Print-on-Demand is one of the most popular eCommerce ideas, expanding at a CAGR of 12% from 2017-2020. An excellent way for you to step into the business world, Print-on-Demand (POD) is the least demanding and utterly rewarding business. You can set up your business smoothly and start selling in no time. Read on to find out how you can start your online POD store and sell cool-looking customizable products.
What is a Print-on-Demand Business?
It is a simplified process where you sell products without actually keeping an inventory. Even though you can manufacture products and maintain stock, what most sellers do is to collaborate with a supplier who specializes in customizing white-label products and showcase their artistic side and their business ability for generating maximum sales.
As your end customers will order products, your supplier will receive the details of the design and the quantity ordered. Once the design is printed, the supplier will pack, and ship your order to the end customer, which means, you will not be paying anything for a product until the time you have made a sale.
Advantages of Print-on-Demand Business
Easy to Start
You do not require a web designer to get your store ready. Thousands of free themes and designs are available online for you to choose from. Besides, all the leading web-hosting companies such as GoDaddy and BigRock provide free templates for starting an eCommerce store.
Low Setup Cost
As Opposed to starting a conventional business, Print-on-Demand does not require a hefty investment. What you really need is an eCommerce store and alluring product designs that your audience will feel compelled to buy.
Limited Risk
Since you will not be manufacturing and printing the products, there is a minimal investment from your end. Hence, there is more flexibility for you to experiment with your products and take considerable risks, without worrying about losing your money.
Time Availability
In contrast to managing everything from production to order fulfillment; your work will be limited to increasing sales and producing enticing designs. Hence, the excess availability of time will allow you to focus more on your core areas and develop unique designs and strategies for business promotions.
No Inventory Management
Since your supplier will handle the production and logistics side, you will not need to store an inventory. Instead, you will be able to devote your time to increase sales and keep up with the trends.
How to Start a Print-on-Demand Business in 2024?
Step 1: Find Your Niche
The first thing you need to do is to find your niche. Finding a niche implies identifying the audience you want to target and likewise, the products you will be customized for optimum sales.
In case you lack a bright idea, you can make a list and write all the things you have in mind. Be it selling designer mugs or creating good-looking t-shirts for school or college students; you can make a list of the products you want to sell.
You need to ensure that your products have a broad reach. If your prints only resonate with your primary audience, there is less chance of your business expanding in the future.
Select and design the products which fulfill the needs of your target audience but also have the potential to attract a secondary audience. You can stay active on social channels such as Facebook, or Reddit to keep up with the trends and recognize the need of your audience.
Step 2: Get Your Store Ready
Upon deciding your audience and the products, you can start designing them as per the trends. In case you are not a skilled designer, you can use copyright-free designs, to begin with. Or you can share the specifications with a professional designer and get the product designing done.
Once you are done with the designs, you will need an eCommerce store to put the product catalog online. Click here to read our detailed beginner’s guide on creating an eCommerce website from scratch.
Step 3: Find a Reliable Supplier
After getting your store up and running, you will need to team up with a Print-on-Demand supplier to get your designs printed and your products shipped!
While there are plenty of such suppliers who work directly with eCommerce platform providers Shopify, BigCommerce, etc., you can click here to go through our impressive cheat sheet to find the ideal suppliers for your business to provide your customers with an effortless order experience.
Step 4: Promote Your Store
The final step in getting your business on the wheel is promotion. Since your target audience is active online, you need to promote your business for attaining visibility. You can click here to get essential tips for devising the right eCommerce marketing strategy.
Nevertheless, there are some indispensable steps you must take to promote your store online:
Be Active on Social Channels
The best way to find and engage your target audience is to be active on all the major social channels. People on Facebook and Instagram are perpetually looking for white-label products. 1 out of 5 buyers is ready to shell out up to 20% extra for personalised products. You need to have your business accounts on all primary channels to grow visibility and devote your time and efforts to promoting your business at the right place.
