Printify Review: A Personal Journey
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As an ecommerce entrepreneur who's been in the game for more than 10 years reviewing print on demand companies at Ecommerce-Platforms.com, I've had my fair share of experiences with various print-on-demand (POD) services.
When I first found Printify I was interested in its large product catalog and global network of print providers. After using the platform for over a year I can say with confidence that Printify is my go to POD service.
It’s not perfect but it’s been a game changer for my business. Let me take you through my journey with Printify, the highs, the lows and everything in between.
Quick Verdict about Printify:
Printify gets a solid 9.5/10 from me. It's not flawless, but it's a powerful, user-friendly platform that's helped me grow my business significantly.
The vast product selection, ease of use, and flexible pricing make it an excellent choice for both newcomers and experienced ecommerce entrepreneurs.
Whether you're just starting out or looking to expand your product line, I'd definitely recommend giving Printify a shot. Just remember to do your due diligence when selecting print providers, and don't be afraid to order samples to ensure quality.
First Impressions and Setup
When I first landed on Printify I was impressed by its clean design. A nice change of pace from some of the other clunky interfaces I’ve seen with other POD services.
The homepage clearly outlined the features and benefits and I was interested enough to sign up.
The sign up process was quick and easy. I liked that I didn’t have to jump through hoops or provide unnecessary info. Within minutes I had my account set up and was ready to go.
First things first I connected Printify to my Shopify store. I have to admit I was a bit nervous about this part. In my experience integrations can be finicky and time consuming.
To my surprise connecting Printify to my Shopify store took less than a minute. It was as simple as clicking a few buttons and authorizing the connection.
This alone gets a big thumbs up in my book – one less headache when you’re getting your business off the ground or expanding your product line.
The Product Catalog: A Goldmine
Once I had my account set up and connected I dived into the product catalog. This is where Printify really excels. With over 900 products to choose from I felt like a kid in a candy store. The sheer amount of products is mind boggling.
Of course there are the usual suspects you’d expect from any POD service – t-shirts, hoodies, mugs and phone cases. But Printify goes way beyond that. I was scrolling through pages of products I hadn’t even thought of before: custom pet accessories, eco friendly yoga mats, personalized cutting boards and even custom branded coffee!
This opened up a whole new world of possibilities for my business. I had been focusing on apparel but seeing all these options made me realize I could easily expand into home decor, accessories and even consumables. It was exciting to think about diversifying my product line without having to deal with multiple suppliers or inventory.
One category that really caught my eye was the eco friendly section. As someone trying to make my business more sustainable I liked having options like organic cotton tees and biodegradable phone cases.
I can now appeal to a more eco conscious customer base without compromising on quality or design options.
The options don’t stop at product types either. For each product category there are usually multiple styles, colors and sizes to choose from. This gives a lot of flexibility in designing and curating your product line.
But I will say it’s a bit overwhelming at first. It took me some time to go through everything and decide what to focus on. But I think having too many options is a good problem to have in this business.
Design Process: Good but Room for Improvement
Once I had my initial product lineup I could start designing. Printify’s Product Creator is where you’ll spend most of your time and overall I found it to be good.
Uploading designs is easy – you can upload your own files or use Printify’s integration with Shutterstock to find images. The mockup feature is super useful. Being able to see how my design would look on the actual product saved me from ordering samples of designs that looked great in my head but not so much on the actual product.
The tool also has some basic editing features like resizing, rotating and positioning your design on the product. For simple designs these are more than enough. I liked being able to save templates for different products which saved a lot of time when creating variations of the same design across different product types.
That being said I did encounter some issues when working on more complex designs. Trying to match exact brand colors for instance was a bit of a challenge. The color picker isn’t as precise as I’d like and there’s no option to input specific color codes. I had to resort to trial and error to get colors just right.
Another issue I had was with layering and combining multiple design elements. For more complex designs I had to use external design software and then upload the finished design to Printify. Not a deal breaker but an area where I think Printify could improve to make the platform more designer friendly.
Despite these issues I still think the Product Creator is one of the most user friendly design tools I’ve seen in the POD space. For most products and designs it gets the job done.
Print Providers: The Key to Quality
One of Printify’s unique selling points is its network of print providers. Unlike some POD services that handle all printing in-house Printify partners with numerous print providers around the world. This has its pros and cons which I’ve experienced firsthand.
On the plus side this model allows for more flexibility in pricing, production time and shipping locations. For each product you can usually choose from multiple providers, each with their own pricing and shipping options.
I’ve been able to optimize my product listings for different markets – choosing providers closer to my target customers to reduce shipping times and costs.
However this flexibility comes at a cost of consistency. I’ve found that print quality can vary greatly between providers even for the same product. Some providers deliver excellent quality all the time while others are hit or miss.
To navigate this I’ve learned to rely heavily on Printify’s provider ranking system. Each provider is rated on factors like print quality, production time and overall reliability. I’ve had the best results with providers that have high ratings across all categories even if they are a bit more expensive.
I also make it a habit to order samples from new providers before adding their products to my store. Yes it’s an extra expense but it’s saved me from customer complaints down the line.
One thing I like about this model is the transparency. Printify provides detailed information about each provider including their location, production time and shipping options. This has been super helpful in managing customer expectations and choosing the right providers for different products and markets.
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Shipping and Fulfillment: Mostly smooth sailing with a few hiccups
For the most part Printify’s shipping and fulfillment has been smooth. Once an order comes in it’s automatically sent to the chosen print provider who then handles production and shipping. I love this hands off approach as I can focus on design and marketing rather than logistics.
