Years ago, if you wanted to start your own t-shirt business, you had to come up with a design, find a printer, then order hundreds of shirts and hope they sold. You took all the risk upfront and hoped for the best.
That’s not the case today. Now anyone with a design can build a business with the risk-free, print-on-demand model. How?
With Printify, there are no minimum orders and no risk involved. Your products don’t print until they’re purchased, guaranteeing profit. You can create custom products to list on your ecommerce store, then whenever a customer orders from you, Printify handles the rest! Printify even integrates with many popular marketplaces and platforms to streamline the process.
However, there are lots of print-on-demand companies to choose from. How do you know which one is the right fit for you? Our Printify review covers everything you need to know, including pros, cons, and top competitors.
What Is Printify & How Does It Work?
Printify is a POD platform that offers over 900 products from 84 print providers. Most print-on-demand t-shirt companies accommodate international orders, so it’s a great option for businesses outside of the U.S. or for reaching new markets around the globe.
Company
A Printify account connects you to over 80 print providers and third-party suppliers worldwide. The platform uses a dropshipping model, so you don’t have to worry about fulfillment. All you have to focus on is designing and marketing your products.
Once you sign up, you design the products you want to sell. Many products have multiple suppliers, so you can choose the one that works best for you. You can use Printify’s design tool to build a mockup of the products you want to list in your store.
When you choose the provider, consider things like:
- Location
- Turnaround time
- Restrictions on customization and color
- Print quality (always order samples first)
- Ratings from other Printify users
Printify Pros
Printify Cons
How to Use Printify
To get started, sign up for your free account.
After you sign up, design your products with the Mockup tool. This is as simple as uploading graphics and positioning them on the product. Choose the product’s base color, and you’re ready.
Request samples from different print providers so you can compare print quality. This is quality control, so you know what products your customers receive. Once you’ve found the print provider you want to use, just list the product for sale and start promoting it!
How Much Does Printify Cost?
There are three Printify pricing plans to choose from. These plans are in addition to the per-item prices paid on every order. The per-item prices vary depending on the product. That price includes the printing fee.
Pricing
You control the retail price, so you set your profit margins. If you need more than the free plan offers, Printify also offers a premium and enterprise plan.
Free Plan – Free Forever
With this plan, you can have up to five stores per account, and unlimited product designs. It’s the best option for people who are just starting out. You won’t have any subscription fees on top of the per-item fees.
Premium Plan – $29/month or $24.99/month with Annual Billing
Under this plan, you get up to 10 stores per account, with unlimited product designs. You can also get up to a 20% discount on all products. This plan makes sense for merchants seeing an increase in sales volume.
Enterprise Premium Plan – Custom Printify Pricing
With this plan, your account can have unlimited stores and product designs. You’ll also receive up to 20% off all products. The enterprise plan pricing depends on a variety of factors, including your order volume. Printify enterprise plans are custom to each user who qualifies. You may be eligible to gain early access to new features before they go live to other Printify users. This plan is for large operations and those serious about growing their business.
Printify offers a variety of features, even to those on the free plan.
Features
Use Without an Online Store
You can use Printify without connecting it to an online store. If you do not link your store, you will have to submit customers’ orders manually through your Printify dashboard.
Printify doesn’t offer a storefront accessible to your customers, so most people opt to integrate Printify with an existing storefront. Connecting Printify to an online store automates much of the process for easier, faster service.
Design Tool and Mockup Generator
You don’t have to be a graphic designer or tech wizard to create products with Printify. With the Mockup Generator, you can easily upload images of your designs. You can even drag and drop multiple image files onto a single product.
You’ll also be able to choose the product’s base color. For example, you can create black t-shirts, white t-shirts, or another color, based on what the provider has made available. Note not all providers carry the same product colors.
One of the best things about the design tool is that it will alert you if you’re stretching your graphic too much. There’s an indicator available to help you see if you’re using a high, medium, or low-resolution image.
Order Routing
If your print provider isn’t available for any reason, the order routing feature steps in. It will automatically send your order to another provider in the network. It works in the following situations:
- Your ordered product is currently out of stock with your chosen provider.
- Your chosen provider has discontinued the ordered product.
- The print provider has reached its daily order capacity.
- The print provider has been closed temporarily.
Enable the setting in your account, and order routing becomes automatic.
Follow these steps:
- Navigate to Manage My Stores.
- Choose the store you want to enable the setting for. Click on the Settings icon.
