Printer's Studio

Printer's Studio is an online print shop for personalized products that also runs a marketplace for designers: shoppers upload their own photos to cards, puzzles, apparel and home goods, and artists can put their designs on the same products through its Sell Your Design platform and earn a commission when someone buys. The company says it prints all artwork, photos and designs on industrial printers, and it offers "a no minimum service, so you can order your personalized gifts and promotional materials in bulk or just one item." It runs country sites for the USA and worldwide, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Spain and France.

Two sides of the business

Most of the homepage is written for people making a one-off gift. Its online "gift maker" lets a customer "add your own personal photos, designs, images, artwork and any personal messages," and the site pitches the results for Christmas, anniversaries, Easter, birthdays, Valentine's Day, graduations, weddings and new babies. The company also says it manufactures "promotional marketing materials for your business," suggesting custom cards as business name cards and magnets as low-cost corporate gifts.

The second side is the designer marketplace. Under "Sell," the homepage says: "Transform your creativity into beautiful products. Sell them now and make some money. It is easy and hassle-free." The Sell Your Designs Platform section adds "Sell your designs on our platform and earn commision when people buy your design," and the matching "Shop" panel invites customers to "Find the right design and artwork. On any product. Created by our designer community." The footer groups this with a Business Program under "Make Money with Us," and the header promotes becoming a "Business Member" to "SAVE EVEN MORE!"

The company describes its audience in one sentence: "we focus on serving artists, illustrators, designers, corporate businesses and just about anyone at home who enjoys designing or photo taking professionally or as a hobby." For an artist, that means a wide product catalog, sold to shoppers who arrive looking for gifts.

The catalog

The range is organized into eight families, and the breadth is the main draw.

• Cards and games: playing cards, custom cards and card accessories, puzzles, wooden puzzles, memory games, trader cards, game mats and chips. The site describes a magnetic jigsaw upgrade that sticks to a fridge, and new 5" x 7" puzzle invitation cards that guests assemble to find the party details.
• Books and cards: photo books, plus foil, glitter, folded, flat, animated and 3D cards. Cards are "fully customizable both inside and out."
• Clothing: t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, tank tops, polo shirts, hats, bandanas, headbands, flip flops, socks and neck gaiters. The company suggests neck gaiters as "a great low cost way to promote your brand or your art designs."
• Bags: tote bags, reusable shopping bags, coin purses, cosmetic bags with a choice of zipper and liner colors, wristlet clutches, pencil bags, wine bags, drawstring backpacks and crossbody bags.
• Electronics: laptop sleeves, iPad folio cases and camera straps.
• Accessories: button pins, keychains, mirrors, luggage tags and handle wraps, sunglass straps, necklaces, pendants, pet tags, leather bracelets, lanyards and heart-shaped tin boxes.
• Home and office: wall and desk calendars (which "come in 12 months or 18 months" and can start in any month), aprons, magnets, wood prints, Christmas stockings, photo cubes, ornaments, posters, doormats, clocks, notebooks, canvases, tumblers, mousepads, pillows, can coolers, tile prints, coasters, placemats, water bottles, drinking glasses, clipboards, wine tags and glass prints.

The company adds that it is "working on bringing many new products to our range."

Quality claims

On materials, Printer's Studio says "The materials that we use meet all industry standards as well," that it chooses "the finest paper and card stock, fabric materials and plastic materials," and that it makes sure its "products are long lasting, withstanding the test of time." These are the company's own claims.

The company also names occasions and uses for particular products, which gives a designer a sense of what sells there. It suggests personalized photo "Save the date" magnets for weddings, a custom heart-shaped tin box "for a luxury packaging" around other gifts, and hoodies, polo shirts, bandanas and flip flops as bridesmaid gifts or "sports team uniform." The shop is browsable by occasion (Christmas, Valentine's Day, Wedding and Anniversary, and on the UK site Baptism and First Communion) and by recipient, with collections for pet lovers and for business.

A worked example: all-over print socks

The UK site's sock page shows how products and prices are presented. Personalized crew socks come in Medium and Large, with print areas listed as 16x40CM and 20x40CM. Every crew-sock design shown is £13.60, from "Custom Design Unisex Socks" to photo collage and custom text versions, and custom design knee-high socks are £15.65 in Small and Medium. The specifications read: "Unisex size: Medium fits shoe sizes 5 - 9 / Large fits shoe sizes 9 - 12," "Made of 100% polyester," "Custom design on both sides," and "Image may stretch and expose white material depending on your calf size." A shopper can "Create your own sock here" from scratch or "choose from our categorised designs to start personalising," and the ready-made categories on the page include Business (12 items), Thanksgiving and Graduation. These are retail prices in pounds on the UK store.

Ordering and support

Each site has a sign-in, an order history with a reorder option, and footer pages for Help and FAQs, Contact us, Shipping and Delivery, Guarantee and Returns, Coupons, a Rewards Program and Refer a Friend. Mailing list subscribers get a 5 off coupon on their next purchase. The company also publishes a blog of gift ideas and DIY projects.

Who it suits

Printer's Studio fits artists, illustrators and photographers who want their designs available on an unusually wide range of personalized products, from playing cards and puzzles to flip flops and laptop sleeves, sold to gift shoppers through the company's own storefronts. It also fits small businesses ordering promotional items in low quantities, given the no-minimum policy and the Business Program. It fits less well for a seller who wants a supplier to fulfill orders from their own online store, since the seller offer on these pages is a commission on sales made through Printer's Studio's own sites.