This article will take you through everything you should know about print-on-demand and some of the best illustration resources to use. Read on to find out more.
What is Print-on-demand, and How Does it Work?
The print-on-demand business is one that involves working alongside the supplier of white-label products. The aim is to customize and design these products and put them up for sale. In most cases, the sale is done on a pre-order basis, and this can be under a brand, with its specific brand design.
An interesting thing about print-on-demand is that you won’t have to pay for the product unless it has been sold. Therefore, you won’t need to hold your inventory or buy in bulk, and this is a key reason why it has become so popular in the e-commerce world today.
In addition, print-on-demand works such that it’s the supplier that will handle everything. This includes order fulfillment, digital printing, and shipping. Basically, after getting things set up, orders can be fulfilled with only a few clicks.
Another interesting thing today is that the print-on-demand industry doesn’t show any sign of it slowing down. This is due to the growing need for personalized options and unique products from different consumers. Also, print-on-demand services make it possible for different businesses to offer their products at affordable prices.
Here are some cases where you can use print-on-demand services:
Testing a new product line or business idea for a business without the risk of buying inventory. Basically, it creates room to embrace a new side hustle.
Monetizing the audiences, you have
Creating original products within different niches
Testing ads creative
One-off for small batch print.
Pros and Cons of Print on Demand
One of the basic things to note is that with print-on-demand, you can build businesses from a drop shipping mode. This is a case where you leave a third party to handle the products and shipping. It’s basically an easy way to source products and start a business online. However, it’s worth noting that there are pros and cons associated with this.
The pros and cons include the following:
Pros
Products can be created very quickly. You only need to have a design, and with that, you can quickly create different products and put them up for sale
Order fulfillment and shipping are taken care of by the supplier. Once you have made the sale, your duty to the customer is to render the service.
You don’t hold any physical inventory, and with that, you won’t be subject to many risks. Also, you can easily test ideas, pivot your approach, and add and remove products as well.
Cons
By default, buying in bulk will cause the cost per item to be higher. This is because of the low margin associated with print-on-demand.
You don’t have control over shipping, and the costs can be complicated as there are variations between each print-on-demand product. Also, you have fewer options when it comes to creating a standout unboxing experience.
The offers from print-on-demand companies usually vary, and this can affect your ability to customize your products.
10 Best Illustration Resources for Print on Demand
Have you long been thinking of starting your own print-on-demand business? You might already have your clothing line, and all you need is to add some creativity. To make this possible, you only need an amazing illustration resource for print-on-demand.
Here are some of the best options that you should consider checking:
1. illustAC
illustAC.com should be the first place that you should check as it offers high-quality free and premium designs that you can use for print on demand. The illustrations available on the site can be used for both commercial and personal use.
The site clearly defines all the categories available for their illustrations. These categories include people, animals, flowers, business, medical, textures, food, beauty/fashion, sports/recreations, transportation, education, and many more. Basically, you can’t run out of options to use with illustAC.
Usage guides
You might be wondering if you can use illustrations on illustAC for PoD. The main thing to note is that illustAC offers extra licenses which allow for the use of illustrations for PoD.
DesignBundles.net is another place to check for resources that you can use for PoD. You can also find high-quality free and premium designs, and they also have a license for commercial use. With this site, commercial use covers using products purchased/downloaded from the platform for commercial use.
There’s a bit of everything on DesignBUNDLES, and this includes graphic packs, templates, SVGs, icons, illustrations, textures, backgrounds, and many more.
Usage guides
You can use illustrations on the site for PoD. For this, you’ll only need to edit the graphics that you purchase and then combine them with other elements to make the graphic part of the design.
3. Unsplash
Unsplash.com is one of the most popular websites that photographers use, especially with it comes to sharing their work in different parts of the world. The photos available on the platform can be downloaded for different purposes, and you can also use them for commercial or free purposes.
Usage guide
You can find the photos and illustrations on Unsplash for PoD. However, by doing this, you agree that you’ll sell copies of the photos without significantly modifying, incorporating new elements, or updating the photos. The only things you’ll do is to resize, retouch, and make other minor changes to the photo. These are the conditions you’ll have to follow to use their illustrations for PoD.
4. StockVault
This is another place where designers can share their vector files, graphics, and photos for free. StockVault.net currently has more than 133,000 images and photos, with more being updated every week.
