Terms & conditions

§ 1 Scope of application
1 All deliveries, services and offers of PrintsPaul GmbH & Co KG 52249 Eschweiler, owner Paul Arndt, shall be made exclusively on the basis of these terms and conditions. These shall apply to all future business relationships that we enter into with our customers concerning the goods offered (including used machines or machine parts), services and performances (in particular the production of print and print products, the provision of recurring maintenance services and other consulting and support services). Our product, service and service offerings are aimed equally at consumers and entrepreneurs. For the purposes of these General Terms and Conditions of Business, a “consumer” is any natural person who concludes the contract for a purpose that cannot be attributed to his commercial or self-employed professional activity (§ 13 of the German Civil Code – BGB) and an “entrepreneur” is any natural or legal person or a partnership with legal capacity who, at the time of conclusion of the contract, is acting in the exercise of his commercial or self-employed professional activity (§ 14 para. 1 BGB). Insofar as provisions of these General Terms and Conditions of Business are only applicable to business transactions with entrepreneurs, this is expressly referred to in the following.

2. the customer’s terms and conditions shall not apply, even if we do not separately object to their validity in individual cases.

3. individual agreements made with the customer in individual cases (including collateral agreements, supplements and amendments) shall take precedence over these General Terms and Conditions of Business. A written contract or our written confirmation shall be decisive for the content of such agreements.
4. if the customer is an entrepreneur, the General Terms and Conditions of Business in their respective version shall also apply as a framework agreement for future contracts with the same customer, without our having to refer to them again in each individual case.

§ 2 Conclusion of contract
1. our offers are subject to change and non-binding, unless otherwise stated in the order confirmation. This shall also apply if we have provided the customer with catalogs, technical documentation, plans, calculations, costings and other product descriptions or documents – including in electronic form – to which we reserve ownership and copyright.

2. the ordering of goods, the placing of a print or printing order as well as the placing of a maintenance order by the customer shall be deemed to be a binding contractual offer. This also applies when the order or the order is placed in our online store. We are entitled to accept this offer within seven days of its receipt by sending an order confirmation – also in electronic form.

3. the offer to conclude a purchase contract can also be accepted by sending the goods without the customer receiving an order confirmation beforehand. The offer for the conclusion of a print or print order can be accepted with the beginning of the execution of the order. The offer to conclude a maintenance contract shall become effective upon receipt of a corresponding order confirmation by the Customer.

§ 3 Cancellation policy/right of withdrawal of the consumer
Consumers can revoke their contractual declaration within 14 days without giving reasons in writing (e.g. letter, fax, e-mail) or – if the goods have been delivered to you before the end of this period – by returning the goods. The period begins after receipt of this instruction in text form.
1. in the case of distance contracts for the delivery of goods, but not before receipt of the goods by the recipient (in the case of recurring deliveries of similar goods not before receipt of the first partial delivery) and also not before we have fulfilled our duty to inform in accordance with § 312e para. 1 sentence 1 BGB in conjunction with § 3 BGB-InfoV. The timely dispatch of the revocation or the goods is sufficient to comply with the revocation period.

2. in the case of distance contracts for the provision of services, but not before the conclusion of the contract and also not before the fulfilment of our information duties pursuant to § 312e para. 2 BGB in conjunction with § 1 para. 1, 2 and 4 BGB-InfoV. The timely dispatch of the revocation suffices to comply with the revocation period.

The revocation is to be sent to: PrintsPaul GmbH & Co.KG, Eduard-Mörike-Straße 36, 52249 Eschweiler, mail@printspaul.com

Consequences of withdrawal: In the event of an effective revocation, the services received by both parties must be returned and any benefits derived (e.g. interest) must be surrendered. If you are unable to return the received goods or services in whole or in part or only in a deteriorated condition, you may have to pay compensation for lost value. This does not apply to the surrender of goods if the deterioration of the goods is exclusively due to their inspection – as it would have been possible for you in a store. In addition, you can avoid the obligation to pay compensation for a deterioration of the goods caused by the intended use of the goods by not using the goods as if they were your property and by refraining from doing anything that could impair their value. Goods that can be sent by parcel post are to be returned at our risk. You have to bear the costs of the return shipment if the delivered goods correspond to the ordered goods and if the price of the goods to be returned does not exceed an amount of 40 Euros or if, in the case of a higher price of the goods, you have not yet provided the consideration or a contractually agreed partial payment at the time of the revocation. Otherwise, the return shipment is free of charge for you. Goods that cannot be sent by parcel post will be picked up from you. Obligations to refund payments must be fulfilled within 30 days. The period begins for you with the dispatch of your revocation declaration or the goods, for us with their receipt.

