How to Start a Print-on-Demand Business in 2026 (Complete Beginner's Guide)

Print-on-demand lets you sell custom products without inventory, upfront costs, or shipping hassles. This guide walks you through everything from choosing your niche to making your first sale.

What is Print-on-Demand?

Print-on-demand (POD) is a business model where you create designs, a customer orders a product with your design, and a third-party printer produces and ships it directly to them. You never touch inventory.

Here's how the flow works:

1. You create a design and list it on a product (t-shirt, mug, poster, etc.)
2. Customer finds your listing and purchases
3. The order goes to your print provider
4. They print the product and ship it to your customer
5. You keep the difference between the sale price and production cost

Your job: designs, marketing, and customer service. Their job: production and shipping.

Why Print-on-Demand is Perfect for Beginners

• No upfront inventory costs: Start with £0 in stock
• No risk of unsold products: Only print what sells
• Work from anywhere: Laptop-based business
• Unlimited product testing: Launch 100 designs without buying 100 samples
• Scalable: Sell 10 or 10,000 - the printer handles production

The barrier to entry is lower than almost any other e-commerce model. You can launch a store this weekend with no money and minimal technical skills.

Step 1: Choose Your Niche

The biggest mistake new sellers make is trying to sell to everyone. "Funny t-shirts" isn't a niche - it's a category with millions of competitors.

A good niche has:

• Passionate buyers: People who identify strongly with the topic
• Repeat purchase potential: They'll buy more than one item
• Searchable demand: People actively looking for products
• Design flexibility: Room for many different design ideas

Niche Examples That Work

• Professions: Nurses, teachers, electricians, software developers
• Hobbies: Fishing, gardening, gaming, cycling, baking
• Pet owners: Specific dog breeds, cat lovers, exotic pets
• Life stages: New parents, grandparents, retirees
• Causes: Mental health awareness, sustainability, neurodivergent pride

The narrower, the better. "Dachshund owners" beats "dog lovers". "ER nurses" beats "healthcare workers".

Step 2: Choose Your Products

Start with 1-3 product types. Don't try to sell everything at once.

Best Products for Beginners

Product	Base Cost	Typical Selling Price	Profit Margin
T-shirts	£8-12	£22-30	£10-18
Mugs	£5-8	£14-20	£6-12
Posters	£3-6	£15-25	£9-19
Hoodies	£18-25	£40-55	£15-30
Phone cases	£6-10	£18-25	£8-15

T-shirts are the classic starting point - high demand, good margins, and easy to create designs for. But consider what makes sense for your niche. Gardeners might buy more mugs than shirts.

Step 3: Choose a Print Provider

Your print provider handles production and shipping. The major players:

• Printful: Best all-round option, good quality, US and EU fulfilment
• Printify: Widest product range, multiple print providers to choose from
• Gooten: Competitive pricing, global network
• SPOD: Fast shipping in Europe, Spreadshirt's POD arm

For beginners, Printful or Printify are the safest choices. Both integrate directly with Etsy and Shopify.

Step 4: Choose Your Selling Platform

You have two main options: marketplaces or your own store.

Marketplaces (Etsy, Amazon, Redbubble)

• Pros: Built-in traffic, easier to get first sales, lower setup effort
• Cons: Fees eat into margins, less control, competition on same page

Your Own Store (Shopify)

• Pros: Full control, better margins, build your brand
• Cons: You must drive all traffic, monthly costs, more setup work

Recommendation: Start on Etsy to validate your niche and get early sales. Add Shopify later once you know what sells.

