Which POD Should I Use?
Written by Kayecee on March 20, 2008 – 8:38 pmThat depends upon where your artistic talent lies.
If you are an artist, the world is your oyster. You can pretty much pick and choose from the POD companies because artwork looks good on a wide variety of items…. tees, mousepads, fine art prints, greeting cards, and so on. Just about any one of the POD’s would be great for your designs.
If you are a person who uses clip art, you’ll find yourself in the same boat as an artist….. just pick a POD you like the best. One caveat: There are a LOT of people out there who use clip art. You’ve got to be willing to take the time to spruce it up a bit. You’ll find yourself with more competition than someone who offers original artwork.
If you are a plain text designer, t-shirts usually sell the best. I do sell my fair share of stickers with text designs though. CafePress, Printfection, Spreadshirt, and Zazzle are the big t-shirt POD’s.
If you are a photographer, your artwork may look best on rectangular and square images. ImageKind features fine art prints and would really make your photography a piece of art. Photography also does well on greeting cards like the ones offered at ImageKind, CafePress, and Zazzle. Also, several of the POD companies offer gift items like ornaments, magnets, stickers, cutting boards, totes, mousepads, calendars, and more that display photography well. Photography can sometimes be a bit more competitive and a harder sell to customers.
Musicians will find cd’s at CafePress. Because of this and the fact that CafePress offers a wide variety of t-shirts and gift items, CafePress is perfect for starting a shop for your fans.
Authors will find print-on-demand books at CafePress.
Schools, charities, and fundraisers can use almost any POD company to open a shop and use the proceeds to support their cause.
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Tags: Introduction To POD
Posted in Introduction To POD |
March 20th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
[...] That entirely depends on where your artistic talents lie. This article will help you narrow your search. [...]
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March 20th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
[...] with this article: Which POD Should I Use? Browse around the various POD companies to view the product offerings. DO NOT open a shop or [...]
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March 27th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Wow, very informative and helpful, especially since there are indeed so many PODs to choose from out there. I would like to
add to Kayacee’s awesome post by pointing out a few cool Zazzle features that everyone that is a POD entrepreneur can take advantage of. I wont list all of the products and features
available, but at least the few that might make the most sense for each type of shop keeper.
Zazzle Templates:
How to create a Zazzle template product:
1) http://www.zazzle.com/mk/star/api/creating_product_templates_documentation/?rf=238646722251947230
2) http://blog.zazzle.com/2005/12/08/zazzle-card-templates/?rf=238646722251947230
>Examples of people using our templates:
These are all template products
http://www.zazzle.com/pd/find?qs=templates/?rf=238646722251947230
Disney template examples
http://www.zazzle.com/pd/categories?tl=cards_occasions_disney_holidays/?rf=238646722251947230
Kiss (The Band) template examples
http://www.zazzle.com/kissmerch
The Who (only a couple)
http://www.zazzle.com/thewho/?rf=238646722251947230
Liberty Maniacs (has several, here is one example)
http://www.zazzle.com/Libertymaniacs/product/235977171692623066/?rf=238646722251947230
>>>>>>>>Photographers
Zazzle has SO many products to choose from but specifically when it comes to photographers here some products that might interest you!
>Photo prints
You can print your photos on the highest quality Kodak Photo paper with Luster finish and have them shipped to you in less than 24 hours. Add an extra level of sophistication to your photos with our professional framing services. Choose from 6 types of wooden frames and 13 mat colors.
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/photoprints/?rf=238646722251947230
>Photo Enlargements
Turn your digital snapshots into professionally developed, high quality Zazzle photo enlargements shipped to you in less than 24 hours. Our technology is the gold standard of the photographic printing industry. Add an extra level of sophistication to your photos with our professional framing services. Choose from 6 types of wooden frames and 13 mat colors.
