Designing is hard. From coming up with an idea to choosing the right tool from the countless options on the market, the process can often be time-consuming, overwhelming, and tiring.
That’s where Printful’s Design Maker can help. From a humble mockup generator with limited features, it’s developed into an advanced design tool that lets you create stunning print-on-demand designs in just a few easy steps.
Want to learn more? Then sit back and let us show you how to make the most out of the design features it has (with free and downloadable typography graphics at the end). Open the Design Maker, choose a product, and let’s get started!
If text-based designs are your thing, then the built-in text design tool is the right option for you. With it, you can transform words into meaningful messages and gorgeous designs in the blink of an eye.
Here’s what you can do with the text design tool for different types of Printful products.
For DTG products:
Pick font, choose its size, and select text color
Adjust letter spacing, add outline and shadow
Choose distance and angle of the shadow
Adjust text arc
For embroidery products:
Pick a font and choose its size
Adjust letter spacing
Choose thread color
Set line height
We’ve selected our fonts to ensure high-quality results for all fulfillment techniques. But if you have your own font, you’re free to use it too. Create your design in any image editor, upload it as a file, tweak it to your liking, and you’ll be all set!
As a bonus, embroidery text designs made in our Design Maker have a reduced digitization fee—only $3.95 per file (for most designs, it’s $6.50 per file). Digitization is a one-time fee for every new embroidery design, and you can read more about it here.
2. Experiment with clipart and Quick Designs
The Design Maker has a clipart selection of over 50 collections and nearly 3000 individual designs you can use for free. From minimalistic designs and timeless classics to bright and bold design elements for special occasions, you’ll find the right clipart to fit your taste. Search by keywords or browse the collections to create fun and unique designs, all within our Design Maker.
Open the Design Maker’s Clipart tab to check out different symbols, illustrations, and emojis created by our in-house designers.
Choose line drawings for minimalist designs or add text designs to create original gifts. Spark your creativity by experimenting with color combos and different styles!
If you want to combine clipart with meaningful messages, our Quick Designs sound like the right fit for you. They’re pre-made compositions of text and clipart. Place them on your product and be all set in no time or adjust colors and wording to fit your taste to a tee.
To access Quick Designs, go to our Design Maker, click Quick Designs on the left, and search for the perfect design either by browsing available categories or typing in a keyword.
3. Browse the Getty Images library
If designing from scratch isn’t your thing, you’re in luck! Printful integrates with one of thelargest stock photography libraries—Getty Images. For you it means that the Design Maker has more than 80M photos and illustrations in countless searchable categories. So no matter your niche, you’ll find beautiful designs for your store.
The Getty Images library is available in the Design Maker. Open Premium, and there you can then search for any image. Play around with the images, create stunning designs, and then add the products to your store in just a few clicks!
For using a photo from Getty Images, you’ll need to pay only $1 per placement when you order or get a sale.
4. Adjust design placement
Maybe you’ve created a design, but it’s not exactly what you were going for? Try adjusting the size, position, and angle of the design on the product. You can make adjustments to uploaded files and design elements you’ve chosen from the Design Maker.
There are four ways you can make adjustments:
Click the buttons on the left to align, flip, or rotate
Crop the designs
Type a number in the rotation box
Use the blue anchor points to scale and rotate
You can also change the size of your design manually by altering the width and height of it under the Layers section (see the photo above).
To get a closer look at the print area and get the design placement just right, use the Design Maker’s zoom tool. It works for all Printful products except all-over print items.
Click Zoom in at the top right corner of the Design Maker. Adjust your design, and press “Zoom out” to see the entire product again.
5. Create designs with several layers
If several design elements have struck your fancy, don’t worry because the Design Maker lets you combine elements to create complex designs with several layers.
You can upload your own files and use Printful’s Quick designs, clipart, and text. Mix and match these elements to create original designs that will stand out!
Experiment with the order of your design layers. Select and drag layers to rearrange them, and find the order that complements your design the most.
6. Pick a background color and graphics
Spice up the background of your design with a splash of color and graphics for certain product categories. With the Design Maker, you can customize the background on mugs, phone cases, wall art, and all-over products (like leggings). We offer classic hues as well as some trendy options like tie-dye and dazzling graphics that are guaranteed to print well.
Background colors and graphics will help you save time you’d otherwise spend using image editing software. Choose a color or a graphic in the Design Maker, add design elements, and you’re good to go!
If it’s the other way around for you—you have a design with a busy background and want to tone it down a bit—we can also help. Our Background Removal Tool is a game-changer if you want to get sleek and polished designs that will pop on your chosen products.
7. Make patterns for all-over designs
The pattern tool is a life-saver when you’re creating all-over print product designs.
It’s free, easy to use, and it offers endless possibilities for original all-over designs. Pick a product and start designing!
Here’s what you need to do:
Select an all-over product
Upload a design file, or use our clipart
Click Pattern
Choose pattern type: block, half drop, brick, reflect, horizontal or vertical line
Adjust color, size and spacing of one component to modify the entire pattern
You can also:
Add more design layers
Pick a background color
8. Duplicate design elements
The duplication tool is a game-changer for creating designs with similar elements. Unlike the pattern tool, it places each duplicated item in a new layer, so you can also play around with the size, color, and alignment of each layer individually.
See what others have created by with the Design Maker
Design options that you can create with our Design Maker are endless. Check what awesome and unique designs our customers have created by using only this tool.
“I created this design solely using Printful’s Design Maker tool. I love working with Printful because of its user-friendly interface. It’s easy to add products directly to my Etsy shop.”
“A little creativity might lead to some unexpected results. This design was made only with Printful’s Design Maker—very easy to use and provides realistic mockups so you’ll know how your product will turn out.”
Now that you know all our Design Maker insider info, you can get your creativity flowing, play around, and create your next bestseller. Refer back to the tools and features we’ve covered and get to designing!
And in case you’re looking for free, ready-to-use designs, make sure to download some awesome typography graphics below.
Daniela is a Content Marketing Specialist at Printful with a Bachelor’s degree in PR and a MBA. Her experience throughout the years has formed a strong passion for all things communication, social media, and storytelling.
Daniela is a Content Marketing Specialist at Printful with a Bachelor’s degree in PR and a MBA. Her experience throughout the years has formed a strong passion for all things communication, social media, and storytelling.
