Print-on-demand designs, mockups and listings that hold up

A print-ready design set in the right sizes for one or two products, plus truthful mockups and listing copy.

Best for: Sellers who want to offer printed products without holding stock, using a print partner that produces and ships orders.

• A print partner account and its template for the product you chose (open its help pages in a second tab; specs change).
• An image model or your own illustrations, and an editor that exports transparent PNG files.
• A clear idea of what you are allowed to print: your own art, licensed art or public-domain material only.

1. 1

   Start from the partner’s template

   Print areas, safe margins and minimum resolution depend on the product and the partner. Download the template for each product and design inside it. Never assume one size fits a shirt, a mug and a tote.

2. 2

   Design for the print method

   Large flat colours and clean edges print reliably. Very fine detail, thin lines and subtle gradients can disappear or look muddy. Ask the partner which colour profile and how many colours the method supports.

3. 3

   Generate original artwork

   Describe the style by its qualities, not by a living artist’s name. Generate on a plain background, pick the strongest few, and redraw or clean anything with warped shapes. Do not use brand names, logos or recognisable characters.

   ✦Tip. Ask for “isolated on a plain solid background” so the cut-out is easy.

4. 4

   Export at the right pixel size

   Work out the size from the print area in inches and the resolution the partner asks for. Use the calculator in this guide, then export a transparent PNG at that size instead of stretching a smaller file.

5. 5

   Order a sample

   Screens are brighter than fabric or ceramic. Order one sample of each product before you sell, and check colour, placement, edges and how the design looks in daylight.

6. 6

   Make honest mockups

   Mockups are fine when they are clearly mockups of the same design on the same product. Never show a product, colour or quality level you do not actually sell, and show your real sample photos when you have them.

7. 7

   Check rights and platform rules

   Confirm that you own or are licensed to use every element. Read the current policies of your shop platform and print partner on AI-assisted designs, and keep notes on how each design was made.

Replace anything in [square brackets]. Prompts are starting points: results vary between tools and versions, so review every output.

Prompts are written in English because image, video and most text models follow English instructions best. To get answers in your language, add “Reply in English.” to a prompt for a text assistant.

Bold graphic illustration of [subject] in [2 to 4 named colours], flat vector style with clean edges and limited shading, centered composition with generous empty space around it, isolated on a plain solid background so it can be cut out, no text, no letters, no logos, no brand characters.

My product is a [t-shirt / mug / tote / poster] printed by a partner. The partner template says the print area is [width x height] and the minimum resolution is [value]. Give me a checklist for preparing the artwork: pixel size at the correct resolution, safe margin, background transparency, colour mode and file format. Say clearly which items I must confirm in the partner’s own help pages.

Write a product title, 5 bullet points and a 90-word description for this print-on-demand item: [describe design, product, who it is for]. Describe only what is true: the design, the product type and the printing method. Do not claim a fabric, quality grade, certification or delivery time unless I give it to you.

• ✕Reusing one file for every product and size.
• ✕Printing fine detail or gradients the method cannot reproduce.
• ✕Using a famous character or brand and hoping nobody notices.
• ✕Selling without ever seeing a physical sample.