Let’s say you’re someone who wants to start a printing business.

Whether you’re an artist, graphic designer, or just someone who has a couple of awesome designs that you mean to make a profit from, getting the capital you need for it may be a challenge.

Luckily,

Many companies like Printful offer drop shipping services that allow you to print these designs on specific mediums and turn your ideas into assets so you can start an online store that makes money.

The point of this Printful Review is to show you what it can do and how you can benefit from it.

Printful Review

What is Printful?

Printful is an online service that can connect to many e-commerce sites. It allows you to create t-shirts, hats, hoodies, phone cases, mugs, tote bags, and other accessories with your designs, all while never having to store inventory.

This means you don’t have to hoard boxes and boxes of your work, waiting silently in front of the computer for someone to make a purchase.

An added benefit to services like this is that you don’t need to lift a finger when orders come in.

In this Printful Review, you’ll learn about how the team behind these amazing products handles shipping on your behalf.

4.9
Top choice
  • Ease Of Use
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  • Pricing
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  • Shipping costs
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  • Overall features
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Starting at FREE/month
Try for free
Pros Like Icon
  • Offers on-demand printing
  • Creative services offered
  • Global shipping offered
Cons Like Icon
  • Limited product variety
  • Higher shipping fees compared to other providers
  • Shipping delivery takes longer than usual
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So, how does Printful work?

You’re probably interested in how this business works, or if you have any prior knowledge of POD services, you may be interested in a fresher course. So, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of Printful.

Like all print-on-demand businesses, you don’t have to order a certain quantity of your chosen item(s) at once.

As soon as someone makes an order, the details are sent directly to Printful, who then starts printing the approved design on the set medium. This is great for people who don’t want to get stuck with tons of product units that might never sell.

Another positive side of POD platforms like Printful is that you can track which items are popular at the moment and plan future designs based on the most sold style on your website.

Keep in mind that Printful and similar companies charge more per item than someone who deals in bulk. However, while they do charge extra, you will never have to pay for it directly.

The service fee and postage are taken out of the full price of the order. This means that whatever amount you get after their fees is pure profit.

On your part, you just have to create a design, read up on Printful’s guidelines to ensure the best quality, and upload it to their app or website.

After that, Printful opens up numerous possibilities for your clothing or accessory designs via their interactive visual software.

As I have mentioned, production and logistics start only after the payment has been made, so a good tip is to order a sample of your own design to check the quality and make the necessary improvements.

Sign up Printful for Free

Sign up Printful for free and create & sell own custom design products with print-on-demand dropshipping online.

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Printful Products – What does it really offer you?

Basically, Printful offers you the freedom of uninhibited creation. They are very responsive as a team and take great care of their customers.

They will strictly follow your design guidelines and ship the purchased items in a matter of days. They also offer much-needed scalability of your business. POD companies like this manufacture, ship, and track orders for you.

Printful, unlike many of its direct competitors, can be integrated with several e-commerce stores so that you can easily start an online store that makes money. All you have to do is download the app and link your Printful account to your respective online store.

Any designs you complete will appear on the online store of your choice. Printful integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, Weebly, Storenvy, Tictail, Gumroad, Ecwid, Shipstation, Amazon, Bigcartel, and Inktale.

There is no need to worry if your store is unsupported because you can still use their service. You’ll just need to create the listings manually, which is very easy to do.

Printful has been created with you in mind. It doesn’t expect you to spend literally hours (or even days) learning its software so you can start selling.

Its slick and modern look, built with great UX principles, offers you a clean working environment for the creation and easy selling. 

It is as simple as creating and uploading a design, and waiting for someone to buy it. Hold on a minute, it’s exactly that!

Printful Shipping – How are shipping rates calculated, and who pays them?

As stated above, you will never need to pay shipping rates. They are automatically calculated and added to the final price the customer pays. Products are shipped three days after a purchase has been made.

Shipping rates are calculated based on your chosen method, specifically flat or live rates. Flat rates for most products are set from $5-$7 in the US versus 4-6 euros in Europe, with a shipping time of 3 to 6 business days.

That being said, if the product is low in stock or is of an unorthodox shape, prices will be higher, even up to $30.

What’s great is that if your customer orders more than one item, the shipping rates will be significantly lower for the next item, even only by $0.90.

I do have to note that flat rates are the maximum shipping rate would be. If the shipping costs more than the flat rate, then it’s not your problem – it’s Printful’s, and they will pay out of their pocket.

If, by chance, the shipping price is lower, you will pay less for shipping.

