Abby B. Excited to start your online merchandise business but unsure which print on demand Canada site to use? Love working with local companies but afraid if they’re any good? Here are 12 sites to check out!
If you’re new to print on demand, I’m sure you’ll have 1001 questions you need answers to. Where will my products be made? How fast is the shipping? How much would it cost?
Your concerns are even more valid if you’re mainly selling in Canada (given its location up north!) – also true for New Zealand. And to be honest, we’ve all been there! Lucky for you, things are much smoother nowadays and isn’t too complicated.
In this article, I’ll be sharing 12 fulfillment companies you can use for the best Canadian print on demand experience for you and your customers. To make things easier for you, I’ve also included a list of products you can sell with these sites and types of integrations they offer (if available).
*This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission (at no cost to you) if you sign up for a program or make a purchase using my link!
Related Posts:
- 15+ Best Print On Demand UK Sites
- 25+ Best Print On Demand For Shopify Integration
- 15+ Best Print On Demand For Sustainable Products
- 11+ Best All Over Print On Demand
12 Best Print On Demand Canada Services
1. Printify
If there’s something to love about Printify, it’s that you get to work with multiple printing partners at a time. Should your main supplier fail to deliver (hardly happens) or runs out of stock for an item, you can easily place an order with another supplier – all within the same site.
There are three Canadian-based suppliers you can work with on Printify – Big Oven Tees, Duplium and Print Geek, and over 60 products to choose from.
Although Print Geek has its own website for you to source directly from, I find it more convenient to use Printify. Even with the higher prices, you get some peace of mind knowing that you’re working with a reputable POD company, enjoy better customer service and a lot more shipping options (if you ever decide to sell outside Canada).
Here’s a sample of a Printify t-shirt I created using a design from Creative Fabrica. All I did was upload the design, positioned it nicely and chose a t-shirt color I preferred.
This t-shirt can be printed by Print Geek, a fulfillment based in Vaughan, Canada.
| Products you can design | Apparel Footwear Face masks Phone cases Bags Socks Underwear Hats Baby accessories Mouse pads Car accessories Wall art Notebooks Kitchen accessories Magnets & stickers Towels & blankets Drinkware Pet accessories Home décor |
| Available integrations | Shopify WooCommerce Etsy eBay PrestaShop BigCommerce Wix Squarespace Printify API |
| Free to use? | FREE |
| Based in | USA |
| Ships to | Worldwide |
Read: 5 ways to compare Printify’s and Printful’s pricing
2. Printful
When browsing products on Printful, you immediately get to see if an item can be fulfilled locally in Canada. This way, you have the option to sell products that are made and shipped locally or source them from a neighboring country e.g. USA or Japan. Saves a little on shipping times and overall cost!
Just like Printify, Printful has a ton of products to choose from – including all-over-print leggings, swimwear, bucket hats and even home décor. There are individual reviews on each product page for you to see if its a good fit for your business. If you love something you’re looking at, simply upload your design and order some samples using the monthly 20% discounts each user gets!
This is a sample of a Printful hoodie I created using one of their ready clipart designs – no file was uploaded on my part. I just chose a suitable clipart, selected a thread color (15 options) and scaled it nicely within the print area.
| Products you can design | Apparel Swimwear Hats & headwear Bags Keychains Facemask Hair accessories Jewelry Phone cases Socks Wall art Puzzles Drinkware Stationary Pillows Blankets Towels Aprons Fabric Bean bags Pet products |
| Available integrations | Shopify WooCommerce Etsy Wix Squarespace Magento BigCommerce Ecwid Weebly Prestashop Shipstation Big Cartel Gumroad Shift4Shop Launch Cart Webflow Square Nuvemshop BASE Amazon eBay Storenvy |
| Free to use? | FREE |
| Based in | USA |
| Ships to | Worldwide |
Read: 5 things to know Printify vs Printful
3. Printbest
Looking for a fulfillment that’s solely based in Canada? Printbest is one of your best options. They ship to both Canada and the USA so if you decide to expand your audience later on, there’s always an opportunity to do so. These two markets are big enough for a small to medium online business like yours.
