Bulk manufacturing limits your growth
Your product offering is limited
Releasing new collections is costly and risky. You have to forecast demand, invest in inventory, and risk losing money when a product doesn’t sell.
It takes months to release new products
Bulk manufacturing is time-consuming. It takes weeks or even months to add new products to your store. It’s complicated to test new designs and impossible to react to trends fast.
Product customization is ineffective for you
Screen printing has to be done in bulk, so you can’t offer a personalized experience to your customers, such as offering personalized designs.
You risk losing money with under or overstocking
Ordering in bulk means extensive forecasting. It’s hard to forecast demand and predict emerging trends, leaving you with too much or too little stock.
The truth about on-demand vs. bulk
Bulk manufacturing might seem cheaper and faster, but you're limiting your long-term growth
How can Printful help?
Scale your business with on-demand fulfillment
Printful is a print-on-demand company—we fulfill your orders only once they’re placed. Our global network of facilities offers the exact capacity you need, whether it’s one order a month or thousands of orders every day.
An on-demand solution can be used alongside in-house production to mitigate risks, reduce upfront costs, increase capacity, expand product variety, and reduce overproduction.
Future-proof your inventory with Printful
Trusted to print 50M+ items to date
1M+ orders delivered every month and we’re ready to ship even more
367 premium merchandise pieces you can customize with print and embroidery
Only 0.24% of all orders reshipped due to quality concerns
Compare bulk vs on-demand production
DTG printing on demand
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Unlimited print colors per design | Can’t use specialty inks to create textures |
| No printing setup costs, hassle, or expenses | Print area limitations |
| Ideal for both intricate and simple designs | Prints best on cotton garments |
| Fast product time-to-market | |
| No order minimums or inventory needed |
Screen printing in bulk
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Can be printed on various textiles | Takes hours to set up screens and print designs in multiple colors |
| Designs with solid graphics look good | Limited print colors; usually, less than 9 |
| Precise color matching in prints | Graphics with small details don’t look good |
| Slow product time-to-market | |
| Must invest in inventory and warehousing |
Other brands see the on-demand potential. Do you?
There are some things we might be able to do in-house, but in the end, we’re never going to match the type of service you can bring to the table.
Jose Vazquez
Match Kicks
Being able to change direction in designs, products, and styles without having to order 1000s of units is a big advantage for us over other brands.
Kirsten Trancheff
Vastitch
The biggest advantage has been our ability to respond quickly to trends and demand by putting out fresh and exciting new designs and products in as little as hours.
Dean Malka
Swish Embassy
Map your way to sustainability with mindful production
- Get extra sales as consumers will buy and pay more for an eco-friendly product
- Reduce overproduction as we manufacture only what’s bought
- Never waste your money and textile as you won’t produce in bulk