Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gentwelve Printing Co (“Gentwelve”, “we”, “us” or “our”) collects, uses, stores, shares and protects personal information when you use gentwelve.com, catalogue.gentwelve.com, contact us, request a quote, communicate with us through WhatsApp or email, or become a customer.

This Policy is intended to support compliance with South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA), the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECTA), and other applicable South African law.

1. Who is responsible for your information

Gentwelve Printing Co is the responsible party for personal information processed for its own business purposes.

2. Who this Policy applies to

This Policy applies to visitors to our websites, prospective customers, customers, authorised representatives of business customers, suppliers and service-provider contacts, and people who communicate with us about our products or services.

3. Information we may collect

Depending on how you interact with Gentwelve, we may collect the following:

• Identity and contact information, such as your name, business name, email address, telephone or WhatsApp number, and delivery or billing details.
• Enquiry and quotation information, including products viewed or requested, quantities, colours, sizes, branding requirements, deadlines, budgets and other instructions.
• Order and transaction information, such as quotations, sales orders, invoices, payment status, transaction references and delivery information.
• Artwork and production information, including logos, brand assets, names for personalisation, artwork files, Pantone references, approvals and production instructions.
• Communications, including email, WhatsApp, website-form and customer-support correspondence.
• Website and technical information, which may include IP address, browser and device information, pages visited, referring pages, approximate location derived from IP, timestamps, security logs and cookie or analytics information where enabled.
• Information required for legal, accounting, fraud-prevention or dispute-resolution purposes.

We do not intentionally request special personal information unless it is necessary and lawful for a specific purpose. Customers should avoid sending unnecessary identity documents, financial credentials or other sensitive information through ordinary enquiry forms or WhatsApp.

4. How we collect information

We may collect information directly from you when you complete a form, request a quotation, use our catalogue, place or discuss an order, upload artwork, communicate with us, approve a layout or make a payment. We may also receive information from an authorised representative of your organisation, our service providers involved in fulfilling your request, and automatically through website security, server logs, cookies or analytics technologies.

5. Why we process personal information

We process personal information only where there is an appropriate lawful basis under applicable law. Our purposes may include:

• responding to enquiries and recommending suitable products or branding options;
• creating and managing quotations, orders, invoices and customer records;
• preparing artwork, proofs, layouts, personalisation and production instructions;
• processing or reconciling payments through our payment providers;
• procuring products, coordinating branding, and arranging collection or delivery;
• communicating order status, approvals, stock changes, delays and support information;
• maintaining accounting, tax and legally required business records;
• preventing fraud, abuse, unauthorised access and security incidents;
• maintaining, troubleshooting and improving our websites and catalogue;
• handling complaints, returns, legal claims and disputes;
• sending direct marketing where permitted by law and respecting opt-out requests.

6. Payments

Where online or electronic payment is available, payment information may be processed by the relevant payment gateway or financial service provider. Gentwelve does not unnecessarily store full payment-card credentials. Payment providers process information under their own privacy and security terms. We may retain transaction references, payment status and accounting information needed to reconcile an order.

7. WhatsApp, email and other communication channels

If you contact Gentwelve through WhatsApp, email or another third-party communication service, that provider may independently process information according to its own terms and privacy policy. Gentwelve will use the content of your communication to respond to you, prepare or fulfil your order, provide support and keep reasonable business records.

8. Artwork, logos and personalisation data

Artwork and branding files may contain personal information, particularly where an order includes individual names, contact details, photographs or other variable data. We use this information to prepare and produce the requested work. Customers who supply personal information relating to other people must have appropriate authority or another lawful basis to provide it to us.

9. Cookies and similar technologies

We keep tracking to a minimum and ask before using analytics or advertising cookies. When you first visit, a banner lets you choose Accept or Essential only. You can change your choice at any time with the Cookie settings link at the bottom of every page.

Always on, because the site needs them:

• Your quote basket and your cookie choice, stored in your own browser (local storage). They never leave your device unless you send a quote request.
• A secure sign-in cookie for Gentwelve staff using the admin area. Customers never receive it.
• Our own catalogue and campaign statistics, such as which products are viewed and which offers are clicked, stored against a random visit code. They are not used to identify you.
• Vercel Web Analytics and Speed Insights, which measure page visits and loading speed without cookies.

