The Top 10 Best Print-on-Demand Sites for Artists

How do you find the best print-on-demand sites for artists when there are so many options? For starters, it helps to read a guide put together by an actual working artist.

I’ve been working in commercial illustration and design for around a decade now and have my own goals for print-on-demand services. I’ve talked with quite a few people in my peer group who rely on these sites to supplement their income and share their work.

Below I’ll review POD sites to help you find a service that suits you best.

Top 3 Print On Demand Sites

Best Overall Option: Printful

Generating enough sales to make a living – or at least reliable supplemental income – is difficult even for experienced artists. Printful provides a robust affiliate sales program that takes some of the headache out of the process

Pros:

Affiliate Program Generates Extra Opportunities to Make Money

A good rule of thumb when generating passive income is not to put all your eggs in one basket. Printful’s affiliate program offers artists the opportunity to earn a 10% commission on sales made using unique affiliate links.

You can also earn another $25 every time you refer a customer to their Printful Growth membership. The site even offers a handy sliding tool so you can approximate how much money you can make after a certain number of customers purchase a certain amount of products.

Drag-And-Drop Editor is Extremely User-Friendly

When using a print-on-demand service, you need to ensure you’ll spend more time customizing and less time fighting a buggy user interface. Printful’s drag-and-drop editor is famously easy to use when customizing merchandise to sell.

The site offers up quick, easy mock-ups of what your products will look like on a pre-selected number of models. However, you can also create your mock-ups as you get comfortable running your store.

Large Range of Products That Will Suit Many Artists

While Printful doesn’t have quite the massive product range of other print-on-demand sites like Printify, they still offer over 300 products for you to print work on. For many artists,

They offer a range of products including clothing, accessories, and home decor. They also have an eco-friendly section for artists who want to print their work on products with recycled and organic materials.

No Fee to Set Up and Get Started

There’s no fee to set up an account and start selling on your online store – their cross-platform store integrations are also free so you can get revenue from multiple sites. This feature is extremely useful for artists who are ready to hit the ground running with sales.

Solid Variety of Different Printing Options

Have you ever wondered if your art would look better on a shirt as embroidery than a dye job? With Printful’s selection of printing options, you can tailor your art with a higher attention to detail.

A few of the printing options they offer include:

• Sublimation – this printing method embeds a design into the material instead of ‘sticking’ it on top of a product. This method ensures prints last longer.
• Embroidery – they offer both flat and raised options to give your cloth-based products a handmade or vintage look.
• DTG (Direct-To-Garment) – this printing method is commonly used, covering a product in ink and providing a high level of detail for both photography and illustration.

Cons:

Shipping Costs May Be Too High For Smaller Artists

Nobody’s a fan of the hike in price after adding in a shipping preference. Printful won’t be soothing these concerns anytime soon, as their shipping costs for popular items are anywhere from a few dollars to double the price of other sites.

When you need a reliable drop shipping service with flexibility around higher profit margins, Printful is an option that will grow with your business.

Best Small Business Materials: Moo

Sometimes you don’t want high-quality prints or phone cases, but some business materials to hand out at events. Moo is fantastic for small businesses that need bulk orders of essentials such as postcards, business cards, flyers, and more.

Pros:

A Classic Line-Up of Materials to Promote Your Business

From postcards to flyers to business cards, Moo has it all for the small artist who wants to do some physical marketing. They offer an impressive range of finishes, templates, and branding options to transform your business into the real deal.

A Dependable Resource for Artists Getting Serious

Is running an artist shop a goal you think you’ll stick to in the long term? Moo offers a slew of business plans designed to make it easier for you to reach out to new audiences or keep your current audience engaged.

For starters, their Business Boost program offers perks such as:

• Unique template created by their in-house designers
• Ongoing discounts
• Access to all of their products

If you want even more options, their Reseller option provides perks such as:

• Dedicated account and design support
• Unlimited templates created by their in-house designers

You can check out their plans to get an idea of all the tools you could use when you start selling.

