Gelato Print on Demand Review (2024): Is This POD Solution Worth Considering?

Is This The Right POD Solution for You?

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Compared to competitors like Printful, Gelato may be less well-known. Still, it offers production in 34 countries and works alongside over 100 print partners.

In addition, thousands of eCommerce stores use Gelato to sell a range of customized items that are produced locally. Typically, these wares can be delivered in as little as 72 hours.

The print-on-demand business is on the up. So itโ€™s undoubtedly a business area worth digging into a little deeper. In fact, the global print-on-demand market is expected to reach $10,810m by 2027. That’s a projected growth of almost 34% per year between now and then.ย 

So if youโ€™re reading this because that’s something you already know, or youโ€™re considering starting up an online print-on-demand business as a sideline, keep reading.

You may already know there are tons of print on demand software platforms you can partner with to get your venture up and running. However, with so many to choose from, how do you decide? 

Today, weโ€™ll walk you through one such platform called Gelato.

Gelato Review:

Thereโ€™s a lot of information to give you, so letโ€™s make a start!

About Gelato Print on Demand

Gelato Review

Founded by former Tele2 Norway CEO Henrik Mรผller-Hansen, Gelato describes itself not as a print on demand business but as a software company.

Gelato hit unicorn status in 2021, raising $240 million, thereby increasing its valuation to $1.05 billion. Its API customers include the likes of smaller Shopify and Etsy stores to more prominent named brands like Canva.com and Mapiful.ย 

Gelato works with carefully selected print partners chosen for their professionalism and high print production standards. Gelato is geared towards the needs of entrepreneurs, creators, and enterprises looking to sell POD products closer to home.

This removes the extra bureaucracy (VAT, tax, cross-border issues). The aim is to provide a greener solution with reduced shipping distances and carbon emissions.

Gelato Print on Demand Products

Gelato Review

Gelatoโ€™s range of print on demand product options is constantly growing to suit a host of business needs. You can browse through the catalog online, or using an Android or Ios app.ย 

Itโ€™s easy to see what products Gelato offers. From its homepage, simply click on ‘products’ to populate Gelato’s product catalog.

This is split into the following product categories:

  • Menโ€™s clothing (including t-shirts, tank tops, hoodies, and so on)
  • Womenโ€™s clothing (as above)
  • Kids and baby clothing (as above)
  • Wall art
  • Mugs
  • Photobooks
  • Cards
  • Calendars
  • Stationery and business
  • Tote bags
  • Phone cases       
  • Wallpaper

Once youโ€™ve decided which products you want to sell, youโ€™ll be able to use full video tutorials and guidance to learn how to customize your products according to your needs. The process for creating unique products with SEO ready descriptions is simpler than youโ€™d think.ย 

As an example, let’s say you want to sell a custom men’s t-shirt. In this case, simply click on the specific item you wish to customize.

For instance, for a ‘Classic Unisex Crew Neck T-Shirt,’ select the color you want to design, and start creating your print.ย 

Gelato offers a variety of customization options for your ecommerce business, depending on the products you sell.

You can select from a range of fabric options and styles for each item. On T-shirts, for instance, you can choose to print on the front, back, inner neck, or outer neck of each product, and choose from a range of different printing technologies.ย 

At the time of writing, Gelato only offers front and back printing on garments.

When you select a product, Gelato shows which countries that product can be fulfilled in, its starting price, and its shipping cost (which, of course, depends on the country youโ€™re shipping to). 

In most cases, when you select a product you want to customize and sell, orders are fulfilled at the closest production center to where you’re selling from.

Gelato’s Features

Now you have a broad overview of what Gelato is and what it offers, letโ€™s take a deeper look at its features:

Gelato’s process is split into four main categories:

  1. Account and setup
  2. Production
  3. Order management
  4. Payments and billing

Letโ€™s take a look at each in turn:

Account and Setup

Itโ€™s free to set up your account. Plus, there’s no minimum order or prepayment needed; you just create an account with an email address and password. You can do this via your Google, Facebook, Apple logins, or your email address.

Then you can integrate your Gelato account with your online store. Simply download the Gelato app and follow the instructions to connect. Gelato integrates with Shopify, Etsy, Wix, WooCommerce, Squarespace, and BigCommerce.

Alternatively, you can integrate your online store with Gelato via Gelato’s API if you have some coding know-how, or use Gelato/OrderDesk integration to connect to any other platform.ย 

Production

Gelato is big on high-quality products, emphasizing its goals surrounding sustainable production, excellent quality, and quick product turnarounds. Gelato also encourages creators to only produce what they sell to reduce waste and overproduction. 

To this end, Gelato works in line with international standards, including its paper products certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council.

Once youโ€™ve selected the product(s) you want to design, you can either upload an existing design of yours to place on the product or use Gelato’s Design Editor to customize your products. 

Let’s say, for example, you want to customize a canvas print. Select this product. Then, you’ll be prompted to choose your print size, canvas thickness, and whether you want a vertical or horizontal print.

