To start a print on demand business: pick and validate a niche, make a print-ready design, check it for trademark conflicts, connect a print provider, list the product, work out your fees, and order one sample before you advertise. You buy no stock, so the money goes on per-sale costs rather than inventory.
Step 1: Pick a niche you can validate
Choose an audience with a specific interest and check whether people already buy it. The niche validator and the guide how to validate a print on demand niche give you the checks.
Step 2: Make a print-ready design
For a full-front tee, export a transparent PNG at 3600 x 4800 pixels (12 x 16 inches at 300 DPI). Check yours with the print size checker; the table of placements is in t-shirt design size.
Step 3: Check the idea for trademark and rights problems
Run any phrase or character through the trademark risk checker and read Can I sell a phrase on a t-shirt?. If you used AI to make the art, read Can you sell AI-generated designs?.
Step 4: Connect a print provider
Providers such as Printful make and ship the product after each order. Pick the exact product, colour and print method you will sell and note that provider price, since "from" prices are for the cheapest variant.
Step 5: List it where buyers are
Check the marketplace's rules first. For Etsy see Is print on demand allowed on Etsy?. The Etsy tag and title generator drafts the text.
Step 6: Work out the costs per sale
Fixed and per-sale costs differ. Etsy, as of 2026-10-18: $0.20 per listing, 6.5% transaction fee on item plus shipping, payment processing 3% + $0.25 for a US seller, and 15% on orders from its offsite ads. Add the provider price and shipping. Use the profit calculator and read print on demand profit per shirt for a worked example.
Step 7: Order a sample, then launch
Order your own product to check the print, then list. Know what happens on a bad print: refunds, chargebacks and shipping times.
Where can a tool help?
Steps 1 to 3 and 6 are research and arithmetic, which suits automation. Slop City runs them as separate buildings and asks before anything publishes. See pricing for plans from $49 a month, or the AI dropshipping guide for the job-by-job split.
FAQ
How much does it cost to start a print on demand business?
There is no stock to buy, so the upfront cost is small: a marketplace or store plan, a sample order of your own product, and any design tools. Costs per sale (production, shipping, marketplace and payment fees) come out of each order.
Do I need a trademark check?
Yes for any slogan, name or character, before you list. A clean result is not a guarantee.
What file size do I need for t-shirts?
A full front print is 12 x 16 inches; at 300 DPI that is a 3600 x 4800 pixel transparent PNG.
How long until the first sale?
It depends on the niche and traffic, and no one can promise a date. Validate the niche before you design.
Can I automate any of this?
Research, drafting listings, IP filtering and bookkeeping can be automated. Publishing and spending are better kept behind your approval.