To use the platform, there are two main rules you should follow. Basically, you can’t sublicense, license, transfer, rent, sell, or distribute the exact images without altering them. Also, you won’t be able to claim ownership of the images when they are original.
Usage guide
You can use the illustrations on StockVault, but you only need to ensure that you make changes to the original image.
5. Pexels
Here’s another popular platform that people use because they offer high-quality stock photos that are also easy to find. You can use their search tool to find all the photos they offer because each photo is tagged with a keyword. They have a team that ensures that users can go through their photos and get the one they want to use quickly.
Usage guide
Like other platforms, you can use the photos they offer for PoD, but you’ll need to ensure that you modify, add value, or edit the original photo.
Gratisography.com is another impressive option to consider. The website is known for its collection of stock images of high resolution. If you want your PoD illustration to be silly, funny, edgy, or rate, you should consider checking the website now.
Usage guide
You can use Gratisography for PoD, but you’ll need to modify the images you get from the platform.
7. Pixabay
Pixabay.com was established in 2010, and since then, the website has developed a reputation that places it among the leading websites for illustrations, photos, film footage, and vector graphics.
Usage guide
Pixabay offers a range of images, and for you to use them for PoD, you only need to ensure that you make changes to their images. This implies that you cannot sell replicas of the stock illustrations for PoD products. Another thing to ensure is that you don’t use images with logos that can mislead your audience.
8. Vecteezy
Here’s a platform that boasts of being one of the biggest communities for vector graphics today. The site also offers illustrations that can be used for PoD.
Usage guide
As mentioned earlier, you can use Vecteezy illustrations for PoD, but you need to note that the license you get is what will determine your usage. Here’s what you should know:
The free license allows for up to 50 sales, all of which require attribution
With the pro license, you can make up to 100,000 sales without attribution required
You have no sales restrictions with the pro extended license, and this is also without attributions.
This is a site that provides some of the best design resources, including mockups, templates, fonts, graphics, and many other tools, that you can use to excel in the PoD industry.
Usage guide
As long as the illustration are free, you can use them how you wish and without any limitation. However, with commercial use, it’s different, and you can only use them for client projects or for creating end products for sale.
10. Free Stocks
The last resource on our list is Free Stock, which is a photo service that was designed for entrepreneurs and creatives. They offer categories like people, technology, nature, drinks, food, fashion, architecture, city, and animals.
Usage guide
Freestocks.org allows people to use their stock illustrations for PoD. They offer free and licensed photos, all of which are under the Creative Commons Zero. Even though you can’t sell their original photos, you can copy and modify them for commercial use.
Tips to Start Print on Demand
It’s a lot easier to use a PoD service, but the big work comes with managing inventory. However, there are a few things that you should be aware of to help you navigate certain challenges.
Here are some useful print-on-demand tips to guide you:
Keep order simple: One of the essential things for selling online with PoD is product quality assurance. The goal is to sell items that look and feel like your intentions. A simple way to achieve this is by being your own customer. This is also a great way to ensure the quality of your products.
Be strategic about shipping: Even though you are not directly involved in shipping, you should note that there are complexities that come with shipping, particularly in terms of costs and shipping time. The key thing for you is to ensure that the PoD company is transparent about shipping. They should also be proactive when it comes to sharing information concerning the delay.
Create mockups that show off your products: Even though you can use models to take compelling photos for your products, you should consider using mockups as well. With PoD services, you can create mockups for each of your products.
Find your niche and build an audience: With PoD, your margins might be thinner, but you can avoid this if you’re strategic, especially when it comes to positioning your brand. With a defined audience, you can reduce the cost of gaining customers and actually maximize potential profits. All of this can be achieved when you clearly define your niche.
Create your online store: If you’re considering PoD, there are different marketplaces where you can sell your custom designs on. Examples include Zazzle, and RedBubble, both of which provide POD services with which you can easily create your online store. Also, you can use places like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy to sell your products.
Conclusion
Print-on-demand is a readily accessible option for new entrepreneurs to start with or for anyone looking to experiment with different ideas. In this article, we’ve covered all the basic things that you should know about print-on-demand. From how it works to its pros and cons, you’ll find everything in this article.
In addition, we have also provided the best illustration resources for print on demand, and among the options available, we recommend illustAC.
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