---
lastModified: 2026-09-28
title: Print on demand with Printful
description: Connect Printful, design products on Printful blanks, publish them to your store, fulfill paid orders in Printful, and disconnect safely.
seo:
  description: "Sell custom printed products with Runner and Printful: connect your Printful account, design on a blank, set prices, markets, and shipping, publish, and fulfill orders."
---

Use Print on demand to sell custom products, such as t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and posters, without holding stock. You design on a Printful blank product in Runner, publish it to your store, and Printful prints and ships each order after you confirm it in Printful.

## How it works

1. **Connect Printful.** Authorize your own Printful account once for your organization.
2. **Choose a blank and design it.** Pick a product, colors, sizes, and printing technique, then add artwork.
3. **Review and publish.** Choose mockups, write the listing, set prices, markets, and shipping, then publish.
4. **Fulfill orders.** Each paid order creates a draft order in Printful. You confirm the draft in Printful to start production.

If you later need to stop using Printful, see [Disconnect Printful](#disconnect-printful).

## Before you start

**Entry path:** **Workspace → choose a store → Print on demand**

**Print on demand** appears in the **Build** group of the project navigation, next to **Store Operations** and **Dropshipping**. If you do not see it, the feature is not yet enabled for your account. Contact [Runner support](/en/guides/help-and-reference/support-and-community) to request access.

You need:

- a Runner project with a store;
- a [Printful](https://www.printful.com) account with billing set up, because Printful charges your Printful account for each order you confirm;
- the **Admin** or **Owner** role in the Runner organization to connect or disconnect Printful;
- at least one store market and currency under **Store Operations → General**; and
- a stock location and shipping setup before you publish. See [Shipping](/en/guides/store-operations/shipping).

## 1. Connect Printful

You can browse the catalog before connecting. The page shows **Preview mode** until Printful is connected. You must connect Printful before you can design, save, or publish.

1. Open **Print on demand**.
2. Select **Connect Printful**. You can also open a blank and select **Connect your own Printful**.
3. Sign in to Printful if asked, and review the permissions Runner requests.
4. In Printful's store selector, choose the store you want Runner to use. The selector defaults to **Create a new Printful store**; change it if you want to use an existing store.
5. Approve access. Printful returns you to **Print on demand**, and the page shows **Connected**.

The connection belongs to your Runner **organization**, so every store in that organization uses the same Printful store. An organization can have one Printful connection, and a Printful store can be connected to only one Runner organization.

To check which Printful store is connected, open the **Manage store** menu and choose **Manage connection**. The dialog shows the connected store name and Printful store ID.

### Reconnect Printful

If Printful stops accepting Runner's authorization, Runner shows **Reconnect Printful to keep orders flowing**. This usually means the store was deleted in Printful or the Runner app was uninstalled from it. Select **Reconnect Printful** and choose **the same Printful store** in Printful's store selector. Runner rejects a reconnection that picks a different store while the connection is still active.

## 2. Choose a blank and start designing

### Pick a blank

1. Browse **All blanks**, filter by **Product types**, or search by product, brand, print method, or SKU.
2. Open a product to see its images, available colors, sizes, print placements, techniques, base cost, estimated shipping, and delivery estimate for your markets.
3. Choose a **Technique**: **Printing** or **Embroidery**, when both are offered. Under **Printing**, choose the **Printing type** that Printful offers for that product, such as DTG, DTF, sublimation, or all-over print.
4. Choose one or more **colors** and **sizes**. You can select up to **20 variants** (color and size combinations) for one product.
5. Use the **Markup** slider to preview retail price and profit. You can change prices again during review.
6. Select **Start designing**. The designer opens with your chosen options.

If Runner changes your selection, for example "Size changed to match this color", Printful does not offer that exact combination. Review the adjusted options before continuing.

