On-Demand Printing & Why It’s a Smart Business Model

Due to their minimal up-front investment costs, zero need for on-hand inventory, and little to no overhead costs, print-on-demand businesses are becoming increasingly popular.

Whether you’re a designer looking to sell your art, a musician looking to sell custom merch, an artist looking for new mediums on which you can share your masterpieces, or an aspiring e-commerce entrepreneur, print-on-demand (POD) businesses are appealing models. Not only are they relatively simple to launch but they are also easy to manage.

With POD, online entrepreneurs partner with POD drop-shipping businesses to design, sell, and ship custom items. From apparel and swag to custom stickers, posters, and gift wrap, the options for print-on-demand are virtually endless. While the business owners (online sellers and retailers) are responsible for providing the design for these items and listing them to a sales channel, POD partners provide a catalog of items from which to choose, many offer a mockup generator for custom designs. Once an order is placed on the e-commerce website, the POD partner handles manufacturing, order fulfillment, and drop-shipping direct to the customer.

POD is incredibly useful for businesses of all stages, ranging from those who are just learning how to launch an e-commerce business to those with existing online stores who are looking to test new ideas.

Here are some of the Pros and Cons of launching a POD business:

Pros

• Ease of launch – Once you pick a service and a design, you can start selling in minutes
• No inventory costs – Orders are fulfilled upon placement so there’s no need to carry inventory
• Avoid buying in bulk – Only pay for what gets sold, whether you sell a single unit of an item or thousands
• Instant access to a variety of products – Most POD platforms connect you with a wide range of products and brands to choose from
• Drop-shipping – Your POD partner handles the logistics for you

Cons

• Limited customization – While you can personalize your designs, you can’t necessarily select any material you’d like or manufacture products in non-standard sizes
• Quality control challenges – Vendors must be vetted and carefully monitored to ensure that product quality, shipping, and the overall buyer experience consistently meet expectations
• Lower margins – You may  pay higher per-unit costs in exchange for outsourced logistics and the ability to manufacture in small batches
• Technical challenges – E-commerce websites must be integrated with their printing partners’ systems, via an API or other portal

Ready to get started? 

StickersAndPosters.com is the perfect third-party printing partner for your on-demand print business as we offer no upfront costs, no order minimums, and no inventory!  With our on-demand printing model, you don’t pay a dime until your customer buys a sticker, poster, table runner, or roll of gift wrap.

Our cutting-edge technology seamlessly integrates with e-commerce platforms and websites, allowing end customers to order directly from your site. Once the order is placed, we take over with on-demand printing and white label drop-shipping. No minimum orders for your customers, no inventory for you, and no limits to creativity!