The concept of Print on Demand is amazing and super easy – all you need is inspiration and some free time to add your own unique designs to custom products and list them online.
Print-on-demand sites will handle inventory, fulfilling and shipping orders, allowing you to focus on growing your brand and revenue.
Follow our simple step-by-step guide to learn how to start a print-on-demand business in 2025.
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What is a print-on-demand business
Print on Demand (POD) is a business model where products are printed after a customer orders.
Many print-on-demand companies like Printify offer additional services like shipping products to your customers, online design tools, and seamless integrations with popular eCommerce platforms and marketplaces.
This means you can quickly launch your online store and focus on marketing while your printing partner handles the rest.
With the global print-on-demand market value set to reach $48.4 billion by 2032, now is the perfect time to enter this thriving industry.
Stick with us as we explore how to start an online business with no upfront costs and go through the pros and cons of this business model.
How to start a print-on-demand business in 2025
If you want to start selling custom products online, print-on-demand is one of the best ways to do it. It’s easy to start, and you can customize a wide range of high-quality products for free, gaining an edge over your competition.
Follow these simple steps to go from a business idea to making money.
1. Pick a niche
A niche is a specialized market segment for certain products. Defining a niche market has many benefits, like higher profits, reduced competition, and less money spent on advertising.
Choosing a profitable niche is possibly one of the biggest challenges you’ll face in your eCommerce journey.
If you’re unsure what niche you’d like to pursue for your brand, start with something you’re passionate about. It can be anything, like fitness, camping, grumpy cats, or true crime.
Where should you look for that profitable niche idea? You can start by:
- Looking for the best-selling products in 2025. Do a simple Google search and check out what others are selling.
If you deep-dive into the details, you might also discover trends teetering on mass popularity. - Using Google Trends to explore trending topics across the popular search engine, Google News and YouTube.
It’s a useful tool for quickly assessing the popularity of any topic. It visualizes search queries across various languages and regions. - Finding keywords that are relevant to your target market.
Use Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, Semrush, or other similar tools to find what people are searching for.
If you try selling to everyone, you’re likely to fail. That’s why it’s important to identify your target market and pick a niche, such as dog lovers or new parents.
2. Decide what to sell
The seemingly endless variety of print-on-demand products goes beyond just custom t-shirts, hoodies, and custom coffee mugs.
Check out some of the most popular items other print-on-demand companies customize and sell:
Go through our Product Catalog to find even more relevant items.
Whatever you decide to sell, keep your customers in mind so your items don’t get lost in an overcrowded market. The products you choose need to make sense for your niche.
These are some of the best places to kick off your research and see what sells:
- Amazon. Check every department individually for additional ideas.
- eBay. An excellent place to see what’s trending.
- Etsy. Easily find popular gift and product ideas.
Don’t forget to take a tour on Facebook, X, Reddit, and other relevant social media platforms and print-on-demand websites to see what people are saying and buying.
If a certain niche-based community is quiet, it’s wise to pick one that’s more lively.
3. Create designs
Although POD relies heavily on unique designs, you don’t need artistic skills to start a print-on-demand store. You also don’t have to be an experienced designer to create custom products.
Doing your market research and extracting the best ideas from the internet and your social networks is a key step in creating profitable designs for print-on-demand products.
Draw inspiration from sites like:
A word to the wise – only use your research as a starting point to create your own original designs. Never plagiarize or claim another creator’s work as your own.
If you don’t want to spend time creating designs, you can always hire a professional designer. However, before you start scouting for talent, make sure you’ve properly identified your needs.
Hire an expert with Printify or use popular freelancer sites like Fiverr or Upwork to find talented designers who can bring your vision to life.
Don’t forget to check your designs – what may seem like an awesome idea in your head might be completely misunderstood by your target audience. The most common way to test-run ideas is by sharing designs on social media, online forums, or within your personal network.
Check out our article on graphic design tips for print on demand for more insights, advice, and inspiration.