Step 5: Create Your Designs

You don't need to be a graphic designer. Your options:

• Create yourself: Canva (free), Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop
• Hire designers: Fiverr, 99designs, Upwork (£5-50 per design)
• Use AI tools: Midjourney, DALL-E, Adobe Firefly (check licensing)
• Buy commercial licenses: Creative Market, Design Bundles

Design Tips for POD

• Keep it simple - busy designs don't sell well on products
• Use high contrast colours that show up on different shirt colours
• Test designs on dark AND light backgrounds
• 300 DPI minimum for print quality
• PNG format with transparent background

Step 6: Create Product Mockups

Mockups are photos showing your design on the actual product. They're essential for listings - customers need to visualise what they're buying.

Options:

• Print provider mockups: Free but generic (everyone uses them)
• Mockup generators: Placeit, TakeFivve (unique, professional look)
• Order samples: Best quality but expensive and slow

For efficiency, use a tool like TakeFivve that lets you create custom mockup templates from your own photos - then generate mockups in bulk and push directly to your stores.

Step 7: Create Your Listings

Your listing copy sells the product. Key elements:

Title (Most Important)

Include keywords your customers search for. On Etsy, front-load the most important terms.

• ❌ "Cool Shirt for Dog People"
• ✅ "Dachshund Dad T-Shirt, Funny Wiener Dog Gift, Dog Lover Tee, Father's Day Present"

Description

Start with benefits, not features. Who is this for? Why will they love it? Then add the practical details (sizing, materials, care instructions).

Tags (Etsy)

Use all 13 tags. Mix specific terms ("dachshund dad shirt") with broader ones ("dog lover gift"). Include occasions and recipients.

Images

Lead with your strongest mockup. Include:

• Main product shot (lifestyle if possible)
• Design close-up
• Different colour options
• Size/fit reference

Step 8: Price Your Products

The formula: Base cost + Platform fees + Profit margin = Selling price

Example for a t-shirt on Etsy:

• Printful base cost: £10
• Etsy listing fee: £0.16
• Etsy transaction fee (6.5%): ~£1.50
• Payment processing (4%): ~£0.90
• Your profit target: £8
• Selling price: £22-24

Research competitors in your niche. Price too low and you won't make money. Price too high and you won't make sales.

Step 9: Launch and Get Your First Sales

With everything set up, focus on getting those crucial first sales:

• Start with 10-20 listings: Enough variety to attract different customers
• Optimise for search: Use relevant keywords in titles and tags
• Share on social media: Relevant groups, Pinterest, Instagram
• Ask friends/family: First reviews help build trust
• Consider Etsy ads: Small budget to boost visibility initially

Expect the first month to be slow. Most successful POD sellers didn't see consistent sales until month 2-3.

Step 10: Analyse and Scale

Once you have some sales data:

• Double down on what's selling - create variations of winning designs
• Cut what's not working after 60+ days with no sales
• Expand to new products in the same niche
• Consider adding Shopify for better margins
• Automate repetitive tasks (mockup generation, listings, descriptions)

Realistic Expectations

Let's be honest about what to expect:

• Month 1: 0-5 sales (you're learning and testing)
• Months 2-3: 5-20 sales/month if you're iterating
• Months 4-6: 20-50+ sales/month with consistent effort
• Year 1: £500-5,000/month is achievable but not guaranteed

POD isn't a get-rich-quick scheme. It's a real business that requires consistent effort. But the low barrier to entry means you can start learning immediately with minimal risk.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Too broad: "Funny shirts" isn't a niche. Go specific.
• Poor mockups: Generic, low-quality images kill conversions.
• Ignoring SEO: Your listing needs to be found before it can sell.
• Giving up too early: Most quit before they'd see results.
• Copyright infringement: Don't use others' IP. It will catch up with you.
• Overcomplicating: Start simple, then add complexity as you learn.

Start Today

The best time to start a POD business was five years ago. The second best time is today.

You don't need perfect designs, a perfect niche, or a perfect strategy. You need to start, learn, and iterate. Your first 10 products probably won't be winners - and that's fine. You're gathering data.

Pick a niche you understand. Create 10 designs. List them. See what happens. Adjust.

The sellers making £10k/month started exactly where you are now.