Order flow — what happens after checkout

From paid order to print-ready file in your fulfilment hands.

Pixel Wrangler stays quiet until an order is paid. The moment it is, the print-ready files start rendering. Here's what shows up on the order, and what you can build automations against.

On the order itself

Every customized line item carries:

  • A thumbnail of the customer's design
  • A link to the full-resolution preview
  • The custom text fields they filled in

You see these in the Shopify order detail page without any setup. They also appear inside Pixel Wrangler under Orders.

Order tags

We tag every customized order with one of three values:

  • pw-artwork-pending — the print files are being generated
  • pw-artwork-ready — files are ready
  • pw-artwork-failed — something went wrong, the order needs your eyes

These tags are how most fulfilment automations hook in. Wire your fulfilment partner's tool to watch for pw-artwork-ready and you're done.

Order metafields

Two metafields under the pw_customization namespace:

  • artwork_status — same value as the tag
  • artwork_files — the list of print-ready files, with URLs

If your fulfilment automation reads metafields rather than tags, that's where to look.

Where the files end up

By default, Pixel Wrangler hosts your print-ready files and the URLs in the metafield point at them.

If you'd rather have files in your own cloud storage — for fulfilment integrations that expect a specific path, or for a longer retention policy — configure it under Settings → Storage. Files land in your bucket, the URLs in the metafield update accordingly.

When a render fails

It happens occasionally. Common reasons:

  • A sticker or background asset got deleted from your library after a customer used it
  • The customer's upload was corrupt or got pulled mid-render
  • A custom font URL went offline

Every failed order shows in the Orders tab with a Retry button. One click re-queues it. If the underlying cause is fixed, the retry succeeds and the order tag flips to pw-artwork-ready.

If retries keep failing, the order detail shows the specific reason. Most fixes take under a minute.

How long files stick around

Customer-uploaded images and design previews stay accessible for 90 days from the order date. After that, they're cleared.

Your rendered print-ready files in your own storage are never touched — those are yours.

If your fulfilment ever takes longer than 90 days, pull the files into your system before the window closes. The Artwork Export API is the supported way to do this in bulk.

What's next