Here’s another side note that might pique your interest. As Printful has fulfillment centers in the US and Europe, there will not be any import taxes calculated for your customer base.

Printful Mockup – See your product before anyone else

Printful Mockup is part of the Printful service, which encompasses integrated visual software and the ability to create mockups for your store. In other words, you won’t need to do the work twice.

Here, you can create print files and mockups for your store in one go. Their online mockup generator, as I said, is built-in with their design maker.

Once you’re satisfied with your artwork, you can download the products, use them in your store or just save them for later.

Printful Review (April 2023): Is It Really The Best Print On Demand Service In 2023? 1

Should you get a sample before you start selling?

This is a definite and resounding yes from me. It is also a good practice for any business that doesn’t have in-house manufacturing.

I’ve mentioned it previously and can’t state it enough. Always order a sample.

Why, you ask?

It will help you get a better understanding of the quality of the product and your design. It also helps to see if something can be improved or if Printful hasn’t understood some of your instructions.

You can always contact the team behind Printful, voice your concerns and be sure that they will go above and beyond to address them and provide value to you and your customers.

Will ordering a sample cost you? Well, yeah, but not as much as you think. You do get a 20% discount on the price, along with free shipping to some locations.

This all depends on where you are located. Samples sent from California and North Carolina are shipped free to all states and territories of the USA and Canada.

Now, bear in mind, that while you do get two products per sample order, you will be limited to one sample order per month. But fear not.

You just have to grow your business a little bit, integrate with an e-commerce store and achieve $300 in revenue. Once you do that, Printful will happily send you more sample orders.

Printful Review (April 2023): Is It Really The Best Print On Demand Service In 2023? 2
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Printful Shopify – How to start a POD integrated business?

As I told you before, Printful works in combination with your e-commerce site or, to put it mildly, your store. One of the best e-stores out there is undoubtedly Shopify.

Integrating Printful with Shopify is pretty straightforward. Just go to Printful’s website and create an account if you haven’t already.

Once you’ve logged in to your Shopify account, head on over to the “Apps” menu and click “Visit the Shopify App Store.”

Find the Printful app under “Orders and shipping” and install it. Once the installation is complete ( which is lightning fast), you will be asked to log in to both your Printful and Shopify accounts.

The last step is adding your products, and that’s it. Printful and Shopify are integrated!

Follow this Step by Step Guide to Start a Shopify Print on Demand Busines

Printful Squarespace – Yet another amazing integration

Squarespace integration is somewhat similar to that of Shopify. It just goes about it in an inverted way. You will first need to login to your Printful account, go to “Stores,” and then click on “Choose platform.” Select Squarespace and click “Connect.”

You will be prompted to log in to your Squarespace account. Do it and click “Return to Printful.”

Gooten vs. Printful – A competitor comparison

Now that I have exhausted you with my ramblings on Printful’s service, let’s compare it to some of its competitors.

First up is Gooten. Gooten is another POD service that functions pretty much the same way as Printful. It’s even the cheaper of the two. So, why is Printful better?

Well, simply put, cheaper isn’t always better. While Gooten is the more affordable alternative, it doesn’t support a large product base and doesn’t have the range of customization options that Printful has.

Moreover, Gooten isn’t integrated with Amazon, eBay, BigCommerce, and many other e-commerce stores, which is another major flaw.

Teespring vs. Printful – Does Printful stand out?

Moving on from Gooten to Teespring, I will say this, it’s a very close call on these two.

While both services offer integration with pretty much the same e-commerce sites, the Teespring Shopify app falls short. It’s not a full integration with automatic fulfillment and live shipping.

But what Teespring lacks in Shopify, it more than makes up in YouTube. Their integration allows you to place top design under each of your videos and give your subscribers the ability to buy after watching your content.

On the pricing topic, I can positively say that they are pretty much the same, with both services being marginally cheaper than the other depending on the product.

Even their fulfillment times are the same (1-3 days from time of order).

Printful Covid – What is happening with “pandemic orders”?

While browsing the web, you may notice that there are several negative reviews about Printfuls services lately.

Like many businesses, it took a major hit because of the CoVid-19 pandemic, predominantly in prolonged shipping times due to air traffic restrictions and fewer flights.

But, as of this article’s writing, Printful surpassed the problem and ensured all customers that their printing and fulfillment teams are working hard. Orders have resumed as before, and their 24/7 chat availability is back on as well.

Printful returns – Is it really that easy?

Let’s say the worst happens, and the mail carrier in the specified customer region loses their package in transit.

Of course, they will complain to you. But all you need to do on your part is reassure them that you will take care of it and contact the Printful team at any time.

