Print-on-demand is a practice of offering your audience various custom-made items like t-shirts, mugs, rugs, and household items in order to get customers and sales. This is a subtle yet powerful way to turn the attention of visitors within your niche to your business.
However, this method of product sourcing must use effective marketing strategies and be created on a high-performing eCommerce platform that supports it in order to yield good results.
The Inception
If you’re considering starting a print on demand business, you should be prepared to create the designs and take the orders. Aside from that, the supplier will handle the rest of the fulfilment process from printing to packing and delivery. Sounds like a good deal!
Similarly, to other dropshipping businesses, running a print on demand business means you don’t need to buy or store any inventory, keeping your overhead costs nice and low. All of that said, we should still give a friendly reminder that “all that glitters is not gold” – starting a print on demand business still has its drawbacks…
What is Print on Demand [POD]?
POD can be described as a type of dropshipping model in which the merchant does not control the inventory management and shipping. This means by signing up to any POD Platform and the rest is taken care of by the platform itself. To understand this in detail let us consider an example,
An eCommerce store sells customized print products such as t-shirts, coffee mugs, posters, etc. In the POD business model, there is no physical inventory. The users can customize their designs but there is no inventory. Aspects such as inventory management, shipping, and fulfilment are taken care of by the POD Platform.
How POD started?
Print on Demand has a very deep background. The concept has been around since the 1960s when POD was used to describe a reimagining of the screen-printing process(source).
With the advancement in technology, better supply chain management and end-to-end integration, the print on demand business model has become increasingly viable for providing just in time order fulfilment.
In the past decade, global interest has increased by nearly 200% and big players are continuing to invest in the POD market space. Amazon launched Kindle Direct Publishing in late 2007, allowing anyone to publish e-books and paperbacks. Similarly, In 2015, they launched the Merch by Amazon program which allows creators to upload designs that are converted to live products on Amazon.
But the benefits of POD are not just limited to the business giants, this model is accessible and scalable even for the solo operator.
A brief Pros and Cons of POD
The Cons of POD:
- Lower Margins
- Fulfilment and Shipping Time
- No interaction with the customer
- Smaller product range
The Pros of POD:
- Simplicity: No inventory management
- Low Risk: End-to-end fulfilment
- Semi-defensible Through IP (Unique Product Designs)
- Scalable & Flexible
Before delving any further into what POD has to offer, it is crucial to understand the distinction between POD fulfilment services and POD marketplaces.
- Print-On-Demand fulfilment services - These are Print-On-Demand services that enable your eCommerce printing business to connect to the POD platform as a back-end service. This way, when a consumer purchase a product from your website, the order is sent to the POD service provider for printing and fulfilment. These service providers act as your POD fulfilment partners.
- Print-On-Demand marketplace - This takes care of both the front-end and back-end aspects of the process. The artwork and designs will be given the license to be used on physical products and sold on the marketplace. The POD marketplace will handle the marketing and selling of your products.
How to decide which POD model suits you the best?
This best works if you have decided on the objective of your eCommerce business. Both the modes are highly functional and the demand is still growing. Fulfilment service gives owners more control over the products and brand. Marketplace is ideal for individual business owners who want to sell a large range of printable products. However, it is essential to know that the fulfilment service has more work because it requires owners to have a customer-facing storefront. Whereas, marketplaces give owners an easy choice to market and sell their products by allowing someone else to handle it.
Ready to Start? Here’s How it Works
We have made a comprehensive list of steps to start your POD business today.
- Store setup - This is the first step of the process. Depending on your POD platform, you can set up your store in two ways:
- Integrate your existing printing website to the POD service.
- Use a POD marketplace. If you don’t have your eCommerce website or printing storefront.
- Products and designs - After the POD eCommerce storefront is set up, the most important step begins. Now you have to select designs and add products to the store. As a business owner, you can decide what you want to sell based on popularity and market trends. For example, if you wish to sell posters and wall art, you can add framed canvas products to your eCommerce store. Most product design tools come with extensive photos, font, and vector libraries.
- Sales - In the third step of the process, you need to create awareness and engagement for your printing business to boost sales. Fulfilment services, need aggressive marketing to attract customers. However, if you are using a POD marketplace, then your products will be sold for you.
- POD platform - The Print-on-Demand platform takes care of the printing, fulfilment, and order shipping processes once a consumer places an order. You will be paid for the order once their purchase has been cleared.
Still, confused about what you should sell?
Here are few top-selling products in the Print-on-Demand marketspace.
- Custom Apparel - Example: T-shirts, shorts, shirts, hoodies, leggings, scarves
- Wallpaper Art - Example: Posters, banners, wall decals, framed artwork, tapestries, and canvas prints
- Accessories - Example: Bags, belts, jewellery, hats, socks, visors, caps
- Home Accessories - Example: Coffee Mugs, Beverage Glasses, Bedspreads, Pillow Covers, Towels, Table Mats, Tech Accessories
Useful tips to keep in mind:
Choosing the right POD platform or service provider
The primary goal for any is to be able to sell their products and generate revenue to expand their business while ensuring top customer satisfaction. So, choosing the right POD platform that works well with your business model is the most essential step. Some points to consider are:
- Integration of the POD platform with your existing systems
- Merchant policies – Check seller policies of the POD platform.
- Order fulfilment processes – How does the POD service provider take care of fulfilment services.
- Subscription costs of the POD platform
- Product types – What type of products is the POD service selling to customers?
Order samples from a few POD service providers
Order some samples from each POC service provider to get a better understanding of their business processes.
Create product mock-ups
Create many product mock-ups allowing you and your customers to visualize how the product looks after a design is added. This will give you an idea of how your product should look and if there are any changes to be made to the same.
Decide on a pricing strategy
Like any business, the ultimate aim should be to drive profits. A healthy profit margin, according to market standards, stands at 40%. Although it depends on you to decide the margin of profit for your products, you can also make use of a profit margin calculator to determine how to price your products.
FAQs
How Much Money Can You Earn from Print on Demand?
One of the most inspiring prints of on-demand success stories comes from a video on YouTube by Wholesale TED. In it, the host Sarah interviews entrepreneur Michael Shih who makes over $1 million per year with his print on demand business.
What Are the Start-up Costs of A POD Business?
The best part of the print on demand business is that it costs almost nothing to start. You will need to have a computer and Internet connection. Depending on which type of commerce platform, you might also be required to register for a domain name and possibly hosting service (if you don’t have a website already). Altogether, both will cost you less than $100.
Do I Need to Be a Graphic Artist?
While a print on demand business can certainly be an awesome way for artists to express themselves creatively, it is certainly not required that you be an artist yourself.
Conclusion
Print on demand can be a great way to add income stream or gain a basic understanding of the e-commerce and digital marketing industry.
While the model has its weaknesses, for someone looking for a low-risk online business with the ability to scale, Print On Demand may fit the ticket.
In this article, we covered the four essential steps to starting your first print on demand business. If you want to learn more about print on demand and e-commerce continue reading here.