Then, using Gelato’s Design Editor, you can upload images or use Getty and/or Shutterstock Images (more about this later).ย 

You can preview your design before continuing to overview your shipping options. At this point, you’ll be asked for the shipping address, and then the costs for the delivery will be calculated.

Order Management

When you sign up for a Gelato account, you’ll see a dropdown menu on the left side of your screen. From here you can manage all your orders. 

More specifically, you can view your orders and billing and connect to more eCommerce stores like Amazon, eBay, etc.

Also included are analytics on order numbers, the numbers of orders sold, your printing costs, orders by country (by day, week, and month), etc. You can also see real-time information about the progress of your orders.ย 

At this point, it’s also worth noting that Gelato works with multiple shipping partners, including DHL, FedEx, Parcelforce, RoyalMail, UPS, etc.

However, Gelato doesn’t offer custom branded packaging on shipped items. This may be possible in the future, but at the moment, all packaging is standardized. Unfortunately, this also means you canโ€™t add business cards or thank you notes inside your orders.ย 

Payment and Billing

You can pay for Gelato’s products using VISA, Maestro, Mastercard, and other major credit cards. You can also pay by invoice. In addition, the platform supports a wide range of currencies, including EUR, British Pounds, and US Dollars. 

You can also add a prepaid amount to your account and use that money to pay your balance. You can also set automated top-ups when your balance gets too low. This comes in handy if you’re looking to speed up the payment process.

Gelato Print on Demand Product Prices

Gelato Review

Signing up is free. On top of that, once you’ve created an account, you have 72 hours to benefit from a 50% discount on your first order. This offer is limited to one use per customer. 

However, a paid plan is available, which comes with a 30-day trial. This costs $7.99 a month (based on annual billing) and is called Gelato+. 

That said, letโ€™s look at the difference between Gelato Free and Gelato+:

With the Free plan, you get:

  • Access to local production across 34 countries
  • You can sell hundreds of products
  • You can trade on Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, Order Desk, or connect your website via API
  • You can create designs with Gelato’s design editor
  • You can register two users
  • You can connect up to two online stores

In contrast, with Gelato+, you get:

  • Premium apparel mockups: This includes over 750 professional images of more than 20 different models for all apparel products
  • Product personalization tool: This enables your customers to personalize their products with images, text, and graphics
  • Access to ready-to-use graphics: Here, you have unlimited access to over 200 graphics to help you quickly design new products
  • Image filters: Turn any of your designs into art with easy to use image filters
  • Shutterstock Essentials package: This unlocks access to over one million free premium images from Shutterstock
  • Automatic file uploads for personalized orders
  • One-click product expansion: You can quickly increase the size of your product catalog by adding new product versions for existing products. This is possible with just the click of a button.
  • You can set profit margins.
  • You can offer express shipping.
  • You can register up to five users.
  • You can connect up to five stores.

Of course, once you decide which plan you want, don’t forget to factor in the base costs of the products you want to sell and ship.

Gelato+ Gold

One of the most recent additions to the Gelato pricing structure is the Gelato+ Gold plan. This is the most expensive solution offered by Gelato, but it also comes with a range of added bonuses and benefits. For $99 per month or $999 per year, youโ€™ll gain access to:

  • 30% of shipping for your first 49 orders per month, as well as 50% of shipping for any order over 50 sales per month.
  • Early access to new products and exclusive discounts on each item.
  • Automatic order fulfillment for custom products created by designs
  • Quick wall art expansion options
  • Complete profit margin customization and live shipping rates

All of the features of Gelato+ are also included. Plus, you can connect up to 25 ecommerce stores, and add 20 account users.

If you pay for the annual plan, rather than the monthly solution, youโ€™ll be able to get 30 days of free shipping too.ย 

Integrations

As companies look for new ways to improve their workflows with automation, integrations are becoming increasingly crucial.

The more ecommerce platforms and additional tools your dropshipping technology can work seamlessly with, the easier it is to run an efficient business.

Fortunately, Gelato makes it easy to instantly add print on demand products to your store, thanks to pre-built integrations with a variety of tools.

The print on demand company provides connections with leading tools like Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace and BigFommerce.

This means regardless of what kind of ecommerce platform youโ€™re using to generate sales; you shouldnโ€™t have a problem adding Gelato to the mix.

The SaaS company provides step-by-step guidance to help you with setting up and using your integrations too.

For instance, if youโ€™re running a Shopify store, you can find tips and guidance on the Gelato website showing you how to add everything from shipping times to product details to your store automatically.

There are also tutorial options for setting up things like email marketing and social media integrations, so you can boost your chances of standing out online.