- Click on Preferences. From there, find Automated Order Routing.
- Click on Replace Orders Automatically and Save the new settings.
How does Printify customer support stack up?
Customer Support
For Sellers
Printify is relatively easy to reach if you have any issues with how your store operates or creating products. You can use the email address (merchantsupport@printify.com) to get in touch, or you can fill out a ticket form to ask your question. You can also turn to live chat or social media to reach out for help.
Additionally, there’s a help center available. The help center is full of information to help you solve issues on your own.
At this time, Printify does not offer phone support.
For Consumers
Printify won’t offer refunds if the customer orders the wrong size, wrong color, or just decides they don’t like the product. Printify will, however, offer a refund if the issue is a manufacturer mistake.
You can set up a custom return policy for your store. If refunds and exchanges are an important part of your customer support philosophy, then you can add a custom return address for customers to use.
Printify does not handle customer support for you. You are responsible for your own customer service. Your shoppers won’t even know that you’ve used Printify instead of an in-house team.
Products
Printify’s product catalog offers a variety of apparel and non-apparel options. Your custom branding options are virtually unlimited. You can sell:
Products
Locations
Locations
Ecommerce Platform Integrations
Connecting your Printify account to your website or ecommerce store is easy. Printify integrates with many ecommerce platforms and marketplaces like Shopify, Etsy, and Amazon. You can also use Printify without an online store.
Once integrated, the printing provider automatically receives your order whenever a customer orders one of your products. They print the products and handle the order fulfillment process with drop shipping. You pay the provider and keep the profit. It’s that simple!
Shopify
Integrate Printify with Shopify in just a few clicks, by adding the Printify app to your Shopify store. It makes it super easy to import your products and orders. Once an order is placed in your Shopify store, it’s automatically sent over to Printify for fulfillment.
BigCommerce
There is also a Printify app for BigCommerce. Setup only takes a few minutes, then you can import products and orders seamlessly. When someone places an order on your BigCommerce site, you can send it straight over to Printify for processing and fulfillment.
WooCommerce
With WooCommerce, all you have to do is connect your Printify store to your account. In just a few clicks, your products and orders are imported. Whenever someone orders on your website, the order automatically transfers to Printify.
Wix
Wix integrates with Printify to automate your entire order process. Connect your Printify and Wix accounts, and let technology take care of the rest.
Online Marketplaces
Running your online empire from Etsy? You no longer have to worry about keeping things in stock thanks to the Printify integration! Connect your store directly from within the Printify app. Want to be able to sell your products on eBay, too? No problem! Connect your store directly from within the Printify dashboard. eBay integration is currently only available in the U.S.
If you want access to other integrations, Printify supports custom APIs. Otherwise, you can submit orders manually through the Printify interface, or use the CSV import tool to import batch orders!
Printify Alternatives
Printify isn’t the only game in town, but it is one other most popular. Trying to decide what platform you should use for your business? Take a look at these alternatives:
Company
Printful
Printful is Printify’s main competitor. They offer a similar line of products and customization options. When it comes to Printify vs Printful, the main differences between the two are:
- Printful has a lower profit margin.
- Printful offers design services, store setup services, etc.
- Printful offers warehousing.
Because of this, Printful is usually the better option for businesses that want to offer a full brand experience with custom packaging and add-ins. It’s also a good option for larger businesses that need to keep some inventory on hand. However, with lower profit margins and less control over pricing, it’s not the best choice for those looking to earn top dollar for a smaller operation.
Gelato
Gelato is a similar platform to both Printful and Printify. The main difference is that they focus on producing locally, closer to the final destination. This allows them to offer lower shipping prices and times, while reducing carbon emissions. That said, their product catalog covers only the main categories (apparel, wall art, drinkware, phone cases, etc.). Depending on the products you want to sell, it may or may not be the best option.
GearLaunch
GearLaunch is a POD service that works as a standalone or with Shopify. If you’re using another platform besides Shopify, it may not be the right option for you. There’s less variety with the products, but the pricing is similar. A major difference is that your profit is based on your sales volume. If you’re a low-volume store, you’ll make more with Printify.
Is Printify Right for Your POD Business?
The print-on-demand model is not for everyone. But if you’ve got a killer design and some ambition, Printify could be an easy way for you to jumpstart your own custom printing business!
Have you used Printify before? Would you share your experience with us?
At Ecommerce CEO, we believe in providing our readers with as much information as possible. Your review could help entrepreneurs just like you make the best choice on their journey to success!
