# Print on Demand is impractical...



## goodhairtees (Oct 9, 2014)

I have been rethinking the whole white label Print on Demand and Direct to Garment industry. While a great idea, it's not cost effective enough to turn a profit. At least not yet.

The cost per shirt is expensive: $18-$21 (printing and delivery). The markup makes the shirts less marketable: How many people you know will pay $30 dollars or more for a t-shirt? The time from order to delivery is unpredictable: At least 6 business days or more. When people order, they expect delivery within two or three days. And you can't check for quality, etc. 

I seriously believe there is no way around having some inventory if you want to make a profit. Screen printing though limited still provides the best value for the dollar. I love DTG, but decided to limit my artwork to 4 colors and do the inventory thing for a while.


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## BandPrints (Feb 4, 2007)

That is one approach to take. The rates you provided are a little bit higher than what I have seen for some for the DTG POD market but for each company the production method can change. For customers who say that they can't make a profit off of DTG prices we tell them to go with bulk screen printing and outlay their capital to reduce per unit costs. At the same time if they say they don't have the capital to spend on 50-100 shirts per design dtg pod is a great way to start the clothing line, build reputation, and test designs.

As for DTG quality, there are many different machines out their that produce different quality along with the quality of garment used (Gildan vs hi-denstiy or ring-spun).

I have seen both methods work for many clients. My largest hear for screen printing inventory is getting stuck with it, that is why starting designs with POD DTG to see if product will move and transferring them over to screen printing is a great method. As always the bottom line is what your customer's will pay. If a brand feels that their clothing is only worth $15 retail per unit than they will need to find the production method that fits instead of trying to fit what won't (such as pod dtg).


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## jleampark (Sep 6, 2007)

I started doing tees back in 2006. I didn't have a heat press or a vinyl cutter or ANYthing. I also didn't know how to do it on my own.

So, I used a POD (Printfection -- who, it seems, has changed direction and no longer does POD?).

While I agree with you about the price, it worked for me. I did a bunch of shirts and sweatshirts for my daughter's soccer team and for an elementary school and for a couple other things. The base price was pretty high (especially for lower quantities), so I would only make about $5 per tee.

I felt bad about charging so much so that's when I really started investigating better ways to make shirts.

The money I made using a POD helped my buy my first heat press and I got into plastisol.

Bottom line: Yes, using a POD can be expensive but it can still work for you -- if that's your only (or best) option.


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## goodhairtees (Oct 9, 2014)

I agree. If that's your only option. But it's a risky option nevertheless because quality control is always a concern. I guess it depends on what you are printing as well. If your design is mostly type or black and white, much less a problem than with a color image. I just can't take the risk of having my images come out in colors my customers might find awkward, like the grey faced image I got from a POD company recently. Cheers.


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