Although there isn’t a lot of product choices on Printbest, it’s still worth the shot – thanks to their list of integrations (more to come!). If you love the platform, sign up as an affiliate for free and get 10% commission for every order made by your referrals.
| Products you can design | Men’s clothing Women’s clothing Kids’ clothing Drinkware Puzzles Keychains Coasters Mouse pads Photo panels Yard signs Canvas prints |
| Available integrations | Etsy WooCommerce Shopify |
| Free to use? | FREE |
| Based in | Canada |
| Ships to | Canada and the USA only |
4. Art Of Where
Looking for Canadian print on demand companies that ships worldwide? Art Of Where is a popular site to look into as they ship from both Canada and New York – plus lets you pick up your orders if you want to.
There are also wholesale options if you’re an artist selling physical products yourself. Compared to ordering print on demand with a minimum of 1 unit, there are discounts when purchasing wholesale and it starts from just 6 units for AOW. For an extra fee, you also get to customize your merchandise with custom labels, rectangular artist cards and/or brand stickers on packaging.
| Products you can design | Women’s apparel Men’s apparel Children’s apparel Accessories Bags Wall art Home decor Paper goods Fabric |
| Available integrations | Big Cartel BigCommerce WooCommerce Squarespace Etsy Shopify |
| Free to use? | FREE |
| Based in | Montreal, Canada |
| Ships to | Worldwide |
5. Canadian Custom Apparel
I’ve written about Canadian Custom Apparel once before in a separate article on print on demand hoodies. There’s 37 base colors for standard hoodies and they even have tie dye ones, something almost every other fulfillment does not offer.
Products are printed in Ontario, Canada and shipped to anywhere across the world. If you’re ordering in bulk of more than 24 units, your orders can be shipped within 7-10 business days (pretty fast if you ask me!). Product prices are mainly quoted in Canadian Dollars so I would really recommend it to anyone that operates best with the currency.
| Products you can design | T-shirts Sweatshirts Polos Jackets Hats Workwear Bottoms Accessories Jerseys |
| Available integrations | Shopify Etsy |
| Free to use? | FREE |
| Based in | Ontario, Canada |
| Ships to | Worldwide |
6. Teehatch
Unsure how your US orders are shipped? Teehatch would literally drive your packages over the border to post them with US carriers. This helps you avoid any duties (extra fee) or delays when an item goes through customs. Although their product catalog is pretty limited, it’s still worth considering given this assurance!
Teehatch prints everything in-house at their production facilities located in both east and west coast of Canada – specifically Vancouver and Toronto. All shipments including local and international are tracked and charged depending on number of items in a package.
| Products you can design | T-shirts Hoodies & sweatshirts Polos Long-sleeved Tank tops Bottoms Kids & baby clothing Headwear Tote bags Aprons Face masks |
| Available integrations | Shopify |
| Free to use? | FREE |
| Based in | Vancouver, Canada |
| Ships to | Canada and the USA |
7. Slaite POD
If you’re someone who has tried printing your own merchandise before, be it print on demand or not, you would know Entripy. It’s one of the largest merchandise printing companies in Canada, that’s also proudly Canadian.
Slaite POD is a segment under Entripy that focuses entirely on print on demand. Compared to its parent company, Slaite POD has a Shopify app you can connect your ecommerce store to and make ordering process seamless for customers. The system will receive all orders automatically without you lifting a finger – this is how it works for most of the companies I’ve listed above.
Thanks to their reputable operations, shipping only takes 1-5 days within Canada and the USA. Orders within Canada and to North America are shipped for a flat rate of CAD$6.24 (USD$4.99).
| Products you can design | T-Shirts Sweatshirts & hoodies Hats & toques Bottoms Jackets Masks |
| Available integrations | Shopify |
| Free to use? | FREE |
| Based in | Oakville, Canada |
| Ships to | Canada and the USA only |
8. Gooten
Gooten works pretty much like Printify where multiple printing partners are used to give customers the best experience (local if possible). When using global fulfillments, be mindful that regardless of your saved settings, product prices are displayed in USD by default – this is true for Gooten!
