Why is selling on print on demand sites a great way to make money for artists?
Print on demand (POD) has changed the way artists make a living. POD provides much lower overhead and prevents artists from needing large invest to get their work off the ground.
Like other modern creations such as Bitcoin and Uber, POD has disrupted the printing industry, making it far easier for all artists to reach clients.
Previously, artists weren’t able to reach customers unless they had the financial backing to do so. Now, thanks to POD websites, artists are thriving without ever needing the finances they once did to get started.
POD websites do the printing and shipping
Years ago, anyone who wanted to start a t-shirt business, had to have screen printing equipment on hand. Artists not only had to create the designs, but they had to invest in equipment and do all of the physical screen printing of the shirts. Once that was completed, artists had to sell them and ship them.
The old model meant artists were doing the thing they loved, but they also had to do other things they weren’t necessarily good at like printing and marketing.
POD websites have changed all of that. Now, artists do what the love and design cool graphics and pictures for a t-shirt (or other products like mugs, hats, pillowcases, etc). Once the designs are completed, artists upload them to a POD website like Redbubble or Teepublic.
When a customer buys a t-shirt with an artist’s design on it, the POD site handles all of the printing and shipping. The artist then receives a royalty for their work.
POD websites mean no overhead
Artists used to have to spend thousands of dollars on overhead before ever selling one item. A start-up t-shirt company would need to sell hundreds of shirts just to break even. An artist needed to buy the screen-printing machine and a load of t-shirts to print on. Then, they would sell their product and hope people bought it.
Some artists were forced to hire a company to do the printing. Again, this was expensive as screen printing companies have a minimum order that must be made before they start a job.
POD websites have completely changed the overhead need. The websites take on the cost of the machines, t-shirts, ink, and manpower to print the designs. Artists have no costs, except for their design software. This gives artists the chance to make money right away without shelling out thousands of dollars, to begin with.
Profits are high
Research indicates some artists earn over three-quarters of their income by selling through POD websites. Many of the artists using POD websites to sell their designs are either doing it as a second job or have embraced the digital nomad lifestyle. They can reap incredible profits by doing what they love from wherever they like.
In addition, artists can mark up the prices for their products quite significantly. If an artist creates a design on their own software at home, uploads the design to a POD website, and begins selling at a large markup, they can see high profits from a short period of work. Moreover, designs stay up on the POD websites until the artist takes them down. Artists can continue making money months, even years after they first post their designs.
