Printful Review: A Leading Print-on-Demand Solution Transforming the Custom Printing Industry

Print-on-Demand (POD) services have surged in popularity in recent years, and among them, Printful stands out as one of the most recognized and reputable players. In this review, we take an in-depth look at Printful to determine whether it’s the right fit for your online business.

This guide covers Printful’s core features, product catalog, pricing structure, fulfillment process, customer service quality, integrations, pros and cons, and how it compares to competing POD platforms.

What is Printful?

Printful is a fulfillment provider that prints and ships custom-designed products on demand directly to your customers. Since its launch in 2013, the company has built a strong reputation for high-quality printing, competitive pricing, and reliable customer support.

Printful focuses primarily on apparel and home décor, but also offers printing for accessories such as mugs, posters, blankets, phone cases, and more.

One major advantage is the wide range of customization options. Users can upload their own artwork or choose from thousands of curated templates created by Printful’s in-house design experts. Additional creative resources include a mockup generator, design tools, community inspiration, and tutorials.

Because Printful handles storage, printing, packing, and shipping, sellers can operate with no inventory and no logistics infrastructure. All that’s required is to promote your products, take orders, and let Printful fulfill them.

How Printful Works

Printful operates on a dropshipping-based POD model:

1. A customer places an order in your store
2. Printful prints the product
3. Printful ships it directly to the customer

There are no minimum order requirements, but each item incurs printing and shipping fees. After creating an account, you gain access to a full dashboard where you can upload designs, manage listings, track orders, and edit product settings.

Printful also offers a mobile app for iOS and Android, allowing sellers to manage orders and product catalogs on the go.

Printful Product Catalog

Printful currently offers around 340 products, which is larger than many competitors such as SPOD, Spring, and Spreadshirt. However, Printify offers a significantly larger catalog of 900+ products.

A key distinction is that Printful prints all products in-house, rather than outsourcing to third-party print partners. This gives Printful tighter control over production quality, consistency, and reliability.

Main Product Categories

Printful’s catalog spans six major product groups:

✅ Men’s apparel
✅ Women’s apparel
✅ Kids and youth clothing
✅ Hats and headwear
✅ Accessories
✅ Home and lifestyle items

The product library clearly displays pricing, size availability, shipping estimates, and color options, making product selection simple.

Many apparel items come from well-known brands such as:

• Adidas
• Champion
• Columbia

This branding adds retail credibility and allows sellers to charge premium pricing.

Printful also provides transparent product reviews, showing feedback on print quality, fit, material, and customer recommendation scores—something most POD competitors don’t offer.

Services Offered by Printful

Printful provides several services tailored to ecommerce sellers:

1. Print-on-Demand Fulfillment

Products are printed only after orders are placed. Average fulfillment time is 2–7 business days.

2. Branding Enhancements

Branding options include:

• custom labels
• branded packaging
• white-label presentation

3.Warehousing and Distribution

Printful can store inventory and ship it for you — useful for hybrid POD + stock businesses.

4. Creative Services

Optional paid services include:

• product design
• logo creation
• print file preparation
• photography and video production

Standout Features

✅ Mockup generator and design tools

Drag-and-drop customization, clipart, fonts, and resolution alerts

✅ Product migration tool

Import listings from platforms like Shopify without losing SEO

✅ Full automation

Order routing, tracking, syncing, and fulfillment without manual handling

✅ Guarantees

Refunds for damaged or lost items and satisfaction protections

✅ No minimum order quantities

Low-risk business model with no upfront inventory costs

Customer Service and Ratings

Printful offers 24/7 support via email, chat, and phone, though experiences vary by user.

Industry ratings include:

⭐ Trustpilot: 4.0 / 5 (1,097+ reviews)
⭐ G2: 4.1 / 5 (41 reviews)

Live chat is generally fast, and the help center provides tutorials, guides, and troubleshooting.

Designing Products with Printful

Printful’s design editor allows users to:

✅ upload artwork
✅ add text (700+ built-in fonts)
✅ insert clipart and design elements
✅ access paid Getty Images
✅ download Photoshop and Illustrator templates

Limitations include no ability to upload custom fonts, which some designers may find restrictive.

Printful also offers over 2,550 mockup styles to showcase products in real-world scenes.

Printful Integrations

Printful offers an industry-leading 23 ecommerce and marketplace integrations, including:

• Shopify
• WooCommerce
• Etsy
• eBay
• Amazon
• Walmart
• Squarespace
• Wix

This far exceeds many competitors.

Custom API integration is also available.

Pricing and Costs

Printful does not charge monthly fees, unlike services such as Printify Premium.

You only pay for:

1. The product base cost
2. Printing fees
3. Shipping costs

Sample order example:

Printful also offers:

✅ 20% discount on sample orders
✅ Bulk order discounts (25+ units)
✅ Membership discounts via Printful Growth & Business tiers

Pros and Cons of Printful

✅ Pros

✔ Easy-to-use interface
✔ No minimums or upfront inventory
✔ High print quality and brandable products
✔ Large selection of well-known apparel brands
✔ 24/7 customer support
✔ Mobile apps available
✔ Transparent product reviews

❌ Cons

✖ Higher shipping fees than some competitors
✖ Longer delivery times for some regions
✖ Limited mockup library variety
✖ No bulk editing for variants

Best Printful Alternatives

⭐ Printify

Lower prices, larger catalog, but outsourced production

⭐ Teelaunch

Fast fulfillment, good product variety, weaker support

⭐ Print Aura

No minimums, decent quality, slower support and higher shipping

⭐ CustomCat

Fast turnaround, strong discounts, less polished interface

⭐ Gooten

Reliable POD network, strong for apparel and home goods

Mobile App Experience

Printful apps allow users to:

✅ track orders
✅ browse catalog
✅ upload designs
✅ access analytics
✅ contact support

Ratings:

⭐ iOS app: 4.7
⭐ Android app: 3.7

Customer Support and Educational Resources

Support includes:

✅ help center
✅ email + live chat
✅ multilingual content
✅ Printful Academy courses
✅ points and rewards system
✅ a large Facebook community (28,000+ members)

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Printful a legitimate company?

Yes — established in 2013 and widely trusted in ecommerce.

Is Printful better than Printify?

Printful offers higher consistency and quality, while Printify offers lower pricing and higher margins.

Can you make money with Printful?

Yes. Profitability depends on pricing strategy, niche selection, marketing, and product demand.

Final Verdict: Should You Use Printful?

Printful is an excellent choice for entrepreneurs who want to sell high-quality custom products without managing inventory, printing equipment, or logistics.

You should choose Printful if you want:

✅ premium product quality
✅ reliable fulfillment
✅ strong branding options
✅ seamless ecommerce integrations
✅ low-risk, no-minimum POD business setup

While shipping costs and delivery times can be drawbacks, Printful remains one of the most trusted and polished POD platforms available today.