Design trends

Introducing Printify’s AI Image Generator

October 11, 2023 8 minutes

Printify proudly introduces our AI image generator. 

Whether you’re just starting or already have experience with product creation, leverage the power of AI to create stunning images and apply them to your merch in minutes. You don’t have to subscribe to an external tool, design, or coding skills – all you need is an idea, and we’ll make it real.

Learn how to use this powerful tool that will speed up your production and give you more control over your time.

What is the AI Image Generator in our mockup creation tool?

Printify's AI Image Generator displaying various AI designs of dogs wearing sunglasses and other creatures.

Printify’s AI Image Generator is a tool to bring creative vision to professional-grade products. The tool uses text prompts to create designs that can be applied to blank products. As a result, you can make totally original merchandise.

Who can use this feature?

  • Beginners can use AI image generation to overcome the block of not having compelling designs or design skills. 
  • More experienced merchants can use the tool to experiment with new products and unique niches without investing in design. 
  • Those who can’t access expensive software can create designs quickly and for free until they move on to more advanced design solutions.
  • Those who want to jump on niches quickly, try out new design trends, or create ultra-personalized niche products – beagles on skis for people who like beagles and skiing, bears playing the piano, and so on.

Why use Printify’s AI Generator for creating custom designs?

A growing number of eCommerce businesses are using AI, and more than 2600 start-ups are working on AI solutions. While chatbots are currently the most common AI application, other areas, such as image creation, are gaining ground. 

Keep ahead of the trends. You don’t need technical expertise or design skills to come up with fantastic designs with our AI generator.

All you need is an idea

No designs? No problem. Play around with prompts until you find your bestselling design.

No design software required

No need for sophisticated design software. Create designs in minutes and put them on products without leaving our platform.

Endless design possibilities

If you can dream it, AI will create it. Even the wildest designs can be created using the AI image generator to target the nichiest niches or experiment with new ones.

Be first to monetize trends

Be there first. By accelerating the design process and the power of POD, be the first to market and capture the latest trendy topic with your products.

Make it happen today!

How to use Printify’s AI Generator to create custom merchandise

Our AI generator is easy to use and completely free. You just need to register with Printify and accept the AI ​​Generator terms of use. You are allowed 15 image generations per day, to be reset after 24 hours. 

To start, follow these steps to get the gist of the tool and create images as closely as you imagine them.

Step 1: Pick a product

Choose a product from the Printify Catalog and open it in the Mockup Generator

Step 2: Select the AI Image Generator

Select AI Image Generator in New Design. All images created with the tool and its variations will remain stored in your account. You can access them anytime in My Library.

“AI image generator” button on the right side of Printify's Mockup Generator under the “New design” section.

Step 3: Generate AI designs using a prompt

Describe the image you want to create by using a text prompt. Don’t worry; we’ll explain in detail how prompts work later. For now, describe a simple object and add an attribute and an action.

If we type the prompt “a bear playing the piano wearing a suit,” we specify the main object (the bear), an attribute (it is wearing a suit), and an action (it is playing the piano). 

AI prompt example saying “A bear playing the piano wearing a suit.”
Tip

The images are generated with a non-transparent background. Specify a background color to match your products. Use our Background Removal Tool to easily remove it or specify a background color to match your products.

Step 4: Choose the image style

Add setting information and refine your prompt by selecting a predetermined style. Currently, the generator offers 13 styles, including “Anime,” “Analog Film,” “Cinematic,” and “Photographic.” 

The result is completely different as we add a setting to our prompt (a library) and select a style (Analog Film).

AI prompt example saying “A bear playing the piano wearing a suit inside a library. Hyper-realistic setting” with the “Analog Film” style selected.

Step 5: Save your product

Select the generation you liked the most. The Mockup generator will automatically upscale the image and increase its resolution for printing when you apply it to a product.

Design resolution enhancement pop-up saying “We'll automatically enhance low quality images for the best result possible. However, print quality may be affected.”

Adjust the image, choose the variation and size, preview, and save the product.

Example mockups of Canvas Gallery Wraps with an AI generated design of a piano-playing bear.

Step 6: Remove the image background (optional)

Depending on your design and product, you may want to remove the image background.  

Select the image after creating it with our AI tool or edit an existing product. Click on the design and hit the Remove background button:

Remove background – The “remove background” feature icon in Printify's Mockup Generator right in the middle of the artwork toolbar.

