I ordered a 5x7 folded card as an Instant Download from another Designer back in March of 2023, to see how it goes from a customer's end. This is a run-down of the options a customer will currently get, as of July 2025.
(My screenshots show another designer's work but I know they will be OK with this.)
First thing I want to say is that even after more than 2 years, I can still fully edit all four sides of the card using the Personalize template fields as well as by entering the Design Tool for full control, and I can download those results.
It's important to note here that their edits aren't permanent. Once the tab is closed and they access the product again, it reverts back to the Designer's default design without even the pop-up asking "do you want to continue your design?". So no matter what they do, they can always get back to your original version. However, all their edits DO show up in their Saved Designs. The thumbnail there is of the printed version, but clicking it opens the page below for personalizing & downloading.
OK - After it's been purchased and becomes available to them to download:
Whether they access the product from their Order History (where there's a button to "Edit & Download" design) or by a direct link to it, they'll get a page like this:
If they click the "View details" button under 'Want the printed version?', that takes them to the regular product page, with a bar at top like this for getting back to the download page:
So - back to the download page version -
When they first click the big green Download button they get this:
1-a) choosing the top option to print with Zazzle opens the regular product page
1-b) "Print with home desktop printer" yields
They can download any of the four sides of the cards as individual PDFs.
If they choose the ZIP/All Pages option, it's not actually a zip file. It's just one single 4-page PDF file.
1-c) "Print at a 3rd party print shop" yields
Here, they only have one option and it IS actually a ZIP file they need to extract which contains two separate folders.
One folder is named "Share Ready Files" and this contains 4 individual PNGs.
The other folder is named "Print Ready Files" and contains 2 PDFS, one for each side of the flattened/unfolded card.
Whether they choose 1-b (Standard PDF) or 1-c (Print PDF), they can use the drop-down to switch to the other choice.
2) If from the first screen they choose "to send digitally" instead of "to print" they get a drop-down menu with three choices - JPG, PNG, or STANDARD PDF.
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If they choose the ZIP/All Pages here, they do get an actual zip file that needs to be extracted, containing the four individual PNG or JPG images. It's interesting here that the customer can download the product mockups , I have no idea why they would need that. But the mockups are only the Zazzle-provided ones, they don't include your custom mockups/covers.
If they choose "Standard PDF" they get the same options as in 1-b above.
3) If from that first option screen they choose the little "I'm not sure" text they get
This in my opinion is the least confusing way as it lays out all four options (jpg, png, standard pdf or print pdf) in one menu.
Regardless of which of the options routes I took to get there, the resulting downloads I got were all the same:
For the JPG versions -
The "Download artwork" images were 1500x2100, 300dpi, and average of 485kb.
The "Download product mockup" versions were 2048x2048, 96dpi, and average 315kb.
Both included the meta file properties of
Title: Only available for Personal Use according to the Zazzle User Agreement
Comments: Image licensed to Zazzle Inc. All unauthorized use is prohibited.
For the PNG versions -
The "Download artwork" images were 1500x2100, 300dpi, and average of 4.82 MB.
The "Download product mockup" versions were 2048x2048, 96dpi, and average 4.05 MB
The PNG versions not include the above meta file properties.
Found one other super interesting thing, but that will be a post for the Tech forum tomorrow.
As I said, my post was to go over what happens after the purchase is complete and the download is available. It was geared towards Designers, so they know the choices & prompts their customers are getting and can better help them.
This is a post I made back in March 2023 summarizing my experience with the actual ordering part.
Digital Downloads - Review of Process from Customer POV
And this is an excellent post by @Fiorenzo, also from March 2023, summarizing his experience ordering, with a detailed explanation of the different file types one gets.
Digital Downloads - Review & useful info (folded cards)
I wanted to see what, if anything, has changed in the last two years. While the file types one ends up with are still the same, the popups & prompts one gets are different now and that's what I outlined in this new thread.
If a customer is logged in, they’ll find their download in “My Orders.”
Yes. But they don't have to go through their Order History. Any normal link to the regular product page opens to the download page, and as outlined above, they can switch back and forth.
If they’re shopping as a guest, they’ll get an email with the download link (but won’t have access to “My Orders” unless they later make an account).
There is no shopping as a guest on Zazzle. You can customize things and add them to your cart, but once you click "Proceed to Check-Out" from your cart, you have to either sign in to an existing account or create one.
