Launching a drop-shipping business selling print-on-demand products can be as simple as uploading an image and opening an online shop, but the process may seem daunting to a new entrepreneur.
In 2024, total U.S. sales from on-demand printing on items such as apparel and posters reached an estimated $2.3 billion. Print-on-demand dropshipping will reportedly grow more than tenfold in the next decade, reaching roughly $26 billion in 2034.
Let’s consider two examples: (i) an AI-sourced t-shirt uploaded to Printful and (ii) a simple wall art design added to Prodigi.
Sourcing Artwork
Whether a shop sells t-shirts, postcards, or wall art, the design is the product. The shopper is buying the art. Where does an entrepreneur find art, and what are the arrangements to resell it?
One of the examples below uses an AI-generated image; the other is a simple text-only design from Adobe Photoshop. But more broadly, there are at least seven ways to source artwork for print-on-demand products.
- Create it. Artists and designers can make the art from Canva or Photoshop and sell it on their own online shop. No licensing is required.
- Hire a freelance designer. Entrepreneurs can commission custom artwork from freelance designers on platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork. Some companies have successfully hired local art students.
- Collaborate with artists. Find artists on Behance or ArtStation and strike a deal. The collaboration could be a licensing fee, revenue sharing, or a combination. Art Licensing International and MHS Licensing are also sources.
- Buy stock images. Licensed stock images from sites such as Shutterstock or Adobe Stock are helpful as a basis for designs, ensuring the ecommerce shop has the right to use the imagery commercially.
- Use ready-made designs. Many print-on-demand companies have designs available.
- Use public domain art. Artwork in the public domain can be used and modified for print-on-demand products. The National Gallary of Art, for example, has more than 50,000 free, public-domain images.
- Have AI generate it. Finally, use artificial intelligence models such as Midjoury to create the artwork.
In 2023, Kevin Stecko from 80sTees.com described in an “Ecommerce Conversations” episode how his company licenses artwork, adding that characters from Disney, Star Wars, or Marvel comics require permission.
Printful
Let’s look at creating and publishing a product in Printful. This example assumes the seller has a Printful account integrated with a Shopify store using an app.
Products are “templates” in Printful. A merchant can add new products after creating a collection.
Creating a new product starts with selecting the item to sell. Printful offers wall art, phone cases, and more, but this example is a t-shirt. A merchant can choose its colors and sizes.
Printful walks online sellers through the setup process, often allowing updates to selections such as color and size on more than one screen.
Uploading the t-shirt design, which is AI-generated from my prompt, is the same as any internet file.
Uploading the design is simple and fast. This 14.8 MB AI image loaded in less than a second.
The merchant can apply logos or other artwork to the t-shirt’s sleeves, back, or labels.
With Printful, merchants can add graphics to several areas of the t-shirt.
The merchant can add the newly designed t-shirt to her integrated Shopify shop almost immediately.
First, she can select the mockups. Printful offers many, but keeping it simple often works best.
Printful creates the mockups for the merchant, a very nice feature.
Next, Printful permits users to name the product and customize its description before moving it to Shopify. The merchant should select the Shopify collection in which the product will reside and set the profit for each item.
Printful automatically pushes the t-shirt — with pricing and description — to Shopify, requiring no changes or updates on that platform.
Prodigi
Prodigi is another print-on-demand provider. In this example, I’ve connected my Prodigi account to a Squarespace shop. I initially created the products in Squarespace and then configured Prodigi.
Prodigi must know the type of product. The Prodigi and Squarespace integration requires merchants to work in both platforms to complete the process.
The Prodigi process begins when the merchant selects one or more items to be variations of the Squarespace product. This item is a “Box Frame, EMA 200gsm Fine Art Print, Mount / Matted, Perspex Glaze, 30x30cm/12×12.”
Prodigi’s editor permits placement and alignment.
Finally, the seller completes the finishing touches, such as a product mockup and description, back in Squarespace since the Prodigi to Squarespace integration is not automatic.
The merchant adds the product’s description and artwork to Squarespace, but Prodigi will automatically fulfill orders.
Print-on-demand
The steps — source art, select product, upload art — are similar for nearly every print-on-demand service. There are many other suppliers beyond Printful and Prodigi. Examples include Gooten, Gelato, and Sellfy.
Each supplier has strengths and weaknesses and different levels of integration with a given ecommerce platform. Prodigi’s fulfillment integrates with Squarespace, for example, but not necessarily for other platforms.