Best Print On Demand For Etsy Shops

The print on demand supplier you choose for your Etsy shop can make or break your business.

There are many POD suppliers but not all integrate with Etsy and some will result in unhappy customers and lots of returns.

How do you know which one to choose?

In this guide, I will explain

• The key considerations when choosing a print-on-demand supplier
• Which POD Suppliers integrate well with Etsy
• Which you should use if you sell to the US, sell globally or sell in the UK.

I have sold on Etsy for a number of years and continue to use the suppliers detailed in this article.

I have experienced happy customers and angry ones caused by print provider errors.

Let me share my experience to make sure you aren’t as pissed off as I’ve been in the past with my POD suppliers.

Best Etsy Print On Demand Companies

Some print on demand companies are terrible, some are ok and some have great customer service.

Here are my favorite print on demand production partners, based on first-hand experience as an Etsy seller.

I’ve placed many orders with each of them and know how good they are when things go right and just as importantly when things go wrong.

Printful

Printful was one of the first Etsy print on demand suppliers to have a direct integration to enable people to sell POD products on Etsy.

For many Printful still remains one of the go-to companies known for its best print quality and global reach.

Printful – Pro’s

• Reliable Etsy integration
• Large catalog of over 365 custom products to choose from
• Global reach with fulfillment centers in 17 different locations across all 5 continents
• In-house printing ensures high quality
• Easy to use print on demand platform
• Volume based discounts
• Integrations with other eCommerce platforms

Printful – Con’s

• Pricier than print on demand providers despite recent price reductions

Who Is Printful Best For?

Given the global reach, easy-to-use software and a large amount of supporting information on YouTube, Printful is great for beginners.

If you have a more premium brand and can sell products at a higher price point Printful’s print quality is worth paying more for, but only if you can afford it.

Printify

Printify is right up there with Printful in terms of size but takes a very different approach.

Printify has a partner network or print providers and actually doesn’t do any printing itself.

Printify – Pros

• Reliable Etsy integration
• Many products
• Competitive prices
• 20% off with Printify Premium
• Easy to use print on demand platform

Printify – Cons

• Printing is done by a network of suppliers resulting in differing quality levels
• Different print partners have different file size requirements
• Slower to see Etsy orders in the tool
• Limited options for UK orders

Who Is Printify Best For?

Whilst Printify has suppliers based outside the US, the manual intervention required to route orders to alternative suppliers means that Printify is only recommended if you sell predominantly to US-based customers.

Gelato

Gelato is another print on demand supplier with a global reach and a great option if you are selling in more than one country.

Integrations with key ecommerce platforms and marketplaces, including Etsy make Gelato a good fit for any print on demand business.

Gelato – Pros

• Reliable Etsy integration
• Strong global reach with production centers in 32 countries
• Easy to use print on demand platform
• Competitive prices
• Simple to use platform
• Integrations with other eCommerce platforms

Gelato – Cons

• No volume discount or membership option for better pricing
• Not all products are available globally

Who Is Gelato Best For?

Etsy print on demand sellers who focus on a global market as orders are automatically routed to fulfillment centers closest to the customer.

AOP+

If you are selling in or from the UK All Over Print + (AOP+) is a great option to choose especially if you want to sell all over print products.

Run from their base in the outskirts of London they offer a good range of products and great customer service.

AOP – Pro’s

• Reliable print on demand Etsy integration – removes the worry over orders showing up or not
• Unique products – stand out from the crowd and sell something different e.g. custom shaped pillows
• Make More Profit – Competitively priced products – cheaper than Printful for UK orders
• Option To Pay To Save – When your shop takes off, AOP+ membership options provide even better pricing
• Integrations with other eCommerce platforms – Build out your business with a Shopify or BigCommerce store.

AOP – Cons

• UK-Only Production – Fulfilling orders to other countries can take longer and cost more
• Slower Learning Curve – Print on demand software takes some getting used to so expect to be a little frustrated at the start.

Who Is AOP+ Best For?

AOP+ is best for UK sellers who want great support and access to their POD supplier.

Inkthreadable

Inkthreadable Pro’s

• Easy to use software / platform
• Good product range
• Competitive Pricing
• Inkthreadable integrate with the key platforms
• Sustainability is at the heart of everything they do
• Impressive embroidery offering

Inkthreadable Con’s

• Fulfilment in the UK only
• No all over print products
• Historic instability in Etsy integration

Who Is It Best For?

People selling to UK customers and Inkthreadable is ideal for anyone who wants to grow a print on demand business with sustainability and organic at its core.

What is Etsy? Why Use It?

Etsy is an e-commerce marketplace, historically focused on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies. These items fall under a wide range of categories, including art, photography, clothing, jewelry, food, bath and beauty products, quilts, knick-knacks, and toys.

Etsy has been around since 2005 and is headquartered in Brooklyn, USA.

In 2022, Etsy’s annual revenue was $2,56 Billion US Dollars , and in the same year, there were roughly 89.90 million active buyers who purchased from Etsy store.

Etsy Print on Demand

Etsy describes itself as “a global online marketplace, where people come together to make, sell, buy and collect unique items.”

To protect its brand and ensure that it continues to differentiate itself from other platforms such as Amazon and eBay, Etsy has very strict rules you must follow.

