Print on Demand & Dropshipping
Millennials are the first generation to challenge the old success path and forge their own by becoming their own bosses. For years, print-on-demand has been a great resource for young entrepreneurs. If you ever wanted to start a business with as little capital and as little risk as possible, here are the 10 things you need to know about print-on-demand.
1. What is print on demand?
Print-on-Demand is a business model in which products are acquired, produced and shipped one by one and only after actual sales have been made. Print-on-demand generally applies three steps:
Creative
Design, create and set up products in an online store.
Production
Printing of the item via a designated print provider.
Fulfillment
Packaging and shipment of the final product to the end customer.
Print-on-demand is a business model that also allows printing of singular or small quantities of custom merchandise with no inventor, by sending directly to end customers. Items such as t-shirts, pillowcases, mugs, backpacks, and shoes are printed from a print provider and shipped to the end customer. This way a client can buy products in an eCommerce shop and the order goes directly to the Print Provider, thus eliminating the need for order fulfillment and storage space.
2. What are the benefits of Print on demand?
No Investment
In the past, there was no starting a business without an investment: a huge amount of money put aside for the business, needed to cover production costs, pay suppliers, rent store space, find a shipping partner e.t.c. A great business idea couldn’t be conceptualized today and the business started tomorrow. This was a huge obstacle until print-on-demand was introduced because there is no capital necessary for starting a business.
No Brick & Mortar
Traditionally, what came to mind when one thought of owning their own retail store was a red brick exterior, display mannequins by the window and perhaps a large store sign. With the invention of the internet came a new innovation, the digital store on platforms such as Etsy, Shopify, eBay, and Woocommerce. Unlike a physical store that only attracts those who physically see it, a digital store can have a global clientele just by being active online. Print-on-demand did not only eliminate the need for storefront rent, but it also broadened the traditional retail business’ horizon.
No inventory necessary
Perhaps the biggest investment in business would be inventory: buying items in bulk and stocking them for an unguaranteed future sale. Inventory was a necessary risk for a business in order to sell. A huge business relief today is that print-on-demand exists entirely to get rid of this humongous risk. Businesses no longer need an inventory, which means no money is tied up with no guarantee that it will be recouped and you don’t risk losing any money.
No warehousing
The need for inventory incurred an additional business cost for storage space which came at a price and with its own risks. The threat of an unforeseen disaster that could drive business to the ground was always looming. Additional packaging was needed to stored items correctly to avoid unnecessary wrinkling and fading and sealed to avoid mice and moths attacks. By dropshipping directly to your customers item by item, print-on-demand eliminates the need for bulk storage which in turn eliminates the need for warehousing.
3. How can you use print on demand with Printify?
How can a business reap all print-on-demand benefits? By partnering with a good print-on-demand platform that not only makes it easier to use print-on-demand but also makes the most money with less effort.
When your business joins Printify you gain:
1. Instant access to a Print Provider Network:
Gain access to a network of bigshot Print Providers in the US, the EU, UK, and a dozen other locations like Fifth Sun, Mylocker, T Shirt and Sons, MWW on Demand among others.
2. The best prices on print-on-demand:
Choose any brand from our wide selection – get the highest quality and the best prices.
3. Over 250 custom products:
Choose your favorite products from our 250+ custom product range and make them truly your own with our limitless customization options.
4. Free to use Mockup Generator:
Create your custom T-shirts, phone cases, hats and more easily, no graphic design background needed. Choose product variants, add several layers and finally get access to stunning high definition Mockups.
5. Seamless store integration:
Simply link your WooCommerce, eBay or Etsy Shop to Printify or get our app in the Shopify App Store and start selling in your Shopify, Etsy or WordPress (WooCommerce) store now.
4. Printify’s best selling products in print on demand
These are proven and marketable products that will help you reach your goals in opening up your store, whether it’s just an extra income, or you’re trying to make a full time living from merch and print-on-demand.
Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee
The Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee is the current king of t-shirts with our store owners. It is versatile in size and color, making it perfect for almost all store owners starting out with print-on-demand products. Available in a wide variety of sizes and colors, this shirt does it all. If you’re looking to see where most of your sales will come from, this is where you should start. This is a “classic” fit or “tube” fit tee, so it’s also a bit more affordable and inexpensive compared with its cut and sew retail fit cousins.
