Looking to expand into merch? Consider print on demand.
The fashionable way to improve cash flows.
Per usual, Triumph received no financial compensation from the companies for writing this article. Straight from the heart, baby.
Fashion show, fashion show, fashion show at lunch
If there’s one market that can withstand some serious saturation, it’s apparel. If you’ve spent more than 15 minutes on the internet (or Pinterest, or Etsy, or—you get the point), then you know that everyone and their mother (sometimes literally) has entered the merch scene. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
At Triumph, we’re big believers in the apparel dream, and we’ve seen friends and clients make it happen. Think you’ve got some design talent? Splendid, let’s turn your apparel foray into a bonafide income stream. There are several routes you can take on this adventure, but, for those who are just starting out and may be low on capital, we have a specific suggestion: the free-market beauty of print on demand.
Print on d’what?
An aptly named business model, print on demand services allow you to bring your creative genius to the world without assuming a lot of risk. These services specialize in custom designs with a quick turnaround, and they can help remove the headache of inventory management from your life—for good.
Essentially, print on demand services won’t make a single one of your products until an order comes in. The nicest thing about not making a product until someone already bought it is that you also won’t have to pay for the wholesale materials until you’ve already been paid your chosen markup price. Hence our “low-risk” comment from earlier. There’s no way to have access inventory if you don’t have inventory at all.
Moving along the supply chain, once a customer puts in a request to buy your product, then the print on demand service will quickly fire up their…presses? Wheels? Ovens? We’re not actually sure what they use to make each individual shirt—but whatever they fire up—the end product is a stellar copy of your beautiful design. The best print on demand services (like the ones listed below) will even handle packaging and shipment directly to the customer.
You should be able to focus on what you do best—running your business and drawing up high quality designs—and leave all the logistical work to the experts. Sound like a business model you’d be interested it? Delightful, now let’s find you some service options.
Up first: Printful
When it comes to design templates, Printful brings some serious juice. From shirts, to hats, to pet products, if you can dream it up, Printful can make it on demand. Not only that, Printful is also an industry leader in third-party seller integration. Already have a shop on sites like Etsy, eBay, and Amazon (or want to start one)? Fantastic, Printful offers easy to use plugins, allowing you to connect your Prinftul designs directly with your existing (or soon to exist) accounts.
If you’re a Squarespace user (like so many Triumphers who read this article), then the deal is sweeter still. Printful partners directly with Squarespace, allowing you to integrate print on demand options directly into your Squarespace dashboard. For information on how to enjoy this epic cross-over episode, check out below:
And what of the fees?
At this point you’re probably wondering, as any good business mind would be, what are the costs? In a word, affordable. And in a phrase—highly competitive. Printful offers three basic plans to suit adventurers from all walks of life. Oh, and did we mention they’re trusted to supply apparel for plenty of major names? Companies like Coke, MTV, NBC—the big leagues. So, needless to say, they know what they’re doing. Any of that pique your interest? If so, let’s dive in together.
The Printful basic plan comes in at our favorite price point—free. For this baseline no-cost plan, your business will not pay any upfront or monthly fees. None. Zero. Zilch. Instead, Printful simply charges for the wholesale products (but not until after you make the sale) and shipping (which users can pass on to their customers). Exact pricing for each item depends on product type and volume—but as long as you adjust your own list price accordingly—you’ll always make a profit. Printful’s full pricing catalogue is available here. So, in basic terms, the Printful Free plan will grant you access to the following goodies: 443 products templates, integration on 28 e-commerce platforms, a custom Design Maker tool, and unlimited downloadable mockups. Pretty expansive for a free service, right? Now, let’s see what you can get for a monthly fee.
What Printful Plus—the company’s first paid subscription tier—lacks in name quality, it more than makes up for in substance. For $9 a month, users can enjoy all the features of Printful Free along with custom product mockups, additional design tools, and access to exclusive marketing materials. As your adventure begins to pick up steam, Printful Plus offers a great avenue for continued growth.
But wait, there is indeed more. Printful also offers a similarly vanilla-named third subscription tier: Printful Pro. As your merchandize empire continues to expand, consider Printful Pro for all the enticing features of the lower plans along with advanced design tools, promotional campaign options, keyword scout for Etsy, premium images, free digitization of embroidery designs, and advanced shipping options. You’ll be ready to take over the world, one custom dad hat at a time.
Ready to start slinging tees? Check out Printful right here.
On-deck: Printify
Another behemoth of the print on demand game, Printify offers world-class printing subscription services to help serve up quality threads for any adventure. Much like our earlier example, you can print just about anything with Printify: men’s and women’s apparel, clothes for the kiddos, plenty of accessories, and an expansive home & living catalogue. You can even make custom shower curtains on Printify—shower curtains.
Printify follows the same basic business model as Printful and most other print on demand services: you design, they create and ship, everyone smiles. Much like our previous company, Printify also offers three paid subscriptions services, ranging from the glorious price of free to a custom enterprise option to suit the largest of adventures.
Show me the money
With the Printify free version, you won’t be on the hook for a dime until your product actually sells. In addition to this cash flow peace of mind, users can also enjoy unlimited product designs, helpful mockup generator software, integration with several third-party retailers, and 24/7 customer support.
Once your sales start booming, Printify Premium, the company’s paid service version, offers a very attractive toolset to expand your reach. Along with all the fun features of the free version, Premium users can create 10 stores per account and enjoy a discount of up to 20% on all products. If your store is a volume shooter, that premium wholesale discount could seriously improve your profit margins.
For the most developed adventures among us, Printify offers the aforementioned Enterprise plan. Those who enter this final tier of Printify lore are rewarded with unlimited stores per account, custom API integration, a dedicated account manager, and branded customer support options. Enterprise is built for, well, enterprises, and if you find yourself in that category, go ahead and give them a ring to talk custom monthly pricing.
Ready to hit the ground running with Printify? Check them out right here.
Bringing us home: JetPrint
Addition to supplying all the essential print on demand services we’ve discussed above, JetPrint landed itself on this list for one very specific reason: sweet custom kicks. While most print on demand services offer some sort of shoe option, few do it as well as JetPrint.
Looking to expand into non-branded custom footwear? JetPrint has you covered with logo-less designs that will be sure to remind you of your favorite sneaker classics. Whether you want your custom designs to be reminiscent of Air Force Ones, Chuck Taylors, or Jordan 11s—JetPrint has you covered.
Not much of a sneaker head but still looking for footwear options? No need to worry, JetPrint also offers a wide selection of running shoes, lifestyle kicks, and even slides. When it gets cold, users can also explore custom boot designs, and when users want to get comfortable, JetPrint has not shortage of Croc-like templates.
At this time, JetPrint doesn’t offer a subscription package—they run a strictly product by product operation. If the drip is calling your name, crank up your custom shoe designs, and head over to JetPrint right here.
It’s called fashion, my friend
Whether your next clothing adventure is built for the Paris runway or to grab slushies at Raceway, we’re confident there’s a print on demand option for you. As cash flows expand and your adventure grows, you may decide to graduate out of these sorts of programs and take all manufacturing in house. That’s fantastic too, but—for your early stages—consider giving your cash flows a break and lowering your stress with print on demand. Oh, and if you get the chance, send us a hat. We’d love to rep your brand.
As always, feel free to Ask Triumph with any additional questions and consider Supporting the Team.
All views expressed in the article are opinions of the author and should not be misconstrued as professional consulting or legal advice. Users are responsible for verifying all information before taking action, and Triumph Group LLC is not responsible for any outcomes. Pursue subjects at your own risk. Seriously, man. It’s your life.
