Julie Sola Shares Her Experience:

Julie Sola’s insight and experience gave Word Merchandising event attendees food for thought and solid leads to outlets that can help writers and artists get their work before new eyes and into viable marketplaces. See her resource list below.

PRINT ON DEMAND SOURCES

MERCHANDISE NOTE: The profit margin for you on all these print-on-demand sources are low, but you are not out any initial cash outlay, nor do you have to store boxes of merchandise.
This is a great way to test your designs. You can always go the traditional route where you find a local printer that can handle your printing needs, like a silk screener. I do not have local sources at this time.

SOCIETY 6 society6.com
No upfront cost, artist receives 10% of each sale. You upload your images and choose what items you want to print on. You will have an option to integrate an online store like Etsy or use their storefront. They handle everything from printing to shipping, and their quality is good. This is a great option if you are wanting to sell online.

GOOTEN gooten.com
You upload your artwork, you pay per item, price goes down the more items you order. You can order the items to sell yourself or use their store front. You pay upfront for this service, but get a better discount.

VISTA PRINT vistaprint.com
This is a great inexpensive way to get postcards, calendars, flyers etc. They do print T-shirt’s and mugs as well. I have used them for years for my postcards. They have different levels of pricing depending on quality of paper and other factors. Great option for selling your own work in your shop.

PRINTFUL printful.com
I have not used them but have heard great things about them; they work with local printers in your area.

BOOKS-SELF PUBLISHING

LULU lulu.com
This is a great source to see your poetry or stories in print. You can print one book or as many as you like, the price goes down the more you order. They have many cover, binding and paper options. There are a lot of self publishing print on demand places like Blurb, I have only used Lulu and have been very happy with them.

FABRIC PRINTING
SPOONFLOWER spoonflower.com
This is a great print on demand fabric source, they have other products like wallpaper. The quality of their printing is great; I have used them for many years. They do not make finished products, this is yardage only. That being said they have a sister company that will sew items for you, not sure of the pricing. Designers get 10% off their orders. They have great sales, which are good when you want to buy a lot of fabric to make your items to sell; you will make a larger profit. You can sell your designs on the site where you will earn spoondollars which you can apply to your fabric purchases.

NOTE: YOU WILL NEED BASIC COMPUTER SKILLS IN PHOTOSHOP TO BE ABLE TO FORMAT YOUR DESIGNS. IMAGES SHOULD BE SCANNED FOR THE BEST IMAGES TO PRINT.  I HAD A STUDENT HELP ME AT FIRST BECAUSE I AM DEFINITELY NOT PROLIFIC ON THE COMPUTER!

Julie says to come by Fat Crow Print Studio and Mercantile anytime. She enjoys talking about the creative process in all it’s forms.

PHOTO: Robert Henssler