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/photoprints/enlargements/?rf=238646722251947230
> Custom Postage
1 of 2 companies that are allowed to print REAL USPS Postage Stamps. Add your own photos, designs, business logos, and text to design your own custom postage that can be sent through standard U.S. Mail. Perfect for wedding annoucements, birthday invitations, holiday cards, and promotional advertising. Make a unique and useful gift for friends and family. Need stamps for business? Now you can add your logo, URL or address to real US Postage!
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/stamps
For photographers, there are also tons and tons of products to place your products on that are not mentioned above. Another thing for photographers to consider is that we are currently, exclusively printing for the following Photographers/Museums:
The Library of Congress: - http://www.zazzle.com/libraryofcongress/?rf=238646722251947230
vintage photos - http://www.zazzle.com/lc_vintagephotos/?rf=238646722251947230
vintage sports - http://www.zazzle.com/lc_baseball/?rf=238646722251947230
WPA - http://www.zazzle.com/lc_wpa/?rf=238646722251947230
Civil War - http://www.zazzle.com/lc_civilwar/?rf=238646722251947230
Daguerreotypes - http://www.zazzle.com/lc_prints/?rf=238646722251947230
Garbill Collection - http://www.zazzle.com/lc_grabill/?rf=238646722251947230
Hulton Archive / Getty Images
http://www.zazzle.com/hultonarchive/?rf=238646722251947230
UCR/CMP Ansel Adams collection
http://www.zazzle.com/ucrcmp/?rf=238646722251947230
The Knot (Wedding Site)
http://www.zazzle.com/knot/?rf=238646722251947230
This is a search result of all the products that qualify as photos that other store keepers are selling on Zazzle:
http://www.zazzle.com/pd/find/qs-phtography/pt-228?sp=0/?rf=238646722251947230
>>>>>>>>Artists
For the artist, there is a dizzying selection of products to use, here are a few links about Apparel:
T-SHIRTS & APPAREL
Choose from over 400+ styles and colors, sizes from baby to 6XL
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/tshirts/?rf=238646722251947230
Help Page info about what styles of apparel are available
http://zazzle.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/zazzle.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=17\4
Mens Apparel Styles
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/tshirts/mens/?rf=238646722251947230
Womens Apparel Styles
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/tshirts/womens/?rf=238646722251947230
Kids Apparel Styles
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/tshirts/kids/?rf=238646722251947230
Baby Apparel Styles
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/tshirts/baby/?rf=238646722251947230
Dark Apparel related pages
1) Home - http://www.zazzle.com/mk/custom/darkapparel/amazingquality/?rf=238646722251947230
2) Process - http://www.zazzle.com/mk/custom/darkapparel/howwedoit/?rf=238646722251947230
3) Questions - http://www.zazzle.com/mk/custom/darkapparel/getanswers/?rf=238646722251947230
Not only are T-shirt and Apparel cool for the Artist, here are several other links to other products that are commonly created and sold on Zazzle by the vast Artist community:
With Zazzle Profile Cards™ you’ll be ready for your next night out. Design your own profile cards, use a card template, or grab your MySpace, Facebook or LinkedIn profile and make your customized profile card in seconds! Get started now!
Profile Cards:
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/profilecards/?rf=238646722251947230
Business Cards:
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/businesscards/?rf=238646722251947230
POSTERS & PRINTS
This product obviously works for Photographers as well, but I decided to post it here.
Zazzle Poster/Print page:
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/posters/?rf=238646722251947230
Zazzle prints on five media types: Card Stock, Satin Paper, Matte Paper, Gloss Paper & Watercolor Paper.
Zazzle Canvas Print page:
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/canvasprints/?rf=238646722251947230
Zazzle Canvas prints come in 2 media types and 5 sizes: Matte Canvas & Gloss Canvas.
Custom Framed Prints page:
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/framedprints/?rf=238646722251947230
Choose from 140 frames, 142 mats and 3 different types of glazing
GREETING CARDS
Another product that works for photographers as well.
