Starting Your Own Print on Demand Business

What is Print on Demand?

Businesses are evolving as time goes by, a lot of services have moved online and it has made our lives more efficient and more convenient. But that’s from the consumer perspective, how about the producers?

The idea of print on demand services lessened the risk and capital for businesses that are only starting to build their empire.

Print on demand gives you the freedom to design your products without worrying about the inventory cost and high capital. Basically, you will partner up with a supplier to print your design on their white-label items to sell it under your own brand.

Usually, it is a per order basis so you do not need to buy bulk and stock it into your inventory and worry about how long it will take for those items to get sold.

You will only need to pay for the products once it is sold. Sound good, right?

What Items Can Be Sold and How Do I Design It?

The type of items depends on what your supplier can offer. It can be t-shirts, tote bags, mugs, baseball caps, blankets, sweaters, and even books. Depending on your brand, it is best to research and request a proposal from different suppliers to get the best rate and the best quality.

If you are talented in the creative field, you can design your own prints using editing tools such as Photoshop. You can inquire with the supplier, they often offer design services as well.

Other than that, you can always check freelance platforms, designers offer their services through those. Just make sure to mention that the design is for print on demand items so that they can design it with the correct number of pixels in mind.

Is It Worth to Try Starting a Print on Demand Business?

While it is tempting to go and jump on a print on demand business right away, there are many factors you need to consider before putting your savings into this business.

I will list down the good things, first, the capital needed is lower than the traditional buy-bulk-then-sell business. As mentioned, inventory will not cost you a lot since the printing and shipping is the supplier’s concern.

Second, less time is needed from your side since after the customer placed and paid his order, the responsibility to print and ship is then passed to the supplier. Lastly, after you have the design, you can put it on sale on your website within minutes.

It’s not all rainbows and butterflies, there are also cons to when it comes to this type of business. Since the printing and shipping are out of your hands, this might be a downside for you if you want to make your customer’s unboxing experience more unique.

Also, the purchase from the supplier is no longer by bulk which means the price per piece might be higher than if purchased by bulk.

So, is it worth to try starting your own print on demand business? It can be a yes or a no, it depends on your target market. It’s important to create a business plan to research your target customer’s preferences and calculate the risk, then you can start your own business more confidently.

from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/business/starting-your-own-print-on-demand-business/