26 Top Print-On-Demand Statistics And Trends (2024 Guide)

Interested in learning about the latest print-on-demand statistics? In this post, I have compiled the most up-to-date and insightful print-on-demand statistics from reputable industry reports and analyses.

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These statistics provide a data-driven look into the current state and future outlook of the global print-on-demand industry across key segments like market value, growth rate, top companies, small businesses leveraging print-on-demand, and industry trends.

Whether you are an entrepreneur looking to tap into on-demand printing or an investor seeking the next big opportunity, these print-on-demand industry facts and figures will help inform your decisions.

Editor‘s Picks: Key Print-On-Demand Statistics

  • The global print-on-demand market is projected to reach $7.67 billion in value by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 25.8% (Grand View Research)

  • Top print-on-demand provider Printful generated $289 million in revenue in 2021, up 39% from the previous year (Printful)

  • 40-45% profit margins are typical for successful mid to high-volume print-on-demand merchants (Printify)

  • The print-on-demand software market is forecast to expand at a 31.1% CAGR to hit $30 billion by 2032 (Future Market Insights)

  • Over 85% of orders for leading POD company Gelato are fulfilled in the same country as their customer base thanks to their production network of 130+ hubs across 32 countries (Gelato)

Global Print-On-Demand Market Statistics

The print-on-demand industry is growing rapidly to meet rising demand

Fueled by the rise of ecommerce and customizable product options, print-on-demand is one of the fastest growing segments of online retail. Here are some key statistics on the size and growth rate of the global print-on-demand market:

  • The global print-on-demand market size reached $6.18 billion in 2022 and is projected to expand further to $7.67 billion by 2023, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 25.8% (Grand View Research)

  • Apparel currently makes up the largest share (39.7% in 2022) of the global print-on-demand market. Home décor, drinkware, and accessories round out the top categories. (Grand View Research)

  • Europe‘s print-on-demand market is forecast to grow at a 26.3% CAGR, while the Asia Pacific region is expected to see the fastest expansion at a 27.5% CAGR through 2030. (Grand View Research)

  • The global print-on-demand industry is projected to reach $38.21 billion in total market value by 2030, up from just $2 billion in 2022. (Future Market Insights)

Clearly, print-on-demand is a high-growth industry with room for expansion across geographies and product categories in the years ahead.

Print-on-demand adoption continues gaining momentum in the US

As a tech-savvy country with a robust ecommerce sector, the United States is a major market for print-on-demand:

  • The US print-on-demand market was valued at $1.89 billion in 2022, up 26% from $1.5 billion in 2021, reflecting rapid growth. (Grand View Research)

  • Driven by a 24.4% CAGR, the total market value of print-on-demand in the US is expected to reach $2.32 billion by 2023 and $10.66 billion by 2030. (Grand View Research)

  • The US is forecast to dominate the global print-on-demand software market as well, with total value projected to exceed $10.7 billion by 2032. (Future Market Insights)

With growth rates above 20% annually, print-on-demand is catching on rapidly among US-based entrepreneurs, small businesses, designers, and consumers alike.

Print-On-Demand Industry Leaders & Top Providers

Print-on-demand is enabling individual creators to access tools previously only available to large brands and manufacturers.

Leading print-on-demand companies like Printful, Printify, and Gelato are powering this revolution while seeing tremendous growth themselves:

Printful leads in scale and order volume

As one of the largest print-on-demand operations globally, Printful works with over 1 million merchants to produce customized products at scale:

  • In 2021, Printful generated $289 million in total revenue, up 39% year-over-year. (Printful)

  • By mid-2022, Printful had fulfilled over 48 million orders for its merchant partners and facilitated over $1 billion in gross merchandise volume. (Printful)

  • Currently, the company fulfills over 1 million print-on-demand orders per month across its production facilities. This volume has been enabled by $83.8 million in capital investments since 2015. (Printful)

With double-digit annual growth and investments to boost capacity, Printful is cementing itself as a leader in scalable print-on-demand production.

