Design and print custom products with Shopify

Design, print, and sell custom products without having to worry about inventory or shipping

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Abstract art designs printed on a t-shirt, displayed on the screen of a cellphone and in a photo on a laptop screen of a man with sunglasses standing against a white wall.

4 steps to getting started

Add design to your product for print on demand

1. Create

Add your new or existing designs to products of your choice

Your customer orders the product from the online store product page

2. Sell

A customer orders the products you created from your online store

Print your product with print on demand service

3. Print

Your store automatically sends the order to your print-on-demand service for printing

Package your product with print on demand service and ship to your customer

4. Ship

Your print-on-demand service packages the order and ships it directly to your customer

Brands that use Shopify

“Shopify’s print-on-demand resources allow anyone to get something up and running and into testing mode in no time.”

Chris Vaccarino | founder of Fanjoy

FAQs

T-shirts are a staple for men, women, and children around the world, with global retail sales reaching $1.9 trillion in recent years. Creating an online t-shirt business is profitable and has low startup costs compared to other business opportunities. While t-shirt business profit varies depending on your niche and marketing costs, you can set up a profitable additional revenue stream in as little as 30 days.
Starting a t-shirt business from home is an incredibly small investment compared to opening a brick-and-mortar t-shirt store and buying your own t-shirt printing business equipment and embroidery machines.

If you use print-on-demand services to manufacture and ship your products, you can keep costs extremely low since you don't pay for products until they're sold. That means no overhead on products, since there's almost no risk of overstocking.

The only fees you'd need to pay would be for the use of your ecommerce platform, domain hosting, and any digital advertising campaigns you'd like to run.
1. Do market research and find a passionate community.
2. Come up with a t-shirt company name.
3. Make a business logo and set up an online shop.
4. Create your own t-shirt designs.
5. Set up your social media accounts.
6. Run paid ads for your online t-shirt business site.
7. Do blog outreach and free promotions with influencers.
The amount you make selling t-shirts depends on how much time you put into your business. There have been many accounts of business owners making $100,000 selling and dropshipping t-shirts online.
If you want to start a t-shirt business fast with no money, add products to your store using print-on-demand dropshippers like Printful. Go to the Shopify App Store, search for Printful, and click 'Add app.'
Typically, you do not need a business license to sell t-shirts online. You may want to get a resale license to buy clothing from a distributor free from sales tax. Check with your local county revenue or finance department to learn more.