Printify Review 2024: Features, Pros & Cons
Printify is a top print-on-demand (POD) service. It helps anyone create an automated, overhead-free e-commerce business. It integrates with the main content management systems and online marketplaces. These include Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, Squarespace, Amazon, eBay, and even TikTok Shop.
It’s free for up to five stores. They can have unlimited products. This gives small businesses an easy, no-cost way to get started. True, Printify is not the only POD service on the market. Find out if it’s right for you with our hands-on Printify review.
Pros
- Free forever plan with no product limit for up to five stores.
- Large selection of products
- Unlimited product designs are available on all plans.
- Free mockup generator
- connects to websites and online marketplaces.
- Global shipping network
- Shutterstock integration
Cons
- Lacks custom-branded packaging.
- Shipping can be slow.
- Product quality can vary .
- Doesn’t offer phone support
Printify: The Basics/At a Glance
- Printify, a print-on-demand service based in Riga, Latvia, launched in 2015.
- It has become one of the most famous print-on-demand services in the world. It’s known for its ease of use, large integration library, and 850-plus product catalog.
- It also offers services that POD businesses need. These include a free mockup generator. They also let you connect to websites and online marketplaces.
- The experts’ advisor rate Printify. They rate it as one of the best print-on-demand providers. It’s on the market.
Pros
There are many advantages to Printify. It’s free to use. You get full access to its big product catalog. You can edit products and make unlimited designs. It works with many popular content management systems. These include Shopify, Squarespace, Wix, and WooCommerce.
Also, it’s easy to use and gives users control. You can choose not only products to sell, but also which providers to buy from. This choice impacts pricing, lead time, shipping time, and product quality.
Cons
One downside of Printify is that it has a lot of confusion. The confusion is about its advertised lead time and its shipping time. Its lead times are short, one to three days. That’s the time to prepare the product, not to ship it. In a world where consumers expect fast shipping. Waiting a week or two for a product to arrive can feel long.
Additionally, it lacks custom product packaging. So, your products won’t arrive in branded packaging as many businesses would prefer. But, it does let users use a custom sender address. This makes products arrive as if they were from your business. Not from a print-on-demand service.
How Printify Works
Printify is a print-on-demand service that integrates with your website, or online marketplace of choice (e.g., Etsy, Amazon, eBay, etc.). Users make custom graphics and designs. They pick which products to sell (e.g., T-shirts, hats, bags, and mugs) from Printify’s catalog. Then, once a customer orders, Printify prints and ships the product. In a way, print-on-demand is like dropshipping. The seller doesn’t need to manage or ship an inventory. This makes it a great option for creatives to sell products online. They can do so without a large upfront investment or overhead.
Printify Core Features
As a print-on-demand service, Printify’s primary feature is its ability to, well, print on demand. But, it also has many key features. You need them to build and run a profitable print-on-demand service. For example, it has many integrations. They let businesses connect Printify to their website and major online marketplaces. It also has a large product catalog and shipping services. For existing print-on-demand businesses, it is easy to transfer products to Printify.
Integrations and connections.
Printify integrates with many sales channels. It works with most popular platforms for selling online. This allows businesses to sell through their website. They can sell on an online marketplace too. It works with Shopify, Wix, and Squarespace. It also works with BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and PrestaShop. It works with Etsy, Amazon FBA, Walmart, and eBay. It also has a Printify API for more integration opportunities.
Product Catalog
Printify has a large catalog of over 850 products to choose from. For perspective, it’s leading competitor, Printful has a catalog of around 230 products. Printify’s product catalog covers many product types. It includes clothing, home goods, doormats, wall art, and holiday ornaments. It also includes phone cases and gift wrap. This gives businesses a great deal of choice as well as the flexibility to sell various products.
Shipping
When a customer makes a buy, Printify prints and ships your product. They ship it to your customer. This is very helpful for businesses, as there’s no need to package and ship products. But, it lets users customize the return address. But, it has a downside. It does not offer custom packaging. This is a problem for businesses trying to build a brand. Also, the advertised lead time is not the same as its estimated shipping time. Shipping can take a week or so.
What Sets Printify Apart
Printify stands out for its large product catalog. It is four times larger than Printful’s. Printify has a vast amount of choice. Users also find that it offers a higher profit margin than the competition. This gives them more products to choose from. It also gives them more profit per product. So, it’s a win-win for users.
