I printed this coupon – and apparently it has magic invisible ink. You cannot see it.
I printed another coupon – it had the same mysterious magic ink where the barcode was supposed to be.
I printed a third coupon, this had a magic value – the value was totally different than what was listed on Smartsource. However, when I got to the store, the magic value didn’t come off at the register.
So, just a quick note to let you know that Smartsource is wonky. (Yes, I like the word wonky. If you are not sure what it means – here is the definition -weird, whacked out, messed up, not working for no definable reason. Usually applied to technology.)
I have received tons of emails asking me about this and I have no clue what is going on, but here is what I do know:
- If you have a coupon that prints out with the invisible ink, you cannot use it.
- If you have a coupon that prints with the barcode in the invisible ink, you cannot use it.
- If you have a coupon that prints in a random value, you can still use it. It will scan at the correct value. {or atleast mine did, who knows for sure, but it does scan}
carolm says
I could print SmartSource coupons in April and May 2011 then I had the same problem, I could not print coupons in June 2011. I contacted SmartSource Support and they told me that “Our latest software is more rigorous in defining what printers are allowed and some users that previously were allowed to print are now seeing this error. Our system produces an automated report of any printer that is not allowed and our engineers then investigate to see if it indeed should not be blocked.” So possibly you are using one of their blocked pirnters. I would contact any website that uses SmartSource for priinting their coupons to let them know that SmartSource upgraded there software to block certain printers thus preventing from printing their coupons and less likely have consumers buying their product.
Angsanders03 says
I am having that same problem. I go into smartsource’s web site it goes through the motions of loading but when it says it is done there is nothing but a blank screen. I did have some luck when I uninstalled Google Chrome and Foxfire I as able to pull them up even on Internet Explorer but as soon as I did 1 time and tried to print coupons the coupons wouldn’t print and then after that same thing blank screen. What is causing this? How do we fix it? Anyone have any ideas?
lynb says
Really interesting.
I haven’t even been able to bring up the smartsource site at all. It goes through all the motions like the site is loading, then…I see DONE at the bottom and a blank screen where coupons should be.
Interesting…
Shelly T. says
My problem I have been having is that I get the “magic invisible ink” coupon and then I get the actual coupon amount/product that prints off on a second page!! I wondered if I took both of the prints if they would take it at the store??
Lee Ann L. says
I severely dislike Smart Source. I can’t even print from my laptop. However, I can print from my husband’s… sometimes… LOL. :-)
Sherri Spichiger says
I think there is something wrong with all of the coupon web sites. Last night, I was on Coupons.com and got a message saying that my computer had been infected with a virus. I did not click on the link because I use a different virus scan, but it started the scan anyway! I forced it to stop but after that I couldn’t get coupons to print until I did my own virus scan. Wonder what’s going on?
Shannon says
@Sherri Spichiger,
This is actually not a virus from coupons.com – it is redirect virus from another program.
Anne says
That is really bizarre! Now I have had trouble with Shop N Save accepting Smartsource Coupons because it doesn’t have veri-fi on it.
Michele says
I printed several Qs at one time and they all printed for $6/2 but everything else looked okay. I was afraid to use them since I knew the amounts weren’t right. One was suppose to be the $1 off of ReachFloss but printed $6/2…that would have made for some cheap floss :) Unfortunately they went in the trash.
melissa says
The other day I printed out a $1/2 Reach Floss and it printed out as $6/2 my eyes just about popped out of my head! I knew there was no way it would scan for that amount but it was still crazy to see such a high value floss coupon.
Shelly says
Well…I don’t know about the invisible ink thing….but they will print the correct amount anyway (if you can get them to print).
Shelly says
I have learned that if you print one at a time (I know it is a waste of paper) they will print correctly.
Rebecca says
I have problems with SmartSource all the time…I get the empty coupon and have tried all the things they suggest on their website to fix it and none of it really works….oh well…so i hardly print from them anymore
And by the way, I love the word wonky! But to me it seems very British (not sure why?) and so I always use the word in a British accent… I am such a nerd!
Shannon says
@Rebecca,
It is a british word. WOH-NKAY is how i like to say it!
Brandi says
Just a curious question…Do you know if the retailer will be reimbursed the amount on the coupon or the correct amount that it should be?
Shannon says
@Brandi,
the coded amount because they are all done via barcode.
Mel says
Must be a $2 magic coupon! I printed three coupons, only one was for $2 with the rest being $1 and .50. They all printed off as $2. I wasn’t sure what to do with them. Guess I’ll use them and see what happens.
Tammy says
I to have gotten the mystery coupons..as well as the mystery values ones..most recently i had printed off the betty crocker cookie mix ones and i got 2 that printed w/ $2.00 off any cookie mix.. not the .40 cents like it was when i printed them off the other computers in my house..and when i got to the register at rite aid this morning i was curious to see what would happen(maybe even hoping it would take off the $2.00 :-) and it went through no problems or beeps, but it only took off the .40 cents..so if you get the mystery value ones just know that it will only take off for only the “correct” value..
Samantha says
Every time I print a smartsource coupon on my laptop I get 2 copies of it. They always have the same ID so I have to throw one away. Kind of frustrating because it’s a huge waste of paper! I’ve tried uninstalling and reinstalling the coupon software, but no luck! Works fine on our other computers.
catherine says
I did a bit of research on the smartsource site. I said that if just the frame is printed, it is due to an overload in the cache??? It also said to turn off the print preview, which I did and them I was able to print the whole thing. Unfortunely I wasn’t able to reprint the one I wanted because it thought I already printed it.
Shannon says
@catherine,
Hmm Catherine, I tried this on 4 different computers, one per computer and got different results.. All 4 computers were shut down and a new browser opened. I think they are having many issues right now.
Vanessa says
@catherine, If you were trying to print the cookie mix coupon you can try printing it at Coolsavings.com. I printed 2 at Smartsource and was able to print more at Coolsavings with no problems.