Anna Navolokova, Marketing Manager in Multi-Programming Solutions • 11 min read
AI tools in the POD industry help overcome numerous challenges, such as managing a fast design process, enhancing the customer experience, and adapting to rapidly changing market trends. While several years ago, print on demand was, in most cases, a welcome place for artists, photographers, and creators, nowadays it has become more accessible for people with no design skills. They learn how to generate images with AI and launch a successful business without mastering art.
Indeed, the vast number of AI apps for creating realistic pictures can be a game-changer for enthusiasts wanting to establish a profitable storefront. In this article, we’ll describe the crucial role of AI illustrations in POD development and test some popular tools for making them. So, continue reading if you wish to explore the topic further.
The way AI changes the print on demand industry
How could AI image generators influence your POD business?
Top print on demand AI image generators and how to choose the right one
AI integration in the POD business opens new horizons for growth. Entrepreneurs can benefit from task automation, streamlined operations, and high-quality content with minimal human intervention. For many of them, investing in modern AI tools is a wise step as it positions their companies as highly innovative and producing products that resonate with the target audience. Here’s a breakdown of how AI changes the POD sector, increasing efficiency and profitability.
With the help of an AI image generator for print on demand, more individuals can try to launch an e-commerce business without any skills. You don’t necessarily have to master design courses or hire artists to help you develop a POD brand. Now you can create a captivating image in a few seconds by giving an AI software a detailed description of what the result should look like.
Regardless of the chosen POD niche, the best AI image generator app can create hundreds of print mockups for apparel, home decor, bags, phone cases, stationery, drinkware, fitness gear, baby products, pet accessories, and more. Although AI illustrations still require a human touch, sometimes they fail in creating details (for example, AI apps can generate six fingers on the human hand, etc.), it offers many opportunities for startupers who want to dive into the POD business with minimal effort.
Production expenses always remain one of the primary considerations when launching a printing company. Leveraging the benefits of the best AI image generator 2025 allows entrepreneurs to save money on design, marketing, and content creation. Moreover, AI apps help business owners spend fewer resources and minimize human errors. Consistently, such efforts can save costs for future process optimization and scaling.
Using a free AI image generator for print on demand, online store owners can significantly enhance the quality of customization. You may offer myriads of designs on various surfaces, including garments, paper, plastic, or glass, and tailor your styles based on the customers’ preferences. Changing the initial illustration also doesn’t require too much time. You simply download an image to the AI photo editing software and ask it to change colors, backgrounds, text, or other essential details. In a few seconds, you receive several options, all of which can be listed in your store and printed (by your equipment or a partnering third-party POD service).
Moreover, regarding product recommendations on your website, AI tools enable tailor-made suggestions based on efficient customer data analytics.
AI in POD processes significantly reduces repetitive operations, such as accepting orders, predicting material requirements, and streamlining the design process with the best free AI image generator, among other benefits. That sounds like a potential game-changer for all the printing firm owners on the market. With a moderate budget and no experience, they can easily step into e-commerce. Entrepreneurs can delegate several everyday tasks to AI software and focus more on the development strategy, affiliate partnerships, or other business aspects.
Leveraging the top AI image generator free online, store owners can enrich their catalogues in minutes. Intelligent tools allow users to create diverse arts, try them on various items, and increase the company's offerings. Additionally, entrepreneurs can utilize software like ChatGPT to write product descriptions.
The BEST AI Print on Demand Products to Sell Online
Many world-famous brands, including Nike, H&M, and Amazon, have used AI technologies for several years. These big names with a long history show that successful companies never stop evolving. Here, we will examine how AI can impact your growth, from improving customer experience to saving costs.
As using AI to create art shows no signs of stopping, it’s only a matter of time before most e-commerce businesses make AI tools an integral part of their working process. The best thing you can do to gain a competitive edge on the market is learning how to leverage its functionality wisely and write the best prompt for the AI image generator.
You can train the app according to your needs, focusing on the brand’s identity and philosophy. This approach will improve outcomes, increase productivity, and help you reach your business goals faster and more efficiently.
The quality of product images often determines whether a user finishes or abandons the purchase at your online shop. Good photos in listings can make you one step closer to success (of course, if the real printing will reflect the same brightness, size, and details). If you offer a large assortment of items, making real-life photos of each design is physically impossible. Still, the good news is that you may save money and time by creating illustrations from text with an AI image generator.