Plenty of Bulk Order Options

Do you need a pack of business cards before visiting a trade show? How about a slew of holiday postcards just before the seasonal rush?

Moo offers flexible bulk pricing that comes with nice little discounts the more you need to order. They also offer a convenient shipping and cost calculator so you can keep your budget front and center at all times.

Incredibly User-Friendly Site

Speaking of handy shipping and cost calculators, Moo is just an easy site to use in general. The design is sleek and user-friendly, immediately drawing your eye to what you need with a few bells and whistles.

For example, check out this product sheet for cotton business cards. Information is presented neatly and briskly, but with high attention to detail – you automatically know what sizes, shapes, and details like handwritten potential.

Scroll down and you’ll get options to add templates or learn about their free options to have different designs for the same pack of cards. When running your own store, a business this easy to use is priceless.

Cons:

May Be a Little Costly for Beginning Artists Who Don’t Travel Much

Printing isn’t as affordable as uploading work digitally and this fact reflects in Moo’s pricing. If you don’t plan on selling your work at a gallery or attending events, you won’t get much mileage out of Moo’s offerings.

Moo will supplement your own website by giving you a strong first impression in-person. Try out their printing service now!

Best Artist Community: Threadless

A major part of promoting your work as an artist can include being involved in a thriving artistic community. One of Threadless’s biggest claims to fame is their active community and the inventive ways they have for promoting smaller shops.

Pros:

Design Challenge Gives Winners a Serious Marketing Boost

Do you have an unforgettable design you know would look good on a t-shirt? Threadless’s famous Design Challenge prompts artists to submit their work to be voted on by the community at large, with serious perks if you’re chosen.

Winners not only get a tidy cash prize of $20,000, their design will also be featured as a regular item on the site with 20% on royalties.

Fantastic Marketing Campaigns to Keep Artists Visible

There’s a big reason why Threadless isn’t exactly unknown in the art community – this company takes marketing very seriously. They run consistent social media campaigns, regularly post contests, and generally work hard to ensure you’re getting eyes on your shop.

Easy to Hop Into for Complete Beginners

If you’re worried about a lot of financial barriers or extensive paperwork to get started, Threadless has you covered. Threadless is completely free and handles everything from shipping to customer service.

You don’t even need to verify your bank account before you start publishing designs. How’s that for fast?

Strong Range of Products (Particularly Fashion)

If you want to focus on fashion but don’t mind a few extra product options, Threadless will keep you happy. While they’re best known for t-shirts, jackets, and sweatshirts, they also offer home decor and wall art.

Cons:

Larger Platforms are Generally More Competitive

With so much visibility and popularity comes a price. Threadless isn’t impossible to build a following on and make money from, but you’ll have to put in some work to get eyes on your shop.

Threadless Gets More Promotion From Ads Than Search Engines

Another area that makes Threadless difficult for smaller artists is their focus on advertisements and social media. If you want people casually looking you up in Google or Yahoo!, they’ll have a tougher time finding you on the platform.

This is not an impossible barrier to work around – you’ll just have to start learning SEO and consider running a blog to get people to find you.

With a vibrant community and an easy starting point, Threadless is a solid pick for beginners. You can give Threadless a try today!

Best Flexible E-Commerce Option: Printify

When you want a reliable e-commerce option that offers a diverse arrangement of products for your customers, Printify is the way to go. This service is easy to jump into for beginners thanks to its free account offering.

Pros:

Beginners Can Get Started Right Away

If you’re worried about complex subscription tiers or a tight budget, Printify makes things easy for you. Their free account allows you to create up to five stores with an unlimited amount of designs.

(They also don’t require you to punch in a credit card for a free account, which is a very nice gesture.)

Diverse Selection of Products

Do you want to print your work on t-shirts and sweatshirts? How about a slew of coffee mugs, phone mugs, and bags?

Printify offers one of the most extensive catalogs of products in areas such as fashion, home decor, and accessories. Artists interested in more unique offerings such as towels or car accessories will be very satisfied here.