The right of revocation does not exist for: Goods that are produced according to customer specifications or clearly tailored to personal needs or which are not suitable for return due to their condition or can spoil quickly or whose expiration date would be exceeded. In case of delivery of audio or video recordings or software, if the sealed data carrier has been unsealed by the customer.

§ 4 Contract period and termination of the maintenance contracts
1. the maintenance contract begins on the date specified in the order. Unless expressly agreed otherwise, the maintenance contract has a minimum term of one (1) year and is automatically extended by one (1) year in each case, unless it is terminated in writing with a notice period of three (3) months to the end of the current contract period.

2. the maintenance contract can be terminated without notice for good cause if the respective other party fails to fulfill its contractual obligations – 14 days after receipt of a written warning. However, termination is excluded in the case of minor breaches of contract.

3. the maintenance contract can be terminated in particular for extraordinary reasons,

1. if the customer is more than 30 days in arrears with the payment of the purchase price for the product covered by the maintenance contract
2. if the customer permanently terminates the use of the product for which the maintenance service is provided within his company;

3. furthermore, the right to extraordinary termination exists if the company or part of the company to which the product under the maintenance agreement belongs,
27. is closed down or liquidated, insolvency proceedings are applied for or opened, or insolvency occurs;

28. is sold to third parties.

4. the termination must be in writing.

5. in the event of termination, the customer shall be obliged to pay for the maintenance services provided up to the termination of the contract as well as for the parts delivered up to that point in time and to reimburse other costs and claims arising from these General Terms and Conditions of Business or statutory provisions.

§ 5 Subject of the maintenance contracts

1. the maintenance services are provided in accordance with the performance specifications specified in the customer order or the appendices to the order.
2. unless expressly agreed otherwise, the following services are not part of the maintenance contract:

1. elimination of malfunctions caused by unprofessional conditions including unprofessional maintenance of the product by the customer or third parties, as well as the elimination of malfunctions caused by accidents, modifications, incorrect ambient or operating conditions;

2. replacement, maintenance or repair of additional equipment, original equipment and consumable accessories (such as batteries and printer cartridges) and construction parts (such as frames and covers);

3. carrying out machine conversions;

4. maintenance services outside the agreed periods of readiness for maintenance;

5. training of the customer’s employees;

6. elimination of telecommunication or power failures.

3. the customer shall grant us, our employees and agents complete and free access at reasonable times to the location of the product under the maintenance agreement and shall provide all necessary equipment and supply lines so that the maintenance service can be performed.

4. if the customer is not the owner of the product under the maintenance contract, he shall obtain the owner’s consent to the provision of the maintenance service.

5. the customer shall inform us immediately of any malfunctions resulting from his area of responsibility and their expected duration.

§ 6. Prices
Unless otherwise agreed in individual cases, our prices plus statutory value-added tax at the time the contract is concluded shall apply.

2. additional services and deliveries are charged separately and are to be borne by the customer. Additional services shall be deemed to be in particular those listed under § 5 para. 2. Furthermore, the Customer shall be charged for any subsequent changes made at his instigation, i.e. after conclusion of the contract. Subsequent changes to a print or printing order shall also be deemed to be repetitions of test prints requested by the customer due to minor deviations from the original. Sketches, drafts, sample typesetting, test prints, samples and similar preparatory work initiated by the customer shall be invoiced, even if no contract is concluded which includes appropriate further processing of the same.

3. print data shall be delivered to us in electronic form as PostScript data in pdf or eps format. If other formats are supplied, we shall charge the costs required for testing and technical print processing. These depend on the data standard supplied and the extent of the necessary reworking.

4. in the case of mail order purchases, the customer shall bear the transport costs ex warehouse and the costs of any transport insurance requested by the customer. Any customs duties, fees, taxes and other public charges shall be borne by the customer. We do not take back transport packaging and all other packaging in accordance with the German Packaging Ordinance; it becomes the property of the customer.

