As a modern photographer, there are so many ways to make money from the pictures you take. One of the best ways is by selling printed copies of your work.
You can do this by launching an online shop, printing pictures with frames, and putting up the art for sale in your shop.
However, this could be expensive, especially the printing part, and it could amount to a loss if the printed works are not purchased in due time.
If you don’t have enough money to print and manage inventory, you can make use of print on demand services to sell your printed works.
Using print on demand services has many benefits from reduced spending to better product management.
In this post, we’ll discuss the 10 best print on demand sites for photographers. But, before you register with any print on demand website, you should understand what print on demand is all about.
What Is Print On Demand?
The concept behind print on demand is clear from its description, products get printed upon demand.
As a photographer wanting to sell printed photos online, you don’t have to spend money printing and storing these photos in a store or warehouse.
With print on demand services, the photos will be printed once a customer orders for them from your store. All you have to do on your part is capture photos and upload them to your online store.
One advantage you get is that your photos don’t just get to be printed in frames. Customers can order for them to be printed on almost anything including clothes, cups, stickers, phone cases, laptop cases, etc.
Another advantage of print on demand websites is products get fulfilled on time. It might be difficult for you to manage different print orders if you operate alone. That would require extra hands which will add to the cost.
You might be wondering; if they print the work, how do I make money? Well, it’s easy. Most print on demand websites charge a base price for their products; hence, you can add any amount to the base price which will result in the retail price.
When customers make purchases, the print on demand website collects their base price and the rest goes to you. Some websites might demand upfront payment for the products while others will charge only from customers’ payment.
Without further ado, here are the 10 best print on demand websites for photographers.
10 Best Print On Demand Sites For Photographers
Printify
Printify is one of the most popular print on demand websites currently. The platform was launched to aid creatives to make money easily from their work.
By the numbers, Printify is the best print on demand platform with more than 90 print providers and more than 300,000 users.
There are more than 250 products available on Printify. You can get your photos printed on art and wall decorations. This includes posters, canvases, decals, frames, wraps, clocks, and many more.
To use Printify to sell your photos, you need to set up an online store on an eCommerce platform. In fact, Printify integrates with top eCommerce platforms including Shopify, Etsy, eBay, PrestaShop, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce.
Base prices for products include the product wholesale price and the shipping price. For this, product base price tends to be on a high side on Printify. Nevertheless, you can set your profit to any percentage.
Fortunately, it features a mock-up generator that allows you to preview your photos on different products before publishing them to your store.
Printify also gives the option of ordering samples. This allows you to inspect the printed work whether it meets your preferred quality or not.
However, print quality is different due to the presence of multiple print providers; hence, you can select the best print provider for your store.
You can use Printify free of charge with access to unlimited products and up to five different stores. There is also a Premium Plan which costs $29 per month and an Enterprise Plan with custom pricing.
Related: Printify Review
Give shape to your dropshipping dream. Printify gives you the liberty to create, design and sell your custom prints using 3000 plus products. What's more, it is absolutely free!
Printful
Another best print on demand platform that should make our list is Printful. It is renowned for fulfilling close to 13 million orders and for generating revenue amounting to over 462 million US dollars.
Printful has been around since 2012 and currently operates six in-house fulfillment centers.
There are four basic steps in starting a print on demand business with Printful. To begin with, the platform is not a marketplace, so you have to host your store on a third-party eCommerce platform before connecting.
Supported integrations for this include WooCommerce, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, etc.
After connecting your store, you can add products. Thankfully, Printful offers wall art of different sizes on which your photos can be printed. This includes posters, framed posters, and canvas prints.
Likewise, your photos can be printed on clothing, bags, and cases if customers request it.
When customers make purchases from your store, Printful receives it automatically and begins production. Once printing is done, the product gets shipped to the customer.
Printful handles everything about fulfillment and products can be shipped with your brand on the package.
Like most print on demand sites for photographers, no registration fee or monthly subscription fee is charged on this platform.
From the displayed base price, you set your desired profit and the selling price is generated; this means your profit is up to you.
Additionally, Printful offers eCommerce photography services where people can request photo models for photoshoots. You can take advantage of this if you’re a photographer looking for ideal models for a gig.
Also Read: Is Printful Worth It?
Printful helps you design and sell products online with ease. From picking products to designing, printing, delivery & everything else, Printful takes care of all. Try it today!
Redbubble
Launched in 2006, Redbubble has grown to become a print on demand website that has recorded more than 700,000 sellers and millions of buyers.
By joining Redbubble as a photographer, you can display your photos on the Redbubble marketplace for prospective customers to purchase.
To use Redbubble, all you have to do is register for an account on the platform. It is free and you won’t be paying for any subscription.