Quick Sync With Common E-commerce Platforms

If you’re weary at the thought of individually uploading and editing your content on multiple platforms, you’re in good hands. When you’re ready to start selling, Printify makes it easy by automatically syncing with platforms such as:

• Etsy
• WooCommerce
• WixStores
• Shopify
• eBay

The process is simple – just sync, publish, and you’re ready to sell.

Expert Program Will Take Some Work Off Your Plate

Print-on-demand companies know how hard it is to juggle multiple plates as a small business owner. Printify offers an expert program that provides you with quick access to marketers, graphic designers, or customer service specialists to help you promote your work.

Cons:

Limited Branding Options

Do you want your branding to be front and center when your customer receives a package? Printify doesn’t offer much in the way of custom branding – just a label with your business name.

Brand identity is a powerful marketing tool – while beginner artists may not have to worry about this yet, professional artists will have to find another way to brand their work.

Shipping Speeds Aren’t Always Clear

A common issue with Printify is that shipping speeds aren’t always clear when choosing a printing partner and a product. While Printify is upfront with how long a product will take to make, it’s often up in the air how long a product will take to reach a customer.

If you’re comfortable with transparent customer service, you’ll have no problem bridging this gap between your work and buyers. However, if you’re an artist who wants to provide convenient and speedy products, this issue will be difficult to get around.

Overall, Printify is a user-friendly, affordable, and flexible print-on-demand service that’s well-suited to beginner artists. Check out their site and start selling prints of your art!

Best Personalization Option: Zazzle

When’s the last time you wanted to buy something online, but hesitated because the design was slightly too small or slightly too dark? Zazzle’s customization options is one of its biggest draws for online customers and could be a major source of appeal for your shop.

Pros:

High Level of Personalization Options

Zazzle is one of the rare print-on-demand sites that offer a high level of customization for the buyer. With your prior permission, buyers will be able to make small edits to their order before purchasing – a decision that can make or break a sale.

A few examples of how customers can alter their order include:

• Adjusting text size or placement
• Tweaking image orientation or placement
• Using a different font

Completely Free – No Subscription Needed

You don’t have to worry about being locked out of certain tools or experiencing less visibility than premium accounts – Zazzle is 100% free.

Plenty of Product Options to Choose From

If you want to enjoy your canvas prints on a variety of common fashion, home decor, and stationery items, Zazzle will keep you busy. This platform boasts one of the largest selections of print products on top of its already impressive customization feature.

On top of conventional items like coffee mugs and bookmarks, they also sell interesting products such as:

• Aprons
• Fleece blankets
• Binders
• Wrapping paper
• Necklaces

Slightly Smaller Community Compared to Major Players

If you’re worried about standing out on a massive platform with a high volume of customers, Zazzle’s smaller customer base is appealing. While major players like Printify and Redbubble take center stage, Zazzle’s less-is-more approach remains a consistent source of income for smaller artists.

Cons:

Filling in Individual Information for Each Product Can Be Tedious

If you want a print-on-demand site that makes it easy to cross over information from one product to another – or do bulk uploads – you’ll have trouble with Zazzle. Artists who want to sell a lot of products will have to make extra time to fill out each page of information individually.

Payment Can Take a While to Process

If you’re on a tight budget, Zazzle’s long payment times may be a barrier to entry. Zazzle takes around a month to process your earnings from the previous month.

Always free and with one of the best personalization options around, Zazzle is a fine print-on-demand company for the beginning artist. Try out Zazzle for yourself!

Best Product Categories: Cafepress

A strong reputation goes a long way with online platforms you depend on for income. Cafepress is beloved by many small businesses for its wide range of products and communicative customer service.

Pros:

Solid Range of Products and Art Prints

Whether you want to sell lovely art prints for someone’s wall or want to focus on home decor, Cafepress is ready to meet you halfway. Many artists choose this platform because they don’t want to be limited in where they can put their art prints.

