegal to copy (not print, but photocopy) any coupon. Period.
- Any attempt to change or mask your IP address to print more coupons is fraud.
- To be safe, only print out coupons from sources you trust.
- Even if a print is "technically" legal, if it "just feels weird/wrong," don't do it.
- As a general rule, you can print as many coupons at once as your computer permits.
6 Tips to print multiple coupons at once
1. Use more than one computer.
If you’re able to print the coupons you want from multiple computers, you can easily circumvent the per-computer print limits.
2. Use more than one coupon database.
In the same way, often coupons may be posted in more than one place online. If you print the legal limit from one website, but then find the same coupon posted again somewhere else online, you can print the legal limit of that coupon from the second Web site as well.
3. Wait until the coupon resets and then print again.
Often, a popular coupon will do something called "reset." This means the manufacturer has reopened printing on that coupon for a second round.
So even if you printed out the maximum allowable copies of that coupon the first time you saw it, now that it is reset you can print out the maximum allowable copies of it a second time.
- Learn more about reset coupons here.
4. Ask a friend, neighbor, or co-worker to print for you.
Here, you get the same multiple print benefit—and legally—by having another person use their computer to print out the coupon for you.
5. Be mindful of how many printed coupons you can actually use.
When I first started printing coupons in earnest, I wanted multiple (and I do mean multiple) prints of each…just in case. It took me some time before I was able to take a step back and ask myself, "In case of what?"
From there, as I studied my own coupon use from week to week, I began to notice I typically only needed one or two prints of that coupon for my weekly shopping anyway. Unless you have a very large family (or just a couple of very hungry teenagers), it may just be that the print limit (which typically ranges from one to two prints before you are cut off) will do just fine!
6. Read the fine print carefully before attempting multiple prints.
With some coupons, you can use as many as you can legally print. But with others, the fine print may prohibit the use of more than a set number of prints. Be sure to read the fine print—it may mean doing multiple transactions or asking someone you know to buy the item with your coupon for you.
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