You can show clients available printing designs and how they will look on the item. Moreover, AI tools, like the New Black or Adobe Firefly, designed explicitly for creating apparel, allow you to generate on-models for brands. So, customers may explore how the products will fit their body type or hair color. This can significantly increase their satisfaction and grow sales, as buyers better understand what they receive in their hands.
This time, we tested Imagine Art, an alternative to Midjourney AI image generator, and asked the tool to paint a design for people who love mountains and place them on cups. Here’s what we’ve received.
From this example, you can understand the importance of writing a detailed description to receive a satisfying result. So, we changed the instructions considering we require a picture of printed mugs, which we’ll sell in our online POD store. Let’s see how the pictures changed.
Now, we have four options to download to our product listings. The only thing to remember is to save design files to ensure you’ll print precisely the same picture a customer will order. Mockups for custom mugs may look like this.
Entrepreneurs can widely use artificial intelligence to brainstorm unique print on demand design ideas and develop brand identity with all its key components, such as logos, the company’s colors, website interfaces, and more. Give a tool as much information as needed to make stunning visuals emphasizing your business goals, target audience, main principles, and history, and you’ll get dozens of options.
Although AI can offer enough suitable variants for your branding, it may also include widespread patterns and experiences. So it’s always best to tweak images manually to add a personalized touch and stand out.
As digital marketing became integral to every successful e-commerce activity, strengthening an online presence and launching an effective promotional campaign are crucial for every POD store that wants to thrive and generate more sales. The best AI text-to-image generator can become your reliable assistant in creating illustrations for everyday blogs and posts on social media. Your retention will likely remain high if you keep the customers’ interest by regular content updates and engaging materials.
Now that you’ve learned more about the potential of AI for boosting a POD business, let’s explore some of the popular options that can help entrepreneurs of all sizes elevate their companies.
One of the best AI art generators for print on demand, Midjourney has quickly evolved from a small tool with limited functionality to a multitask platform opening vast user opportunities. It allows them to create and edit realistic designs and apply stylistic effects for custom goals. This tool is ideal for POD stores as it focuses on automation, allowing entrepreneurs to streamline routine operations, save time, and increase performance.
Midjourney is a subscription-based platform for AI designs. Its prices start from $10 (currently $8) per month with a strictly determined set of features.
One of the best AI tools for photo editing, DALL-E offers a simple but efficient toolkit that allows users to create a new image from text or edit an uploaded file, changing its style. For example, you can download an existing family photo and ask the app to change it into anime, fantasy, or comic-book look. Such a tool can become a perfect assistant for fulfilling customers’ orders, making prints from their photoes and popularizing a unique service. DALL-E gives users five free tries to explore the offering. A subscription is required to use the platform on a regular basis. For a $10 monthly bill, customers receive 1000 fast AI-generated photos per month and a commercial license.
What is the best POD AI image generator for social media? We’ll say, it’s Canva. The platform offers a massive set of ready-made patterns and stock pictures, which you can utilize for your case. However, its main advantage for print on demand entrepreneurs lies in numerous options for image customization and a drag-and-drop interface, helpful for those who are only starting to explore AI tools. Although Canva is user-friendly and ideal for marketing objectives, it cannot always be considered an AI image generator for logos due to applied commercial restrictions.
This AI site for photo editing and creation is built specifically for business needs. It enables firms to simplify branding with AI by offering customers extensive opportunities to create exceptional logos, product illustrations, book covers, posters, and more. Stockimg.ai has no commercial limitations and provides modest pricing for its service. The cheapest subscription plan costs $10 per month (in case of an annual billing) and covers 100 AI images and 20 videos.
Choosing the right AI photo editing app depends on what exactly you plan to use it for. You can save this checklist to examine the available options and pick the most suitable one for your unique business case:
PodZa Insights: Using AI for POD Business
AI’s rapid advancement and wide usage will continue to influence the print on demand industry. Sooner or later, more POD companies will understand the benefits of utilizing tools based on artificial intelligence for business development and scaling. Although many AI image generators lack accuracy in creating realistic illustrations, it’s almost impossible to underrate their positive impact.
AI platforms like Midjourney, Canva, or DALL-E can save entrepreneurs time and costs on product design, branding, and marketing, enhancing the company’s popularity, keeping customers’ engagement high, and helping sales grow. While AI tools can’t fully replace artists and designers with their valuable skills and unique vision, they may become the first supporters for individuals just starting to make their steps in the POD market.
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