Unisex Jersey Short Sleeved Tee
The Unisex Jersey Short Sleeved Tee is our next bestseller and is also available in a wide variety of colors and sizes, perfect for all customers. It’s also 100% soft cotton, and comes in “retail fit”, meaning this shirt is cut and sewn down the sides to fit more snuggly around the torso. This gives it a higher-quality feel than the “classic fit” shirts that are listed above, as it stays a little longer in the production process. It’s still one of the top selling print-on-demand products going and definitely worth customizing.
Kiss Cut Stickers
Kill Cut Stickers are a fun addition to any shop. Their production allows the shape of a sticker to match the design you’ve chosen for it, to be applied anywhere. These stickers also sell extremely well for print-on-demand products. They are perfect for getting out the message about your store or causes you believe in. Customers can buy these to display them anywhere and everywhere.
White Ceramic Mug
The White Ceramic Mug is a classic printable coffee mug for the office or home. It’s what the “World’s Number One” Grandmas, Moms, Fathers, and Grandfathers drink from. It’s Printify’s third best selling item in sales volume for print-on-demand products. The white ceramic print-on-demand mug is great for logos, quotes, and other sayings that will melt the heart of those drinking from it.
Sublimation Socks
Our Sublimation Socks are hot to trot because they’re one of our best-selling all-over-print products. Cute socks with clever designs are always in high demand, and these are a great addition to your store if you use them to their full potential. Designs with animals or cartoons are usually the best for these socks. Unleash your creativity and rake in sales with these great print-on-demand products.
Unisex Heavy Blend Hooded Sweatshirt
The Hooded Sweatshirts are a heavy blend of 50% cotton and 50% polyester that runs true to size. They are a great option for graphics and illustration designs because they come in 8 sizes and close to 30 color variations. Hooded sweatshirts are a classic wardrobe staple that your customers are sure to love. So give them the choice to update their style with a new Hooded Sweatshirt with print-on-demand.
Crewneck Sweatshirts
The Sweatshirt is a wardrobe must-have and a definite top seller among print-on-demand products for us here at Printify. This sweatshirt is perfect for all seasons, from cool summer nights to cold, blustery winter’s days. Give your customers a reason to buy theirs from you and you won’t be disappointed.
Custom Wall Poster
The wall poster is a perfect blend of affordability and decor and if done correctly look like something straight out of a fancy catalog. That’s why our Premium matte vertical poster is one of the hottest selling items. Take a look at how this top-selling print-on-demand product can help improve your bottom line and help hang some sales on your scoreboard.
All Over Print Cut and Sew T-shirt
Rounding out our list for best selling print-on-demand products is the All Over Print Cut and Sew Tee. All over prints make great sales and currently stand at about 5% of our total sales within the top ten. That means there’s some serious potential for sales.
Don’t wait, jump on the bandwagon and get some killer products up today.
5. Why Printify is the best platform for print on demand?
Printify’s technology automates print-on-demand services for merchants around the world. We connect over 300,000 online shops to our network of 15+ print providers with 90+ printing factories that provide embroidery, cut & sew, sublimation, white label services, and warehousing fulfillment. By simplifying a complex process for e-commerce business, consumers and micro brands alike benefit from Printify’s high-quality, low-cost, and fast printing services. Our key benefits include:
Hassle-free fulfillment for print on demand
Printify handles order fulfillment so one can focus on growing your brand. Create your products, publish them to your store, and when a sale happens, Printify handles the rest without you needing to do a thing.
A large print-on-demand production network
Printify lets you freely choose the print providers you wish to work with. Choose based on what’s important to your business – price, product offering, or location. Save on shipping costs and crucial fulfillment time by shipping from providers closer to your customers.
Save more with Printify Premium
The Printify platform is free of charge. You can integrate your sales channels and publish as many products to your stores as you want. With Printify Premium, you get 20% off on all products earning more profit and growing your business. More details and benefits of Printify Premium can be found here.
Multi-platform integrations that make Print on demand easy
Printify is integrated with multiple platforms that not only simplify print-on-demand but also offer marketing and online services to facilitate your online business. These platforms include Shopify, Etsy, eBay, Woocommerce and a Printify API that allows for a completely custom online store set up. Our diverse portfolio empowers you to choose one or multiple platforms that best match your business and personal needs.
Here is a great comparison if the three main print-on-demand platforms.