5. in relation to entrepreneurs, we reserve the right to change our prices accordingly if, after conclusion of the contract, cost reductions or cost increases occur, in particular due to collective agreements or changes in the price of materials. We will provide the customer with evidence of such changes on request.

§ 7 Terms of payment
1. unless expressly stated otherwise, we only deliver against advance payment (direct debit, credit card) or cash on delivery, in each case against invoice.

2. recurring fees for maintenance contracts can be invoiced to the customer by agreement on a monthly, quarterly, annual or other intervals (calculation period). If the maintenance contract begins during a calculation period, the maintenance fee shall be charged pro rata – unless otherwise agreed.
3. invoices shall be payable within 8 days of the invoice date without deduction, unless there is a written agreement on other payment terms.

4. we reserve the right to refuse cheques or bills of exchange in other currencies. The acceptance of cheques and other currencies is always only on account of payment. Discount and bill charges are due immediately and are to be borne by the customer.

5. if there are older debts of the customer, we are entitled to credit payments first against the older debts of the customer, despite other provisions. We will inform the customer about the settlement. Costs and interest already incurred entitle us to credit the customer’s payment first against the costs, then against the interest and finally against the main service.

6. only when we can dispose of the amount, a payment is considered to be made. With regard to cheques, a payment shall only be deemed to have been made when the cheque has been cashed and can no longer be returned.

7. in principle, an appropriate advance payment or security, e.g. by credit card or guarantee, can be demanded for all orders.

8. if, after conclusion of the contract, a significant deterioration in the financial circumstances or creditworthiness of the customer becomes known and the fulfilment of the claim for payment is endangered as a result, the customer shall have the right to demand advance payment, retain the goods and stop further work. If further deliveries are based on this contractual relationship and if the customer is also in arrears with these, the right to demand advance payment as mentioned in this paragraph shall also apply here.

9. upon expiry of the above payment period, the customer shall be in default. During the period of default, interest shall be charged on the purchase price at the statutory default interest rate applicable at the time. We reserve the right to assert further damages caused by default. Our claim to the commercial due date interest (§ 353 HGB) against merchants remains unaffected.

10.the customer shall only be entitled to rights of set-off or retention insofar as his claim has been legally established or is undisputed. He may only assert a right of retention if it is based on claims from the same contract.

11.if it becomes apparent after conclusion of the contract that our claim to the purchase price is endangered by the Buyer’s lack of ability to pay (e.g. through an application for the opening of insolvency proceedings), we are entitled to refuse performance in accordance with the statutory provisions and – if necessary after setting a deadline – to withdraw from the contract (§ 321 BGB). In the case of contracts for the manufacture of unacceptable goods (custom-made products), we may declare our withdrawal immediately; the statutory provisions on the dispensability of setting a deadline remain unaffected.

§ 8 Delivery and performance deadlines; delay in delivery
1. our delivery dates or performance periods are exclusively non-binding information unless they have been expressly agreed between the customer and us as binding. If we culpably fail to comply with a delivery or performance deadline expressly agreed as binding or if we are in default for any other reason, the customer must grant us a reasonable grace period to effect our performance.

2. compliance with the delivery or service obligation presupposes the timely and proper fulfilment of the customer’s obligation. We reserve the right to the defence of non-performance of the contract.

3. if the customer is in default of acceptance or culpably violates other obligations to cooperate, we shall be entitled to demand compensation for the damage incurred by us in this respect, including any additional expenses. Further claims or rights are reserved.

4. if the prerequisites of paragraph 3 are met, the risk of accidental loss or accidental deterioration of the goods shall pass to the customer at the point in time at which the customer is in default of acceptance or debtor’s delay.

5 We shall be liable in accordance with the statutory provisions insofar as the underlying contract is a firm deal within the meaning of § 286 para. 2 no. 4 BGB or § 376 HGB. We shall also be liable in accordance with the statutory provisions if, as a consequence of a delay in delivery or performance for which we are responsible, the customer is entitled to claim that his interest in the further performance of the contract has ceased.

