PRINT ON DEMAND

From t-shirts to posters, backpacks and books, you can give your own touch to everyday products to sell online. However,if you follow the traditional method of buying and managing your own stock, the risk of ending up with a pile of unsold mockup generator products is real and not insignificant.Print On Demand (POD) services provide an alternative way to bypass the time,investment and risk associated with inventory management. This allows you to go from creating to selling customizedproducts at a much lower cost.

Print On Demand , what is it ? How does it work?

Print On Demand or POD is a process in which you work with a supplier to customize white labelproducts (such as hats, t-shirts, phone cases, bags, etc.) with your own mockup generator creations to sell them to the order and underyour own brand.This means that you only pay for the product after selling it, so there is no need to buy in bulk or keep the stockyourself.In addition, with Print On Demand services, all after-sales, that is, from printing to shipping, arehandled by the supplier. Once you've set everything up, it only takes a few clicks to execute an social media order once you've madea sale.You can use Print On Demandservices to:

• Test a business idea or new product line for an existing dropshipping business without the risks of stock supply.
• Monetize an audience you have built.A Print on demand is a great option if you are an influencer of social networks, comic book designers or social media. You would use your time to create content rather than supervising a physical stock withoutselling.
• Create original products for your targeted customers. For example, clothes for gaming enthusiasts.
• Easily print unique items: t-shirts, books, shoes, bags, wall coverings, phone cases, clocks, laptop cases,custom mugs and more. You can send them as a gift or keep them for yourself and your team.

Techtoprint - Print On Demand : Advantages and Disadvantages

The POD can be used to create a business based on a dropshipping model, where products and shipments are all managed bya third party. It's one of the most accessible ways to search for products or start an online business, but you need toknow the benefits and limitations before you dive into it.

Advantages of Print On Demand

• Create products quickly: Once you have the design, you can create the product and put it on sale in minutes.
• Shipping is supported: Shipping and order processing are out of your reach and at your supplier's. After thesale, you are simply responsible for customer service.
• Low investment, less risk: In Print On Demand ,since you have no physical shop, it's easier toadd or remove products, test ideas, or rotate your approach.

Inconvenients of Print on demand

• Lower margins: In dropshipping print on demand (POD), your costs per item will be higher than if you buy inbulk. POD products can generate smaller profits, depending on how you price and purchase them.
• Less control over shipping: In Print on demand business, shipping costs can be complicated because they often vary from one product to another.Your options may also be limited if you want to create an out-of-the-ordinary experience.
• Customization: In of Print On Demand (POD), since it depends the vendor and the product, yourability to customize products is limited. Thus, you will not be able express all your talents of “born creator”.Then, you will need to weigh the base costs, customization options, printing techniques and available formats tochoose the products to customize.

Print on demand : Creating customproducts

While many Print On Demand (POD) services may seem similar at first glance, you will need to carefullyconsider which ones you choose based on the products you want to create, where you ship them, and the retail prices youwant them to be, to sell.For example, a low basic cost for a product can make it an obvious choice, until you realize it would take 21 days toreach customers with your most affordable shipping option.Use due diligence when evaluating the right platform for you. To help you, I gave a brief overview of some most popularservices covering a variety of scenarios (shopify app) . All these services can be configured for free (you only pay when you order aproduct). For Compatibility, do not panic, these platforms are all integrated into Shopify.This list is by no meansexhaustive. For more Print On Demand (POD) options, visit the Shopify App Store

1. POD : Pintful

Printful (Shopify app) is a popular choice among Print On Demand (POD) web2print solutions because of its wideselection of products and brands (Gildan, American Apparel, etc.), easy-to-use layout builders, and options to add yourown brand to the unboxing experience through stickers, inserts and personalized notes.For clothing in particular, Printful offers various printing techniques. Here are some examples you would know:

• • Direct to Garment prints the ink directly on the media, which is especially useful for simple patterns(for example, spiritual t-shirts). Therefore, you can only print on certain areas of the product

• • Cut and Sew is sometimes called "all-over print". The garment item is printed in pieces for maximumcoverage, then sewn together for seamless printing on the entire piece. Although the base costs may behigher, this allows you to create a higher-end product that you could sell more expensive. This shouldnot be confused with "sublimation printing", which is a less accurate but more economical method ofobtaining a complete impression.

• Embroidery is perhaps the most complex printing technique because final product is actually a threaded patternwith a 3D effect. This option is ideal for simple patterns with only a handful of colors and for products suchas hats that have traditionally embroidered patterns. You should also be aware of how additional customizationsaffect the price.