Gelato accelerating expansion across Europe and globally

While Printful leads in the Americas, Gelato is establishing itself as number one print-on-demand provider in Europe and beyond:

  • In 2022, Gelato grew total revenue to over €107 million, tripling its business in just one year. (Gelato)

  • The company attributes this rapid growth to its network of 130+ production hubs across 32 countries, which fulfill orders locally to reduce shipping time and costs. (Gelato)

  • Currently, over 85% of Gelato orders are produced in the same country where the end customer is located. By end of 2023, the company aims to expand its hub count to 200 locations to achieve 95% domestic fulfillment rates. (Gelato)

With expansion accelerating across Europe, Gelato represents a leading print-on-demand force outside the US, offering global delivery combined with domestic production flexibility.

Printify secures funding for continued global growth

As a tech-first print-on-demand marketplace connecting designers with fulfillment partners worldwide, Printify closed a notable investment round in 2021:

  • In November 2021, Printify raised $50 million in a Series A funding round led by Index Ventures and H&M Group. Over 40 total investors participated. (Printify)

  • Per Printify, $10 million was paid out directly to employees while the remaining capital will boost hiring and fuel expansion of the company‘s global order fulfillment network. (Printify)

  • To date, over 6 million merchants have leveraged Printify‘s services to produce and ship over $500 million worth of customized merchandise. (Printify)

With backing from prominent consumer sector venture funds, Printify is primed for connecting more independent creators with manufacturing capabilities worldwide.

Print-On-Demand Business Success Metrics

For online merchants and small businesses selling customized products, print-on-demand services unlock immense possibilities without upfront inventory risk.

But what metrics and benchmarks indicate a print-on-demand business positioned for profitability and growth? Printify has aggregated data providing clues:

Profit margins for leading print-on-demand sellers

Maintaining strong profit margins on print-on-demand products is key for merchants:

  • According to Printify, the majority of mid to high-volume print-on-demand merchants target profit margins between 40-45% when pricing their products.

  • For context, if a t-shirt costs $15 to produce, a 45% margin would mean setting the retail price at around $21.75, yielding $6.75 in profit per sale.

Shooting for 40-45% margins provides print-on-demand sellers sufficient breathing room to operate sustainably.

Geographic sales distribution

Though domestic sales may be easier to fulfill, expanding overseas opens more revenue potential:

  • Based on Printify‘s client data, most mid-volume print-on-demand merchants sell to approximately 8 countries on average.

  • High-volume merchants export their offerings to between 8 and 16 different countries globally.

Tapping into demand across 10+ countries represents a growth milestone for print-on-demand sellers targeting scale.

Demographic Breakdown of Print-On-Demand Merchants

Print-on-demand allows entrepreneurs to launch customized product ecommerce businesses with minimal upfront investment. But what does the typical merchant profile look like?

Millennials and Gen Z lead adoption of print-on-demand

According to statistics published by Printify on the composition of its merchant base:

  • The average age range for print-on-demand entrepreneurs is 18-35 years old, spanning older Millennials and Gen Z.

  • However, print-on-demand merchants overall range in age from 18 years old to over 65.

For digital native generations like Millennials and Gen Z running their own startups, print-on-demand removes many traditional barriers to manufacturing and distributing customized products on your own brand.

Most merchants located in top Western countries

While print-on-demand providers facilitate global order fulfillment, domestic sellers still dominate in key Western markets:

  • Based on order volume, Printify cites merchants located in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Germany as currently most successful on its platform.

  • Analyzing states, leading locations include California, Ohio, Texas, Florida, Georgia, and New York.

  • Beyond North America and Western Europe, fast-growing merchant bases in Vietnam, Turkey, The Netherlands showcase expanding appeal.

As print-on-demand platforms tailor localization efforts for more regions and languages, the geographic distribution of leading merchants could rapidly change.

Gender breakdown hints at incremental inclusivity

A slight majority of merchants on Printify identify as female:

  • 55% of merchants are female, compared to the remaining 45% identifying as male, per Printify‘s dataset.