Greeting Cards
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/greetingcards/?rf=238646722251947230
Note Cards
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/notecards/?rf=238646722251947230
Postcards
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/postcards/?rf=238646722251947230
CALENDERS
It’s easy to design every single month with your own photos, images, and captions. Choose from over 10 different calendar styles, 7 different wire colors, and pick your own start and end months to create the perfect design month after month.
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/calendars/?rf=238646722251947230
There are so many more product to share that work for BOTH photographers as well as Artists, I cant simply list them all so check out this link to see all the products available at Zazzle:
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/home/?rf=238646722251947230
>>>>>>>>MUSICIANS & BANDS!!
Zazzle has an EXCLUSIVE agreement with Myspace which allows you to build your Band Merch solution via Zazzle to then promote on Myspace. Current POD users may have noticed that the links they are using that point to the PODs no longer work. The only POD products you can link directly to in Myspace are Zazzle products. Since the partnership was announced, over 10,000 Myspace bands have signed up for a Zazzle account to sell their band merch.
Myspace / Zazzle Music links:
http://www.zazzle.com/music
http://www.myspace.com/musicmerch
Keep in mind that Zazzle has strategic partnerships with the following Music Industry Leaders:
Warner Music - http://www.wmg.com/
Signatures Network - http://www.signaturesnetwork.com/
Disney’s Hollywood Records - http://hollywoodrecords.go.com/
Some of my favorite stores set up by Bands that have recently signed up to use Zazzle:
KISS - http://www.zazzle.com/kissmerch
The Who - http://www.zazzle.com/thewho/?rf=238646722251947230
Black Eyed Peas - http://www.zazzle.com/blackeyedpeas/?rf=238646722251947230
ZZ Top - http://www.zazzle.com/zztop/?rf=238646722251947230
Maroon 5 - http://www.zazzle.com/maroon5/?rf=238646722251947230
DTP - http://www.zazzle.com/disturbingthapeace/?rf=238646722251947230
Plain White T’s - http://www.zazzle.com/plainwhitets/?rf=238646722251947230
Velvet Revolver - http://www.zazzle.com/velvetrevolver/?rf=238646722251947230
OK Go - http://www.zazzle.com/okgo/?rf=238646722251947230
Rob Zombie - http://www.zazzle.com/robzombie/?rf=238646722251947230
Fergie - http://www.zazzle.com/fergie/?rf=238646722251947230
Slash - http://www.zazzle.com/slash/?rf=238646722251947230
FINALLY HERE ARE A FEW LAST LINKS THAT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST:
> ZAZZLE BUILK IMAGE UPLOADER:
http://www.zazzle.com/z.2/my/tools/ZazzleUploader_1_0.exe
> Cool USA Today video showing our facilities
http://www.findinternettv.com/Video,item,1114362197.aspx
> Image guidelines for T-Shirt Image preperation
http://www.zazzle.com/mk/custom/imageguidelines
> Complete list of image sizes and resolutions for products
http://zazzle.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/zazzle.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=85/?rf=238646722251947230
COOL PHOTOS I TOOK AROUND ZAZZLE HQ:
Misc photos of Zazzle employees and our office in general:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/habitforming/collections/72157601896184948/
Murals that we painted on the walls inside ZAZZLE HQ:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/habitforming/collections/72157604050548091/
Hope this helps!
-Rob
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March 27th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Sorry some of the links are sooooo long. Atleast if you click on them they work!
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March 27th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Since the links are long an annoying, I went ahead and also posted this info on my blog.
This version reads much better:
http://streetgrapher.livejournal.com/3197.html
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April 6th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Not mentioned here, but also a very good resource for photographers is SmugMug http://www.smugmug.com . In addition to the POD items that they offer such as keychains, playing cards, rolled canvas prints, mugs and many others, they offer printing on archival Kodak paper in a full gamut of sizes. They also provide a customizable gallery that can be used as a full website.
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