2. POD : Lulu Xpress

Lulu is a self-publishing platform for printing and distributing your own books and ebooks. Lulu Xpress (Shopify competitors application) is its Print On Demand (POD) offer and allows you to choose from a wide selection of booksizes, types of binding and page / print quality to create your own book. Although there is no built-in publisher todesign your book, Lulu Xpress offers downloadable templates to get you started similar to shopify shop.

3. POD : Gooten

Like Printful, Gooten (Shopify alternative free Print On Demand (POD) application) offers a wide range of products thatyou can customize with several unique products in its catalog, such as calendars and dog beds. However, as Gooten usesan international network of suppliers to print its products, the differences between their articles in terms of qualityand shipping are much greater. But it also means that product prices and print on demand drop shipping costs will be lower .Gooten also has an intuitive image editor that gives you a clear idea of the appearance of your final product.

4. POD : Printfy

Printify (Shopify POD app) is another Print On Demand (POD) service offering the usual selection oft-shirts and hoodies. What is remarkable about Printify is that its international supplier network allows for a numberof unique products in white mark that you probably will not find solutions web2print elsewhere , such as jewelry, clocks, shoes and bottlesof water. In fact, the platform offers more than 200 products you can print on. Although Printify is free to use, apremium subscription is available, allowing you to get 20% off all products at $ 29 per product montly. This is a solidoption if you want to increase your capacity and improve your profit margins.

Print on demand : Designing productswhen you are not a designer

It goes without saying that design plays a crucial role in the creation of Print On Demand (POD)products performing. But you do not have to be a full-time designer to find original designs. There are many ways toorder or produce your own designs, as long as you understand a few key concepts that will help you work effectively withdesigners.First, we need to talk about preparing your printed file. When working with designers, you must specify that your designis for printing. This tells them that it should ideally be 300 digital pixels per inch (DPI or PPI), have a transparentbackground and other design nuances for printing compared to the Web.Note that the file specifications printing will vary depending on the Printers and printing technique used. If in doubt,send the designer the print specifications for the specific product and the printing instructions so that theyunderstand the full context.The patterns you download must be large or large enough for print area of the real product. Resizing a smaller image toenlarge will probably result in a loss of quality. If you do not have access to Photoshop, you can use Pixlr (free) orany of picture editing tool.

Print On Demand:Where to find design ideas and designers ?

At best, you are a designer or you know one with whom you can work well. But do not be discouraged if you do notimmediately have access to design talent. That's what outsourcing is all about. You can find designers with whom to workon upwork.com, 99 Designs or other independent sites that can produce usable drawings, provided you give clearinstructions.Here's how to add clarity and context to a design project:

• Share an overview of your audience. Tell them what's the point and who your audience is. Showing them yourwebsite, if you have one, can also help you explain clearly what you want. Use your initial argument andsubsequent revisions (you should get at least one or two) to over-communicate what you're looking for demand service andguidelines to follow, and try to provide concrete feedback at every step of the demand service process.
• Inspiration: Give them a reference to base the design or point to the work you liked. There are a lot oftalented designers, so you should be able to find someone to bring your demand service ideas to life. The trickiest part isdetermining what you want to design in the first place. This will depend on your target audience for theproduct, but you can find design inspiration on social networks like Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, etc. andwherever potential customers spend time online.

You can search for content, messages, or styles that already resonate with your targeted audience to launch interestingPOD solution ideas. Just make sure you do not infringe on someone else's work. Social media is also a great place totest your ideas.

Tips to start a Print On Demand

Using a Print On Demand (POD) service may be easier than managing your own store, but you need toconsider some of the considerations of this approach. Fortunately, there are creative solutions for most of the problemsyou will face.

1. Print on demand : Alwaysorder samples

Quality assurance is essential when using pod services to sell online. It is always possible that something is lost inthe translation of the design of your product that you see on your screen. But you can simply contact your supplier'scustomer support for advice on how to resolve these issues.You want to make sure your physical product has the look and feel you want. And the best way to do it is to be your owncustomer so you can have direct experience of what it means to receive your products. Some services, such as Printful,even offer a discount of up to 20% on the sample or free shipping. So be sure to take advantage of it as much as thisoption is available. Besides the guaranteed quality of the products, the samples are also useful for sharing your ownproduct photos on your website and your social networking profiles.