I like Gooten takes a step further by providing extra product details. You can find info such as printing techniques, production location and product compositions on each product page. If you’re a newbie that needs design templates for exact printing area and bleed details, you can download both PSD and JPG files for each product.
| Products you can design | Fashion & apparel Notepads Candles Mats & tablecloth Laundry bags Comforters & bedding Wall art Phone cases Stationery Baby Pets accessories Mugs & drinkware Holidays merchandise |
| Available integrations | Shopify Big Commerce WooCommerce Etsy API |
| Free to use? | FREE |
| Based in | USA |
| Ships to | Worldwide |
9. Prodigi
The benefit of using a well-established global fulfillment is your products are shipped from anywhere in the world and often, at a reasonable cost. There are also multiple shipping options you can use including express and overnight. If you have plans to sell merchandise beyond Canada in the future, it’s best to use a site that gives you these options from the start.
Just like Gooten, Prodigi provides a detailed description for each of their products. You can see if an item can be shipped from Canada, their average production time and also wholesale prices (if available).
It’s the only site I’ve discovered that lets you order a free sample pack and have it shipped to you for free. The packaging includes their best selling paper products with actual artist designs printed on them. Have a look and feel!
| Products you can design | Men’s clothing Women’s clothing Kids’ clothing Accessories Stickers Device cases Photo books Home & living Stationery Prints & posters Framed prints Canvas Panels |
| Available integrations | Shopify WooCommerce Etsy Squarespace Wix BigCommerce |
| Free to use? | FREE |
| Based in | UK, USA |
| Ships to | Worldwide |
10. Gelato
When browsing Gelato’s catalog, you’ll be able to see how many countries a product is fulfilled in. Their triblend unisex crewneck t-shirt for example, is made in 6 countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, the UK, and the USA. Sourcing locally keeps shipping charges reasonable, making it easier for you to decide if its something you want to sell to your Canada-based audience.
It’s helpful that Gelato provides tabled measurements for each t-shirt size and accurate details for each printing area e.g. front, back, sleeves, outer label and inner label. They also provide print file templates for each print location to ensure your designs fit perfectly.
Much like Printify Premium subscription plan, Gelato also offers membership plans – Gelato+ and Gelato+ Gold, which are ideal for growing businesses. You get to enjoy cheaper shipping rates, access premium design tools and purchase newly-launched products at exclusive discounts.
If you’re looking to sell beyond Canada one day, Gelato is a great option to consider.
| Products you can design | Men’s clothing Women’s clothing Kids & baby clothing Phone cases Wall art Wallpaper Mugs Photo books Cards Calendars Stationery & business Tote Bags |
| Available integrations | Shopify WooCommerce Etsy Wix Squarespace BigCommerce API |
| Free to use? | FREE |
| Based in | HQ in Norway, Worldwide |
| Ships to | Worldwide |
11. T-shirt Elephant
Unsure about setting up your own ecommerce store and need help from others? T-shirt Elephant offers free customizable webstores for their customers. If you didn’t know, webstores are also quite popular among POD sites based in New Zealand! You only need to fill up a form and get their webstore guide.
Unlike others in this list, T-shirt Elephant does not have any ecommerce integrations and all orders are placed directly on their site (via webstores or manual ordering). It may mean more work for you, but they have unique range of sports jerseys for hockey, baseball, basketball, volleyball and cycling – so you wouldn’t want to miss out.
| Products you can design | T-shirts Sweatshirts Tank tops Headwear Sports jerseys Long-sleeved Kids clothing |
| Available integrations | – |
| Free to use? | FREE |
| Based in | Toronto, Canada |
| Ships to | Canada (Consult customer service for international orders) |
12. Shirtly
If you’re looking for a print on demand company that’s based in Canada but has operations in multiple other countries, Shirtly is your best bet. Compared to other Canadian POD company in this list, Shirtly integrates with five widely used ecommerce platforms which makes it comparable to AOW earlier.
Product catalog and printing methods are vast covering glow in the dark, laser engraving, embroidery and all-over-print. Shirtly allows you to manage multiple stores at once (similar to Printify) so you can use one account for different stores/platforms. I always recommend having different stores if you’re planning to sell different design niches for print on demand.
| Products you can design | T-shirts Hoodies Sweaters Tank tops Activewear Polos Jackets Headwear Mugs Aprons Tote bags |
| Available integrations | Shopify Etsy WooCommerce Big Cartel BigCommerce |
| Free to use? | FREE |
| Based in | Ontario, Canada |
| Ships to | Worldwide |
Print On Demand Canada Sites With Shopify Integration
If you have some funds to spare and the time (plus determination) to learn how to setup your own print on demand ecommerce website, Shopify is your best bet. It’s one of the best website builders for beginners and there’s a ton of resources online to help you navigate.
