How to start a print on demand business

How to start a print on demand business, step by step

1. 01

   Pick a niche and a product range

   Print on demand covers far more than shirts: hoodies, mugs, posters, phone cases, tote bags and more. Choose a niche first, then the two or three products that niche would actually buy. Hikers might want mugs and caps; a poster shop for a city's neighborhoods needs prints and frames.

   Fewer products done well beat a catalog of every blank with the same design slapped on. Each product needs its own mockups, sample and price check.

2. 02

   Choose Printful or Printify

   Printful produces, packs and ships each order itself, is free to use with no monthly fee, and lists a Bella+Canvas 3001 tee from $11.92. Printify is a marketplace of print providers: it's free, and a Premium plan from $24.99 a month billed yearly cuts product prices, bringing the same tee to $8.77 from $10.98.

   Printify's prices and quality depend on the provider you pick, so sample each one you use. Printful costs more per item and handles production itself.

3. 03

   Decide where you'll sell

   Etsy brings buyers searching for gifts and custom items. It charges $0.20 per listing and 6.5% of each order total, plus payment processing. Your own store skips those fees, but you have to bring every visitor yourself.

   Shopify doesn't print anything itself; it connects to print partners through apps, and Printful's Shopify integration is free. Many sellers list on Etsy to find buyers and build their own store for repeat customers and ads.

4. 04

   Make designs that print well

   Each product has its own print area and file requirements, so download the template from your print partner and design inside it. Use high-resolution files, avoid fine lines and tiny text that blur on fabric, and check how colors look on dark and light blanks.

   Only sell art you own or have licensed. Print partners and marketplaces take down designs that use cartoon characters, team logos, lyrics or other brands' names, and repeat takedowns can close your shop.

5. 05

   Order a sample of everything

   Order every product in your launch line before you list it, from the provider you'll actually use. Check print sharpness, color, fabric feel and how long the order took to arrive. A mug that looks great as a mockup can print a shade off in person.

   Photograph the samples in daylight. Real photos next to the mockups make a new store look trustworthy, and they show buyers exactly what will arrive at their door.

6. 06

   Price every product after fees

   Work out each product's margin: your price minus the base cost, shipping if you absorb it, marketplace or card fees, and ad cost per order. Printful's US shipping for a t-shirt is $4.95 for the first item. On Etsy, add the 6.5% transaction fee and processing to the math.

   If a product leaves less than a few dollars after all of that, raise the price, bundle it with a second item, or drop it from the line before you spend on ads.

7. 07

   Build a store around your designs

   Your print partner's app adds products and variants to your Shopify catalog and sends each order to be printed. Your store's job is to sell the designs: a homepage with your niche in one line, collection pages by theme, and product pages with size charts and real photos.

   Apparel needs sizes, so the store runs on Shopify's checkout. Replo builds the homepage, collections and product pages on top of that catalog, on your brand and your own domain.

What it costs to start a print on demand business

What it costs to start selling print on demand. Both main print partners are free to join; you pay per item after a customer orders.

Your first 30 days

1. Week 1

   Pick niche, products and partner

   • Choose one niche and the two or three products it would buy.
   • Compare Printful and Printify prices for those exact products.
   • Download each product's print template and start five designs.

2. Week 2

   Sample the line

   • Create the products in your print partner's dashboard with your designs.
   • Order one sample of every product and note how long each took.
   • Work out the margin per product after shipping and fees.

3. Week 3

   List and build

   • Photograph the samples and pair the photos with clean mockups.
   • List the line on Etsy with clear titles, sizes and gift-ready descriptions.
   • Build your own store's homepage, theme collections and product pages.

4. Week 4

   Launch and add designs

   • Share the launch with your niche on one channel where they gather.
   • Add three new designs on whichever product sold first.
   • Drop products with poor samples or margins below your floor.

What brands in this category run ads to

Build your print on demand store

Frequently asked questions

How do I start a t-shirt printing business?

The cheapest way is print on demand: upload designs to Printful or Printify, connect it to a store, and each shirt is printed after it's ordered. Buying a heat press or screen printing setup only makes sense once you know which designs sell in volume.

Does Shopify do print on demand?

Not by itself. Shopify connects to print partners through apps in its App Store, which print and ship the products for you. Printful's Shopify integration is free to use, and orders go to the printer automatically.

Is print on demand still profitable?

Yes, for sellers with designs a specific crowd wants. Margins per item are small: Printify's own example earns the difference between $24.99 and an $8.77 cost, before fees and ads. Volume, repeat buyers and low ad costs decide whether it adds up.

Should I use Printful or Printify?

Printify usually has lower base prices, especially on its Premium plan, but quality varies between its print providers. Printful costs more per item and produces orders itself. Order samples from both for your main product and choose on quality and shipping time.

Do I need to hold any inventory?

No. Your print partner prints each item after a customer orders and ships it under your store's name. You only buy samples for photos and quality checks, which is why print on demand is one of the cheapest product businesses to start.