2. Print on demand : ShippingStrategies

Even when you do not send the products yourself, they offer a certain complexity in terms of time and shipping costs anddefining expectations with customers. You will want to be certain of take into account print times when it comes todelivery. Whatever the shipping time, think about adding web2print shop between 2 and 4 days for production, or more, depending on theproduct. Always be aware of shipping times, otherwise you will get an inbox containing many shipping questions.Describe what to expect on your FAQ page or how to setup a print on demand business and consider creating a separate shipping page to explain shipping to customers.If you can, try to absorb some or all of your shipping costs in your selling price. Year after year, studies show thatshipping costs added to the fund can deter customers from buying. On top of that, free shipping strengthens a number ofyour other marketing efforts:

• Free shipping is an excellent sweetener for sales, even if you can only offer it for specific regions, andoffers customers an incentive extra to buy.
• Free and conditional shipping. (For example, "Get free shipping from purchases with $ 25 or more") encouragescustomers to add more to their shopping cart to reach the success with print on demand threshold web to print shop and generally allows you to reach ahigher total delivery rate. by shipping everything together
• Waiting time. Many consumers wait a little longer before ordering if they know it will save them money onshipping costs.

3. Print On Demand : Create models that showcase your products

While models can help you display attractive photos of your easy print on demand products , models are also an effective alternative and willbe an important part of your product pages. Many Print On Demand (POD) services can help your print on demand business createyour own layouts.Playing the model card can be a very effective strategy to market your POD products. There are many print on demand pet products templates of freemodels that can bring your products to life. If not, you can make an extra personalized print on demand effort to pay professional modelers or optfor turnkey solutions. For example, PlaceIt is an easy-to-use template generator. It allows you to create cheaper alternative to shopify models ofphotos and videos at $ 8 each. If you are a bit good in Photoshop or another best print on demand platforms image editing tool, you can also use it.Mockup World or Behance for predefined templates would be also useful.

4. Print on demand : Focus on aniche to facilitate marketing

Marketing is ultimately the critical factor in the success of your print on demand store business. But if you targeteveryone, you may not sell to anyone! That's why concentration is so important, no matter what tactics you use. Having aclearly defined audience (for example, dog owners) can really help you create high-demand products, reduce customeracquisition costs and maximize your potential profits, because your targeting decisions will be all the more precise.Better yet, if you can create your own dropship custom t-shirts audience through marketing, you can create a permanent asset for your business,even if your products change. There are countless possibilities for all over print on demand marketing , but here are some ideas to get startedwith your print on demand business :

• Create an Instagram account and create / manage posts for your target audience. Get demand products followers and liven up thecommunity of your potential customers.
• Post Facebook ads targeting the interests of your target customers. You can also use Facebook ads to test your dropship printing creatives for only $ 10 to determine which ones interest your audience.
• Collect visitor e-mails to continue to market them for free.
• Put your products in the hands of influencers who can contribute with their popularity to help you make sales.Achieving your Print On Demand ideal customers is essential to creating a profitable andsustainable business in the long run, whether in Print On Demand (POD) or in any otherindustry.

Benefits of print on demand

Typically High Margin

When you deploy complete solutions for your customers, you benefit from higher margins. I'm not trying to say that youcan increase prices of all your products and you will always have losses. That said, overall, you should be able to getmore margins from your big customers. To do this fulfillment, increase your volumes and reduce your demand products costs, improve the combinationof products ordered with higher margin product lines, by charging for services such as hosting the portal, etc.Of course, if you try to take advantage of your print on demand customers, you will not be there forthe long term - but if you provide a service and features that help your customers on a daily basis, it's not just aboutthe price of 500 visit cards.

Increased Revenue Stability

When you move your corporate customers fulfillment to a platform that can streamline their marketing operations, they are much lesslikely to move. You will not always find that you are bidding against 3 other suppliers, you will be able to maintainthe relationship once your favorite print buyer goes into a new print on demand companies, and so on. With marketing portals, yourbusiness customers put their end users directly in touch with your platform. The time, expense and headaches needed toswitch to a new supplier are increased exponentially.

Closer Relationship with Customers

Most importantly, if you perform well, you'll end up in conversations you may never have heard before. Projects such asa major brand change campaign for which the customer wants to send a brand change kit to 500 sellers. Or your customermust manage the returns for a particular product. Or, your customer wants to start an email campaign, followed by a mailmerge, and if the target hits a webpage, send them a nice package of care containing a pen and a folder. The proposedproject marketing teams are unlimited, the key is to be a trusted partner and to be known as the people who can do it,not just to name a few.

Print on demand : Disadvantages

Complex sales cycle segment

Transitioning to a complete solution sales fulfillment process is not an easy task. The sales cycle is usually longer. You must makesure that you are in touch with the right people within your target client . You need to understand what your targetaudience is doing and the challenges they face . Finally, you must provide solutions, you cannot wait for them to ask,be proactive, be part of their team and think about the long-term t-shirt dropshipping vision.

Required Relationships

Unlike B2C print on demand models where the most important aspects are driving a visitor to your site, benefiting froman exceptional user experience and offering good prices and impeccable quality, B2B models require you to establishrelationships with your customers. Your team must demonstrate that they have knowledge and creativity. Knowledge ofcustomer issues, industry, products and marketing tactics. Knowledge of marketing supply chains, multiple productionoptions, inventory management, forecasting, kitting and execution.The creativity to be able to paint a picture of the future state and the utopian vision and, above all, of what it takesto achieve it. The key to having your voice heard is to have a relationship with the customer because you are considereda partner and not a salesman and a trusted advisor.