Based on my article above, these are 10 print on demand sites you can use if you’re planning to sell in Canada using Shopify:
- Printify
- Printful
- Printbest
- Art Of Where
- Teehatch
- Slaite POD
- Gooten
- Prodigi
- Gelato
- Shirtly
Read: My list of 26 best POD sites to integrate with Shopify
Print On Demand Canada Sites With Etsy Integration
On the other hand, if you’re totally new to the world of ecommerce, it’s best to sell on a popular marketplace first instead of spending valuable resources on building a website.
Just for my readers, claim 40 free listings when you open a shop on Etsy – click here!
You can always start selling your designed merchandise on Etsy first, build a brand and later implement what works on your own ecommerce site (using Shopify, WooCommerce or Wix).
Based on what I’ve written above, these are 8 print on demand sites you can use if you’re planning to sell in Canada using Etsy:
- Printify
- Printful
- Printbest
- Art Of Where
- Gooten
- Prodigi
- Gelato
- Shirtly
Read: 13 POD fulfillment you can use with Etsy
How To Start Selling Print On Demand Online
- Sign up for an account with any of the POD sites I’ve listed above
- You’ll have to create an account with one of the sites I’ve mentioned above to start selling
- Choose one supplier that resonates to you the most with the right products you’ve envisioned for your business
- Choose a niche for your designs
- Niching down is great to attract the right audience
- Some examples would be food, flowers, anime or even patterns with short quotes
- Focus on your chosen niche for the next 100 designs!
- Do research on best selling and trendy designs
- Before making any designs, find out what’s working in the market for your niche
- A quick trick is to Google or search for them on Etsy
- Or use keyword research tools like Sale Samurai or Marmalead
- Make your own designs or outsource
- You can make your own designs using Kittl or Canva
- If you want to buy designs, get them on Creative Fabrica or Envato Elements
- Some important things to know are design file sizes and printing layout (if any)
- Upload designs to products
- Uploading designs to supplier’s products is super easy and you should be able to do this once an account is created
- Position the design correctly when uploading as the actual product will look the same as what you see online
- Decide on a suitable sales channel
- For some of the fulfillments I’ve listed above, integrations with platforms and marketplaces are available for you to choose from – decide on one to focus!
- For others that don’t have a specific platform to sell on, you can consider setting up a website and manually processing orders or setup a webstore (if this option is available)
- Start selling and repeat!
- Repeat the process and you’ll get some sales with time!
- Increase your chances of success by uploading more quality designs
- If you’re selling on your own website, you’ll have to use ads to bring in traffic
- If you’re not looking for paid traffic, promote your stores on social media organically
Bottom Line
New to print on demand? It can be confusing to decide which fulfillment company is best for your business. There are many things to consider but before everything else, the question lies in where do you plan to ship your products to?
If you wish to sell print on demand in Canada, here are 12 best sites you can use start:
- Printify
- Printful
- Printbest
- Art Of Where
- Canadian Custom Apparel
- Teehatch
- Slaite POD
- Gooten
- Prodigi
- Gelato
- T-shirt Elephant
- Shirtly
Want to explore specific products for print on demand? Check out my comprehensive product guides to get you started! Doable from anywhere in the world.
- Tote bags for print on demand
- Tumblers for print on demand
- Phone cases for print on demand
- Posters for print on demand
- Leggings for print on demand
- Jewelry for print on demand
- Candles for print on demand
- Doormats for print on demand
- Hoodies for print on demand
- Pet products for print on demand
- Socks for print on demand
- Pajamas for print on demand
- Blankets for print on demand
- Baby clothes for print on demand
- Wrapping paper for print on demand
- Puzzles for print on demand
- Stickers for print on demand
- Athletic wear for print on demand
- Hats for print on demand
- Journals for print on demand
- Greeting cards for print on demand
- Mugs for print on demand
Photo by Lara Jameson