6. The best marketplaces for Print on demand
Print on demand and Etsy
Etsy is an e-commerce website that was initially focused on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies. With the rise of print-on-demand and integration with platforms such as Printify, Etsy is now a leading ecommerce marketplace for print-on-demand merchandisers. You can find a wide range of categories on Etsy including jewelry, bags, clothing, home décor, toys, art, as well as print-on-demand customizable merchandise.
Print on demand and Shopify
Shopify is an e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. It offers online retailers a suite of services including payments, marketing, shipping and customer engagement tools. Shopify has integrated with Printify to simplify the process of running an online store for print-on-demand merchants.
Print on demand and WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce plugin for WordPress. It is designed for small to large-sized online merchants and integrated with Printify to allow for print-on-demand using WordPress. The integration quickly became popular for its simplicity to install and customize and free base product.
Print on demand and eBay
eBay is an online shopping marketplace that’s best known for its auctions and consumer to consumer sales. It’s also extremely popular for online merchants to use as a sales channel. Integration for print-on-demand with platforms like Printify has helped simplify further the process of trading on the multi-site channels across the globe.
Print on demand and Custom store
The Printify API allows individuals to connect to a single custom Printify merchant account and the shops that are a part of that account. This allows online merchants to design products, submit artwork, create and receive orders and more without relying on a third-party marketplace platform.
7. What are the hidden costs of print on demand?
There are no hidden costs when using Printify for print-on-demand. Costs pertaining to the product, print service and shipment are clearly indicated in every product you place in your catalog. Using the Printify platform is free of charge. You can integrate your sales channel and publish as many designs in your store as you want.
Join Printify Premium Plan and get discounts
Printify offers a Premium plan that gives you more value for your store. by subscribing to the, your business receives up to a 20% discount on all Printify products and a one-time subscription bonus credit that gets applied to your Printify Balance. The bonus credit can be applied to your next customer or sample print-on-demand orders making Printify the cheapest print on demand platform today.
You can cancel the Premium plan at any time by unsubscribing before the renewal date to avoid charges for the following month as Printify Premium plans.
Comparisons between each plan available from Printify are available here.
8. Resources for your success in print on demand
Printify Blog
Printify aims to help you make more money with as little effort as possible with print-on-demand. Whether you’re looking for marketing tips, product news, want to keep up with print-on-demand designs and trends or to simply get motivated by success stories, the Printify blog is your one-stop shop for Knowledge and inspiration for your print-on-demand business. Head over to the Printify blog and get inspired.
Printify YouTube
Printify also has a YouTube page with lots of great product reviews for items found on the Printify catalog as well as helpful videos about print-on-demand.
For instance, here’s a video that illustrates Print-on-demand dropshipping.
9. Why go with Print on Demand?
First of all, it’s easy. With print-on-demand, you save time and money because there’s no need for huge investments, no need for storage space or inventory. You pay only after you sell, you never go out of stock and you never have unsold products. With Printify’s technology, you get free stunning product images for your store, and the designing process is fast and simple.
You also have automated print-on-demand order fulfillment and shipping, which means that you have a lot more time on your hands to focus on your designs and growth. You can sell easily with print-on-demand on Shopify, Etsy, eBay or WooCommerce print-on-demand dropshipping services.
10. What is Dropshipping with print on demand?
Dropshipping is order fulfillment by the Print Provider. This means you get virtual inventory from a third party who processes orders. Printify acts as an intermediary between your eCommerce shop and the Print Provider.
Dropship custom printed products
At Printify, we enable print-on-demand dropshipping for apparel, phone cases, pillows, shower curtains, mugs, posters and more through our easy-to-use app. With our Mockup Generator, publishing new goods to your eCommerce shop becomes a quick and easy process. We handle the billing, print providing requests and shipping so you don’t have to. Print-on-demand dropshipping saves you time and effort.
Online business with print on demand on Printify
Get instant access to automated technology that brings you print-on-demand dropshipping fulfillment. Find our app in the Shopify App Store and integrate your existing store with Printify or start your 14-day free trial today as a new user.
For those of you using the WordPress Plugin or for WooCommerce, you can easily link your WooCommerce Store and in your Printify account.
If you own an Etsy store, here is all the information on how to link Etsy to Printify.
If you prefer eBay, here’s how to easily integrate with Printify.
Print-on-demand is made even easier with Printify and with this page, we hope you have learned all you need to empower you on your new print-on-demand dropshipping journey.