Posted September 2, 2024 Are Tracts Free?
Background:
The Name Free Tract Society implies that one can order or receive free Gospel Tracts simply by asking for them by a phone call, visit to now gone large print shop and display room in Los Angeles, or by filling out the order form built into the redesigned website www.freetractsociety.net.. That is no longer true since the change of ownership in 2024 to HIS Print Media Ministries (a subsidiary of the non-profit, tax-exempt Mercy International, Inc.), located in the smaller city of Santa Maria, CA. In the transition, there has been a decrease in orders, and free will contributions that had kept FTS going. Records show that in each month of 2016 FTS printed a minimum of 132,000 tracts, all on a printing press, by paid employees. Now we receive, maybe, three small orders a week consisting of USPS priority envelopes or a medium box.
What was Free:
In the past, one could walk in and get, for free, 1/2 pound of a large variety of printed tracts. If someone made a donation specifically for postage to a foreign country, that was also printed and sent out for free. Now the cost of shipping tracts outside the USA may be more than the cost of printing the tracts, and, due to customs offices in countries like Brazil, there is no guarantee the tracts will be allowed into the country.
Now that printing technology has evolved, we primarily “print on demand” from digital computer documents to two professional Canon brand color laser printers. The expense of running a laser printer is about twice the cost of offset printing presses (which we still use for larger quantities at a reduced price). With the closing of the large FTS storefront in Los Angeles, and their switch to laser printers, FTS raised their price for tracts from $6 a pound to $10 a pound. We had already concluded that that was below our cost, but we have continued with that price. Depending on size, a pound can be 100 to 800 tracts. Minimum USA shipping is $10 for up to 4 pounds.
Now, my wife and I, on government retirement, willingly work without pay, in a rent free 1900 sq ft building / print shop loaded with equipment.. We have been subsidizing the business for 14 years. We have a lot of years experience in all aspect of Christian Evangelism Printing, including: tract writing and design, paperback books, booklets, signs and posters, and equipment repair.
We Apologize!
We at HIS Print Media Ministries (started about the year 2000) were given a newly redesigned Free Tract Society website, and decided to keep the FTS name for the website since that name has been used since 1897 and is a lot more familiar to people looking for Gospel Tracts. We also have our own existing website, www.tracts4u.com, which is more extensive and has YouTube training videos on how to make tracts.
Is Anything Free?
Yes, we mail out English and Spanish tract sample packets if one pays the shipping ($5 to $10). One can get both English & Spanish packets together for $10 shipping.
We are offering quality, but older one and two color printing press tracts (I have written) sitting on our display tables, for a donation plus shipping.
We have posted 260 (ready to download and print yourself) PDF tract documents on the FTS website under the pull down menu Downloadable Tracts. One can type church contact information in the text field before printing. Each listing also shows you what the tract cover looks like and gives you a description of the trimmed and folded size. This way, if you want us to print the tracts at a price, you can view available tracts before making an order using the online order form built into the FTS website, without the need of waiting for a sample packet of printed tracts.
We help people computer design their tracts and tract booklets so they are top quality and ready to print.
In person, or by phone, we pray with and encourage Christians who use tracts or want to start a tract ministry.
Can you Recommend another Printing Ministry that has Free Tracts? Yes!
I did a Google search on the internet and found these two resources:
1) www.freegospeltracts.org info@freegospeltracts.org.
Like us (HIS Print Media Ministries) they offer free full color PDF tract document downloads from which you print your own tracts. Like us, they offer to add your contact information to the documents, only we make the PDF so you can type in your contact information yourself. Because they make tract documents in various languages, the paper size may not be letter size.
2) www.fellowshiptractleague.org
85+ languages available. Have shipped tracts to 200+ territories and countries. Full color covers. Tracts include a prayer of salvation. Online order form is on their website. Tracts are copyrighted. They have printed and shipped 5.2 billion tracts!
Evangelist Dr. David Hupp at HIS Print Media Ministries 1-805-452-5150