4. Decide where to sell
We offer integrations with some of the world’s most popular sales channels:
The easiest way to sell your print-on-demand products online is through a dedicated marketplace or eCommerce platform.
What’s the difference?
- eCommerce Marketplace
An online marketplace like Etsy or eBay functions just like an offline market, where merchants gather to sell their goods to a steady flow of shoppers.
The only difference is that you list your products on a website and use targeted keywords to help customers find you.
- eCommerce Platform
Using a dedicated platform, like Shopify or WooCommerce, allows you to build your own standalone website and integrate it with a print-on-demand service to sell custom products.
This gives you complete control over your brand’s appearance, marketing strategy, and customer experience, enabling you to create a more customized and potentially more engaging shopping experience.
Skip connecting to sales channels and sell products through a custom link by opening a Printify Pop-Up Store.
5. Set up a store
After you’ve explored online marketplaces and platforms and picked the one that’s right for you, it’s time to set up your store.
Although online store setup differs for each platform, it’s often a pretty straightforward process that only requires a bit of your time. You’ll most commonly have access to a finished platform or pre-built and customizable templates.
Enable essential features like payment gateways, shipping options, and customer service channels to ensure a smooth shopping experience for your customers.
Taking the time to set up your store properly is crucial to ensure the success of your business.
6. Pick your supplier
When starting a print-on-demand business, you can’t do without a reliable supplier who will fulfill all of your incoming orders.
The importance of finding trustworthy print-on-demand companies to fulfill your online store orders can’t be overstated – your reputation as an entrepreneur depends on it.
This is where Printify comes in. Whatever you aim to achieve, our mission stays the same – to help merchants make more money with less effort.
Our easy-to-use print-on-demand and dropshipping platform lets people from all walks of life design and sell custom products without worry. Once you make a sale, our Print Providers do all the heavy lifting – printing and shipping.
Our team works diligently to ensure you get the highest quality products, the best prices, and the lowest shipping costs in the industry.
100% free
You don’t need any upfront investment. Anyone can sign up and use our platform for free. You pay for a product only after you’ve sold it.
Seamless integrations
Integrate Printify with some of the world’s most popular eCommerce marketplaces and platforms.
Wide range of products
Our Product Catalog offers a large selection of high-quality products, from t-shirts to home decor, for you to customize with unique designs.
No minimum order quantity
Thrive without any limitations – order as few or as many t-shirts and other products as you like.
24/7 merchant support
Our Merchant Support Team will gladly answer any questions you may have 24/7.
With Printify, you’re in the best hands. Our print-on-demand service is trusted by over ten million merchants worldwide, with more signing up every day.
Not sure how to choose the best supplier for your business? Compare the biggest players on the market:
7. Set a price
The profit you make depends on how high you set your product retail prices.
Important things to consider when setting a price:
- Shipping and production costs. Account for all the expenses of creating and shipping your products to customers, including taxes and service fees.
- Average price of similar products in the market. Research current market trends and compare product costs for similar items among your competitors.
- Location of your customers. Cut down on delivery time and shipping costs by choosing a local Print Provider.
Proper product pricing sets your online store up for success. Check out our blog on how to price a product.
8. Check the quality of your products
Delivering high-quality items is crucial for building customer trust. If your products meet customer expectations, securing repeat sales will be easy.
As a rule of thumb, the primary step to ensure the value that customers expect from your products is choosing a reliable print-on-demand service.
Printify has partnered with a global network of trusted Print Providers to guarantee high-quality production and timely delivery.
If you want your eCommerce store to have a good reputation, we recommend placing sample orders to test the print, style, colors, and overall product quality.
9. Market your products
Your marketing efforts can truly make or break your business. The goal of marketing is to get noticed, drive traffic to your site, provide people with reasons to buy from you and convert visitors into customers.
Here are a few ways to market your business:
- Social media marketing. Easily find and engage with your target audience by maintaining a social media presence.