### Add your design

Each print placement, such as front, back, or sleeve, has its own tab in the designer. Add artwork to any placement you want printed.

| Design source | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Upload a file** | Upload JPEG, PNG, WebP, or SVG files up to 18 MB. SVG files are converted to PNG. 300 DPI is recommended. |
| **From media gallery** | Reuse images you already created or uploaded in Runner. |
| **Design with Runner AI** | Describe your idea. **Create image** makes new artwork; **Edit current artwork** changes the artwork already on the product. |
| **Inspirations → Text** | Pick a lettering style, such as Bold varsity, Classic serif, or Light script. Runner AI turns your words into print-ready text artwork. |
| **Inspirations → Labels & badges** | Pick a shape, such as a circle badge, shield crest, or ticket tag. Runner AI creates the badge with your text. |
| **Inspirations → Arts** | Place a curated, free-to-use (CC0) artwork from the Art Institute of Chicago directly on your product. |

Select an artwork layer to edit it in the inspector:

- move, resize, rotate, and change opacity;
- **Crop** the artwork without changing the original image;
- **Remove background** so only your design prints;
- **Repeat pattern** in a block, brick, or half-drop layout with adjustable spacing and offset;
- **Duplicate**, **Lock**, and reorder layers; and
- **Undo** and **Redo** changes.

### Check print quality

Before you save, check the quality indicators for each layer:

- **Print quality** compares the artwork's resolution at its current size with the DPI Printful requires. If it says the artwork will print blurry, make it smaller or upload a sharper file.
- **Print area** and **safe area** warnings mean part of the artwork may be cut off or trimmed. Move or resize it until the artwork is inside both.

### Save your design

The designer does not save automatically. Select **Save design** when you finish. The status shows **Unsaved changes** until you save. If you leave with unsaved changes, Runner asks whether to save or discard them.

Saved designs appear under **Saved designs** on the Print on demand page. Open one to keep editing or to turn it into a product. Deleting a saved design does not delete images from your media library.

## 3. Review and publish the product

When your design is ready, select **Publish** in the designer. Runner saves the design and opens **Get it ready to sell**.

### Configure the product

| Section | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| **Product mockups** | Select **Generate mockups** to create photos of your design on the product. Select at least one mockup and up to eight. Drag to reorder them; the first image is your listing image. |
| **Details** | Review the **Product title** and **Product description** that Runner drafted. Use **Brainstorm with AI** for a new description, then check every word. |
| **Markets** | Select **Choose markets** to pick the countries and currencies where you sell this product. Only markets Printful can ship to are listed. Choose at least one market. |
| **Pricing** | Use **Markup** to set your profit on top of Printful's base cost, or enter a price for each variant. The table shows retail price, shipping, tax, and estimated earnings for each market. |
| **Customer shipping charges** | Choose **Use store shipping rates** so shoppers pay your store's shipping rates, or **Charge Printful shipping rates** so shoppers pay Printful's quoted rate for their address at checkout. |

The shipping estimate on this page is a pricing reference. Printful's actual shipping cost depends on each customer's delivery address. If you use store shipping rates, consider including the estimated Printful shipping cost in your product price.

This product is fulfilled by Printful, so Printful's return policy applies. Review it from the link on the review page.

### Create the draft

1. Select **Create product**.
2. Wait while Runner prepares production files and creates the product. You can check the status anytime.
3. When you see **Your product is now a draft in your store**, select **View product**.

The product is now a **Draft** in **Products**. Shoppers cannot see it yet. You can edit its URL and search engine listing in Products.

### Publish

1. Open the draft product in **Products**.
2. Check **Shipping at checkout** and make sure a shipping mode is selected.
3. Select **Publish product**.
4. Wait for **Synced with Printful.** The product is now live in your store and synced to your Printful store.

To publish, the store needs an active Printful connection, a stock location, a shipping option, and a shipping mode for the product. If one is missing, Runner shows what to fix before you try again.

After a design becomes a product, it is locked to that product. If you edit it again, Runner makes a copy, and saving the copy does not change the existing product.

## 4. Fulfill orders

Runner does **not** send orders to production automatically. Each paid order creates a **draft order** in your Printful store, and you confirm it in Printful to start production.