After registration, upload your photos and choose the ideal product(s) you want them to be printed on.
Your photos can be printed as unique photography prints, which is among the various wall art options featured on Redbubble. Other options include canvas prints, metal prints, posters, tapestries, framed prints, and more.
Once your ideal products are selected, you can then publish them online. The platform generates a Redbubble store domain URL from your username.
While you can customize the username at any time, you cannot use a custom domain i.e remove the .redubble.com extension.
Redbubble works as a standalone platform which makes things all the easier; you don’t have to connect to Shopify, Woocommerce, or any other third-party eCommerce store.
As a result, you shouldn’t be expecting many third-party integrations on Redbubble. Furthermore, the Redbubble platform incorporates an analytics dashboard that facilitates real-time monitoring.
You can share your work on social media platforms like Facebook and Pinterest. Also, if you have an existing photography website, you can embed your Redbubble store link to display your portfolio.
This is ideal if you already have lots of fans visiting your website.
Check Out: Redbubble Review
Zazzle
Zazzle functions as a print on demand website and as an online marketplace.
On the Zazzle marketplace, people can sell or purchase a variety of products. For photographers, the options available include posters, canvas arts, wood wall arts, stickers, banners, and more.
Opening an account with Zazzle is free. You have to set up your store before uploading your photographs and selecting products to print them on.
Ideally, Zazzle only charges for the base price from customer’s purchases. To make a profit, you simply need to add your royalty price to the Zazzle base price.
By default, this price is set to five percent, but you can increase it up to a maximum of 99 percent. Also, Zazzle pays for referrals, which is 15 percent of the product price.
As a print on demand website, Zazzle will print and ship the product while you can focus on marketing. The shipping price is auto-generated when customers add products to their purchase cart.
Fulfillment is relatively fast as products get printed and shipped within 1 – 3 business days after the purchase is completed.
For quality assurance, printed products can be returned and replaced or a full refund made if they don’t meet the customers’ expectations.
However, Zazzle has a strong policy against copyright infringements, so as a photographer, you should ensure that the photos you upload are 100 percent yours or you own the copyrights.
Explore: Zazzle Review
Fine Art America
This is a print on demand website that focuses on art. Fine Art America is used by photographers as well as graphic designers, artists, and illustrators.
It was launched in 2006 and with 16 manufacturing locations in five countries, Fine Art America has one of the largest fulfillment networks among print on demand websites.
It is used by more than 100,000 sellers and since its inception, more than five million products have been shipped. Fine Art America is relatively easy to set up for selling.
As a photographer, you can register and upload your pictures. Then, choose print on demand products, set the selling price, and publish them online.
The platform is also a marketplace, so you can sell printed items directly. Fine Art America supports integration with Shopify. The photos you upload on Fine Art America should be JPEGs. Furthermore, the color profile should be sRGB for better print quality.
Products featured on Fine Art America include wall art, home décor, tech, stationery, apparel, etc. Fine Art America facilitates worldwide shipping; hence, you can sell your printed photographs to customers, irrespective of their location.
You have a high chance of increasing sales if your photos are featured on the home page.
Apart from printing your photos on products, you can simply put the photo for sale as a digital download.
This way, the customer will contact you and pay for a license to own and use the image. With the Fine Art America mobile app, managing your store becomes easier.
Teespring
Teespring is both a print on demand website and online marketplace for photographers. More than 50 different types of products are available on Teespring.
For photographers, you can sell canvas prints, posters, tapestries, and more with your photos on them.
Using Teespring to publish photos online is easy thanks to the Teespring Launcher and no fee is charged for registration. Also, products are scheduled for printing after confirmation of orders.
Not to mention, the shipping cost varies depending on product and destination, but the customer is responsible for the payment and not the vendor.
However, Teespring sources all products outside the United States because they have different print locations and partners in Europe and America.
This ensures that products are delivered on time as production will be carried out in the print location closest to the customer.
By using Teespring, you get paid by credit/debit card or via PayPal. The product pricing pattern is similar to most print on demand sites for photographers already discussed.
A base price is given, you enter your selling price, and put the product up for sale. After purchase, the base price is deducted and you keep your profit.
Apart from print on demand, Teespring also handles inventory. So, if you’ve got some already printed photos, you can send them to Teespring and they will help you with shipping and fulfillment when a customer pays for them.
Interestingly, Teespring integrates with social media via YouTube Merch. That way, you can sell your photos below your YouTube videos if you own a budding YouTube account.
Interesting Comparison: Teespring Vs Printify
CowCow
CowCow is a noteworthy print on demand site for photographers. It was launched to eliminate mass production so products are only produced when they are needed.
To use CowCow, you should create an account, upload your photos, choose products, publish, and then earn. In fact, you won’t need a third-party eCommerce platform before selling.