Their home decor section is particularly impressive, offering items such as:

• Shower curtains
• Comforters
• Oven mitts

Currently Holds a High User Review Rating

You can only learn so much from a brief ad or blog post. User reviews are a reliable way to see what is or isn’t working in a business – Cafepress currently holds an enviable ⅘ stars out of nearly 200,000 reviews.

Solid Customer Service That’s Quick to Address Issues

If you’re worried about possible mix-ups or site bugs affecting your ability to run your shop, Cafepress will help you out. Many user reviews have spoken highly about Cafepress’s willingness to fix problems such as flawed products.

Possible Cash Bonuses for Hitting Certain Milestones

If you invest in their Premium Shop tier, you may receive performance bonuses after hitting specific milestones with your shop. This option is appealing to artists who want to get serious with their work and anticipate a high volume of customers in the future.

Cons:

Their Basic Account is Limited to One Product

You’ll get the most mileage out of Cafepress with either their CafePress shop or Premium shop option. Their Basic is a decent enough starting point to get comfortable with the platform, but you can only sell one product.

Less Control Over Pricing With Their Cafepress Options

If you decide you want to sell more than the Basic account, the Cafepress option offers more freedom – but not entirely. The site will still choose the price of your product as well as a guaranteed 10% commission rate.

You also won’t get the full range of products compared to their Premium account.

While not the most beginner-friendly out of the print-on-demand services on this list, Cafepress still holds strong as a reliable way to sell prints. Explore Cafepress yourself.

Best Metal Prints Option: ShinyPrints

Metal printing is a rapidly growing sector for fine art prints and wall art – for good reason. ShinyPrints is a leading metal printing lab that is committed to crafting some of the most beautiful and long-lasting metal prints in the business.

Pros:

Consistently High Print Quality

ShinyPrints is consistently transparent about its decision to use ChromaLuxe aluminum metal printing over other metal options. While stainless steel doesn’t boast a complex array of colors and copper is prone to scratches, they emphasize aluminum gives you the best balance of rich color and long-term durability.

They also use state-of-the-art materials dedicated to metal printing such as sublimation dye and Epson’s F-series. The result is visually dazzling art prints – with a subtle 3D effect – and able to last a lifetime with little upkeep.

Well-suited to Fine Art Prints for Galleries or Exhibitions

While many print-on-demand sites create fun and casual products like phone cases and stickers, you may want a hands-on approach to selling your work. ShinyPrints regularly collaborates with artists who like to sell their art at galleries, exhibitions, or trade shows.

Their canvas prints come with a variety of impressive finishes, mounts, and backings to make them a truly eye-catching experience.

Contract Pricing for Regular Customers

ShinyPrints is transparent about its convenient pricing, offering contract pricing models for industry professionals. They’ll also match quotes from other metal print labs to offer you a more competitive option.

Pro Pricing for Professional Artists

When you’re ready to print regularly, ShinyPrints has a permanent discount for you if you sign up for their free account. However, you will need to provide a few pieces of evidence such as:

• A website with a shopping cart
• Resale tax ID
• Proof that you’re selling at a show or gallery

Impressively High Customer Service Reviews

ShinyPrints shows their commitment to friendly and punctual customer service with their five-star Google review rating. Below is one very satisfied customer who enjoyed how patient their customer service was and the user-friendliness of the site:

Cons:

Product Offerings are Highly Specialized

If you want to sell a variety of products on shirts and coffee mugs, ShinyPrints won’t be for you. This print-on-demand service specializes in aluminum metal prints for high-quality wall art.

No Custom Business Name as a Shipping Name

ShinyPrints doesn’t put artists’ business names or branding as a shipping name. Their decision to keep the shipping name a discreet ‘metal prints lab’ is to save time on completing orders so you can get your purchase as quickly as possible.

Best Hands-Off Marketing: Redbubble

RedBubble is a popular marketplace for artists to gather up their print-on-demand services worry-free. A major contributor to this hands-off approach is their slew of top-notch marketing tools to further your brand.