We shall also be liable in accordance with the statutory provisions if the delay in delivery or performance is due to an intentional or grossly negligent breach of contract for which we are responsible; any fault on the part of our representatives or vicarious agents shall be attributed to us. If the delay in delivery is due to a grossly negligent breach of contract for which we are responsible, our liability for damages is limited to the foreseeable, typically occurring damage.

We shall also be liable in accordance with the statutory provisions insofar as the delay in delivery or performance for which we are responsible is based on the culpable breach of a material contractual obligation; in this case, however, our liability for damages shall be limited to the foreseeable, typically occurring damage.

8. in other respects, in the event of a delay in delivery or performance, we shall be liable for each completed week of delay within the framework of a lump-sum compensation for delay in the amount of 3% of the delivery value (including value added tax), but not more than 10% of the delivery value.

9. further legal claims and rights of the customer remain reserved.

§ 9 Order execution/release by the customer
1. we carry out all print and printing orders on the basis of the print data supplied or transmitted by the customer, unless otherwise agreed in writing (by fax or e-mail) The data must be supplied by the customer according to the file formats specified in the order forms. For other file formats, we cannot guarantee error-free performance, unless the deviating file format has been approved by us in advance in writing. The customer is fully liable for the correctness of the data. This also applies in the event of data transfer or data carrier errors for which we are not responsible.

2. we are not obliged to check deliveries of any kind by the customer or a third party engaged by him (this includes data carriers and transferred data). This does not apply to obviously unprocessable or unreadable data. The customer is obliged to use protection programs for computer viruses before data transfer, which correspond to the current technical status. The customer is solely responsible for data backup. We have the right to make copies.

§ 10 Transfer of risk, shipment
1. at the request and expense of the customer the goods will be shipped to another destination (sale by delivery to a place other than the place of destination). Unless otherwise agreed, we shall be entitled to determine the type of shipment (in particular transport company, shipping route, packaging) ourselves.

2. if the customer is a consumer, the risk of accidental destruction, accidental damage or accidental loss of the delivered goods shall pass to the customer at the point in time at which the goods are delivered to the customer or the customer is in default of acceptance. In all other cases (including, but not limited to, if the customer is an entrepreneur), the risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the goods and the risk of delay shall pass to the customer at the time the goods are delivered to the forwarding agent, carrier or other person or institution designated to carry out the shipment.

3. if acceptance has been agreed, this shall be decisive for the passing of risk. The statutory provisions of the law on contracts for work and services shall also apply accordingly to an agreed acceptance. The handing over or acceptance is the same if the customer is in default of acceptance.

§ 11 Warranty
1.If the delivered goods have a material defect, the customer may first demand that we remedy the defect or deliver goods free of defects; if the customer is an entrepreneur, we may choose between remedying the defect or delivering goods free of defects. The choice can only be made by notifying the customer in text form (also by fax or e-mail) within three working days after notification of the defect. We can refuse the type of supplementary performance chosen by the customer if this is only possible at disproportionate cost.

2. if the subsequent performance pursuant to paragraph 1 fails or is unreasonable for the customer or if we refuse subsequent performance, the customer shall be entitled in each case in accordance with the applicable law to withdraw from the contract, reduce the purchase price or demand damages or reimbursement of its futile expenses. In addition, the special provisions of § 12 of these General Terms and Conditions of Business shall apply to the customer’s claims for damages.

3. if a part of the delivered goods has defects, this shall not entitle the customer to complain about the entire delivery. An exception shall only apply if the partial delivery is of no interest to the customer.

4. minor deviations from the original cannot be objected to in the case of color reproductions in all manufacturing processes. For technical reasons, this shall also apply to the comparison between other templates (e.g. proofs and printout data) – even if they were produced by the Contractor – and the final product.

5. in the event of deviations in the quality of the material used, liability can only be claimed up to the amount of the order value. If we deliver the material, this liability shall not apply. For production reasons, the direction of the paper cannot be taken into account when placing the material. This may cause the paper to break open slightly during folding and deviations in the strength or stiffness of the product must be accepted and cannot be objected to. For production reasons, folding, punching and trimming tolerances of up to 1 mm may occur. These must be accepted and cannot be objected to.

The warranty period for a consumer is two years from delivery of new goods and twelve months from delivery of used goods.