One feature I really like is the automatic order routing. If one provider can’t fulfill an order (due to stock issues for example) Printify will automatically route it to another provider. This has saved me from headaches and disappointed customers more than once.
Printify has various shipping options from economy to express so customers have flexibility in balancing cost and speed. The platform calculates shipping cost based on product, provider location and customer address which is then reflected in my store at checkout.
However I’ve had some issues with shipping estimates being off. There have been times where orders took much longer to arrive than the estimated delivery time and I had some unhappy customers. While this isn’t a frequent occurrence it’s something to keep in mind especially during peak season like holidays.
Another minor annoyance I have is with tracking. While Printify does provide tracking numbers for most orders the level of detail can vary depending on the shipping method and provider.
Some providers offer tracking from production to delivery while others only provide basic milestone updates.
Despite these hiccups I still find Printify’s shipping and fulfillment to be reliable. The key I’ve found is to set customer expectations correctly and choose providers and shipping methods based on your target market.
Customer Support: Responsive but needs improvement
In my experience Printify’s customer support has been hit or miss. On the plus side support is available 24/7 through live chat and email. This is especially important in ecommerce where issues can pop up at any time and need to be resolved quickly.
When I’ve reached out with questions or concerns I’ve generally gotten a quick response. The support team seems to know the platform and has been able to help me resolve most issues.
However I’ve noticed some inconsistency in the support. Sometimes I get quick and helpful responses that go above and beyond to address my concerns. Other times I get generic copy-pasted answers that don’t fully answer my question. This inconsistency can be frustrating especially when dealing with time sensitive issues.
One area Printify could improve is to provide more proactive support for common issues. For example it would be great to have more detailed guides or video tutorials for complex features or troubleshooting common problems.
That being said I do like Printify’s knowledge base. It’s extensive and has been my go to when I have questions. The articles are well written and easy to understand which has saved me from having to contact support for many basic questions.
Pricing: Competitive and flexible
Printify’s pricing structure is one of the things I like most about the platform. I started with the free plan which was perfect for testing the waters with no financial commitment. I could set up my store, create designs and even make a sale without any upfront cost.
As my business grew I upgraded to the Premium plan which is $29.99/month (or $24.99 if billed annually). The main benefit of this plan is the 20% discount on all products which has been worth the monthly fee. I can maintain healthy profit margins even as I scale up and run promotions.
One thing I like about Printify’s pricing is the transparency. For each product and provider you can see exactly what your costs will be including production and shipping. This makes it easy to calculate potential profit and set retail prices.
The fact that there’s no minimum order quantity is a big plus. I can test new designs or products without the risk of being stuck with unsold inventory.
For high volume businesses Printify also has an Enterprise plan with custom pricing. I haven’t needed this level of service yet but it’s good to know the platform can scale with my business as it grows.
Integration and Automation: Streamlining operations
One area Printify has really helped me with is integration. As I mentioned earlier connecting Printify to my Shopify store was a piece of cake. But the platform doesn’t stop there – it also integrates with other major ecommerce platforms like Etsy, WooCommerce and even eBay.
This level of integration has allowed me to sell on multiple channels without duplicating work. I can manage all my products and orders from one dashboard regardless of which platform the sale came from. This has been a huge time saver and made it much easier to manage my business across multiple channels.
Printify also has some nice automation features. For example the platform can push new products to your connected stores, update inventory levels and even adjust prices based on your settings.
This level of automation has given me more time to focus on design and marketing rather than day to day operations.
One feature I like is the ability to auto create product variants. For example if I create a t-shirt design Printify can auto generate listings for different colors and sizes based on my settings. This saves a ton of time compared to creating each variant manually.
Growth and Scaling: A solid partner
As my business has grown over the past year I’ve found Printify to be a solid partner in scaling my operations. The platform can handle large order volumes without any issues so I have confidence to run bigger marketing campaigns and take on bigger wholesale orders.
Printify handles all production and fulfillment so I can focus on growing my brand and expanding my product line. I can test new product categories and designs without worrying about manufacturing logistics or inventory management.
One area that’s been really helpful in scaling is Printify’s analytics and reporting. The platform gives me detailed insights into sales performance, best selling products and even profit margins.
This data has been super helpful in making decisions on which products to focus on and where to allocate my marketing budget.
Environmental Considerations: A step in the right direction
As someone who’s becoming more aware of my business’s environmental impact I appreciate Printify’s efforts in this area. The platform has eco friendly products from organic cotton apparel to biodegradable phone cases.
The print on demand model itself is more sustainable than traditional manufacturing. By producing items only when they’re ordered it reduces waste from unsold inventory.
But I do think there’s room for improvement here. While Printify has eco friendly options I’d love to see more transparency around the environmental impact of different products and providers. Information on carbon footprints, packaging materials and sustainability practices would be helpful in making more informed decisions.
My Verdict
I’ve used Printify for over 5 years now and I can confidently say it’s part of my ecommerce business. Is it perfect? No. But in my experience the pros far outweigh the cons.
What I like:
What could be better:
Conclusion
Printify has been a valuable partner in my ecommerce journey, allowing me to focus on what I do best – designing and marketing – while taking care of the complex logistics of production and fulfillment. While there's always room for improvement, I'm excited to see how the platform continues to evolve and grow alongside my business.