Printify Review – Is This the Best POD? Pros n Cons

Printify provides one of the best order fulfillment services to dropshippers.

With its wide selection of base products and seamless integration with sales channels, entrepreneurs can create diverse personalized items and sell them worldwide.

If you are considering Printify for your business, I have written a detailed review below, highlighting its core features, prices, and pros and cons. A product demonstration is also included to show you how the app works.

Let’s check it out.

What is Printify?

Printify is a B2B SaaS platform that delivers print-on-demand services to e-commerce businesses. You can use it to print custom designs on physical items and ship them to customers online.

There’s no minimum or maximum limit on the shipment. You can run multiple stores on your Printify subscription and create as many designs as you want. The platform works well with major e-commerce sites and provides API for customization.

The good thing about Printify is that anyone can use it to kick-start an e-commerce business. Whether you want to create a local clothing line or sell home accessories globally, you will find the relevant base products on Printify for customization.

Over eight million merchants are currently using Printify for online selling.

How Does Printify Work

To understand the Printify process, you should know a little bit about dropshipping first.

Dropshipping is an e-commerce retail business model that enables the seller to outsource the production and logistics to third-party suppliers in small quantities.

Simply put, when your customer buys any item from your online store, you hand over the order fulfillment to another party (supplier), who makes and delivers the item to your customer without any direct involvement on your part.

You don’t have to invest in bulk inventory. You can send individual orders to the supplier and pay only for the products shipped.

The challenging part of this business is supplier dealing. If your product line is diverse, you may have to contract multiple partners to sell the goods. While the risk factor is minimal, it’s still tedious and time-consuming.

That’s where Printify comes in.

Printify simplifies the order fulfillment process.

It’s connected to 110+ printing houses in major economic regions like the US, EU, and China, providing a single platform to outsource printing and shipment of goods.

Printify Features

Printify is incredibly user-friendly. Irrespective of your tech knowledge, you can comfortably operate the app and process custom orders online.

Below are some of the B2B features Printify offers to merchants.

1. Print On Demand

POD is Printify’s core product.

It’s a digital platform via which you can design, print, and manage customer orders.

The app comes with editing tools and store integrations to help you customize your products and publish them on your store for sale. As you receive the order on your website, Printify immediately sends the fulfillment request to a third-party supplier and later ships the finished product to your customer.

A catalog of 900+ products is available for printing. You can order clothing, personal items, tech accessories, home decoration, stationery, eco-friendly goods, and seasonal products like Valentine’s Day items.

Here’s the list of items you can get from Printify.

2. Pop-up Store

Printify allows you to publish custom designs on your online store. You can connect it to Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, WIX, eBay, Walmart, PrestaShop, and Squarespace.

But if you don’t own an online store and typically sell products through social media channels, Printify can set up a pop-up store for you. It’s a basic page you can use temporarily to display your products until you establish your business.

Using your pop-up store’s shareable link, you can promote and sell your products to third-party platforms.

I do want to point out that this feature might be limited to specific countries.

To know more, check out the eligibility here.

3. AOP Printing

Printify offers two printing options for fabric items. Either you can add your design to a specific area or create a pattern for the whole surface.

The latter is called All-Over-Printing. It’s a dye sublimation method that’s used particularly on synthetic fiber.

Some of the products Printify supports for AOP printing include blankets, pillows, T-shirts, socks, purses, and sneakers. You can even print patterns on tech accessories like mouse pads or car seats. The below image is one good example.

One more thing. The whole surface printing option is also available for other products. You can apply it on mugs, bottles, book covers, and mobile accessories. (I have shared an AOP example in the product demo section for you.)

4. Bulk Ordering

Printify’s unique selling point is individual order fulfillment. Small business owners can process one order at a time via Printify without incurring extra charges.

But if you choose one of its premium subscriptions, you can also order items in bulk and get discounted prices.

This is an excellent option for those who typically take orders for occasions or corporate events. You can get 60+ items printed in one go and get up to 20% discount on your order.

This feature is currently available in the US and Canada. But feel free to contact sales for clarification.

5. Express Delivery

Printify provides three types of shipping options depending on your country of residence.

For general deliveries, its standard shipment period is two to seven business days. If you have a priority order, you can get items shipped domestically within three days and overseas within five days. 

A third option is also available for specific products. For a slightly high fee, you can expedite the order fulfillment process. Printify sends your order to the nearest printing facility for quick printing and delivers the finished product via the fastest shipping method. 

