In today’s current scene, print-on-demand services are some of the essential tools any creative entrepreneur can use. If you want to sell shirts, decorations, blankets, and other items online but don’t want to create and store them yourself, print-on-demand companies can help.
Print-on-demand solutions are one of the many sub-sections of the dropshipping business model that allow today’s business leaders to collaborate with other businesses to aid them with things like printing and manufacturing products and shipping them to clients. You don’t have to source materials or handle the sewing or printing yourself if you use a POD service.
Many organizations who use POD vendors find that selling a wide range of products to customers worldwide is quite simple and requires very little initial expenditure. Finding the proper partner is crucial to success with print-on-demand techniques, as with most dropshipping initiatives.
We’ll be looking at two POD options today: Printful and Spreadshirt. These valuable tools are great for getting your designs out there, but they each have advantages and disadvantages.
An Introduction to Printful and Spreadshirt
Printful and Spreadshirt are both Print on Demand services, as previously stated. This is an online order fulfillment method in which you collaborate with a vendor to create unique prints for your consumers. When a customer places an order on your website, your supplier responds by designing the goods and shipping them to the customer.
Print on Demand strategies helps your company save money on items like initial equipment and stock investments. They’re also an excellent method to make the fulfillment process go faster.
Here’s how it works with Printful and Spreadshirt.
How Printful Works
Printful is one of the more well-known fulfillment firms today, with a wide variety of products to pick from. Printful has production plants in Europe,
Mexico, the United States, and the company pledges always to fulfill orders promptly.
You can add your designs to hundreds of products on Printful, ranging from t-shirts and tank tops to hoodies and canvas prints. You may sell everything from clothing and homeware to accessories by sorting through various categories. On the Printful website, you can also use a mockup generator to see how your things will look before they are printed.
Printful’s extensive product catalog is part of what is appealing, which you can use to stock your dropshipping store. You also assure that Printful’s team will print, package, and ship your order to the customer. This service and the shipping charges are the responsibility of the dropshipper (that’s you).
Printful, in essence, streamlines the entire process of establishing a creative business, from the minute you start designing your items to the moment you’re ready to start shipping them out to your customers.
How Spreadshirt Works
Spreadshirt is very similar to Printful in terms of design. Spreadshirt was created to make it easier for businesses of all sizes to develop and sell their clothing. You can choose from a wide range of designs and products to sell. Create an account with Spreadshirt, then navigate to your account’s “designs” tab to begin producing goods.
You can import your designs and then tweak them to suit your needs, adding numerous extra features as needed. You could, for example, attach tags to your apparel that instruct your consumers on how to care for their purchases.
Spreadshirt’s service for creating apparel and other goods is free to use, but you must pay for the company’s delivery services to get your items to your clients. When a buyer purchases a product you’ve listed on your store, the Spreadshirt crew sets to work creating it and shipping it to your customer.
Spreadshirt, like Printful, handles the fulfillment process while you focus on establishing and marketing your business with your designs. You’ll pay for creating the item, the cost of packaging and picking it up, and sending it to your target customer once it’s ready to ship. The shipping cost is determined by several factors, including the goods and the distance travelled.
Spreadshirt offers white label stores as a regular feature, so you don’t have to worry about establishing a brand in a crowded marketplace. You can also list your item on the marketplace, where Spreadshirt can assist you with things like locating customers, but the commission you receive will be different.
You have the option of selling in both your store and the marketplace. Your revenue and profit will be determined by how much you spend on things and charge when you open your own business. The second option (marketplace) means you’ll receive 20% of Spreadshirt’s revenue from your products, but you won’t have to perform any marketing.
Printful Pros and Cons
Each print-on-demand tool has its own set of advantages and disadvantages to consider. When deciding between Spreadshirt and Printful, consider everything from how much access you’ll have to national fulfillment centers to whether your tools interact with the correct ecommerce platforms, like BigCommerce and Shopify.
Not every print-on-demand company can provide social media platform integrations or ship products to Latvia as readily as possible to the United States. There’s also the product catalog to think about and what you want to sell in your business. Here are some Printful advantages and disadvantages to help you make your decision.
Pros of Printful
- There is a large variety of unusual things to pick from.
- Included was an automated order fulfillment solution.
- It’s compatible with several popular shopping carts and eCommerce platforms.
- In most circumstances, turnaround and shipment timeframes are acceptable.
- A centralized range of fulfillment locations has been established to meet various needs.
- Product quality is excellent, and there are a variety of printing possibilities available.
