#+title: S03|L13 - how to create mugs with printify #+HTML_HEAD: #+OPTIONS: H:6 * Links #+attr_html: :class links - [[../../toc.org][TOC - ecomm clubhouse]] - [[https://jellyfin.ronnyabraham.com/web/index.html#/details?id=9481e3bada0c7a15b8a29ddd946442b3&serverId=99488804638e465693eed17924c57b60][video]] * Notes * Description * Review ** Summary This lesson shows how to add a second product (mugs) in Printify, compare suppliers, properly position designs on mugs, and publish the product to Shopify. ** Core Idea Mugs are a strong secondary product, but require: - supplier comparison - correct design placement (not centered like t-shirts) ** Practical Value - Navigate to mugs in Printify catalog - Compare similar products from different suppliers - Evaluate: - price - shipping cost - supplier rating - Select best value supplier - Upload design and adjust placement - Duplicate design for both sides of mug - Publish product to Shopify ** Supplier Selection Insight Even identical-looking products: - come from different suppliers - have different costs and shipping Small differences compound over time. Always compare: - base cost - shipping cost - rating ** Design Placement Insight Mugs ≠ t-shirts. Correct approach: - Do NOT center design - Place near handle (left side) - Duplicate to right side for symmetry Goal: → visible when holding the mug ** Warnings - Centered designs on mugs look unprofessional - Some products have no Printify Choice option - Not all suppliers offer express shipping - Slight price differences can reduce margins - Poor placement reduces perceived quality ** Key Insight Product formatting is product-specific. What works for: - t-shirts → centered Does NOT work for: - mugs → side placement Each product type has its own “expected layout.” ** My Recommendation For mugs: - Use one supplier consistently at first - Compare at least 2–3 providers before choosing - Place design on both sides near handle - Keep design readable at smaller sizes Treat mugs as: → an upsell / expansion product, not primary ** Additional Insight Mugs are ideal for: - testing design portability - increasing average order value - simple product expansion If a design works on shirts, it often works on mugs with minimal effort. * Transcript 00:00 Okay. Let's go ahead and add in another product, mugs. 00:03 Yes, T shirts are definitely the most popular print on 00:06 demand product overall, but mugs are also still a great 00:09 seller. And adding a mug is simple. Come to the 00:11 catalog section in Printify 00:13 and then come under home and living and select mugs 00:16 and you will see a huge variety of mugs to 00:18 choose from. You'll also notice that a lot of these 00:21 mugs look almost identical 00:23 but they still have separate product listings. So for example, 00:26 you can see here that this is a listing for 00:28 a basic white mug that costs 5 dollars and 56 00:31 cents or 4 dollars and 15 cents with Printify Premium. 00:35 And then right next to it, there's another plain white 00:38 mug that costs 5 dollars and 72 cents or 4 00:41 dollars and 27 cents with Printify Premium. Now, technically, they're 00:45 both just white mugs. So what's the difference? Well, in 00:49 reality, they're actually made by different manufacturers and brands, and 00:52 different print providers are using technically different white mugs. Although 00:57 in reality, 00:58 the differences are tiny and most customers would probably not 01:02 notice. But since they are technically different products from different 01:05 suppliers, 01:06 they will get their own separate listings. So when you 01:08 see a lot of similar products like this, it's often 01:11 a good idea to open them up and compare the 01:13 supplier reviews, the product cost, and the shipping. So for 01:16 example, this white mug made by Spoke Custom Products currently 01:20 has a 9.4 supplier rating and a price of 5 01:23 dollars and 56 cents or 4 dollars and 15 cents 01:27 premium with shipping costing 6 dollars and 39 cents. Well, 01:30 let's now compare that to another white mug which happens 01:33 to be coming from a provider called Taylor. They also 01:36 have a pretty solid rating. It is 9.2 01:38 but the mug itself is 5 dollars and 72 cents 01:41 or 4 dollars and 27 cents with Printify Premium 01:44 and shipping is 6 dollars and 99 cents. So per 01:48 mug, Taylor actually ends up costing more money than Spoke 01:52 Custom Products, about a dollar more. So in this situation, 01:56 if I wanted to sell a plain white mug, I 01:58 would personally go with Spoke custom products. You might also 02:02 notice that for some products like these mugs, there is 02:05 no Printify choice option available, 02:07 unlike when we added in the t shirt, and that 02:10 is because for this specific mug that is being offered 02:13 here, there is only 1 provider 02:16 that is selling it. So this supplier is your only 02:19 choice. Either way, once you pick the mug you want 02:21 to sell, you can then come and edit it in 02:23 the product editor and upload the design that you want 02:26 to use and you will quickly notice something important and 02:29 that is that designs usually should not be placed in 02:32 the center 02:33 like you do with a t shirt because if you 02:35 place your design in the middle of the mug and 02:37 then preview it, you will see that it prints in 02:40 the center of it, which is usually not what people 02:43 want. Most customers expect that their mug designs will be 02:47 printed on both sides near the handle so that when 02:50 they're holding the mug, the design faces them or it 02:53 faces outwards. So instead of leaving the design in the 02:56 middle, move it over to the left side of the 02:58 mug. You can use the alignment guides, which are the 03:00 little lines and points in the editor, to position it 03:03 correctly. 03:04 Then you can click preview to see how it looks. 03:06 Now you can see the design is printing on 1 03:09 side near the handle, which is much better. But for 03:12 mugs, it is often ideal to have the design on 03:14 both sides. So to print the design twice, click on 03:17 it and use the duplicate button. Now you'll have a 03:19 second copy of your design that you can move over 03:22 to the right side of the mug. And as you 03:25 drag it, Printify's snapping guides will help you mirror the 03:28 placement so both sides match. And now if we preview 03:31 it again, you'll see that the design is on both 03:34 the left and the right side of the handle. 03:37 Perfect. And here's something that's important to know. You can 03:40 put multiple images or copies of your design into the 03:43 same print area and not pay anything extra. So you 03:47 can combine multiple elements within a single print zone without 03:51 having to pay more. But yes, once you're happy with 03:53 how it looks, click save. And on the confirmation page, 03:57 click publish. And just like when I uploaded the t 04:00 shirt in the previous video, I usually leave most of 04:02 the listing details alone here and make my detailed edits 04:06 later inside of Shopify 04:08 where I have more control. And if you check the 04:10 shipping section for this mug here, you will notice that 04:13 unlike when I filmed the t shirt video, 04:16 this mug provider, Spoke Custom Products, does not offer express 04:19 shipping. So not every supplier within Printify 04:23 offers expedited options. 04:25 So it's worth noticing that as you add in products. 04:28 So when you're ready, click publish to send the mug 04:30 to your Shopify store and again, Printify will just need 04:34 a few minutes to upload all of the images and 04:37 data. 04:38 And with that, we can move on to the next 04:40 video.