Printify Pricing and Plans
Free
Printify’s free plan is a full, zero-cost option. It gives users full access to its product catalog. It also gives access to its integration library and unlimited designs. It also includes 24/7 support by live chat or a contact form. The Free plan and the Premium plan differ in one way. The Free plan only allows users to connect up to five stores (or selling platforms). The average small business will find this plan to be suitable.
Premium
Users who need to connect to more than five stores can use Printify’s Premium plan. It costs $24.99 per month with annual billing. It has all the same features as the Free plan. But, it has double the number of stores: 10 instead of five. It’s a good plan for larger online retailers that sell across many sales channels.
Printify Setup
In our experience, we found Printify to be very straightforward to set up. To start, you need to create a free account. From there, you can access its product catalog. You can upload your designs and choose products to sell. The key part of setting up Printify is connecting to your store. This could be your website or the online marketplaces where you sell (e.g., Etsy). We’ve connected Printify to Shopify and Etsy. Both were very easy because Printify designed them to integrate.
For example, here’s how to connect Printify to Shopify:
- Go to your Printify user dashboard. Click “Manage My Store” in the menu in the upper left.
- Find Shopify in the list of options. Then, click the “Connect to Shopify” button.
- Enter your Shopify URL and click the “Connect” button.
- Install Shopify
Or, users can also connect Printify to Shopify from Shopify. They can do this instead of doing it from your Printify dashboard.
Printify’s ease of use.
We found Printify very easy to use. This was true for the initial setup, putting designs on products, and connecting to stores. Creating a custom product is simple. You choose a product and provider, upload your design, set product options, and publish. Then, it’s your new product that syncs to your store.
Upon creating products and connecting a store, Printify syncs with your store. So, when customers place orders on your site or other sales channels, Printify prints the orders and ships them to your customers. It gives users lots of choice for products and providers. This gives users more control over quality, speed, and cost.
Printify Security
Printify has many built-in security features to protect its accounts. But, Printify also gives users some security features and controls. For example, users can configure order approvals. They can set up tracking notifications and send delayed orders to production. It does not offer more users. So, it cannot set up user roles and permissions.
Printify Customer Service and Support
Printify customer support is available 24/7 by live chat and a contact form. From our perspective, it’s live chat support feels less like live chat and more like a chatbot. As you ask questions, it loads answers and links to resources. They are relevant to your question. In some cases, this might be useful. But, if you have a pressing question, it can be hard to get help. Instead, users with unique issues will likely find more help by using its contact form. But, this won’t yield an immediate response. And unfortunately, it does not offer support via phone.
Printify More Features Worth Noting
Another key aspect of Printify is order management. It shows users all their sales data. It also shows their production pipeline. This includes in production, on hold, ready to ship, or on its way. It’s a helpful dashboard for users to check and check sales. But, one thing that we didn’t like about it is that each sales channel has a separate order management dashboard. This is helpful. It would also be nice to have one dashboard. You could use it to view sales from all stores or sales channels.
Printify Alternatives and How They Compare
Who Is Printify Best For?
Printify is a good print-on-demand service. It is for online retailers who want an affordable solution with many product options. The free plan makes it easy to get started. It includes unlimited designs and lets you connect them to up to five stores or platforms. Product quality can vary. It uses third-party printing services. Its support needs improvement.
Conclusion
Printify is a top print-on-demand service. It also has one of the largest product catalogs. It’s very friendly to beginners (and free). It’s a good choice for those who are starting out. They want to sell their own custom-printed products online. They want to do this without a big upfront cost of money or time.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Does it work?
Yes, Printify does work as a full-fledged print-on-demand service. It lets online retailers make custom-printed products. They can then list them on their own stores. When a customer places an order, Printify prints and ships it to the customer.
Which is better: Printify or Printful?
Printify and Printful are very similar print-on-demand services. But, they do have a couple of key differences. First, Printify has a much larger product catalog. It has over 850 products, compared to Printful’s 230-plus. Printful has more connections and integrations. This makes it more versatile. It works with any content management system your site uses. It also works with any online marketplaces you can sell on.
What are the best e-commerce website builders?
Several good options exist for website builders for online stores. The right one for you depends on factors like your skill, budget, and site needs. For example, Wix is the best for building a custom online store. Shopify is best for print-on-demand and dropshipping businesses. Squarespace is best for beginners, and WooCommerce is best for WordPress.