Only if you choose Accept:

• Google Analytics cookies, which help us understand how the catalogue is used. If you choose Essential only, Google Analytics sets no cookies and receives only limited, cookieless signals.
• The Meta Pixel (Facebook and Instagram), which measures our adverts and helps show relevant ads. It does not load at all unless you accept.

Google and Meta may process this information outside South Africa under their own privacy terms. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings.

10. Analytics and website usage

Where analytics tools are enabled, we may process technical and usage information to understand website performance, popular pages, catalogue usage, traffic sources and technical problems.

11. Who we may share information with

Gentwelve does not sell personal information. We may disclose only the information reasonably necessary to trusted parties involved in operating or fulfilling our services, which may include:

• product suppliers, distributors and branding or production partners;
• courier, freight and delivery providers;
• payment gateways, banks and payment-processing providers;
• website hosting, cloud, database, email and security providers;
• accounting, professional, IT and other business service providers;
• regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies or other parties where disclosure is required or permitted by law;
• a purchaser, successor or adviser involved in a legitimate business restructuring, subject to appropriate confidentiality and legal safeguards.

12. International and cross-border processing

Some technology, hosting, communications, cloud, payment or other service providers may process information outside South Africa. Where personal information is transferred across borders, Gentwelve will take reasonable steps to ensure the transfer complies with POPIA, including the requirements applicable to transborder information flows.

13. How long we keep information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, to maintain business and transaction records, resolve disputes, enforce agreements, meet tax, accounting or other legal obligations, and establish or defend legal claims.

14. Security

Gentwelve takes reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction. Measures may include access controls, authentication, secure hosting, encryption where appropriate, software updates, backups and limiting access to people or service providers who need the information. No internet-based system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

15. Security compromises

If Gentwelve has reasonable grounds to believe that personal information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, we will investigate and take the steps required by applicable law, which may include notifying the Information Regulator and affected data subjects where required.

16. Your rights

Subject to POPIA and other applicable law, you may have the right to:

• ask whether Gentwelve holds personal information about you;
• request access to personal information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct or update inaccurate or incomplete information;
• request deletion or destruction where the legal requirements for such a request are met;
• object to certain processing in the circumstances allowed by law;
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent, without affecting processing that was lawful before withdrawal;
• object to or opt out of direct marketing;
• lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.

We may need to verify your identity before providing access to or changing personal information. Some requests may be limited where Gentwelve is required or permitted by law to retain information.

17. Direct marketing

Gentwelve may send marketing communications only where permitted by applicable law. Where consent is required, we will seek it before sending the relevant electronic direct marketing. Service messages about an enquiry, quote, active order, payment, delivery or support matter are not treated as marketing merely because they are sent electronically.

18. Children’s information

Our websites and services are directed primarily at businesses and adults purchasing products or services. We do not intentionally collect children’s personal information through the websites for independent marketing or profiling.

19. Third-party links and services

Our websites may link to third-party websites, catalogues, payment services, social platforms or other external services. Those parties are responsible for their own privacy practices.

20. Automated decision-making

Gentwelve does not intend to make decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on customers solely through automated processing without appropriate human involvement, unless permitted by law and accompanied by the required safeguards.

21. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when our websites, catalogue, systems, service providers or legal obligations change. The current version will be published on our websites with its effective or last-updated date.

22. Contacting Gentwelve about privacy

For privacy questions, access or correction requests, objections, marketing opt-outs or other POPIA-related requests, contact Gentwelve Printing Co:

• Email: hello@gentwelve.com
• Office: 010 013 0297
• WhatsApp / Mobile: 069 045 1055
• Websites: gentwelve.com and catalogue.gentwelve.com
• Privacy / Information Officer contact: 010 013 0297 · alias@gentwelve.com
• Formal service address: 54 Rydalvale Drive, Phoenix, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, 4068

23. Complaints to the Information Regulator

If you believe your personal information has been processed contrary to POPIA, you may first contact Gentwelve so that we can investigate. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa).