My experience with print-on-demand sites
Or: rambling about art and objects.
A little while ago, I finally did something that I had been putting off for a while and put a bunch of my artwork up on print-on-demand sites! I used Redbubble and Society6 after doing some research on all of the different options that are out there.
Let’s get this out of the way first: links to my Redbubble and Society6 shops! Check them out! (And hey, if you want original art, I have a shop for that too!)
I am really interested in print-on-demand sites. I like that they have such a low barrier to entry and mean that people can find exactly what they want without the potential waste of an artist having to order things in bulk that might not sell to a wider audience. I can’t afford to print 20-odd varieties of objects with the same artwork on them, but these sites provide those options and I really like that!
Some of my favorite designs:
I appreciate, as the artist (and also the shipping manager, customer service provider, IT support, and any other role that’s involved), these sites take a lot of the work out of my hands. Do they also take a large cut of profits? Yes, but I think in a way that’s a fair trade.
I was worried about the quality of the objects, so I ordered a few of my pieces and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised! A friend of mine who also uses these sites had told me that some of the printing isn’t always super crisp, but I didn’t notice that myself so either: 1. the printing has improved, 2. I didn’t choose objects that are difficult to print on, or 3. my watercolors mask it pretty well! (I think the answer is that the printing has improved, personally.)
There’s something very satisfying about the outside of my current sketchbook having my artwork on it!
It hasn’t been that long since I uploaded things and I haven’t done much in the way of promotions, but I haven’t made many sales to anyone but myself yet. I am sure that the artists who perform the “best” on these sites both have much larger followings than I do and are much better at promoting their objects than I am. The sites are so large and so popular that I’m sure it’s easy for a smaller artist to get lost on them and I am definitely guilty of uploading my designs and then ignoring everything, which is something I need to work on. But hopefully this blog post is the start of me doing just that!
