Top Popular Print-on-Demand Services
Print on demand (POD) is a business model where products are printed when an order is received. When a customer places an order the product is printed, packed, and shipped by a third-party print-on-demand service. Many print-on-demand companies offer additional services like shipping products to your customers, online design tools, and seamless integrations with popular eCommerce platforms and marketplaces.
As the number of print-on-demand services increase it is important to know the ones that match your needs in product selection, shipping speed, and pricing. For example, a seemingly great deal on shipping costs might lose its appeal if your customers need to wait three weeks to receive their orders. The wrong choice can cost you more than money; it can impact your brand’s growth. Here are popular print-on-demand services you can consider:
1. Printful
Printful is a popular choice among print-on-demand sites because of its wide selection of high-quality products and brands (Gildan, American Apparel, etc.), easy-to-use mockup generators, and options for adding your own branding to the unboxing experience.
For apparel products, Printful offers several printing techniques: (i) Direct to garment: Print is applied directly to clothing. (ii) Cut and sew: The article of clothing is cut, printed on, and then put back together for a seamless print across the entire piece. (iii) Embroidery: A threaded design. There is need for you to be mindful of how additional customizations affect the price. Printing on the sleeve or inside label, for example, will usually mean paying a nominal fee in addition to the base cost. Besides apparel, Printful also offers mugs, bedding, pillows, framed posters, beach towels, aprons, and more.
2. Printify
Printify is print-on-demand service that connects eCommerce store owners with a network of Print Providers around the world, and automates all processes that are involved: order processing, fulfillment, and delivery. This allows you to focus on what matters most – creating product designs and growing your business. The unique attribute of Printify is it also offers an international vendor network that enables a number of unique white-label products, such as jewelry, clocks, shoes, and water bottles. In fact, the platform boasts over 200 products you can print on. Though Printify is free to use, there’s a premium subscription offered by the company which gives a customer up to 20% off of all products for $24.99 per month, which is a solid option if you’re looking to scale up and improve your profit margins.
3. Gooten
Like Printify, Gooten offers a wide range of products that you can customize with several that are unique to Gooten, such as calendars and dog beds. However, since Gooten uses an international network of vendors and dropshippers to print its products, there’s also a lot more variance between its items in terms of print quality and shipping. But that also means you’re likely to see lower product and shipping prices. Gooten operate a smart supply chain for brands that are looking to optimize their eCommerce business with on-demand manufacturing.
4. Lulu
Lulu is a self-publishing platform that uses print-on-demand technology to print and ship books, calendars, & more. The company’s international network of printers handles each book individually, ensuring the highest-quality custom book printing in the industry. Lulu has evolved to offer print-on-demand sales tools to address content creators’ biggest challenges: monetizing content while developing a direct relationship with their fans. Direct-to-consumer sales tools like Lulu Direct provide opportunity for anyone to sell books directly on their own website. Direct sales are the way of the future and Lulu brings the best ecommerce integrations for anyone who wants to publish and sell books.