Do SEO Optimization
Consumers’ search interest in the term print-on-demand took off dramatically at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic. In 2024, it stayed considerably above the pre-pandemic level and has been rapidly growing since December 2021. A progressive push in this search interest rate since 3 years post-pandemic indicates that print-on-demand is still quite popular and relevant preceding the initial surge of interest.
SEO remains a robust tool to acquire customers via good-page rankings. You must adhere to the best SEO Practices (keyword research, on-page SEO, off-page SEO, etc.) for optimizing your eCommerce store and gain desired traffic.
Hire Influencers
An ultra-modish job for social media junkies, you can reach out to influencers to get strong word-of-mouth for your store and endorse your products. Influencers have a considerable following which can help your business get instant recognition.
Join Forum Groups
Though part of SEO, groups and discussion forums have their separate importance, you can join business-related groups on popular sites such as Quora or Reddit to interact with your target audience and cleverly advertise your products.
Use Customer Reviews
While it will take time to get authentic reviews and reactions from your customers, it is a great way to solidify your business reputation. Genuinely positive feedback from your customers will increase your business reliability and enable customers to buy more from your store.
10 Popular Print-on-Demand Websites in India in 2024
The Web-to-print business model, also called online printing, has been gaining traction over the last few years. This model involves selling printed products digitally via an online platform.
This industry has exponentially grown since the prevalence of digital and eCommerce payment solutions. The market size of the global web-to-print software market was $1.187 billion. It’s currently witnessing a growth rate of 7.4%, estimated to reach a $1.968 billion value in 2028.
We’re listing a few known online platforms to help you meet your print-on-demand requirements. Businesses can now sell customised products online easily and cost-effectively, thanks to these competent print-on-demand sites in India:
1. Quikink
Quikink is the largest print-on-demand website in India, offering a bundle of services, including drop shipping. The online platform is free to use and has integrations with Shopify and Woocommerce stores. Its services also allow you to sell on Amazon print on demand.
This platform can fulfill your diverse eCommerce needs with a vast product range and more than 10 printing technologies. Get anything done with Quikink, from fabric sourcing and stitching to printing and shipping.
You can use their inbuilt mockup generator to create product mockups. Quikink offers premium quality work, has a quick fulfillment time, and has no minimum order quantities. Plus they offer free brand stickers, and dedicated WhatsApp and call support.
2. Printrove
Printrove, a print-on-demand company located in Chennai, India, is the brainchild of two school friends. The platform uses DTG and 3D sublimation technology to lure designers to their marketplace. There are many services on their platter, including white label, print-on-demand, and dropshipping. You get to choose from over 250 products to sell, including women’s, kids’, and men’s clothing, accessories, and home living.
You need not worry about sticking and piling as Printrove prints on-demand for you as and when your customer orders. They provide fast fulfillment within 3-4 days and even offer 24-hour inventory products dispatch service. You can also leverage their no minimum order and easy replacement perks. Their pricing ranges between Rs. 170 and Rs. 195 for a round neck t-shirt, plus printing and shipping. Moreover, the website also has integrations with platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce.
3. Owlprints
Owlprints is a comparatively new print-on-demand website, but have substantial custom product printing and handling origins. The website has a well-designed dashboard, popular products like oversized T-shirts, and Shopify integration. You can avail of dropshipping and bulk printing services along with print-on-demand.
Their pricing starts at Rs. 175 for a round t-shirt, plus printing and shipping. Their platform is free to use with no sign-up fee included. They ship globally and guarantee a 48-hour fulfillment period for orders. You can also brush off the burden of managing operations with their merchant panel. Owlprints also boasts a meagre 0.5% return rate.
4. Printwear
Based in Tamil Nadu, Printwear provides print-on-demand and dropshipping services. The company specialises in creating custom-printed T-shirts and relentlessly serves businesses across India.
They have in-house manufacturing and are the first Indian direct manufacturer to provide print-on-demand and dropshipping services. Printwear is also the first Indian company to offer a custom or white label option with zero upfront fees.
