Armadillo Central

Frequently Asked Questions: if you think of something important that we haven't covered, please send your suggestion using the form on the Contact us page.

Armadillo Central is not currently registered for VAT so all goods are free of UK Value Added Tax. We reserve the right to add VAT at any stage. You will be given a breakdown showing VAT during the checkout process if and when it is applied.

To download your files, please click on the relevant section of the order confirmation notice which appears on screen directly after you have completed your purchase. Alternatively you can click on the download-info email which we send through directly after you have completed your order. Please note that you need to download your file/s within 24 hours of purchase.

If you have any problems receiving your download/s please get in touch using the Contact us form. Please remember to include the date and reference number for your order.

All delivery costs include packaging.

Delivery costs start at approximatly £2.50 for fine art prints, depending on size and destination.

Here are some examples of Postage & Packaging costs as at March 2012:

• A4 Art Print to UK Mainland: £2.50
• A4 Art Print to Europe: £3.50
• A4 Art Print to Rest of World: £4.00

Depending on their value, goods may need to be 'signed for' on delivery, especially if they're being shipped abroad.

If you have any special requirements for delivery or other comments, you can add a note in the section provided as you place your order. If you need items delivered by a set date, please contact us prior to placing your order - we will do our best. Email us in the first instance via the Contact us page.

Generally A4 prints will be sent in a hardback envelope while larger sizes will be delivered in a cardboard roll.

Additionally all artwork and photography is usually packaged in a transparent inner protective sleeve. This must be left intact if you decide to return goods.

For our returns policy please check the relevant FAQ or our Terms and Conditions.

We're selling a cross section of different products so delivery times vary accordingly, and it also depends where you are in the world. That's unless you're ordering digital products, in which case, just pay your dues and your digital file will wing its way across the ether to you within seconds, wherever you are.

Most print books and Art Prints are in stock, so it'll be down to what day of the week you order and where we're sending them. If we've run out of stock of a particular Art Print, it will generally be reordered and available within 2 to 3 weeks.

Open Edition and Limited Edition prints vary from being in stock to needing to be hand-printed, just for you.

Originals can also vary as they may either be held with the artist, which might affect delivery times, or at Armadillo Central's storehouse.

If you're really keen to get a specific item delivered by a particular date, we recommend you email us first to check availability. We'll always try our best!

Armadillos do need to rest from time to time and often do so over the week-ends and during key holiday dates, for instance over Christmas, New Year and Easter as well as on Bank Holidays. So if you order on a Friday evening, we may not process your order until the Monday or Tuesday.

Please check individual items in the shop and our Terms and Conditions for more information about deliveries.

Returns: please note that you must contact us for a Returns Number in order to obtain a refund. Having a returns number does not guarantee that you will get a refund but will help us process your request efficiently.

Digital Products - we cannot accept the return of any digital product including but not limited to ebooks or ecards once they have been downloaded and we cannot refund any such products unless they are faulty, in which case we will happily replace the digital file. Please email us immediately with any problems regarding digital files and their download and we will endeavour to deal with your enquiry as soon as possible. We will need to check details of the fault before we can confirm any refund.

Physical Products - orders in the European Union are subject to a statutory 7 day cooling off period. Provided you notify us within 7 days of receipt and goods are returned to us within 14 days of receipt in perfect condition and with all their packaging intact, we will refund such products in full. You must contact us within 7 days of receipt to obtain a returns number. Return delivery will be at your expense and the original delivery cost will not be refunded on return orders unless products are faulty. If you do not have a returns number no refund will be made. Please enclose a copy of your original invoice with any returns.

Faulty Products – if your product is faulty you must contact us immediately upon receipt and advise us of the nature of the fault. Depending on the nature of the fault we will endeavour to replace products with like for like. You must return any faulty products to us at your expense, intact and with all original packaging included before we can make a final decision about their replacement. Please enclose a copy of your original invoice with any returns. We will re-deliver free of charge where products are demonstrably faulty. Your statutory rights are not affected.

Please check our Terms and Conditions for full details.

Product reviews are a great help to other customers considering a purchase. In addition, all our artists, authors and photographers really value reviews, and we as a business welcome any feedback, so please find a few minutes to award some *** and/or leave a review in the store after you've received your purchase/s.

To post a review, please log in and click on the relevant product in the shop. You will find an option to post a review and/or award ***. Your review will be checked by a tiny armadillo for any offensive or inappropriate material (perish the thought) and to avoid spam before being posted online. At busy times, this may take a few days.

In order to protect your privacy we post reviews using only your first name.

Press reviews and fellow artist/author/photographer/creative reviews are also welcome. If you're happy to be by-lined please email your review using the Contact us form supplying all relevant details, including a weblink if relevant.

Once your review is published, it will be public and as such may be reproduced, either by us or by third parties elsewhere on our social networks and in other media. Please see our Terms and Conditions for full details.