Pros:

Plenty of Organic Traffic From Search Engines

There’s a reason why SEO is so widely talked about – according to a 2023 study, organic search drives a whopping 1,000% more traffic than social media platforms. Basically, this means far more people are interested in actively looking for a product than having it promoted to them.

Redbubble’s high volume of organic traffic comes from the descriptions and titles of their artist’s shops rather than advertisements. This means more people find what interests them immediately and, as such, are more likely to purchase from you.

A Well-Rounded Approach to Marketing in General

However, Redbubble is not content to rely on one tool. This site also brings in a lot of visitors through its mixture of email marketing, paid ads, and active social media to get people to buy your t-shirts and wall art.

I highly recommend reading more about their marketing in general to learn how you can cross over their efforts with your site.

Making an Account is Free and Simple

Since Redbubble is eager to have you focus on crafting art and connecting with your community, they offer free accounts where everything is covered. Just sign up, start uploading your designs, and you’re good to go.

Products are Generally of High Quality

If you’re worried about sending your customers sweatshirts with holes in them or cracked mugs, Redbubble will maintain a consistent standard of quality. Both artists and customers generally leave positive reviews on the durability and appearance of their purchases.

One such review is from someone who both uploaded their own designs as well as purchased from other artists:

Cons:

Limited Ability to Make a Higher Profit

While Redbubble handles much of the marketing to get potential customers to your store, your ability to make higher profit margins is limited. Not only do they offer fewer products, but they also offer few premiums to bring up costs.

While other sites may offer different materials or customization options that can get people paying more, Redbubble is very much ‘what you see is what you get’.

Fewer Products Compared to Other Print-on-Demand Companies

While Printful or Cafepress boasts a mountain of product options to choose from, Redbubble is significantly smaller at under a hundred. While their selection is well-rounded, artists who want more unique items or a higher level of personalization may want to look elsewhere.

Large Number of Copycat Accounts

In a world of A.I. art and catfishing, Redbubble has not come out unscathed with copycat accounts. Several artists have had trouble making revenue because someone would copy their work and sell it on another account on the same platform.

Redbubble is a solid print-on-demand service, though I recommend pairing it with an existing website to offset some of its lackluster traits. Upload your work to Redbubble here.

Best Affiliate Marketing Program: TeePublic

I’ve purchased from TeePublic several times in the past to pad out my (rather large) oversized t-shirt and crewneck sweatshirt collection. As it stands, they’re one of the best print-on-demand sites for artists who love fashion and want a reliable supplemental income.

Pros:

Fantastic Affiliate Marketing and Campaign Tools to Generate Income

TeePublic offers several ways to boost your own profit margins through their flavorful marketing campaigns. They offer seasonal giveaways, flash sales, and unique coupons to entice your customers to get an art print.

Check out their guide here to get their full list of options.

(Very) High-Quality T-Shirt Materials

While TeePublic offers a decent selection of mugs and stickers, their name makes it clear what they’re best known for – incredible t-shirts. They offer some of the best print and material options for artists who enjoy creating the shirts of their dreams.

I’ve purchased from them several times myself and enjoyed the plethora of blends and finishes such as:

• Tri-blend – these shirts are incredibly soft and stretchy
• Heavyweight – these shirts are thicker and hold up well to repeated use
• Premium – these shirts come with a higher thread count for a velvety texture
• Active – this shirt is designed to wick away moisture for exercise or hot weather
• Eco t-shirt – this shirt is made from a mixture of organic and recycled materials

They also offer plenty of variations such as long-sleeved t-shirts, cropped tees, and tank tops alongside their other fashion items.

Plenty of Organic Traffic to Increase Sales

There’s a reason why TeePublic quickly pops up when you look for t-shirts or fashion items. This e-commerce platform does a good job of making it easy for people to find what they’re looking for.

Cons:

Fabric Ink Quality is a Little Inconsistent

I can attest to this myself after buying from the site several times. While some of my purchases have stood up to (careful) wash cycles over the years, others have faded off almost entirely in the same amount of time.

