Guide · 6 min
How to set up a hot folder for Noritsu and Fuji labs
Short answer: in your lab software, add the SendToShop save folder (with its subfolders) as a hot folder, also called a watched folder or auto-import folder. New orders are then picked up as soon as they arrive.
What a hot folder is
A hot folder is a folder your print or lab software keeps an eye on. When a new file lands in it, the software imports it, ready to print. The software that drives Noritsu, Fujifilm Frontier and DNP printers, and most print RIPs, can work this way. The option may be called hot folder, watched folder or auto import; your software’s manual or supplier will know.
Where SendToShop saves orders
The shop app saves every order into the save folder you chose, in a folder for the day and then one for the order, such as 2026-09-30/A27_Oliver. You can see and change the save folder in the shop app under Settings → Files.
Files only appear once they are complete: they download into a hidden folder first and move into place at the end. Your lab software never picks up half a photo.
Setting it up
Add the save folder as a hot folder in your lab software, including subfolders, so each day’s new folders are picked up too. Then scan your own counter QR and send a test photo. It should appear in your lab software a few seconds after the shop app shows the order.
If your software can only watch one folder without subfolders, point it at the day’s folder each morning, or ask your supplier whether it can include subfolders.
Before you print
Check the quality badge on the order first. “Good for A4” means the photo has the pixels for an A4 print at your chosen quality; “Low resolution” means even a 6×4 will look soft, often because the photo came through WhatsApp.
Questions
What about iPhone HEIC photos?
Many lab programs cannot open HEIC. The shop app saves a JPG copy next to each HEIC photo (on Windows it uses the HEIC support built into Windows), so point your software at the JPGs.
Will the hot folder pick up the same photo twice?
SendToShop writes each file once. If a customer picks the same photo twice in one order, both are saved and the shop app marks the second as a duplicate, so you can skip it.