Print on Demand Glossary
The vocabulary that actually comes up when you are running a print-on-demand shop, defined in plain English and with the practical consequence spelled out.
Base cost
Base cost is what the fulfilment provider charges you to produce one unit, before shipping, marketplace fees, or payment processing. It is the starting point of your margin, not the whole of it.
Blank
A blank is the undecorated product a design is printed onto: the plain mug, the unprinted shirt, the empty candle vessel. Quality of the blank sets the ceiling on the finished item no matter how good the artwork is.
Bleed
Bleed is extra artwork extended past the finished edge of a product so that small cutting variations do not leave an unprinted white sliver. Anything meant to reach the edge has to extend beyond it.
CMYK
CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, key/black) is the four-ink colour model printing uses. Screens use RGB, which can display colours no ink can reproduce, which is why a print can look duller than the file did on your monitor.
DPI
DPI (dots per inch) measures how much detail a file carries per unit of printed size. Print artwork is normally prepared at 300 DPI at final size; screen graphics at 72 DPI will look noticeably soft when printed.
DTF vs sublimation
DTF transfers a printed film onto the surface and works on almost any fabric or colour. Sublimation turns dye into gas that bonds into the material itself, giving a permanent finish with no feel at all, but it only works on polyester or specially coated items and cannot print white.
DTG vs DTF
DTG (direct to garment) prints ink into the fabric itself, giving a soft finish that works best on cotton. DTF (direct to film) prints onto a film that is heat-pressed on, which is more vivid, more durable on synthetics, and sits on top of the fabric rather than in it.
Fulfillment
Fulfillment is everything that happens between an order being placed and it arriving: producing the item, quality checking it, packing it, and shipping it with tracking. In print on demand your fulfilment partner does all of it under your brand.
GSM
GSM (grams per square metre) is the standard measure of fabric weight. Lightweight tees sit around 120 to 150 GSM, midweight around 180, and heavyweight garments 200 and above.
Mockup
A mockup is a rendered image showing your artwork applied to a product, used in listings before any physical item exists. It is a preview, not a photograph of the item a buyer will receive.
MOQ
MOQ (minimum order quantity) is the smallest number of units a supplier will produce in one order. Traditional manufacturing often sets it in the hundreds; print on demand exists precisely to make the MOQ one.
Packing slip
A packing slip is the itemised note included in the parcel listing what was ordered. In print on demand it is normally white-labelled, carrying your shop's name and branding rather than the fulfilment provider's.
Print file
A print file is the production-ready artwork sent to the printer: correct dimensions, correct resolution, correct colour mode, and positioned for the product's print area. It is not the same file you would use for a listing image.
SKU
A SKU (stock keeping unit) is the unique code that identifies one exact sellable variant of a product. Not the product, the variant: an 11oz white mug and a 15oz white mug are two SKUs, and so are the same shirt in medium and large.
Sublimation vs screen printing
Sublimation bonds dye into polyester with no surface layer and no per-colour setup, making it ideal for full-colour designs at any quantity. Screen printing pushes ink through a stencil per colour, which is cheap at volume and expensive for one-offs.
White label
White label means a product or service is produced by one company and sold under another company's brand. In print on demand it usually refers to packaging and paperwork carrying your shop's identity rather than the manufacturer's.
Looking for a printing method?
Individual print methods have their own pages with more depth than a definition: sublimation, DTG, DTF, UV printing, and engraving.
Browse print technologies