Is Print On-Demand The Right Method for Your Brand?

No matter what type of art you produce, physical products, especially apparel, can be the perfect means to monetize your creations. They’re the ultimate canvas to sell your work and communicate your message to the world. Is Print On-Demand the appropriate method to produce your customized products and sell your creations efficiently? Let’s see what it has to offer.?

First things first, what exactly is Print On-Demand??

Print On-Demand, commonly known in the industry as POD, is a fulfillment method in which items are printed only when an order is made. It is a minimal-risk way of bringing an idea to life and putting it up for sale: your customized products are made available to the public to be sold and shipped on a per-order basis, without needing to pay in advance to produce inventory. Let’s suppose you have an Ecommerce store, if you are producing with POD that would mean that a physical product is only manufactured when somebody hits the buy button and completes payment.?

What Are the Benefits of Print On-Demand??

POD presents many advantages compared to traditional production models, let’s go over a few:

• Low investment cost: With POD there are no upfront purchases or fees required to be paid before you start making sales. You don’t have to buy a bulk of products to be able to sell them, and you won’t be charged for production or shipping until a sale has been made.
• ?Fast Turnarounds: By printing only what you need, you can offer fast turnaround times, especially if you choose Merchadise. Since all our products are sourced domestically or near-shore, our supply chain doesn’t involve shipping containers, import-export taxes or international trade delays, i.e. you are guaranteed the fastest turnaround times possible.
• Cost-effective and Eco-friendly: You can produce small quantities quickly and without any waste. You won’t have piles of inventory sitting in a warehouse, running the risk that those products may never be sold and could eventually end up in landfills.
• Keep the rights to your work: The loss of creative control is common in the business world, but the licensing deal you get when you work with Merchadise for POD allows you to keep all the rights to your work.
• Avoid storage hassle: You get to print only what you need, when you need it (that’s when somebody has already paid for it). That means storage costs are reduced and when you choose Merchadise there are no storage costs at all.
• Better Customer Experience: By printing in recurrent runs you get the opportunity to update your products frequently and keep up with fashion trends. Not only that, but Merchadise also handles post-sale responsibilities such as manufacturing, fulfillment and customer service communications.

What are the disadvantages?

Sometimes, the labor involved in selling a product is overlooked. While at Merchadise we take care of the entire Merch Experience and set up your Ecommerce store, it’s important to remember that the marketing strategy to actually sell the products remains under the responsibility of the licensing brand. This responsibility generally involves developing a marketing plan and creating a social media presence.?

Are Print On-Demand services exclusive to the apparel industry?

Not at all. Print on demand is often used as a proving ground for many products and ideas, it's a means of creating limited copies of a wide variety of customized goods. For example, many writers will use print on demand to test their print formats before submitting to an agent, or even use it as an alternative path to traditional publishing. The concept is the same for graphic designers and artists, as it allows for the creation and sale of products featuring their artwork without assuming the risk of over-production and without selling their property rights.