There are several print on demand products you can sell as a photographer on CowCow. It features canvases & mini-canvases (framed and unframed) of different sizes and collages.
However, CowCow issues image uploading instructions to ensure quality. JPEGs and PNGs are the supported image formats and the images should be high resolution, at least 150 DPI.
A simple product designer is featured for testing the uploaded photos on products before publishing.
Products are shipped via USPS and can take 8 – 12 days to fulfill. The production companies are located in south-eastern China which is a factor for the lengthy delivery time.
Nonetheless, CowCow ships to countries across all continents with a major stance in Europe and North America.
Though no registration fee is charged, there are monthly subscriptions. The subscription is charged after the first 12 months and costs $9.95 per month.
Nevertheless, CowCow product base prices are among the cheapest you can get.
Furthermore, your markup has no limit; you can make as much profit from the printed photos as you want. CowCow only issues payment to shop owners via PayPal, but your customers can make payment using credit cards.
Society6
Society6 is a unique print on demand platform with a major focus on art. It was launched to provide artists with a platform to share their art, sell original works, attract customers from all over the world, and make money.
Currently, Society6 has more than 300,000 artists in more than 60 countries. With Society6, you get access to quality products like wall art, home décor, apparel, and others for printing your photographs on.
While you can sell directly on Society6, you can also make use of third-party marketplaces. The platform features an Artist Studio that allows you to manage published products, earnings, orders, etc.
Different pixel dimensions are required for different products. Generally, images should have a resolution of 300 PPI, 150 PPI at least. Also, it should be RGB color mode and either JPEG or PNG file format.
For several Society6 products, the artist markup is 10 percent and cannot be changed. However, products like framed prints, canvas prints, and art prints can be set at any markup and as a photographer, these are the ideal products to sell.
The delivery time differs and can take between 10 – 15 days. However, shipping within the United States and Australia is carried out within 5 – 10 days. You get paid via PayPal and payment is issued 30 days after order shipment.
Worth Reading: Printful Vs Society6
Gooten
Gooten is another platform that facilitates print on demand production and fulfillment.
You can launch an online store with Gooten or connect an existing store on Shopify, Etsy, or a custom-built website with the Gooten API.
In fact, you can connect different stores at a time and all orders will be processed by Gooten no matter where they are coming from.
Gooten offers unique products that photographs can be printed on. Some of these include acrylic blocks, acrylic prints, acrylic trays, mini canvas, and canvas posters. These products are available in different variations and the base prices differ.
By making use of Gooten, you are assured of quality. The platform works automatically so once an order is received, it sorts through the manufacturer network to find the ideal manufacturer for the task taking cost and time into consideration.
After manufacturing, products are shipped to customers. The shipping rates are flat rates that customers will pay along with the order. It takes 5 – 12 days for shipping to complete, but if within the US, it takes between 5 and 7 days.
Products can be shipped faster with the Expedited and Overnight shipping options though these attract extra charges.
If customers complain about any print error after product delivery, you can relate with the Gooten Partner Support Team to make rectifications.
Also Read: Gooten Review
Printer’s Studio
Another PoD site for photographers is Printer’s Studio. Interestingly, you get commissions when you upload your photos to be printed on products and customers purchase them.
Apart from being easy-to-use, you can also sell products such as photo books, glass prints, calendars, and more. In fact, new products are introduced from time to time.
With its gift maker tool, you can test photos on any of these products before production.
Printer’s Studio engages in professional printing with industry-standard materials. Your photos are printed on products using state of the art industrial printers to ensure the highest quality.
Ideally, using Printer’s Studio attracts no subscription payment. The maximum markup you can add to product base prices for your profit is 250 percent.
This implies that you can make two times more than the product’s initial costs.
Products are shipped locally and to several international locations. Printer’s Studio offers two shipping options – Standard Shipping and Rush Shipping. Standard Shipping is completed within 8 – 10 business days while Rush Shipping, which attracts an extra charge, is completed within 5 – 6 business days.
Rounding Up
Photography is a unique piece of art and great meaningful photographs can be worth hundreds to thousands of dollars.
With print on demand websites, you can monetize your passion by putting your pictures online to be printed on various products.
Listed above are the 10 best print on demand sites for photographers you can make use of. However, Printify and Printful are recommended as the best out of the 10.
Printify has more than 90 print providers which imply that your customers’ orders will get fulfilled faster. Not to mention, they have over 250 different product types in their catalog.
Furthermore, Printify offers a large range of print product options, so you can print your pictures on any material that your customers want.
On the other hand, Printiful is another highly recommended print on demand site that photographers can consider. Apart from having fulfilled up to 13 million orders, Printful also offers eCommerce photography services.
That way, you can request photo models for your custom printed products.
