Best Tools for Print on Demand Business

The growing demand for customized and personalized products drives the print-on-demand (POD) industry to a new height. For more online sellers, print-on-demand has become one of the game-changing solutions in the competitive ecommerce world.

Print-on-demand allows you to sell customized products (such as t-shirts, posters, backpacks, and others) online with your designs and logo which are only produced once a customer orders in your store. It's a more flexible online business model to bypass putting out money upfront, buying in bulk, or holding inventory.

Want to win more profits for your print-on-demand business?  Leverage print-on-demand tools to pave a smoother and everlasting way for your online business. These tools will save you time to concentrate on business growth, create designs, and improve customer relationships. Whether you're just starting out or already making sales, dive into the article and find the tools to bring your store to the next level!

 

Introduction: The Rise of Print on Demand Business

 

Print on demand (POD) is a business model selling self-designed products ( such as apparel, accessories, home decor, and so on). You can design products with unique patterns or brand logos and sell them online, once an order is placed, the supplier prints the product according to the design and fulfills the order. This process eliminates the worries about inventory management and upfront costs.

The global print-on-demand market was valued at USD 6.3 billion in 2022. It is projected to reach USD 45.6 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 25.3% from 2023 to 2031.  Creative online retailers have opportunities to find a way out without a minimum order requirement, which is the big reason for POD's popularity. Hot categories like home decor have also been another driving force behind the expansion. 

Original designs help distinguish your online brand from others and stand out from the competition. Through this mode, you can construct a firmer brand basis and prolong the lifetime of your online business.

Of course, good design is not enough. Reliable partners as well as sound marketing are a must. Work with appropriate print on demand tools to make your business more competitive--get ready with good customer service and an excellent marketing strategy.

Print on demand has become an easy-to-start and profit-making pathway in the online business world. Not only does it allow you to make full use of your creativity, but it also allows you to tap into new markets for custom products.

 

Best Design Tools for POD

 

▶ Canva

 

Canva is a powerful graphic design software tool to create your designs, especially for beginners. With its massive design templates, you can make print-on-demand T-shirts, wall art, stickers, logos, mugs, etc. The process and built-in tools are easy to get into, and there are many free resources for you to pick up. You can also use its copyrighted images and illustrations by subscribing to the pro plan for $14.99/mo.

 

 

▶ Placeit

 

Placeit is another design tool to generate your product mockup. It is perfect for print-on-demand businesses with various product mockups, poster templates, and logo designs. You can check the effect of designs through product mockups. Start from $8.49/mo to create professional and eye-catching visuals with ease.

 

 

▶ Figma

 

Figma is an online design tool built for collaboration. Its intuitive interface and features were built for amateur designers to create easily. The fully responsive auto layout can save you more effort during work. You can also use free mockup plugins to get your project on the screen. You can start with a free plan for learning about the tool and upgrade the quality of your design with at least $12/mo.

 

 

▶ Affinity Designer

 

Affinity Designer is rising up as another option for those who flinch before expensive professional design software. It's more affordable and equally as versatile. Whether it be to create logos, delete backgrounds, or crop images, Affinity Designer can meet all your design needs. It offers a one-off payment for different platforms with no subscription.

 

 

Best POD Selling Platforms

 

▶ Etsy

 

Etsy is an ideal marketplace for print-on-demand products with a large group of potential customers. People chasing custom products always put Etsy on top of the consideration list. Since it has integrated with various print-on-demand suppliers, the order fulfillment process has become much more simplified. There are a few kinds of fees you can not avoid when selling on Etsy though such a professional platform can make your POD business smoother.

 

 

▶ RedBubble

 

RedBubble offers a stage to sell your high-quality printed-on-demand products to a global audience. It contains a range of popular categories and you can find fans for your creative works. RedBubble will fulfill the whole order process for you including printing, packaging, and shipping the product directly to the customer.

 

 

▶ Amazon

 

Amazon also provides a print-on-demand service called Merch on Demand. Individuals and businesses can create and sell custom products on Amazon. It will handle production, shipping, and customer service — all with no upfront costs. With the large consuming groups on Amazon, your designs can reach out more.

 

 

▶ Shopify

 

As a comprehensive e-commerce website builder, Shopify can help build personalized product pages. It leaves more flexibility and identities for your brand construction. For better operation, Shopify has integrated with top POD services and compiled everything into one dashboard. You can explore the tools and functions of Shopify with the 3-day trial.

 

 

Best POD Suppliers

 

▶ Printful

 

Printful is a popular choice among those running a print-on-demand store. Its easy-to-use design maker and mockup generators can make your design more effortless. And it integrates with numerous ecommerce platforms to allow you to upload the products to your online store directly. There are no monthly or upfront fees, you only pay for fulfillment and shipping once you receive an order.