Complex Operational Challenges

Getting customers to complete marketing print on demand portals can be a good thing for a producer, but be prepared tomanage a more complex supply chain and background operations. Some of the products requested by your customers will beprint on demand, others will be on demand purchases, inventory scans and dynamic kits. To add another layer ofcomplexity, a single command for an end user could combine all the methods. Many B2B platforms are designed to handlethis complexity, but you must be sure to be ready for success.PROTECT-PROMOTE-SPREAD : Whether you're looking to target the B2C or B2B market, all print on demandsolutions must be able to handle order volume as soon as it starts to enter . This includes inventory management,production, purchasing, pick & pack, order processing and essentially the entire supply chain that handles ordersuntil they are shipped to the end customer. If your web2print software does not have background management tohandle the application, you need to make sure that it connects to some kind of plugin that does it.

How can I start ?

Well, I will answer this question with another, how do you eat an elephant ? Essentially, you just started. A great webprint wayto start is to put your mind in the right place. Answer the following five questions in this print provider guide to help you betterunderstand where you want to go. After that, make the decision to do it, get print provider involved, plan it and just start.If you are targeting the print on demand B2C market - What is your criterion for demand business success ? For example, XXX traffic, XXXorders per month per online store, average value of XX, XX $. If you are attacking the B2B market - Which web 2 print customers are you targeting ?Do you have the right contact person in the target ? Do you understand their business ? How will you make their day alittle easier ? Always have a final destination in mind before starting the trip.PROTECT. PROMOTE. SPREAD.1 . Do you want to target the B2B or B2C market ? Define your target customer so that you can choose the right demand site tool ?Let me start with the fact that I am not a hunter personally, but I think the analogy is a painting. If my goal was tohunt and shoot 30 small print provider birds from the sky, a rifle would probably be a bad choice, but a shotgun would be fine.Similarly, if I went out looking for an elephant, the shotgun would probably not end well for me, while with a rifle, Ihave a chance .The fact is that you have to decide on your final goal before you start looking for a solution. Determine who yourtarget end print provider customer is, then work upside down in a solution. There is a gulf of differences between the B2B and B2Cmarkets online store - they have completely different needs - to be able to serve a segment well, you need dropshipping suppliers a solution dedicated tothis segment.2 . Are you ready to offer more than printed material ? It does not matter whether you are collaborating with otherproducers, joining ASI / Sage, developing your own production capabilities, or actually combining the above. Thefundamental question is : are you willing to develop the products and services you offer to provide a complete print on demand store marketingsolution to your end customers ? This still applies to B2C and B2B print on demand market segments.This also includes services provided outside of the products, such as kit assembly, inventory forecasting, advice on thebest production methods depending on use, etc. Customers are looking for easy print on demand solutions to theironline store problems. Finding a partner that can simplify the entire marketing supply chain truly provides a web to print software service thatdistinguishes itself from other suppliers.3. How will you bring your customers to the print on demand platform ? I think you will find that buying, installing andsetting up a online store or web to print platform could be the easiest part of your trip. As you evaluate the various options andsolutions on the market, it is imperative to put in place a parallel process that provides for how you will bring demand servicecustomers to the platform of your choice. If you are looking for the B2C market, how will you drive traffic to the site? Are you going to launch Google Adwords campaigns ? Will you embark on long-term SEO demand service practices to build natural lists ?If you target the B2B market - Which customers will you contact ? What is the angle of your approach ? The point here isto make sure you have a plan on how to successfully implement your print on demand platform. What is your product idea key to success?4. What happens when orders begin to arrive ? Now that you have chosen the platform and you receive the orders, what areyou doing ? what dropshipping means ? If you need demand site to perform operations with printed e-mails or if you constantly work on Excel spreadsheets, youare destined for long days without meeting deadlines. Whichever print on demand platform or online store you choose, besure to run a handful of complete cycle tests. Test not only the order process that your customers will experience, butalso push those orders up to final delivery. Is your platform integrated with an event system so that you do not have tore-enter addresses on another online store platform to be shipped ?

What are you waiting to get started ?

Test, sell and develop your Print on demandbusiness without delay. POD Services offers an affordable business model for new entrepreneurs or anyone who simplywants to test an product idea before investing in it. A business idea persists and you start to generate a significant number ofsales. You can always switch from Print On Demand (POD) to your own store or continue using PODservices while finding new ways to increase your customers. It all depends on your online store choice !