After Shopify was set up as the e-commerce platform, the next component needed to be added was the print-on-demand service. Print-on-demand is the ability to outsource the creation of the physical products. This provides the manufacturing and shipping of the products. This means there is no inventory to store somewhere. The products are created after they are purchased. One drawback is that the time from purchase to delivery is longer.

I did some research, as there are a number of print-on-demand companies. I decided to go with a company called Printful. Printful had a large selection of products and integrated with Shopify. They shipped worldwide, too.

I set up an account and researched all the configurations. Printful does the shipping, so there is a lot to learn there. The biggest challenge was learning about sales tax. The laws about sales tax are very complicated because they depend on the different state laws in the United States.

Finally, I was able to learn how to pick products and customize them with Star Atlas images. I decided to start with a coffee mug with the Star Atlas logo.