UP-T

UP-T (アップティー) is a Japanese custom printing and print-on-demand service operated by Marui Orimono (丸井織物株式会社), a textile manufacturer that prints in its own factory. It makes original t-shirts, hoodies, polo shirts, phone cases, mugs, tote bags, stickers, acrylic goods and a long list of other items from a single piece, and it lets creators sell those designs without holding stock, through a marketplace on UP-T, a hosted shop of their own, or a connection to BASE and YouTube Shopping. The site is in Japanese and the offer is built around delivery inside Japan.

What a seller gets

UP-T runs two businesses on one platform. The first is ordering: anyone can design an item in the browser and buy it, from one piece, with shipping free of charge. The second is selling, and the site describes several routes into it.

The market shop (マーケットショップ) is the zero-risk entry. A creator uploads a design, picks items, and UP-T lists them in its marketplace. The company's own column says customer service, stock and shipping are all handled by UP-T, and that the shop draws on the same catalog of clothing, phone cases, tote bags and other goods. The home page adds that you can put a margin on top and sell for free, with no purchasing of stock.

The Original Shop (オリジナルショップ) is a storefront under the seller's own name. UP-T says it can be built in as little as 2 minutes from its template designs, with a theme color and text styling, on a URL containing the shop name. For brand-minded sellers this is the important one: the column states that in the Original Shop the UP-T name never appears, from production through shipping and support, including the sender name and address on the parcel. Orders show up in a management screen where the seller can track status from production to delivery.

For sellers with their own store, UP-T offers a BASE integration. Linking a BASE account and an UP-T account lets a designed item be listed on BASE in one step, and UP-T's direct-shipping feature (直送機能) then sends the product from UP-T straight to the end customer, so the seller does not pack or ship. The same column describes a YouTube Shopping connection that lets a monetized channel sell UP-T items under regular videos and in live streams. The site menu also lists sales of creator stamps and an original stamp tool, and collaboration sales, where the company has produced merchandise with outside partners without stock risk.

Catalog and print methods

The range is unusually wide for a print-on-demand service. The FAQ counts more than 5000 variations once colors are included, across t-shirts, sweatshirts, iPhone cases and much more. The menus cover short, long and half-sleeve t-shirts, dry t-shirts, women's and kids' tees, polo shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, pants, towels of several sizes, blankets, tote bags, eco bags, pouches, aprons, notebook-style and hard phone cases for current iPhone and Android models, tablet cases, keyholders, badges, mugs, stickers, acrylic goods, sportswear for soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis and dance, pet clothing, coats, happi coats, stationery, posters, banners and flags, laser engraving, paper printing such as business cards and flyers, and 3D printing.

Blank brands named on the home page include Printstar, Glimmer, DALUC, AIMY, JELLAN, UNITEDATHLE, LUCCA and TRUSS.

UP-T names four print methods: inkjet printing, where ink is sprayed onto the garment; silkscreen, with one screen made per color; full-color transfer (DTF), where an inkjet-printed film is heat-pressed onto the item; and embroidery, stitched with thread. The site says it can also print inkjet on polyester, which it uses for dry sports tees. The company claims to run the largest number of inkjet printers in Japan, including EPSON and Brother machines, and describes itself as one of Japan's largest makers of synthetic woven fabric, supplying clothing from raw material to finished product.

Prices shown on the site

UP-T publishes prices product by product, before tax and with tax:

• Standard t-shirt from 1,000 yen (1,100 yen with tax), which the page footnotes as inkjet printing with the maximum bulk discount applied; the featured card lists 44 colors and sizes from 120 to XXXL
• Dry t-shirt from 1,135 yen (from 1,249 yen with tax), 49 colors on the featured card
• Ribbed long-sleeve t-shirt from 1,575 yen (1,733 yen with tax), 20 colors
• Lightweight pullover hoodie from 2,590 yen (2,849 yen with tax), 12 colors
• Standard zip hoodie from 3,458 yen (3,804 yen with tax), 15 colors
• Standard mug from 570 yen (627 yen with tax)
• Same-day t-shirt from 1,475 yen (1,623 yen with tax), 29 colors
• All-over-print handkerchief towel from 475 yen (523 yen with tax)

The bulk discount is called まとめて割 (matomete-wari), and the FAQ says some items drop by up to 50% per piece, half price, when ordered together. Buyers also earn U points toward later orders. The home page promises that if a customer brings a cheaper quote from elsewhere, UP-T will always quote lower. For 100 pieces and more there is a dedicated bulk desk, and the footer links a form for orders of 20 pieces and more.

Production and shipping

Shipping inside Japan is free on any quantity. The FAQ sets out the timing: an order placed by 14時 (2 p.m.) ships on the third business day counting that day, and one placed later counts from the next day. It adds "基本的に5日以内にお手元に届くとお考えください" (please expect it to reach you within five days in general). Items marked 即日発送 (same-day shipping), including t-shirts, towels, bags and hoodies, can go out the same day, and the design section notes "通常は3営業日で発送" (normally shipped in three business days) for everything else. The home page shows a live ship date for an order placed today. The FAQ also warns that the date depends on the order and on how busy the print factory is.

Quality, support and design help

Marui Orimono says it was the first original t-shirt printing company to earn ISO 9001 for quality management and ISO 14001 for environmental management, that it has received a TPM excellence award, and that it belongs to the Japan Original T-shirt Association. The home page says it prints for clients from European fashion brands to large Japanese casual apparel chains, and that the manufacturer has more than 80 years of history.

Customer support is advertised as open 24 hours, all year. The browser design tool includes a 3D preview, and for those without a design, an UP-T designer will make one free of charge on purchases of three or more items. The FAQ recommends artwork at 200 to 300 dpi for garments and asks that embroidery stay to about six characters per line and four lines at most. Payment options include credit card, cash on delivery, convenience store payment, Paidy, bank transfer, PayPay, Amazon Pay and Rakuten Pay.

Who it suits

UP-T suits creators selling to customers in Japan who want to start without stock and without shipping parcels themselves: the market shop costs nothing to open, the Original Shop keeps UP-T's name off the parcel, and BASE and YouTube Shopping sellers can connect directly. The catalog is broad enough to run apparel, phone cases and fan goods from one supplier, and schools, clubs and companies get class-shirt pages and a bulk desk. The limits are practical ones: the site and support are in Japanese, and every shipping promise on the pages is about delivery within Japan.