For context, women make up around a third of conventional business ownership in the US according to census data. By lowering barriers, print-on-demand helps close this gap.

Ecommerce Industry Drives Print-On-Demand Adoption

Print-on-demand represents an innovative model for manufacturing and distributing custom physical products with minimal upfront investment. But its rapid rise has coincided with massive growth in global ecommerce.

As more spending shifts online, here are benchmarks demonstrating expanding digital retail opportunities:

  • Global ecommerce sales will top $4 trillion in value by 2024, reflecting a decade of tremendous growth since 2014. (Statista)

  • Ecommerce‘s share of total retail sales reached 14.2% globally as of 2021. By 2025, online retail is projected to account for over 21.9% of total commerce spend. (Statista)

  • Fueling this growth is a global 11.34% compound annual growth rate for ecommerce, led by emerging markets like Latin America, Southeast Asia and India that each boast 13-14% retail ecommerce sales CAGR from 2023-2027. (Statista)

Print-on-demand provides a flexible fulfillment model optimized for ecommerce, enabling anyone to easily translate designs into customized physical products.

As increasing retail spending moves online, print-on-demand adoption mirrors wider ecommerce growth trends by market and region.

Outlook for Complementary Printing Industries

Print-on-demand sits at the intersection of digital graphic design, ecommerce infrastructure, and manufacturing technologies like digital printing and 3D printing.

As these underlying industries continue advancing, they raise the baseline capabilities and customization potential for on-demand production overall.

3D printing driving on-demand manufacturing

Known for rapid prototyping and bespoke industrial design, 3D printing also empowers some print-on-demand production like customized figurines and jewelry.

Highlighting growth potential as capabilities improve:

  • The global automotive 3D printing market in particular is projected to register a 22.4% CAGR through 2032 as applications expand beyond prototyping to volume production. Value is expected to grow over 7X from $2.2 billion to $15.8 billion. (Market.Us)

  • On the materials side, the specialized 3D printing plastics market is also forecast to see a nearly 24.6% CAGR in the decade ahead, expanding over 8X in size from $797 million to $6.8 billion by 2032. (Market.Us)

From rapid prototyping to bespoke end-use parts, 3D printing paves the way for truly customized print-on-demand production.

Digital printing transforming bigger picture

Digital printing adoption does more than just enable basic print-on-demand; It transforms production paradigms across visual communication industries.

Recent projections highlight the expanding impact of digital printing technology:

  • Fueled by digital print, the global printing ink market size hit $21.2 billion in 2022, on pace to reach nearly $30 billion by 2032 reflecting steady 3.8% CAGR. (Market.Us)

  • The global A4 laser printer market segment measured $2.02 billion in 2022. Driven by 16.4% CAGR over the next decade, total value is forecast to grow over 4X to $9.2 billion by 2032 as prices fall. (Market.Us)

  • However, compared to high-growth digital, conventional offset and other legacy commercial printing remains stagnant. From 2023‘s $469.8 billion market value, little growth is expected, reaching just $586.2 billion by 2032. (Market.Us)

Across industries, digital printing adoption connects to the broader on-demand revolution empowering customers and creators alike with greater customization capability.

Key Takeaways and Future Outlook

Fueled by ecommerce adoption and rising consumer appetite for personalized products, print-on-demand is growing at a 25%+ annual clip into a multi-billion dollar global industry.

For both individual merchant sellers and leading print-on-demand providers, huge opportunities remain to leverage on-demand printing across geographies and product categories.

As complementary technologies like digital printing and 3D printing continue advancing as well, print-on-demand systems will gain the capability to deliver increasingly bespoke creations without added effort.

On the merchant side, maintaining adequate profit margins around 40-45% represents a sustainable benchmark while expanding across 8-16 export countries signals operating at substantial scale.

With underlying market forces all pointing toward sustained industry growth, the outlook remains highly bullish for print-on-demand providing digital storefronts and flexible fulfillment to all types of merchants. The toolbox to build a global product business is increasingly within anyone‘s reach.