Click on Quick remove to use the built-in AI tool. Click Erase to use the brush if you have artistic skills or need to do some corrections. You can adjust the brush size and restore the image to its previous state:

Choose – Background removal view with “Quick remove,” “Erase,” “Restore,” and “Brush size” buttons on the left side.

Click on Apply, and it is done.

Preview – Preview mockup of a shirt with a design of a cartoon bear generated by AI with its background removed.
Note

You have three daily attempts with the AI Background removal.

How to structure prompts for AI designs

Prompts are command phrases that AI programs interpret and use to generate images. You can write simple descriptive sentences or add modifiers such as rendering mode, artistic style, background, or colors, for example.

The focus object

When typing a prompt, start by describing a focus object and its attributes like colors, sizes, and appearance. 

For instance, it can be a person, an animal, or even a landscape. Characters may be wearing clothing, using an object, or doing some activity. Adding adjectives to the focus object will change the image drastically – for instance, “cute” or “creepy.”

Here is a prompt with a single focus object: a panda bear eating mushrooms in a French restaurant. We used the style Line Art to set the tone:

Tote bag with an AI generated design of a cartoon panda at a restaurant.
Note

Be aware of AI limitations and manage your expectations – our AI Image Generator uses the Stable Diffusion XL model, and the technology is ever-evolving. But even highly advanced tools like Midjourney still struggle with some daily objects and even body parts, like hands.

Settings and backgrounds

You can considerably manipulate the resulting image by detailing the setting where the action occurs – a restaurant, a stadium, the countryside, or a city.

If you are vague, there will be more space for the AI to generate random results – which is interesting for new ideas and exploring.

In the following example, the setting was vague (“over Paris”), and the AI drew heavily upon the preset style (“Fantasy Art”).

AI generated merchandise design of a futuristic landscape and a spaceship in the sky.
Flying cars over Paris. Style: Fantasy Art

In the following example, we took complete control of the image by specifying both the focus object and the setting. Here, the object completely blends with the scene: a group of people walking a trail in a forest with a mountain range in the background (Anime style).

AI prompt example saying “A group of people walking a trail in a forest with a mountain range in the background” with the “Anime” style selected.

Style and rendering

As you see, Style presets can create stunning results. You can manipulate the style even further.

This can be done by selecting “none” in the Style box and adding styling information to the prompt. You can also keep a style and type additional instructions in the prompt to tweak it even more.

  • The AI tool can emulate the style of famous artists and painters like Picasso and Monet, artistic schools like Cubism, or even cinema directors.

    Here, no default style was selected. However, the text prompt included styling instruction in the style of Vincent van Gogh:
AI generated design of a robot in a field full of sunflowers in the style of Vincent van Gogh.
A robot riding a unicycle through a field of
sunflowers, in the style of Vincent van Gogh
  • Style your image with different rendering options, and create 3D images:
AI prompt example saying “Tiny cute hippo riding a monocycle, standing character, soft pastel colors, 3D blender render, polycount, modular constructivism, pop surrealism, physically based rendering.”

Here are additional styles to add to a prompt:

– Renaissance painting

– Minimalism

– Pixel art

– Post-apocalyptic

– Realistic lighting

– 3D blender render

– Color sets – “pastel colors,” “black-and-white,” ”monochrome.” 

– “a sketch of”

– <In the style of> + artist, artistic/architectural/cinema school or movement, decade

AI generated design of a city landscape with tall buildings in the background and two human silhouettes walking in the foreground.
Stylized monochrome image of an American city,
no gradient, minimalism
AI generated design of a woman sitting in front of a typewriter.
A woman using a typewriter in an office on the moon. Oil painting, Renaissance art, pastel colors
Pro tip

Learn more and get inspiration and examples on our detailed guide for Midjourney Prompts.

What can you do with images created with Printify’s AI Generator?

DoDon’t
You can apply the images created with our AI tool to products and sell them.These images must not include any elements infringing the intellectual property rights of others or contain any prohibited content.

Other ways to leverage AI to grow your online store

Keep ahead of the competition by using other AI resources in your store:

  • Combine AI designs with ChatGPT product descriptions and tags for the full force of AI in Print on Demand. You can also use the tool to write complex image prompts.
  • Leverage AI tools to create exclusive mockups for your products. Check our video and learn more.

Read More: Keep in the loop for any updates about designing a product with Printify’s AI generator tool in our Help Center.

Summary

Printify strives to provide the best tools to increase your competitiveness and profitability. 

Please let us know your thoughts about the AI tool and how it can be further improved.

Create AI-generated t-shirts and other products today!

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