- Large consumer base in the United States and Europe
- There are a variety of reasonable customer service solutions accessible, including self-service.
Cons of Printful
- For some businesses, it may be a touch too expensive.
- It may not be easy to ship goods to some places worldwide.
- There are certain customizing limitations.
Spreadshirt Pros and Cons
Spreadshirt has a similar set of advantages and disadvantages to consider. With services like Spreadshop, it takes a slightly different strategy than other print-on-demand firms, but the goal is still to provide outstanding client experiences and make order fulfillment simple.
Pros of Spreadshirt
- SpreadShop allows you to create your own retail experience.
- Choose from a variety of product categories.
- Printing possibilities are extensive – far more than most companies.
- It has a marketplace where customers can be found.
- A mobile app is provided to track sales data.
- Sales statistics and reporting data are available to you.
- Functionality that is entirely free to utilize
- A large number of customer service channels are available.
Cons of Spreadshirt
- There isn’t the most comprehensive range of tools available.
- When compared to other POD tools, there aren’t as many integrations.
- There is no support for a white-label or a professional service.
- Color selections are limited.
Printful vs. Spreadshirt: Pricing
Although there is more to choosing the right software for your company than price, it will influence your decision. The more money you spend on your print-on-demand service, the less money you’ll have leftover to market your Shopify store or promote your brand. Plus, as anyone on Etsy will tell you, paying for extra services eats into your revenues when you’re running a creative business.
The good news is that Printful and Spreadshirt are both quite upfront with their pricing. Both organizations explain what you can anticipate paying, so you don’t have to worry about hidden expenses.
You should know that neither Printful nor Spreadshirt charges its consumers any subscription or membership fees. However, this does not imply that you can operate your company for free. Several variables will determine the amount you spend.
For example, Printful’s pricing structure will prompt you to select first the product you wish to sell. You’ll pay the garment’s base cost, which varies based on the sort of product you’re selling. The more features you include in the product, such as outside labels and additional prints, you’ll have to spend money. A basic inner label, for example, will set you back $2.49.
While using Printful’s mockup generator to create your items, you should be able to obtain an idea of how much the product will cost to produce. Once you’ve determined the item’s pricing, you’ll need to factor in the cost of shipping it to your target client. You can pass along part of the shipping costs to your customers, but you’ll need to consider your pricing carefully.
Printful’s profit calculator makes it easier to figure out a reasonable profit margin for your products. Though there are no restrictions on the price of your products, Printful recommends that you make at least a 30% profit. Remember that extras like stickers and labels to go with your goods will cost more.
Although there are some variances, Spreadshirt’s price structure is pretty similar to Printful’s. You don’t have to pay a membership fee if you’re selling a conventional product through your online stores, such as TeeSpring or Printify.
The base product price, printing expenses, design charges, and shipping costs will all be factored into the total cost of each item. You won’t have to pay a design charge if you add your text and graphics. You pay for a standard “area” of printing on your merchandise and delivery to get your item to its final destination.
You can find designs from other companies and artists to utilize for a fee in the Create Tool, where you can manufacture your items. Most of them will have a set price that you pay directly to the designer.
Integrations
Printful and Spreadshirt have several features that will make your life as a new entrepreneur easier. You can use mockup creators to see how your ideas will look and add images to your website. Several calculators are available for estimating things like profit and delivery costs.
However, there’s a strong possibility you’ll want to use additional features. Printful and Spreadshirt both support integrations because of this. These platforms have APIs built-in, allowing you to link them to third-party store builders like Squarespace, Big Cartel, Ecwid, Magento, Prestashop, and others.
Spreadshirt integrates with Joomla, WordPress, and even Drupal as simply as possible. Suppose you go the Spreadshop method, which involves creating your store and marketing it online. If you don’t want to deal with the headache of setting up your store, you may use the Spreadshirt marketplace instead.
You upload your designs to the marketplace, and Spreadshirt promotes them to a large audience of potential consumers on your behalf. This is a fantastic method to get started selling right away without investing a lot of money in a website. It’s worth mentioning, however, that not all designs will be accepted, and your earning opportunities are limited because you only get a 20% fee.
Shipping and Fulfilment Costs
Print-on-demand firms have made printing your apparel, hoodies, and other creative products more accessible. The majority of the tools, such as Printful and Spreadshirt, will not charge you anything to join and start developing your designs. However, there are additional charges to consider, just as there are selling things on eBay and Etsy.
