How Does Print-on-Demand Work?

TeePublic

Mon, Jul 29, 2019

You may have heard of this "print-on-demand" thing before, but you're not sure how it works on our site or what its benefits may be. If this sounds like you, read on for more!

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First, a definition: Print-on-Demand (POD) is an agile printing process where you work with a supplier to transfer your digital designs onto various kinds of goods: notebooks, apparel (like t-shirts), home goods, phone cases, you name it! TeePublic runs on a POD structure.

Why Use Print-on-Demand?
We print only when an item is purchased, meaning that every product that you receive is custom-made, just for you! In exchange for every product sold in your storefront, you'll receive earnings. We offer you the highest earnings at the lowest cost to your audience, which means your store on TeePublic will be the most competitive of all, allowing you to sell a lot of t-shirts (or any other products!) at volume. That's a win!
Printing
Here at TeePublic, we predominantly use a type of printing called Direct-to-Garment (DTG). We print on Kornit Digital printers, which resemble huge laser ink printers. Unlike screenprinting, a print style which yields unique and handmade results every time, DTG printing is not as work-intensive a method. It's also not as color-restrictive as screenprinting, either: You can print with as many colors as you'd like! This frees you up to be as creative as you'd like. So, go wild!

Conveniences of using POD

Print-on-Demand means low risk for you as an entrepreneur. You can customize the products you like in any way you like, and you don't have to worry about payment at any point. So, making your shop one that's POD offers you a ton of time- and cost-saving conveniences, namely:

No up-front costs
You don't have to buy products on which to print your goods; everything is printed when it's purchased, so you don't have to try to guess what your audience wants ahead of time.
No storage
To piggy-back on that last point, you don't have to hold any stock to have a store. Your store is completely digital, and your printed products ship directly from one of our eight unique vendors.
Quick Iteration
Because you don't have to hold stock, you can experiment as much as you want, with no risk. This can be a huge benefit to designers who are just starting out--you literally can't make a mistake because it costs nothing to set up your shop and upload to it. For new and experienced designers alike, build your confidence by relying on the feedback from your audience instead of designing in a vacuum!
Variety of SKUs
To that point, you might discover that your audience loves a product that you never imagined them liking, like tapestries, for example. With no monetary cost holding you back, you're free to try all of the products we offer and give your audience a variety!
No waste!
Everything is printed at the moment your customer wants it, so that reduces waste throughout the supply chain, eliminating unnecessary costs and reducing your environmental impact. The inks our printers use are biodegradable and vegan.

How to Create Your Own POD TeePublic Shop

Getting started on TeePublic takes 5 minutes or less:

1. Navigate to our designer sign-up page.

2. Set your username and password and confirm your email address.

3. Customize your storefront and account information in the way that you like.

4. Start uploading: All you need to start uploading is a PNG (transparent background highly recommended!) at 150 DPI or more. If at least one side of your design is 5499px then you’ll be able to enable all of our products.

5. Submit your design and start selling!

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