 

 

▶ Printify

 

Printify is another common POD platform that allows you to create and sell custom-designed products. With its large print-on-demand catalog(over 850 products), you have more chances to print your ideas. It also seamlessly integrates with popular e-commerce platforms and provides efficient order fulfillment. While Printify is free, a premium subscription is available for a larger business scale.

 

 

▶ Gelato

 

Gelato is a powerful print-on-demand fulfillment platform that allocates production in 33 countries. It will send the order to the nearest production facility to ensure the products can be produced and shipped more efficiently. Gelato offers a larger variety of posters, canvas, and photo-related products than others. With a free plan, you can experience many features, including a basic analytics tool.

 

 

▶ SourcinBox

 

If you are looking for suppliers to help meet the diverse and personalized demands of customers, you may turn to a trustworthy sourcing agent. CustomizingBox, the print-on-demand partner of SourcinBox, allows you to customize products of diverse categories with personalized photos, names, or your brand logos and designs with no worry for MOQ.

 

 

If you are running a brand, SourcinBox's private label service can help you bring a branded product to market efficiently, effectively, and with a strong brand presence. From custom packaging, custom stickers & labels to marketing inserts, we can print with your brand name, logo, or designs on your products which can perfectly reflect your brand identity. Note that you shall confirm the MOQ with your dedicated customer manager before placing orders.

 

 

Best Marketing Tools

 

▶ MailChimp

 

Mailchimp is a versatile email marketing tool featuring a suite of powerful functions to help businesses effectively engage with audiences. Customize email templates with user-friendly email design tools and automation capabilities. It also offers detailed analytics, segmenting options, and A/B testing which allow you to optimize email marketing strategies. Start with the 1-month free trial to see if the results are worth it.

 

 

▶ Klaviyo

 

Klaviyo is an excellent email marketing tool specially designed for ecommerce businesses. With its robust features and integrations, Klaviyo enables you to create highly targeted and personalized email campaigns, automate customer communication, and thus drive revenue growth. The free tier perfectly meets all needs for beginners.

 

 

▶ Hootsuite

 

Hootsuite is a wonderful social media management tool that supports almost all popular social media platforms--Facebook, Instagram, X(Twitter), LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, and Pinterest. It allows you to schedule and publish content across all your social profiles, check real-time performance, follow trends, and detect competitors. Try a 30-day free trial to explore more functions.

 

 

▶ Buffer

 

Buffer is a tool aiming to simplify managing social media. With it, you can effectively schedule content, check feedback, and communicate with customers promptly. What's more, with the Buffer AI Assistant, you can create quality content faster. It's also an excellent collaborative tool that ensures the team's full communication and insights sharing. The free plan is ideal for those who want to schedule content to up to three channels.

 

 

Best Conversion Optimization Tools

 

▶ Google Analytics

 

For those running an online business, Google Analytics is a prevalent and strong analysis tool available at no cost. It's ideal for measuring store online performance and tracking conversions. With it, you can measure advertising ROI and track your Flash, video, and social media sites and applications. You can also find the traffic origin, and get content insights and custom reports.

 

 

▶ Unbounce

 

Want to increase the conversion of your landing page? Unbounce is a wonderful choice. With the AI-powered landing page creation and optimization platform, you can scale your marketing significantly. The app can also help create impressive copy written for you and transform your ideas into successful campaigns. You can explore Unbounce for free with their 14-day free trial.

 

 

▶ Crownpeak

 

Crownpeak is a leading platform enabling online sellers to improve brand presence, streamline workflows, and deliver personalized customer interactions. Crownpeak's built-in tools address content management and improvement, experience optimization and governance, web accessibility, and privacy UX. Good customer service can build up brand loyalty and trust, and then enhance engagement and revenue.

 

 

▶ Hotjar

 

As a powerful analytics and user feedback tool, Hotjar can help you understand and optimize the website's user experience. Through heatmaps, session recordings, and feedback polls, Hotjar visualizes how users interact with their digital properties and identifies areas of improvement. With these key features, you can make data-driven decisions to improve conversions and user satisfaction.

 

 

Build a Profitable Print on Demand Business with SourcinBox

 

Are you ready to create a profitable print-on-demand business? Choosing appropriate software tools can save effort and make you focus more on designing unique products which leads to better results! Leverage the power of print-on-demand tools to find solutions through various features and grow your online business. 

Remember, when choosing print-on-demand tools to run your business, it’s crucial to consider your budget, objective, technological preferences, and projected return on investment. We hope this list will help you find print-on-demand tools that fit your needs.