How Teleport protects your 3D design file
Buyers order the printed object and never receive your file. Here is where your file goes and who can see it. If you have any questions after reading this, please let us know.
How it works
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You upload your design
Your 3D file is stored on Teleport’s own server.
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It is listed as a product
The listing shows photos, previews and a price. The file is not on the page.
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A buyer orders it
They pay for a printed object in the material and color they choose.
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A portal near the buyer prints it
The file goes to the printing portal only to quote and print the order.
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The buyer receives the object
Usually delivered in 7–14 days. No file comes with it.
Who can access your file
| Who | Access to your file |
|---|---|
| You, the designer | View and replace it Your product shows the file’s name and size, and you can replace it with a new version. There is no download button, not even for you. |
| Buyers | Never They see the listing’s photos and previews, and receive the printed object. |
| The printing portal | Only to quote and print It receives the file only to quote and print your order, then ships the object to the buyer. |
| Teleport staff | Operational access only The file stays on Teleport’s own server; our team reaches it only to run the service. |
Sell 3D designs without sharing STL files
There are three ways to earn from a 3D design. Only one keeps the file with you and still puts an object in the buyer’s hands.
| Your file | Setup on your side | What you earn per sale | Risk of copies | Who prints and ships | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share the STL file | Leaves with the first buyer and can be passed on | Low: upload the file, photos and print settings | The file’s price, once per buyer | High: once sold, the file is out of your hands | The buyer, on their own printer |
| Sell the printed product through Teleport | Stays on Teleport’s server; the portal gets it only to quote and print | Low: upload once, pick the default material, set your fee | Your Designer Fee on every object ordered | Low: the buyer holds an object, not the file; copying it means scanning or remodeling it | A portal near the buyer; Teleport handles payment and delivery |
| License the design to a manufacturer | Handed to the licensee under a contract | High: find the partner, negotiate, follow up | A royalty or a lump sum, as the contract says | Depends on the contract and the licensee | The licensee |
Teleport is the middle row. The Designer Fee page shows what you earn on an order.
What “never shared with buyers” means
Buyers pay for an object, not a file. They choose a material and a color, pay for the printed product and receive it at their door. Nothing they receive, before or after the order, contains your 3D file.
Your listing shows photos, previews, a title, a description and a price. The file itself is not on the page, and there is no link to download it.
Each order goes to the printing portal as a print job. Teleport sends the file to that portal so it can print the order and ship it to the buyer.
Encrypted servers
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with 256-bit keys (AES-256) is the technology used to encrypt your files. It’s the strongest industry-adopted and government-approved algorithm for encrypting data. It would take at least a trillion years to break using current computing technology. Current research suggests that even the future availability of quantum-based computing won’t sufficiently reduce the time it would take to break AES encryption.
Questions designers ask
No. Buyers order the printed object and never receive your file: the listing shows photos, previews and a price, with no link to download it. There is no download button for anyone, not even for you.
You see its name and size and can replace it with a new version. The printing portal receives it only to quote and print an order, and Teleport staff reach it only to run the service. Buyers never see it.
Because Teleport sells printed products, not files: the buyer pays for the object and receives it at their door. Your file stays on Teleport’s server and goes to the printing portal only to quote and print the order.
Yes. You can edit or remove a design at any time from your dashboard, and replace its file with a new version whenever you need to.
Yes. On Teleport you sell the printed object, not the file: you upload the design once, set your Designer Fee, and a portal near the buyer prints and ships each order. The buyer never receives the STL, and there is no download link on the listing.
Keep the file off the listing and out of the parcel. On Teleport it stays on our server; the printing portal receives it only to quote and print an order, and the buyer gets the printed object. You can replace the file with a new version at any time, and remove the design whenever you want.
A printed object can be measured or scanned, like any product. What the buyer cannot do is download your file: the dimensions, tolerances and details that make the design yours stay in the STL, which never leaves Teleport’s server except to the portal printing the order.
Yes. Listing a design on Teleport gives us a non-exclusive licence to produce it for orders; you keep ownership and every other right, including selling the file elsewhere. The terms have the exact wording.
More questions about selling on Teleport?
The FAQ answers the common ones; the Designer Fee page shows what you earn.