To use your Coupon or GIFT code please register and/or log into the site, place your order in the shop/store then enter the code at the checkout. This will be applied to your order total.

For overseas orders coupons are still issued in Pounds Sterling. If there is a balance to be paid, Paypal will apply the currency exchange after your coupon code has been taken into account.

Generic price listings on our website are in Pounds Sterling. All other currency prices are estimates. Please check current exchange rates for accurate pricing in other currencies.

If you have any problems using or applying your coupon code, please Contact us with the code reference in the header of your message and let us know what the problem is supplying as many details as possible.

ART, PHOTOGRAPHY & PRINTED BOOKS as gifts:

You can order any physical product from the site as a gift. Simply add the specific product/s to your cart, proceed with your order as instructed then enter the recipient's name and address into the delivery address section (as opposed to billing address details, which should all be your own).

Please make sure you specify which product/s are gifts in the Message box at the final stage of the Checkout process. This is after you have paid and before you confirm our Terms & Conditions.

You can also add a personal message for the recipient in the Message box. We will send your message on an Armadillo Central logo card with the gift, which will be wrapped in acid free tissue paper with our signature orange ribbon.

If you're also ordering items to be delivered to your own address, don't forget to let us know!

GIFT TOKENS: we use Coupon Codes which are for specific amounts, converted into your local currency during the payment process. These can only be applied to specific GIFT products as no change can be given.

If you want your recipient to choose their own gift, our Prints - Art Paper are now available as GIFT products. Please select an A4 or A3 GIFT product from the shop. We will issue a Coupon Code to cover the purchase price including delivery. Please make sure you supply the recipient's full name and address in the delivery address section so that the correct delivery and packaging costs can be applied.

Unless you specify otherwise the Coupon Code will be sent to you. Once you have forwarded it to your recipient they can choose which print they'd like to buy. How to use instructions are sent with the Coupon code.

If you want us to send the code as a gift from you, please supply the recipient's name and email address in the Message box at the final stage of the Checkout process. This is after you have paid and before you confirm our Terms & Conditions.

Please note that this service is not automated and may take longer to process over week-ends and public holidays. Once you have received the code it can be used at any time.

You may want to forward any GIFT/Coupon Codes to your recipient using one of our free ecards.

EBOOKS as gifts:

To send an ebook as a gift, select a GIFT product from the list of ebooks in our shop and follow instructions on the relevant page.

Unless you specify otherwise, the code will be sent to you. If you want us to send the code as a gift from you, please supply the recipient's name and email address in the Message box at the final stage of the Checkout process. This is after you have paid and before you confirm our Terms & Conditions.

You may want to forward any GIFT/Coupon Codes to your recipient using one of our free ecards.

Any artwork, illustration or photograph shown on a monitor, whether that be your  computer or other visual device, will vary in colour and tone. So will printouts. An exact colour reproduction of the original artwork cannot therefore be guaranteed, since each browser, monitor, printer and printout you use will vary in its settings, presentation and finish. You should therefore not rely on colours represented on this website, or printed by you from this website, being true to any original.

We hope you enjoy the colours and tones of your artwork when you receive your order - those are the true colours that the artist/photographer intended!

Designers: if you need to colour match a particular artwork to your room colours, please send us a fabric or paper swatch detailing which colour/s need to match or coordinate.

Armadillo Central currently carries the following eBook file formats:

1. PRC/Mobi for Amazon/Kindle
2. ePUB for most other eReader devices including iPad, Nook, Sony Reader and most mobile devices
3. PDF which can be read on your computer or printed on your home printer.

Since eReader technology is constantly being developed and updated, we suggest you check with your relevant manufacturer's website for any further details.

Many files can be converted to suit different eReaders using software which is often available free on the net. We would recommend Calibre for free ebook conversions. Or you might use a special App to do this. Check with your manufacturer for more details or use reliable online forums to find the safest and best options.

You might find that the illustrations which we included in the original eBook file haven't appeared in colour or haven't appeared at all. This is because different eReaders and Apps perform in different ways. We've done our best to cover this using different file types for our ebooks, but the technology is still very new and developing daily, so it's largely beyond our control. We've tried to counter their possible absence by publishing illustrations alongside the relevant title on our website, sometimes on the author or the illustrator/photographer's page, occasionally as a separate show in the Exhibitions section.

The ebook market is developing so fast, it's difficult to summarise in this small space, so if you're keen to find out more, we suggest you check out some of the specialised blogs on the net, the best of which are regularly updated.

In the briefest terms, these are the key aspects to consider:

1. Content - the actual text of an eBook + other digital content, text or images. This may include links to external content.
2. Device - the mechanism you use to read that content for instance an eReader, a tablet or a mobile including the fast developing Android market.
3. Platform - this is where you download the content from - this could be from Armadillo Central or Amazon, the iBookstore or Google, or a number of other independents like ourselves. The list is endless.
4. Apps - these are applications which you use to read or access certain content. For instance you may need a special app to read Kindle content on an iPad.
5. Also see FAQ on ebooks: Formats.