Fixed Commission Can Limit Your Profits

While some sites give you more flexibility in setting the prices for your work, TeePublic does a fixed rate for their products. For example, a hoodie sold will get you $8 (USD), while a pillow will guarantee $4 (USD).

Running your own store to sell those snazzy t-shirts you’ve always wanted to wear has never been easier. Sign up for TeePublic here:

Best Streamlined Storefront: Sellfy

Last but not least, it’s time for Sellfy to enter the ring. If you want a streamlined and straightforward selling experience, this POD site makes it easy to jump in and get started.

Pros:

Incredibly Simple to Use for Beginners

One of Sellfy’s biggest selling points is just how easy it is to use. You can quickly slap together your site customization, add products, and be ready to sell with no prior experience.

Low-Cost and Flexible Subscription Service

While several of the options on this list are free, Sellfy requires a subscription to use their store. However, the barrier to entry is both low and flexible – a worthy investment considering all the perks.

For just $19 a month, their Starter subscription lets you enjoy the following:

• Unlimited products
• Email marketing tools
• The ability to make up to $10K per year

If your store starts growing, you can switch to their Business plan for $49 a month to get:

• Affiliate marketing
• Removal of Sellfy branding
• The ability to make up to $50K per year

If you’re not sure if this is worth your money, they have a free trial where you can play around before committing.

Marketing Tools are Built-In and Ready to Use

Do you ever want to pull your hair out trying to manage all your different business tools? Sellfy has several built-in marketing tools – including in its Starter plan – to save you time and energy.

Email marketing, discounts, and custom coupons are in the Starter plan, while their Business plan offers affiliate marketing and upsells.

Cons:

No Built-In Blog Feature

While podcasts and videos are more commonly used marketing tools these days, blogging is still a reliable source of promotion for small businesses. You’ll have to use another storefront or blogging platform if you want to promote your shop.

SEO Features are a Little Limited

Another limited feature is its SEO tools, of which it has the basics – how much revenue you’ve made, where your visits are coming from, and the works. However, if you want a high level of insight into your site’s performance, you’ll need a tool like SEMRush or Google Analytics.

Simple and effective, Sellfy could be the tool you need to launch your online art store. Try their free trial here:

How to Choose the Best Print-On-Demand Site for Your Needs

If you need a little extra help choosing a print on demand site, I have a few more tips below.

Determine if You Want Main Income or Side Income

When putting together your own website, it can be hard to think beyond the immediate need of getting started. That said, your goals of side income or main income will impact which service suits your needs best.

Hobbyists or artists who need a little side income will do well with Printful or Threadless. However, if you’re looking toward higher revenue for a long-term career, you may do better with Moo or Shiny Prints.

Ask Yourself How You Prefer to Market Your Art Prints

Some artists are comfortable networking at conventions and trade shows. Others prefer to work quietly from home and let a robust SEO campaign do the talking for them.

Hiring a marketing professional is one of the most straightforward and reliable ways of getting your shop off the ground. However, if you’re tight on money or want to sharpen your own skills, there are plenty of low-cost and free resources.

Below are a few common methods of promoting your online store:

• Start learning how to use an SEO tool like Google Analytics or SEMRush
• Run an active blog that updates at least a few times per month
• Take an online course on running paid ads on your preferred social media platform

Do You Want to Be Part of an Online Community or Go Solo?

I can be a bit of a cryptid myself, so I keep my activity in online communities minimal. Depending on your level of introversion or extroversion, some POD sites are more suitable than others.

Threadless has a thriving and very large community, while Zazzle is a little smaller. There’s no ‘right’ way to market your art – just better or worse for your needs.

Print On Demand is Easier Than Ever, so Sign Up Now!

It’s never been a better time to start selling your work online. With so many tools and tutorials, you could whip up a second or third source of income literally within hours.

Of course, it still takes time to build an audience and generate revenue predictability. We’ll help you get started with tips on how to effectively price your art.

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