Create new content, engage with users, and leave positive comments on other accounts. Social media is a smart way to grow your business. - Influencer marketing. Collaborate with social media influencers to gain exposure to a broader audience and build trust more quickly.
Look for influencers with values that align with your brand and followers that match your ideal customer profile. - Content marketing. Create and publish blogs, videos, and product reviews to build trust and establish authority in your niche.
High-quality content can drive traffic to your site, convert visitors into customers, and offer opportunities for content monetization. - Email marketing. Making a mailing list lets you send personalized offers, updates, and newsletters directly to your customers, keeping them informed and engaged.
Fine-tune your messages for different customer demographics to increase the relevance and performance of your email marketing campaigns. - Paid ads. Invest in targeted ads to reach a broader audience and drive more traffic to your store.
Use tools like Google Ads for search engine advertising or Facebook Ads for highly specific audience targeting.
10. Monitor your online store performance
Regularly tracking the performance of your online store is essential for maintaining and growing your business.
Use analytics tools to measure key metrics like customer traffic, conversion rates, and user engagement. By analyzing this data, you can identify what’s working and what needs improvement, allowing you to make informed decisions and optimize your strategies.
With consistent performance monitoring, it’s possible to quickly adapt to market trends, promptly address issues, and continuously enhance your customers’ shopping experience.
Frequently asked questions
Yes! Starting your own store with print on demand requires minimal upfront investment, as you don’t need to hold inventory or handle order fulfillment.
You’ll only need to focus on increasing your store revenue and being competitive in a crowded market.
Many sellers have built profitable businesses in the print-on-demand industry. Check out our merchant Success Stories for inspiration.
Finding your niche and targeting potential customers with relevant content significantly improves your chances of success.
It is if you set the right profit margins on your products. When pricing items, keep all associated tax and service fees in mind.
Starting your own business with Printify is completely free. There are no upfront payments or subscription fees. You only pay for the products you sell after your customers place their orders.
Pros and cons of Print on Demand
As a tried-and-true way of printing for profit, using print-on-demand services has many benefits for a budding eCommerce company.
Let’s go over some of the pros.
Pros:
- Easy to start
You don’t need extensive entrepreneurial, marketing, or artistic experience. Print-on-demand services are interested in having you as their customers and often offer simple guides and instructions to streamline onboarding. - No risk
When you partner with a print-on-demand company, you avoid the financial risk commonly associated with more traditional business models.
There’s no need to rent premises, hire staff, or worry about logistics. - No inventory
Whenever you make a sale, a third-party supplier provides the order fulfillment service and ships products directly to your customer’s doorstep.
You won’t need to keep stock of merchandise or spend money on storage space. - Global reach
Print-on-demand allows you to effortlessly sell both locally and internationally. The right designs will attract customers from all over the world.
While the advantages of Print on Demand are great, you should also consider some of the downsides.
Cons:
- You can’t control quality
You’ll have limited control over print and product quality. The best way to counter this is to order product samples. If you’re not happy with the result, switch your Print Provider. - Longer production time
Since orders are only printed after a sale goes through, they can’t be packaged and shipped immediately. This is the downside of having no stock. - Lower profit
Due to the nature of the print-on-demand business model, costs per product will be higher than if you purchase products in bulk, which directly affects your profit.
With Printify, you can also place bulk orders of custom-printed products to save on shipping costs, but you’ll be taking over shipping products to your customers. - Split responsibility
While Print Providers handle order fulfillment, your customers will turn to you whenever there is an issue. You’ll be responsible for providing excellent customer support to resolve any problems or concerns they may have.
If you plan to sell products through a Printify Pop-Up Store, we’ll handle customer support for you.
Closing thoughts
When done right, Print on Demand can be a very profitable endeavor. It’s a go-to eCommerce business model for entrepreneurs, artists, and content creators worldwide.
Launch a new business or scale your existing one without any financial risk by choosing Printify as your print-on-demand service!