A digital platform is a website or other supplier from which you download content such as eBooks or other digital media such as music. Some platforms, including Armadillo Central, also sell physical products.

As well as selling direct from www.armadillocentral.com, we supply some of our digital products, most notably ebooks, to other platforms. If you have any problems downloading our products from external platforms, you should contact themdirect about any issues. If appropriate, they will then contact us.

The number of eReaders on the market is increasing all the time and existing models are being regularly updated. We suggest you check individual product reviews before you make a purchase. At a later date we hope to add our own product reviews and recommendations.

In the meantime, here's a list of some of the main eReaders available:

Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, BeBook, Kobo, Pandigital and iPad.

You can also read books on your Android mobile phone or by using different Apps. Or you can use your computer to read PDF files.

Apps is an abbreviation of applications, otherwise known as software, which helps you to access certain data or perform certain tasks. New Apps are constantly being developed enabling owners of devices such as the iPad or Kindle to read downloaded books and other material from different ebook platforms including Stanza, Kindle, iBooks, Kobo, Google and Nook to name some key players. Some Apps are developed as spin offs from ebooks giving you access to extra content which is not contained in the main file.

Mobile Apps, otherwise known as Applications or software for mobiles are one of the fastest growing areas technologically. There are now many options for reading ebooks on Android devices using Apps. These include Kobo, Aldiko, FBReader, iReader, and Laputa to name but a handful.

BFK Rives, made in France, is the paper of choice for lithography, etching, silkscreening, block and woodcut printing, monotypes, and bookbinding. It's made from 100% cotton rag with a vellum surface, is pH neutral, buffered and watermarked. Using BFK Rives ensures a perfect absorption and high quality finish.

Fabriano Artistico watercolour paper is mouldmade, 100% cotton, chlorine, acid free and archival. The paper has an internal and external sizing, which makes it very absorbant and suitable to lifting, scraping and other techniques, therefore ideal for engravings/etchings. It is deckle edged and watermarked.

Cartiere Miliani Fabriano: the particular grain of the surface and the highly lightfast colour are the principal charecteristics of this acid free,  mould made laid paper, which is particularly recommended for drawing, (pastels, tempera) and collage. On a full sheet the fibre direction runs parallel to the long sides. The watermark INGRES FABRIANO is to be found on the two long sides of the sheet, which are deckle edged.

Giclée is a neologism coined in 1991 by printmaker Jack Duganne for fine art digital prints made on ink-jet printers. The name originally applied to fine art prints created on IRIS printers in a process invented in the late 1980s but has since come to mean any high quality ink-jet print and is often used by artists, galleries, and print shops to denote such prints. Thanks to Wikipedia for this FAQ information. We couldn't better their succinct explanation! The verb 'gicler', which is French, means to spray. Armadillo Central's Giclée artworks are all professionally printed in a specialist print workshop using high quality archival inks.

Hahnemühle paper is manufactured by the eponymous firm in Germany. This fine art coated paper lends itself beautifully to ink jet printing which is why we chose it for our fine art paper collections. Hahnemühle also produce a range of artist papers for traditional painting.

Our Art Paper printers have been officially accredited by Hahnemühle.

Kozo is a type of Washi, the Japanese word for the traditional papers made from the long inner fibres of three plants, 'wa' meaning Japanese and 'shi' meaning paper. It can be machine printed or is authentically produced by hand by an ever decreasing number of families.

Kozo is made from the inner bark of the mulberry, which is and thick and strong and the most widely used fibre. It is grown as a farm crop, and regenerates annually, so no forests are depleted in the process. Flexible, absorbent and softly translucent, it is ideal for printing.

Okawara is a fine, lightweight, soft and yet strong paper which is ideal for woodblock and other refined printing. It is lightly sized on one side and can be printed on either  surface. Papers can vary in shade and quality with some machine made and others by hand.

Woodcuts are created by carving blocks of wood using special tools. The image is formed from the relief which, once the image is carved, is coated in ink. Paper is then placed on top of the inked block and pressure is then applied transfering the ink onto the paper and creating a unique print each time. Depending on its quality the finished paper is often embossed by the printing process, creating a subtle 3 dimensional effect.

We currently have a full programme of exciting new projects to develop, so we're not accepting any submissions for the time being. We'll post news here once we're ready to hear from you.

We welcome trade enquiries. Please use the Contact us page with a relevant heading e.g. trade art, trade photography, trade books etc. Discounts can be arranged on trade and volume orders provided you can supply the right accreditation e.g. retail outlet/architect/interior designer/interior decorator/hotel/restaurant and other trade establishments. Contact us by email in the first instance for more details. Thank you.

Please Contact us if you're interested in collaborating on foreign, print or audio editions of our ebooks and books. We also welcome other media enquiries.