Two of the most prominent players in the POD space are Gelato and Printful.
While both platforms offer unique features and capabilities, they cater to different needs and preferences.
Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of these 2 platforms will help you make an informed decision.
And we’re here to help. Read on to see the winner of the Gelato vs. Printful duel.
Let’s dive in!
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Gelato vs. Printful: A Quick Comparison
Before we dive deeper into these 2 popular POD providers, let’s quickly check their highlights.
Here’s an overview table.
Gelato: Overview
Gelato is a popular name in the POD world, acting as a middleman between you and printing companies.
Thus, it doesn’t own any printing facilities but collaborates with over 140 printing partners worldwide to fulfill your orders.
When your customer places an order through an integrated eCommerce platform like Shopify or Etsy, Gelato routes the order to the nearest printing partner.
Gelato has an app that allows you to manage and monitor your orders on the go.
Gelato: Key Features
1. Print-on-demand Catalogue
Gelato’s product catalog is smaller compared to Printful, but it still offers multiple customizable products, such as:
- Apparel,
- Wall Art,
- Calendars,
- Drinkware,
- Accessories,
- Cards and Stationery,
- Mugs and Bottles, and
- Phone Cases.
In addition, it also allows you to create branded merchandise like Gildan®, Sols, Bella + Canvas, Econscious, etc.
2. Tools & Apps
Gelato provides miscellaneous software tools and apps to enhance your POD.
✨ Personalization Studio automates design tasks and offers tools that simplify creating and selling personalized products.
Furthermore, it integrates with eCommerce platforms like Etsy and Shopify for real-time personalization and automated order processing.
✨ Mockup Generator allows you to create personalized product mockups. You can choose from various background scenes and adjust the size and position of the product within the scene.
You can also add multiple layers, including brand logos, text, and graphics.
It is important to mention that the feature is available for Gelato+ and Gold subscribers and is specifically designed for the Wall art product category.
✨ Design Maker enables you to create customized and personalized product designs by using customizable templates and:
- Upload text in different fonts
- Use Stock images and graphics from Gelato’s Library.
✨ Price Navigator helps you optimize your pricing strategy and keeps track of your product prices on both Shopify and Etsy.
Moreover, it allows you access to historical pricing data and rollback options to adjust strategies and incorporate platform costs and tax calculations into your pricing strategy.
3. Printing Methods
Gelato uses popular printing techniques:
✨ Direct-to-Garment (DTG) Printing — Specialized inkjet technology that sprays water-based inks directly onto the fabric.
It is a popular method suitable for small batch orders for T-shirts, hoodies, and other apparel since it allows detailed prints.
✨ Direct-to-Film (DTF) Printing — Prints designs onto a special PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film using water-based inks.
It works well on various materials, including cotton, polyester, nylon, and blends, making it versatile for different apparel and textiles.
Moreover, it can print on both light and dark fabrics due to its use of white ink, so you can create vibrant designs regardless of the base color.
✨ Embroidery — Gelato offers embroidery so you can add personalized stitching to products such as hats, sweatshirts, and bags.
4. Production & Shipping
One of Gelato’s top features is that it automates order processing, production, and fulfillment.
Gelato offers fast turnaround times — Its elaborate partner network means that Gelato processes most of your orders close to your customers’ locations with local print providers.
Regarding tracking, Gelato offers 2 ways:
- Tracking your order via the shared tracking link on your dashboard and viewing your order details.
- Viewing the parcel shipping status on the order screen under shipping history. This method is easier since it provides a quick update on where your parcel is without visiting carrier tracking pages.
5. Integrations
Thanks to the API functionality, you can connect to eCommerce platforms, apps, or websites.
Thus, you can connect your UK or US TikTok shop, Etsy, Shopify, and WooCommerce. Other popular integrations include Squarespace, BigCommerce, and Wix.
Pricing
Gelato has 1 Free and 3 Premium Plans, starting from $24 per month.
Gelato: Pros & Cons
All the pros and cons are based on TrustPilot, Shopifyapp, and G2 reviews.
🟢 Global network of production partners.
🟢 User-friendly design tools.
🟢 Fast local fulfillment.
🔴 A smaller product range compared to other POD players.
🔴 Occasional stock issues.
🔴 More advanced features are only available via subscription.
Printful: Overview
Printful is a print-on-demand dropshipping and fulfillment service that allows you to create, print, and sell custom merchandise.
The platform is popular due to its fast turnaround time and wider product range.
When Printful receives your customer’s order, it charges you for the production cost. This amount is deducted from your account or payment method you set up with Printful. After the payment confirmation, the production process begins, followed by a quality check, packaging, and shipping.
Printful: Key Features
1. Print-on-demand Catalogue
Printful offers a wide range of products, spanning 5 major categories, each with multiple subcategories:
- Apparel,
- Accessories,
- Home and Living, and
- Collections.