7. the delivery of used items or material aggregates agreed upon with an entrepreneur is carried out under exclusion of any warranty for material defects and under exclusion of any guarantee.

8. the warranty is void if the customer changes the delivery item or has it changed by third parties without consent and the elimination of the defect is impossible or unreasonably difficult. In any case the customer has to bear the additional costs of the removal of defects resulting from the change.

9. the following applies only to entrepreneurs: The customer must carefully examine the goods immediately after sending them. The delivered goods shall be deemed to have been approved by the customer if a defect is not reported to us within five working days of delivery in the case of obvious defects or otherwise within five working days of discovery of the defect.

§ 12 Liability
1. we shall not be liable (regardless of the legal basis) for damages which are not typically to be expected according to the type of the respective order and the goods and with normal use of the goods. Furthermore, our liability is excluded for damages resulting from data loss if the recovery is not possible or difficult due to missing or insufficient data backup. The above limitations of liability do not apply in the case of intent or gross negligence.

2. the limitations of this § 12 do not apply to our liability for guaranteed characteristics of quality in the sense of § 444 BGB, due to injury to life, body or health or mandatory regulations under the Product Liability Act.

3. any further liability for damages other than that provided for in paragraph 1 shall be excluded, irrespective of the legal nature of the claim asserted. This applies in particular to claims for damages arising from culpa in contrahendo, other breaches of duty or tortious claims for compensation for property damage in accordance with § 823 BGB. The limitation shall also apply if the customer demands compensation for useless expenses instead of a claim for compensation for the damage instead of performance.

4. the customer may only withdraw or terminate on account of a breach of duty which does not consist of a defect if we are responsible for the breach of duty. A free right of termination by the customer (in particular according to §§ 651, 649 BGB) is excluded. In all other respects, the statutory requirements and legal consequences shall apply.

5. we shall treat all templates of the customer with care. In case of damage or loss of the templates, we only assume liability up to the material value. Any further claims are excluded.

6. the following applies to entrepreneurs: For the limitation period for all claims which are not subject to the limitation period due to a defect of the item, an exclusion period of 18 months applies. It begins with the knowledge of the damage and the person of the damaging party.

§ 13 Retention of title
1. we reserve the title to the goods delivered by us until the purchase price (including value added tax and shipping costs) for the goods in question has been paid in full. In the case of companies, we retain title to the goods delivered until all claims arising from an ongoing business relationship have been settled in full.

2. the goods subject to retention of title may not be pledged to third parties or transferred by way of security before full payment of the secured claims. The customer must inform us immediately in writing if and to the extent that third parties have access to the goods belonging to us.

3. the customer is not entitled to resell the goods delivered by us which are subject to retention of title without our prior written consent. In the event of a possible resale, the customer hereby assigns to us the claims arising from the resale up to the amount of the purchase price payable to us plus a 20% surcharge. We hereby authorize the customer to collect the claims assigned in this way in the normal course of business, whereby we may revoke this authorization at any time in the event of default of payment on the part of the customer.
§ 14 Data protection

We may process and store the data relating to the respective contracts to the extent that this is necessary for the execution and settlement of the contract and as long as we are obliged to store this data by law.

2. we reserve the right to transfer personal data of the customer to credit agencies, as far as this is necessary for the purpose of a credit check, provided that the customer expressly agrees to this in individual cases. We will also not pass on other personal customer data to third parties without the customer’s express consent, except where we are legally obliged to disclose data.

3. the collection, transmission or other processing of personal data of the customer for other purposes than those mentioned is not permitted

§ 15 Place of performance; applicable law; place of jurisdiction
The place of performance for all obligations arising from the contractual relationships between the parties shall be the registered office of PrintsPaul GmbH & Co. KG, Eschweiler.

2 These General Terms and Conditions and all legal relations between us and the customer shall be governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding all international and supranational (contractual) legal systems, in particular the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. Conditions and effects of the reservation of title according to § 13 are, however, subject to the law of the respective location of the object, insofar as the choice of law made in favour of German law is inadmissible or ineffective.

If the Buyer is a merchant within the meaning of the German Commercial Code, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the exclusive – also international – place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising directly or indirectly from the contractual relationship shall be our registered office in Eschweiler. However, we shall also be entitled to bring an action at the buyer’s general place of jurisdiction.