1. A shopper pays for an order that contains a print-on-demand product.
2. Runner creates a matching draft order in your Printful store. This is automatic for orders with captured payment.
3. Open **Store Operations → Orders** and select the order. The **Printful fulfillment** section shows the draft status and the Printful production cost once Printful has calculated it.
4. When the status is **Draft ready**, select **Place order in Printful**. Printful opens the order in a new tab.
5. Review the order in Printful and confirm it. Printful charges your Printful account and starts production.
6. Return to the order in Runner and select **Refresh status**. Runner also updates the status automatically when Printful sends updates.

| Status | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| **Preparing draft** | Runner is creating the draft in Printful. |
| **Draft ready** | The draft is in Printful and waiting for you to confirm it there. |
| **Submitted** / **In production** | You confirmed the order, and Printful is producing it. |
| **Partially fulfilled** / **Fulfilled** | Printful shipped some or all items. |
| **Action required** | Printful needs an update before it can continue. Open the order in Printful. |
| **Needs attention** | Runner could not confirm the fulfillment state. Refresh the status, or contact support. |
| **Canceled** / **Deleted** | The Printful order was canceled, or the draft was deleted. |

Keep these rules in mind:

- **Confirm only orders you intend to fulfill.** Confirming in Printful is irreversible production and charges your Printful account.
- **Refunds and cancellations do not change the Printful draft.** If you refund or cancel a customer order, delete or cancel the draft in Printful yourself, and do not confirm it.
- **Deleting a Printful draft does not cancel or refund the customer order.** Handle the customer order separately in Runner.
- If Runner shows **Retry draft**, Printful did not create the draft and it is safe to retry.
- If Runner says Printful created the order but Runner couldn't read it back, **don't resubmit**. Runner reconciles it automatically, so check back later.

## Disconnect Printful

Disconnecting stops Runner from using your Printful store immediately. **Finish or close every ongoing order before you disconnect.** Orders that are not complete are taken offline in Runner and are not retried, even if you connect another Printful store later.

### Before you disconnect

1. In **Store Operations → Orders**, find every order with a **Printful fulfillment** section that is not **Fulfilled**, **Canceled**, or **Deleted**.
2. For each **Draft ready** order, either confirm it in Printful or cancel and refund the customer order in Runner and delete the Printful draft.
3. Wait until confirmed orders show **Fulfilled**, or keep tracking them directly in Printful.
4. Unpublish or remove print-on-demand products you no longer want shoppers to see.

### Disconnect

1. Open **Print on demand**.
2. Open the **Manage store** menu and choose **Manage connection**.
3. Select **Disconnect**.
4. Read the impact, then select **Disconnect Printful**.

After you disconnect:

- your print-on-demand products and drafts stay visible in **Products**, but shoppers cannot add them to a cart or check out;
- those products show **This POD product is unavailable** and can't be sold or edited through Printful;
- ongoing Printful fulfillments are taken offline in Runner; and
- your Printful store and its orders remain in your Printful account.

**Reconnecting does not restore products.** If you connect Printful again later, products from the earlier connection stay unavailable. Create new products from your saved designs.

## Limits

| Item | Limit |
| --- | --- |
| Variants per product | 1–20 color and size combinations |
| Listing images per product | Up to 8 mockups |
| Markets per product | Up to 51 |
| Markup | 0–500% |
| Product title | Up to 255 characters |
| Upload file size | 18 MB (JPEG, PNG, WebP, or SVG) |
| Printful connections | One per organization |

Your plan can also limit how many products you can create. If you reach the limit, Runner shows **You've reached your plan's print-on-demand product limit**.

## Troubleshooting

- **Print on demand is missing from the navigation:** the feature is not enabled for your account. Contact support.
- **Connect Printful fails or you are not allowed to connect:** ask an organization Admin or Owner to connect Printful.
- **Printful event delivery is awaiting Runner setup:** Runner must finish a one-time configuration. You do not need to change anything in your store.
- **A mockup, price, or shipping estimate does not load:** retry from the same page. Your saved design is not affected.

For exact error messages and recovery steps, see:

- [Printful connection and catalog](/en/guides/help-and-reference/error-playbook-store-and-apps/printful-connection-and-catalog)
- [Printful design conflicts and unavailable artwork](/en/guides/help-and-reference/error-playbook-store-and-apps/printful-design-conflicts-and-unavailable-artwork)
- [Printful product review, mockups, and publication](/en/guides/help-and-reference/error-playbook-store-and-apps/printful-product-review-mockups-and-publication)
- [Orders and fulfillment errors](/en/guides/help-and-reference/error-playbook-store-and-apps/orders-and-fulfillment)

## Related guides

- [Store Operations](/en/guides/store-operations)
- [Products](/en/guides/store-operations/products)
- [Orders](/en/guides/store-operations/orders)
- [Shipping](/en/guides/store-operations/shipping)
- [Dropshipping](/en/guides/store-operations/dropshipping)