They will be more than happy to help, and all errors on their part will be fully covered at their expense. You do need to inform Printful within 4 weeks after the estimated delivery date.

But what about damaged goods or misprinted items, you ask? Well, just submit the claim in the appropriate time frame of 4 weeks after the product has been received, and you’ll be just fine.

As with any business, claims that are at no fault of Printful will not be reimbursed.

Printful pricing – Lower than you expect!

Let me reassure you, Printful is free to start with. Only once the order is made will they charge manufacturing and shipping fees. Again, that charge comes out of the customer’s pocket.

The fact of the matter is that it really is lower than you expect; it’s zero.

Now if you’re asking about how to price your products and set your margins according to the pre-printed item cost of Printful and shipping, I can just point you in the right direction, which is to do thorough online research.

That being said, Printful lists a starting retail price for every printable product in their inventory.

Most t-shirts for example fall in the range from around $10 to $15. Just set your margins a little bit higher and you’re ready to go. A healthy tip is to always research how much your customers are willing to pay.

Printful Pricing & Features
Print-on-demand
Dropshipping services
Warehousing
Printful Pricing & Features
Clothing
$7.95/product
Printful Pricing & Features
Accessories
$10.95/product
Printful Pricing & Features
Home & Living
$2.17/product
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Is Printful worth it?

Coming to the end of the article, I have to answer whether or not Printful is worth it. The whole point of this Printful Review was not to sell something you don’t need, but rather give you a comprehensive analysis of what a great service is.

Printful offers scalability, no hidden fees, even no fees at all, manufacturing and logistics, and integration with a multitude of e-commerce shops.

For someone starting a business or just trying to earn a few bucks, that is something you can’t pass on.

Sign up Printful for Free

Sign up Printful for free and create & sell own custom design products with print-on-demand dropshipping online.

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Conclusion

Printful is an inexpensive service tailored for independent artists, designers or graphic design aficionados.

With its fair prices, shipping rates and three day from press to shipment timeline it’s no wonder why Printful is an industry staple.

The fact that you can create, without worrying about ordering in bulk, storage and inventory, shipping, and general logistics, makes this the perfect POD service out there for you and me.

You can maximize the benefits of Printful by learning how to start an online store that makes money and integrate Printful with it to establish a successful POD business.

Of course, Printful has many competitors, printing on demand is a multimillion-dollar business after all.

The simple truth is that while it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between some of the more competent competitors, Printful’s track record in order fulfillment and customer satisfaction really makes it the best of the best.

Are you planning to start your business with Printful?

If you need help with setting up your Printful account or integrating your store at any time, just us know. we are always happy to help.

FAQs

Is Printful good quality?

Yes, Printful has excellent quality products, and their print is phenomenal. Be sure to order a sample and contact them if anything is off or fix your designs to ensure premium quality goods for your customers.

Can you really make money with Printful?

You can really make money with Printful. You will still need to set up your e-store, create your designs, and find a customer base.

Is Printify better than Printful?

In many respects, not really, but we do have a comprehensive article that compares Printify and Printful. You should check it out.

Why is Printful so expensive?

Printful isn’t really expensive. It doesn’t charge anything, and shipping rates can vary from time to time (based on chosen flat or live rates). Their product cost is actually cheaper than many competitors.

Does Printful have a monthly fee?

No, Printful doesn’t have a monthly fee. It’s free to set up and contains no hidden fees.

Who pays for shipping on Printful?

The customer pays for shipping costs while you’re free to work on your next creative endeavor.

Is Printful legitimate?

Printful is a legitimate and well-established company in the POD industry. It provides maximum transparency about its working procedures, pricing, and shipping policies. A large number of businesses all over the world rely on Printful for order fulfillment because it is legit. 

Is there anything better than Printful?

Printful is certainly one of the best platforms that offer affordable and reliable POD services. However, Printify is the leading competitor of Printful that can be better for you as per your business requirements. You should check out the detailed comparison of Printify and Printful to choose the best platform.

How much does Printful cost per month?

Printful’s free plan is completely free as it does not involve any kind of hidden monthly charges. Nevertheless, if you want to get more options, you can use Printful Pro, which costs $49 per month or $539 per year with the annual subscription. 

Ready to start your Print On Demand Store today?

Follow this Step by Step Guide to Start a Shopify Print on Demand Business

 

Article by:

Christina Dillon

Christina Dillon is a professional content creator with a passion for ecommerce and digital marketing. And that's exactly what led her to her role with EcommerceChamp. In her free time, you'll probably find Christina working on her Shopify store.

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