Gelato Pros and Cons

We’ve covered lots of information here, so let’s condense the headlines into a quick pro-cons list:

Pros ๐Ÿ‘

  • Itโ€™s free and quick to sign up for a Gelato account
  • Gelato’s Design Editor is super easy to use
  • It uses locally sourced print solutions to limit your carbon footprint
  • You benefit from a generous 30-day free Gelato+ trial
  • You can sign up and start ordering custom products without an online store

Gelato’s Customer Support

There’s a handy online help center that you can access via Gelato’s website. Here you’ll find plenty of self-help resources on topics like ‘Getting started,’ ‘Products & design,’ ‘Integrations,’ etc.

Interesting guides include 6 Steps to start with a print-on-demand business and 3 ways to grow your print-on-demand business.

If you need something more specific, contact Gelato’s customer support team 24/7 via email or live chat. There are also blog posts on various topics, including Getting Started with Shopify, Getting Started with Etsy, etc. 

Best Alternatives to Gelato

When it comes to finding phenomenal print on demand sales hubs, there are no shortage of options available on the web today.

Although Gelato has a lot of great features to offer, including endless options for merch and products for your online store, thereโ€™s still a chance you may want to consider other alternatives.

For instance, if you want to sell products on Amazon, you may need to consider partnering with another POD business.

Print on demand service providers competing against Gelato today include apps like Zazzle, Teelaunch, Cafepress, Sellfy or Gooten, but some of the most popular are:

1.  Printful

printful homepage - gelato print on demand review

Easily one of the most popular tools on the market for print on demand selling, Printful has everything you need to run a successful store.

The powerful, all-in-one platform offers access to various printing options, including sublimation and embroidery. There are various great products to choose from too, including best quality clothing, notebooks, and art prints.

Printful has a dedicated mock-up generator, so youโ€™ll have no trouble seeing what your designs are going to look like before you add them to your store.

There are also various workflow automation options for running your own art or t-shirt business as efficiently as possible. Additionally, thereโ€™s no subscription cost to worry about when you sign up.

2.  Printify

printify homepage - gelato print on demand review

Another top solution for POD subscribers, Printify is a state-of-the-art POD company, with access to a huge range of products and solutions for business leaders.

You can sell high-quality products to customers all over the world, with a wide range of customization capabilities. Printifyโ€™s options include DTG, cut-and-sew, and sublimation printing.

Like Printful, thereโ€™s also a mock-up generator to help you create fantastic, engaging images for your product pages. You can also choose to order products in bulk if you decide you want to go beyond print on demand selling and handle some of your order fulfillment yourself.

The global network of fulfillment centers offered by Printify is very useful for getting items to your customers fast, however.

3.  Redbubble

redbubble homepage - gelato print on demand review

Redbubble takes a slightly different approach to Print on Demand selling than Gelato and other well-known tools.

Itโ€™s a great solution if you want to connect with a wide audience of potential customers as quickly as possible. Instead of loading products into your store, you can sell items directly through the Redbubble marketplace, which already attracts thousands of buyers worldwide.

Like many leading POD providers, RedBubble has its own mock-up generator for creating fantastic product images.

The technology is straightforward and easy-to-use for beginners. Plus, it makes it simple to create phenomenal customer service, with free exchanges and returns, as well as options for money-back guarantees.

You can even order samples of your products to make sure youโ€™re giving your customers the best possible quality.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

We’ve covered lots of information here, so you might still have some questions. That said, let’s answer some of the most frequently asked questions we hear about Gelato:

What about delivery times? 

That depends on what youโ€™re creating and where youโ€™re shipping it; for example, Gelato says it takes 1-4 days to create your designs and orders for posters, canvas, and frames. It then takes 1-4 business days for products to be shipped, and delivery times depend on the carrier you use. In addition, Gelatoโ€™s website says that delivery times may vary because of the continued global pandemic.  

Does Gelato run an affiliate program? 

The good news is if you want to apply to be a Gelato affiliate, you can. Gelato is looking for creators, entrepreneurs, print-on-demand experts, bloggers, and vloggers who can help promote its software. Commissions go up to 15%, and applicants must have an active website with an established audience to whom they can deliver original content. 

What’s Print On Demand?

In short, print on demand is an order fulfillment method that’s ideal for printing wares on a per-order basis. In addition, these goods are only produced once one of your customers has made a purchase. So you donโ€™t have to pay for items until after youโ€™ve sold them. Consequently, you don’t need to spend money on stock upfront or warehousing.  

When a customer purchases a POD product from your ecommerce store, the order is sent to your printing partner. They then take it from here. They manage the entire supply chain from order fulfillment to deliver the goods directly to your customer.

Gelato Print on Demand Review: Our Final Verdict

So there you have it, that’s our take on Gelato. We love that it has a free option. So, you have nothing to lose by giving it a go and seeing whether it meets your needs. If that’s what you decide to do, please tell us all about it in the comments box below!

Rosie Greaves

Rosie Greaves is a professional content strategist who specializes in all things digital marketing, B2B, and lifestyle. She has over three years of experience crafting high-quality content. Check out her website Blog with Rosie for more information.

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