Same as Gelato, it also allows you to create branded merchandise like Adidas, AS Colour, Atlantis, BagBase, Beechfield Hats, Bella + Canvas, etc.
2. Tools & Apps
✨Design Maker provides tools to edit and customize your designs. Thus, you can:
Create text-based designs with various customization options, such as changing font size, color, spacing, etc.
- Choose from the library of premade graphics and clipart.
- Create repeating patterns using clipart or uploaded designs and adjust the pattern type.
- Resize and reposition layers.
✨ Mockup Generator offers various mockup styles, including lifestyle shots, flat lays, and model images.
Furthermore, it allows you to upload designs and customize placements, colors, and sizes.
Printful integrates with Getty images, giving you access to miscellaneous stock images and illustrations.
You can download mockups in PEG and PNG formats.
3. Printing Methods
Printful definitely wins over Gelato when it comes to the number of printing techniques it offers.
Besides traditional DTG and DTF printing, Printful offers:
✨ All-over printing that is becoming popular for apparel, and leggings in particular.
✨ Sublimation transfers designs onto various materials, primarily polyester and polyester-coated surfaces.
The designs that look best are patterns and large-scale designs.
✨ Embroidery enables you to add colored threads onto a garment or an accessory and can be great for text designs, logos, and lines.
✨ Knitting technique uses advanced jacquard knitting to “print” your designs directly into the fabric.
This method is great for complex patterns, multiple color items, and detailed and pixel-perfect graphics.
Regardless of the technique, Printful allows you to order product samples with a 20% discount to test your product before selling it.
4. Production & Shipping
Printify is more popular in the US, while Gelato is more popular globally, especially in Europe.
Regarding production, each item undergoes a three-step quality check to ensure it meets Printful’s standards.
In addition, you can also customize various branding elements throughout the fulfillment process, including packing slips, packaging materials, and labels.
Printful provides various shipping options, including standard and expedited services.
After shipping, your customers receive tracking information to monitor their order until it arrives.
At the same time, you can track your orders via Printful’s dashboard, which provides updates on statuses:
- “Waiting for fulfillment,”
- “Being fulfilled,”
- “Fulfilled,” and
- “Delivered.”
5. Integrations
Integrations are another area where Printful offers more than Gelato.
Printful integrates with major eCommerce platforms and marketplaces, as well as with Walmart, Webflow, Ecwid, Weebly, Adobe Commerce, etc.
Pricing
Printful doesn’t charge monthly or membership fees — You only pay for the products your customers order.
Printful: Pros & Cons
🟢 No set-up or monthly fees.
🟢 User-friendly.
🟢 Possibility to order samples.
🔴 Can be pricier than similar items from competing print-on-demand companies.
🔴 You can’t choose a production facility.
🔴 Smaller partner network compared to Gelato.
Gelato vs. Printful: The Final Verdict
Choosing between Gelato and Printful largely depends on your specific needs.
If you prioritize a wider product range, robust integrations, and high-quality prints, Printful may be the better choice.
On the other hand, if you are looking for competitive pricing, faster shipping through localized production, and a focus on sustainability, Gelato seems to be a better fit.
While both POD tools are impressive when it comes to shipping and fulfillment, there is an essential step in POD that we can’t forget about — mockup creation.
Although Gelato and Printful have mockup generators, their main focus remains on shipping and fulfillment.
A more universal tool to help you take the first step in the POD world is Dynamic Mockups.
How Can Dynamic Mockups Help Your POD?
Dynamic Mockups is a robust mockup generator that allows you to create, customize, and personalize mockups in bulk, streamlining otherwise time-consuming and repetitive tasks.
With our tool, you can:
🔥 Create custom scenes and backgrounds behind your products and switch them up without changing your original designs.
You just need to enter a text prompt, and our AI Mockup generator will do the heavy lifting.
This way, you can test different designs until you find the sweet spot for your brand and audience.
🔥 Generate mockups in bulk by uploading multiple designs and color combinations, allowing you to create 100 mockups in only 10 seconds.
🔥 Customize your designs further and create personalized and realistic mockups by uploading and customizing your Photoshop templates.
🔥 Benefit from integrations with Etsy and WooCommerce and integrations with WordPress, Make, and Zapier for extended functionality.
🔥 Edit your design with our advanced tools that allow:
- Infinite color changes through the color picker and integrated Printful and Printify color options.
- Positioning, repositioning, and adjusting layers for a perfect fit.
- Life-like mockups thanks to Photoshop blending modes.
🔥 Browse our expanding Free Mockup Template Library and choose from:
🔔Coming Soon:
We’re about to launch the iFrame embeddable mockup editor feature to allow your customers to design their products directly on your site without relying on 3rd parties. What does it mean? You’ll be in charge of the creation process and not worry about the printing quality.
Ready to take Dynamic Mockups for a spin?
Start with Dynamic Mockups for free and equip yourself for success in POD.
Start creating for Free!
Showcase your E-commerce products like big brands, without costing a fortune
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