You can get in touch with customer service for details here.

6. Order routing

One of Printify’s best features is order routing. It’s a redirection tool that automatically sends your order to another supplier for fulfillment if the original party can’t process the request for some reason.

The reason could be anything from stock shortage and shipment cost to destination and product type. 

By enabling this feature, you can shorten the delivery time and save your shipping costs.

You can select this option for a single shop or all your stores, it’s up to you.

7. Expert Hiring

Aside from the digital app, Printify runs an expert program that allows you to freelancers for hire.

Top services you can hire include graphic designing, content creation, digital marketing, and store setup.

This is a pretty casual setup designed to connect you with independent contractors. You can access the database for free and contact multiple experts for the project.

You can check out the expert database here.

8. Price Transparency

Printify delivers transparent pricing to help you estimate the cost of your product and select the best option for your business.

With its price calculator, you can see how much your selected item would cost, how much profit it can generate, and how much you can earn if you ship a certain number of shirts each month.

A default retail price is automatically added to the products with profit margins to make cost calculation easier.

You can also check which provider is available for your particular product and how much they would charge for local and international shipments.

Let’s look at the product demo to see how Printify works.

Product Demo

Printify doesn’t charge for software usage. You can create a free account without providing credit card details and explore the app features.

• To sign up, click the CTA displayed on the home page. You may be asked for the email address, but you can pick the Google option for quick access.

You might also have to answer a few questions to create your profile. The signup process contains around seven questions related to your business.

• After the initial process, you’ll be directed to your free account.
• This is your main dashboard. It displays the available products and separate modules for orders and payments. A step-by-step guide is also available at the top to help users navigate the dashboard.

• I picked the mug from the catalog as my core product and was directed to the product page.

The page has several filters, including the best-selling products and their prices for each market. For instance, the basic 11oz Ceramic mug’s prices in the US start from $4.40, and in the UK from around $6. This information can help you decide which market to target.

You can also choose the print area, product material, price range, and printing house/ supplier.

• After adjusting the search filters, select your desired item and click the designing CTA.
• An editor will appear for custom designing.

The editor is pretty basic, but it comes with plenty of creation tools and a space for reusable templates. You can customize the graphics and add text to personalize your design.

For my product, I picked the heart template, removed the background, and changed the color.

• Once you are sure, preview the changes and adjust your design as you see fit.

You can pick your own design as well. As an example, I uploaded my file and selected the full area coverage instead of the front. This is how my changes appeared on the mug.

• You can both download the mockup and save the product. Once saved, connect your store and publish the product.
• For payments, Printify accepts credit card, PayPal, and Payoneer transactions. You can make payments in USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, and AUD.

Printify Pricing

Printify follows a freemium model. You can sign up for free and pay only for the products ordered.

As your business grows, you can upgrade your subscription and get premium benefits.

Here’s the summary of Printify’s plans;

• Free Plan: You can run five stores and create unlimited product designs.
• Premium Plan: You can manage ten stores on your account and get up to 20% discounts.
• Enterprise Plan: You can manage high volume and get custom integrations.

Printify accepts both monthly and yearly payments. You’ll also get premium customer service on paid packages to handle order queries and customer complaints.

Get started with Printify →

Pros and Cons of Printify

Printify offers amazing benefits to e-commerce businesses. With its intuitive features and seamless order fulfillment process, store owners can comfortably sell custom products and easily work out the logistics.

The platform, however, has a few drawbacks.

To help you make an informed decision, I have shared Printify’s pros and cons below. Explore its advantages and limitations to evaluate its feasibility.

Printfy Pros

• You can try it for free and place orders for both single items and bulk inventory.
• The platform has a wide range of products for customization. You can also create your own designs and choose your supplier for printing.
• Its order-routing service ensures a smooth shipment.
• It supports multiple currencies.

Printify Cons

• Printify works with several third-party vendors, which means the product quality of each supplier may vary.
• Some users find its customer service slow.
• Since products are sent for printing after order placement, the production process takes some time.
• Global coverage is limited.

Verdict

Printify is a well-established company. Since 2015, it has served millions of merchants and delivered a wide range of products globally.

Despite its good rating and substantial client base, you should explore its service before purchasing the subscriptions. While merchants love Printify for its hassle-free fulfillment process and affordable packages, some have offered mixed reviews.

I recommend creating a free account and ordering a few samples from different Printify suppliers to check the fulfillment period and product quality. If the results are satisfactory, go for its premium subscription.