Failure to do so can result in your Etsy shop being shut down and banned from the platform. Key rules include:

• The item must be designed by you
• You cannot sell designs that you have not created yourself
• Reselling products is prohibited

Pro’s of an Etsy Print on Demand Store

There are some great benefits of having a print on demand Etsy store:

Minimal Cost To Start – It’s free to open an Etsy store so if it all goes wrong you haven’t lost your shirt.

Test Without Fear – Listing a product only costs $0.20 for 4 months and so is a cheap way to test products to sell on Etsy which you can also then list on your own ecommerce store.

Anyone Can Do It – Etsy is pretty easy to use so you won’t be tearing your hair out or getting frustrated when building your store. There are also lots of YouTube videos to hold your hand and walk you through the setup process.

No Need To Waste Money On Advertising – Etsy has millions of active shoppers so advertising isn’t necessary.

Etsy Advertises For You – Keep your wallet in your pocket and benefit from Etsy spending a fortune on advertising off the platform to drive traffic to your store. Etsy spent $559.3m in 2021 on advertising alone.

Etsy Isn’t The Only One – You can do Etsy alongside an ecommerce store like Shopify. Multiple income streams ensure all your eggs aren’t in one basket.

Etsy Isn’t Taxing – Managing sales tax is a serious pain in the arse. Luckily Etsy handles all that for you.

Trust Me Its Worth It – Selling under the Etsy brand helps you establish trust which can be very difficult if starting out on your own online store.

Con’s of Etsy Print on Demand Store

Whilst there are some significant benefits of an Etsy print on demand store there are some negatives that you need to be aware of:

Etsy owns the customer relationship and has strict rules on what marketing you can do to your customers. For example, you cannot collect their email addresses and market to them. Neither can you direct them to your own website.

Etsy rules – Etsy sellers have to abide by Esty’s rules if they want to operate an Etsy store. I’ve seen first-hand examples of Etsy sellers who had their Etsy shop shut down and were not able to get it opened back up again.

Etsy SEO is a dark art and the Etsy algorithm can change overnight with no notice resulting in a drop in views, visits, sales and the need for more wine.

Competition – Recently Etsy started showing other people’s products alongside yours show you products alongside other people’s products under the banner ‘Other items you may like’ which could take the customer away from your store to other Etsy sellers.

Etsy wasn’t built for print on demand and so some of the functionality in the platform is frustrating and restrictive.

Reports have stated that Etsy gives priority to Etsy sellers that are local to the buyer. If this is true then those sellers who aren’t in a major market like the US may struggle to compete.

More time-consuming and hands-on than platforms like Redbubble so dont expect to be sitting there with your feet up.

Key Considerations when choosing your Print On Demand Company

When choosing the best Etsy print on demand company to use for your Etsy store there are a number of key things to consider:

Pricing

To ensure you can offer your products to Etsy buyers at a competitive price you need to ensure your print partner

Reach

Etsy is a global marketplace and Etsy is focusing on growing its presence in key countries like Germany and the UK.

In order to benefit from this, you need to use print on demand companies that have a global reach with fulfillment centers in other countries.

Product Range

The majority of the larger print on demand services offer t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts and mugs but you should consider what other products you want to sell.

Selling less saturated products and products with a higher profit margin could really help grow your business. So the wider the selection of products the supplier has, the better.

Shipping Costs

Etsy has pushed sellers to offer free or low-cost shipping. To help you do this, choosing a print on demand fulfillment company with reasonable domestic and international shipping will help you significantly.

Production Time

Choosing a print on demand service that offers fast production times will enable you to get your products to Etsy buyers quicker and help you stand out from other Etsy sellers.

Integration

Does the print on demand supplier offer a direct integration with Etsy that will enable orders to automatically pass from Etsy to the print provider with order updates (shipping status and tracking) passed the other way?

Its also worth considering your longer-term goals such as having your own online store away from Etsy, in which case you should check what other direct integrations the print on demand suppliers offer, so you can open a Shopify store or Launch Cart store.

CJ’s Take – Print On Demand for Etsy

I started my Etsy print on demand journey in a really messy way. Having lots of POD suppliers with a few products here and there. This made it really difficult to manage once I was getting orders.

I like that Gelato, Printful and Printify make it very easy to import orders for products you may have with other suppliers that you no longer want to work with.

This really helped me move away from suppliers that let me down.

I mainly sell in the UK but do often get US orders. With Gelato I can just let the automation do what it does and fulfill my order in the US.

I use a few suppliers, so you dont need to limit yourself to just one supplier. With these three Suppliers you have all bases covered.

Wrap Up

Since Etsy changed its policies to allow print on demand sellers there has been an influx of print on demand Etsy stores and so it’s extremely important to choose the best Etsy print on demand partner.

But, you don’t have to choose just one, you can connect multiple print providers, so why not test different products to sell alongside the standard t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, and mugs.

Selling on Etsy has some great benefits such as the high number of sellers, the cheap listing fees, and the large amount of advertising they do on your behalf.

However Etsy is very different than having your own ecommerce website as you have to play by their rules, they own the customer and your fate is in their hands as they could change their algorithm at any point and impact your sales.

I’m a big believer in not having all your eggs in one basket so why not open an Etsy store, get some traction, and then open a Shopify store or Launch Cart store as well?