Aside from the price of setting up and running your online business and any transaction fees charged by organizations like PayPal, you’ll also have to factor in shipping and fulfillment charges.
Printful and Spreadshirt both do their best to provide affordable delivery in various parts of the United States and worldwide. Apparel products are estimated to take between 2 and 7 business days to make, whereas non-apparel products require a bit less time.
How long your consumers will have to wait for an item and how much you’ll spend varies entirely on the transaction. Because Printful has fulfillment locations worldwide, the company estimates that shipping will take about four days on average. Printful also collaborates with some of the world’s most dependable shipping companies, including FedEx, DPD, DHL, and USPS.
Shipping to the United States starts at $3.99, with an additional product costing $12.5. The following items are included in the international costs:
- Europe: $4.39 plus $1.09 for additional products
- $6.49 in Canada, plus $1.25 for extra items
- New Zealand/Australia: $6.99 plus $1.25 for additional items
- $5.99 worldwide, plus $1.25 for additional items
Printful does not presently provide many express shipping options if you need to get your items to customers fewer than five business days. On the Printful website, you may enter the state or country you wish to send to get an estimate of how long shipping will take and how much it will cost.
When it comes to shipping charges, Spreadshirt takes a somewhat different strategy. Standard, Premium, and Express shipping are the three types of available shipping. The cost will vary depending on the delivery method you choose, the destination, and the value of delivering the goods. In the UK, for example, if the value of the goods is between £0.01 and £10.00, the primary shipping price is £2.99.
Customers will receive their products within 8-14 business days if you use standard shipping. Upgrade to Premium shipping starts at £8.99, and delivery takes 7-10 days, while Express shipping takes 5-7 days. Express shipping can be somewhat costly, starting at roughly £31.99 in the United Kingdom.
Customs fees and the various charges of packaging and shipping your product may apply depending on where you’re shipping to. The good news is that premium and rapid delivery comes with a tracking option, making it easier to keep track of expensive items.
Customer Support
Excellent customer service is always a must-have, whether you’re selling on Amazon, eBay, or your high-quality website. When establishing a POD business, you must ensure access to counsel and assistance if something goes wrong. When your ecommerce platforms fail, you lose the ability to sell to customers, jeopardize your brand’s reputation, and more.
Both Printful and Spreadshirt have reasonably robust customer care systems. Printful has a self-help section with articles, video lessons, and FAQs that you may use to help yourself. If you require additional assistance, you can contact Printful using their contact form or email address, or you can utilize their instant chat facility.
Printful is also active on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for individuals with a social media background, where you may interact with other members of the community for additional help.
Spreadshirt follows a similar customer service method, beginning with a FAQ page and a wealth of information for resolving your issues. You can also use customized calculators to estimate printing and delivery expenses.
An email address and a phone number are provided if you need to contact the actual Spreadshirt staff. There is no option for instant chat right now, and the company responds to requests in 3 to 5 days.
Printful vs. Spreadshirt: Features and Functionality
Printful and Spreadshirt both include several comparable capabilities for businesses interested in the print-on-demand market, while the structure of each solution differs slightly. Printful makes selling things online quick and straightforward, with products available to send to clients in as little as 2 to 5 days.
Direct-to-garment printing, sublimation printing, embroidery, and cut-and-sew functionality are all available with Printful. There are also many options for customizing your designs to match your brand and make your company stand out.
One of the most attractive features of Printful is that it includes a handy mockup generator that allows you to see how your designs will appear. You can effortlessly alter your designs with our mockup tool, and you can even offer things that aren’t related to apparel. The following are some of the features:
- There are numerous product alternatives to pick from.
- Options for global fulfillment
- Mockup maker that is simple to use
- Fulfillment and warehousing
- Services in the field of creativity
- Services for store setup
- The photography of a brand includes
- Mockup maker for customizing designs
- Shipping and garment rates are excellent.
- Easy and quick fulfillment
- The interface is simple to use
Spreadshirt is also dedicated to assisting businesses in selling print-on-demand products online. Spreadshirt charges a fixed printing pricing independent of your design or product, and you can get up to a 50% discount on bulk orders. To begin utilizing Spreadshirt, you don’t even need to have your designs ready. T-shirt designs that are already on the site can be used.
Spreadshirt, like Printful, includes a mockup generating tool so you can make sure your designs look excellent no matter what products you sell. You may make up to 100 different products, and you can also check out “Spreadshop.”
