POD or Print on demand, is a relatively new industry that only developed in the last several years. So, if this is your first-time hearing about it, then you’ve got nothing to worry about – and you have come to the right place. For starters, the print on demand technology isn’t all new. However, the establishment of companies that can print and ship items for you on behalf of independent designers and sellers is what’s quite new.
Over the years, print on demand companies have been on the rise. If you’re looking for a company to print and ship your product and have no idea where to start from, then you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we take a look at the best print on demand companies that you can consider using for your printing needs.
Printful
Printful happens to be one of the most well-known print on demand companies available in the market. They provide a wide range of products that can be customized to your own liking. In addition, they have a wide array of features, such as mockup generators to help you get started. With a catalog that has more than 220 items, Printful is an excellent choice if you want to sell prints, apparel, home décor, or accessories. When it comes to shipping, Printful ensures that their customers’ products are shipped within two to five business days, depending on your location.
Moreover, their shipping costs depend on the product ordered. You can get a discount on shipping if you have more items in one order. They also have different printing options such as embroidery, direct-to-garment, sublimation, and cut and sew printing. You can choose a printing option based on the product you want. Printful also allows its customers to include stickers and inserts or tear-away tags to their products at an additional cost.
One of the unique features that Printful has is a 20 percent discount on any sample order. Additionally, they have an inbuilt mockup generator that allows its customers to sell their products in minutes. When it comes to integrations with various commerce platforms such as Shopify and marketplaces, Printful ranks high; besides, they also provide services such as marketing videos and graphic design, among others.
Printify
Printify is another excellent choice for anyone looking for a print on demand company. Unlike other POD, Printify gives its customers access to a wide network of printing partners who are distributed across the world. This means a wide variety of products that you can choose from as well as the ability to choose a printer located in a country that you’d want to sell your products in for a more cost-effective and faster shipping. Currently, Printify has a catalog of more than 25 products for you to choose from.
When it comes to shipping, the cost, packaging, location, and production time it takes may vary. This is because Printify operates as a vendor network – meaning sourcing and printing of products is done by different partners based in different parts of the world. As such, the period it takes will be dependent on the print provider you go with. Similar to Printful, Printify also offers different printing options such as cut and sew, direct-to-garment, embroidery as well as sublimation. However, depending on the product and print provider you choose to work with, you can get more printing options.
When it comes to unique features, Printify gives you 20 percent of all your orders if you upgrade to their monthly premium plan. This is an excellent feature that can present you with good profit margins whenever you want to scale your business. We’d recommend Printify for anyone that wants a cost-effective and flexible print on demand company.
SPOD
SPOD is another print on demand company that is excellent for people who are new to the print on demand industry. SPOD is owned by Spreadshirt, and while it doesn’t have a large catalog of products like Printful or Printify, it has one of the fastest turnaround time for customers when it comes to shipping. In fact, about 95 percent of orders made on SPOD get shipped within 48 hours. This makes it an excellent choice for customers who don’t want to wait for days before they can get their products.
Besides the fast turnaround time, they also offer an easy-to-use product designer and competitive prices. SPOD’s shipping pricing model is calculated based on the value of the items ordered instead of individual quantity or product. Moreover, depending on the product you choose, SPOD has different printing options such as thermal sublimation, special flex, digital direct and digital transfer or laser transfer.
While its products catalog is slightly over 100, one of the unique features that SPOD boasts of is a customization tool. SPOD’s customization tool allows customers to personalize their orders with their own designs and images. In addition, customers can also choose from over 50K designs provided by SPOD. Similar to Printful, they also offer a 20 percent discount on any sample order. SPOD is excellent for anyone new to the print on demand business and wants a simplified shipping, speedy fulfillment, and competitive prices.
All Over Print
Form its name, All Over Print or AOP as its commonly known, focuses on easy to print products. It’s simple to use as all you need to do is upload your design and choose the product that you want to create. As such, All Over Print is one of the fastest print on demand companies that you can choose. In addition, all orders made on AOP are printed in-house. This means that they are able to control the printing process resulting in better quality.
In addition, All Over Print also provides a free plan that offers most of the features that you’d want from a print on demand company. They have various paid plan options that provide flexibility to their customers, offering different customization options, discounts, and more. When it comes to production, AOP usually takes three to five business days. Once production is complete, the products will be shipped from one of AOP’s fulfillment centers in Europe, USA, or the UK. Shipping costs are determined by the products ordered. If you have more items in your order, you are able to get a discount.
When it comes to printing options, All Over Print has two options – direct-to-garment and dye sublimation printing. One unique feature that AOP boasts of is the ability for customers to add their own custom packing slips in their orders. In addition, customers are able to unlock different discounts depending on the paid plan they choose. With over 200 items, AOP is an excellent print on demand company for anyone who is keen on testing and launching their own designs on a wide variety of products.
Final Thoughts
Print on demand companies have a lot of moving parts. If you want to venture into selling your own designs online long-term, then you need to be very critical about who you choose to manage the printing and shipping of your products. This is because choosing the wrong print on demand company can do a lot of damage to your business and ruin the relationship between you and your customers.