In our first video in this ‘Making money from your art’ series, I showed you how to create and sell digital files of your art in your Etsy store that a buyer could buy, download and print themselves or get printed locally. It’s quick and easy. However, not all buyers want to print themselves. Some may just prefer to place an order and have the framed print arrive at their house ready to hang. So in this video, I will show you how to sell prints of your art without having to do the work yourself.
It would be time-consuming and potentially expensive to set up this facility yourself. You would need to buy a really good printer, high-quality inks and papers, frames and packaging supplies. Unless you splashed out for an expensive large format printer you would be restricted to only making prints that were A4 or Letter sized and your buyer most likely wants something much bigger. So its much better, quicker, easier and cheaper to outsource the printing, framing and shipping service to the professionals. I sell prints in my store via a company called Printful.
You will need:
An Etsy Store – sign up here to get your first 40 listings for free
An account with Printable – sign up here
A nice camera – check out these digital SLR camera kits with everything you need in one package
A tripod– included in the packages above
Macro lens (optional) – usually included in the packages above
Photo editing software such as Photoshop (for the experts) or even PicMonkey (easy to use) or other free software
Articles referenced in the video:
- How much does it cost to sell on Etsy – for the link to set up your Etsy store and get 40 free listings
- How to create digital files of your art to sell
How to sell prints of your art without printing or framing or mailing anything!
1 – Set yourself up with an Etsy store if you don’t already have one.
2 – Go to Printful and set up an account with them here.
3 – Follow the steps in the video above for how to link the two – it’s easy 🙂
4 – Create the digital file that you want to be turned into a print. Check out the earlier article on how to do this if you aren’t sure.
5 – Set up your new product within the Printful dashboard. Again the video shows you how to do it.
6 – Check and edit your listing on Etsy and publish the print for sale.
7 – Promote your store and products, and Printful processes all your orders for you like magic.
When the orders come in
Here is a sequence of events that will occur:
- Receive an email from Etsy and Printful
- Go to Printful and set up the payment details.
- Make the payment
- Set the automatic debit from the already received payment for the next orders
- Enjoy selling on the go!
Now all future orders are dealt with automatically between Etsy and Printful and you don’t have to do a thing! Simplifying the procedure: Etsy collects the payment, sends the order to Printful, who collect payment from you, print your items, send it to the customer and mark your Etsy sale as completed. You can keep your store open even if you are on vacation knowing orders will still be dealt with on time.
Why not just use RedBubble or similar services?
There are other companies where you can send them files and customers can order via their websites. However, with these services, you are limited to their format for your store page and can only sell their items. It can be confusing to your potential customers if they have to go to your Etsy store for the original art, RedBubble for t-shirts and somewhere else again to get framed prints or canvases. In my opinion, it’s better to have all of your products you offer in a single storefront so your customer only has one link to follow.
There is nothing to stop you manually setting up items for sale in your Etsy store and then ordering them from other third party suppliers to ship to you or your customer, but it’s just more work for you to have to manually deal with all of these orders. I’d rather list the item once and then let Printful take care of everything automatically for me. Life is busy enough!
So I hope that helps with how you can sell framed prints in your Etsy store through Printful without having to print, frame or send anything. It can be a nice little extra sideline on top of selling your original art pieces. In a future video, I will look briefly at how you can sell canvas prints of your art, again via Printful, because the set up process for those is just very slightly different.
FAQs
Where can I get my paintings printed?
There are many options for printing your paintings, including local print shops, online printing services, and large chain stores like Staples or Office Depot. You can also look for print-on-demand services that specialize in printing artwork, such as Fine Art America or Society6. These services allow you to upload your artwork and order prints in a variety of sizes and formats, without having to worry about purchasing and storing large quantities of prints.
How do I sell art prints online?
Selling art prints online is a great way to reach a wider audience and make your artwork more accessible to potential buyers. There are several options for selling art prints online, including creating your own website, using a platform like Etsy or eBay, or partnering with a print-on-demand service. To sell your art prints online, you will need to create digital versions of your artwork, determine your pricing and shipping options, and set up a payment system for customers to purchase your prints.
Does Etsy do print on demand?
Yes, Etsy offers a print-on-demand service called Etsy Print. This service allows Etsy sellers to offer prints of their artwork without having to worry about purchasing and storing large quantities of prints. When a customer orders a print, the order is sent to Etsy Print, which produces the print and ships it directly to the customer. As the seller, you will receive a commission for each print sold through Etsy Print.
After being told in high school that she was so bad at art that she should switch to another subject, Deby didn’t paint again for 35 years. Then a stroke released a new wave of creativity and she began exploring with dot painting, abstract and eventually acrylic pouring, and at last the joy of working with color returned. You don’t need ‘talent’ to be an acrylic pouring artist – just enthusiasm, some basic instruction, and a willingness to try, fail and try again. Paint along with her and learn from her many mistakes, and you’ll soon make great art together.