Spreadshop is a free online platform that allows creators to monetize their followings by selling products to their fans and followers. With Spreadshop, you don’t have to worry about payments or fulfillment procedures because the firm takes care of everything. Spreadshop, on the other hand, has a cap on how much you can earn.
Spreadshop is advantageous since it provides easy-to-use statistics software that allows you to track the results of your sales methods. This makes it much easier to keep track of sales while on the go, and it helps you increase your prospective profit margins and prices. Spreadshirt offers a variety of features, including:
- Spreadshop allows for simple selling.
- Fee-free, risk-free selling
- Customization possibilities for the design
- There are a plethora of things to pick from.
- Design inspiration and creative services
- The interface is simple to use
- Bulk purchases qualify for discounts.
- Printing costs are fixed.
- There are no order minimums.
Product Design and Quality
You must ensure that you invest in top-quality items for your customers, regardless of the print-on-demand firm you partner with. Your customers want to know that you can deliver high-quality prints, whether it’s for phone cases or hoodies.
Some organizations, such as Redbubble and other print-on-demand tools, have had a shaky reputation for printing quality. Printful and Spreadshirt, on the other hand, don’t appear to be having too much trouble with this. Although it’s difficult to say which has the best print quality, both have advantages.
Printful has received recognition for its high-quality printing and branding services. There are a variety of product designs to pick from, including DTG and long-lasting embroidery.
Spreadshirt adds to its user-friendliness by offering dozens of methods to personalize shirts, leggings, and other items. Printing options include screen, flock, flex, glitter, metallic, and glow-in-the-dark. Embroidery and sublimation are available, and all digital printing choices provide excellent results and replicas.
Accessories such as mugs and phone cases can also be printed using thermo sublimation.
With Printful and Spreadshirt, you should get decent results in either case.
Print on Demand Companies Better than Spreadshirt and Printful
Printful and Spreadshirt are two of the most popular print-on-demand platforms. They aren’t, however, your sole options. Several reasonable solutions give you complete control over your online sales and allow you to take a range of payment ways.
Spreadshirt vs Print Aura vs Printful
For example, Print Aura is a primary alternative for newcomers who want the ease of use and quick shipment. If you’re looking for enormous size as a growing firm, the Print Aura service is a little constrained. If you’re looking for a simple way to market your print designs, Print Aura might be better than Spreadshirt or Printful.
If you’re looking for ways to expand your creative business, Printful and Spreadshirt provide you with more capabilities to play with. Printful is a beautiful choice if you want to export products worldwide, whereas Spreadshirt, owing to Spreadshop, gives you more choices for attracting audience attention.
Printify vs Printful vs Spreadshirt
Printify is a similar solution to Printful, and it’s almost as famous. You can get an extensive range of product selections, fantastic delivery reductions, and great rates for your designs with Printify. You also can make different design adjustments to guarantee that your business stands out online.
Printify handles the entire fulfillment process for you, and you get to choose your supplier, so you don’t have to worry about disappointing your customers. You can search for the best firms to deal with.
Teelaunch vs Printful vs Spreadshirt
Teelaunch is another excellent option for anyone looking for a Printful or Spreadshirt alternative. Teelaunch is a Shopify-specific tool that doesn’t have as many integration options as Printful and Spreadshirt. You can start designing bespoke products in seconds after downloading the Shopify app.
When someone buys something from your store, Teelaunch automatically places a fulfillment order, and you can track items in your orders dashboard, with real-time updates on shipping status. However, because you can only use Shopify, the type of online presence you can create is limited.
The Verdict
When it comes to selecting the ideal print-on-demand solution, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. There are numerous tools available to assist you in achieving your company objectives, and only you can determine which one will best assist you in achieving your objectives. On the other hand, comparing your options will help you ensure that you’re making the best pick for your company.
Printful is an ideal choice for businesses looking for an easy-to-use print-on-demand solution. You can opt for extras like creative services and eCommerce tools. Additionally, Printful offers many personalization possibilities to help your business stand out. You can work with Printful’s in-house photographers, designers, and other fulfillment experts to make your business more effective.
On the other hand, Spreadshirt provides a simple entry point into online selling for businesses of all kinds, particularly if you want to sell to an established customer base. There are many products customization options to pick from, but there aren’t any unique service options or white label functions as there are with Printful. Thus, Spreadshirt isn’t as scalable as Printful.
Remember that you may test the functionality of both apps for free and even send yourself a mockup of your design before deciding which service to use. Before you choose Spreadshirt or Printful as your print-on-demand provider, it’s good to research your options thoroughly.