- Pricing: Rs.175 + printing and shipping for a round neck t-shirt
- Fulfillment Time: 2 days
- Integrations: Shopify and Woocommerce
5. Print Ship
Businesses can begin their online print-on-demand journey by signing up for free with Print Ship. They request payment as a user receives an order. They have a wide range of customisable inventory, from personalised button badges, coasters, and mobile holders to coffee mugs and more.
Print ship also works with NRIs and offers integrations with several platforms like Woocommerce, Shopify, Magneto, and Bigcommerce.
6. E-Print Care
E-Print Care is a popular Pune-based Indian print-on-demand website that sells t-shirts. The firm boasts of working with 550+ businesses. They use the advanced SC-F3000 DTG (direct-to-garment) printer to make excellent customised garments and achieve a high colour fidelity.
E-Print Care ships globally and directly delivers orders to the customer’s doorstep, which eliminates the need for hoarding.
- Pricing: Round neck t-shirt – Rs.180 + Printing and Shipping
- Fulfillment Time: 2 days
- Integrations: Woocommerce and Shopify
7. Gelato India
Gelato is a well-known global print-on-demand website that prints designs and ships them to over 200 countries. They have local printing facilities in 32 countries, including India, Europe, the United States, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Singapore, Australia, China, Japan, and South Korea.
The company ships globally and also handles customs, international invoicing, tax and VAT issues for businesses. They hold a large number of integrations with many renowned platforms, including Woocommerce, Shopify, Magneto, Bigcommerce, Wix, Squarespace, and Etsy. Gelato also has an elaborate and diverse selection of print-on-demand goods to choose from and stands proud with 10 million orders fulfilled successfully with over 12 years of experience.
- Pricing: Round neck t-shirt – Rs. 800
- Fulfillment Time: 5-7 days
8. Vendorboat
Vendorboat, founded in 2019, has the largest print-on-demand and dropshipping products range in entire Asia. This company zeroes in on eco-friendly products while simultaneously offering other advantages to the industry.
You can sign-up cost free on their platform, and leverage their products, services, and global shipping with no minimum order compulsion.
- Pricing: T-shirt (Round neck) – Rs. 185 + printing and shipping
- Fulfillment Time: 2 – 3 days
- Integrations: LMDOT, Shopify, Amazon, Woocommerce
9. BlinkStore
Blinkstore is a widely known print-on-demand website offering many benefits to its users. Installation and administration of shops is a cakewalk on this platform. They have a centralised platform that conjoins website management, printing, and shipping.
Moreover, they serve the advantage of an easy launch of print-on-demand venture through their thoughtfully designed app, which is available on Google Play store. Also, you can save Rs. 5000/month by utilising BlinkStore’s inbuilt storefront (eCommerce store builder).
10. Printful
Launched in 2013, Printful, a popular print-on-demand site choice among many, provides a wide assortment of customisable products to get you started. You get everything on this easy-to-use online portal, from mockup generators to logo creation. Name a product, and you can sell that on this platform. Printful offers businesses the option to ship globally.
Hop on to this wagon to leverage the huge list of integrations Printful has, including big names like Shopify, Woocommerce, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Squarespace, Adobe, Wix, Weebly, Websflow, Bigcommerce Prestashop Square, Tik-tok shop, Big cartel, Shipstation, Storenvy, Gumroad, Launch Cart, and Custom API.
Conclusion
Print-on-Demand (POD) is a great way to do business with minimal monetary requirements and relatively limited risk. You will not need to handle the inventory, nor manage the logistics front. Follow the process as described above, and you will be selling online in no time.
Yes. You can ship your business’s orders with Shiprocket. They must be packaged and labeled correctly.
You get multiple courier partners, wider pin code coverage, and lower shipping rates. Furthermore, you get an advanced shipping platform that can help you manage and process shipments faster.
You can start showcasing your services on social media for starters and further on create a website on channels like Shopify, Woocommerce, etc.
