Printful Vs Live Ink Print On Demand UK
Printful vs Live Ink: UK print on demand compared
Both let you sell your designs on custom products with no stock and no minimum orders, and both print in the UK. The differences are where each product is made, what it's made from, how it's packed and what you pay to get the best prices.
Guaranteed on every order
What your customers can count on, whatever they buy.
A sustainable garment
Plastic-free packaging
Made in the UK
Best prices with no monthly plan
Printful details checked October 2026.
The short version
Printful is a large global print on demand company with hundreds of products, made across its own sites in the UK, Europe and North America. Live Ink is a UK printer that makes every order in its own Bristol factory on organic and sustainable garments.
Every product, sustainably sourced
Printful offers an eco range alongside its conventional products. At Live Ink there's nothing else: every garment comes from organic and sustainable ranges, printed with GOTS-certified inks.
Plastic-free from the start
Printful's mailers are made with recycled plastic. Every Live Ink order ships in a fully recyclable paper mailer, so your customers never receive plastic from you.
The best price without a plan
Printful's biggest product discounts come with its Growth plan at £19.99 a month. Live Ink has one fixed price list in pounds, including VAT, with no subscription and 0% commission.
Printful vs Live Ink, side by side
How the two services compare on the points that matter most to a UK brand.
| Feature | Printful | Live Ink |
|---|---|---|
| Where UK orders are made | Wolverhampton for DTG clothing, embroidery, mugs, posters and phone cases. Other products come from its sites in Latvia, Spain and beyond, so one order can arrive in more than one parcel | Bristol, UK, for every productOur own production site |
| Delivery to UK customers | 2–5 business days to make, then UK shipping from £3.69 for a t-shirt (+£1.20 for each extra item). Orders over £135 made outside the UK mean your customer pays VAT and customs on delivery | UK domestic deliveryRoyal Mail Tracked from Bristol, with no customs charges for UK customers |
| Garments | Wide range of blank brands. Not exclusively sustainable, so an eco range sits alongside conventional garments | Curated organic and sustainable ranges onlyIncluding Stanley/Stella, Earth Positive and AS Colour |
| Product range | Around 584 products, including clothing, footwear, accessories and home and living | Clothing and moreTees, hoodies, headwear, kids and baby, tote bags, mugs and homeware |
| Print methods | DTG, DTF, embroidery and all-over sublimation printing | DTG, DTF, embroidery and screen printingAll under one roof, plus bulk orders when you need them |
| Certifications | Shown product by product where the garment supplier provides them | GOTS-certified inks on everythingOEKO-TEX® ECO PASSPORT, CPSIA compliant, AATCC tested |
| Packaging | Mailers made with recycled plastic | Plastic-freeFully recyclable paper mailers |
| Your branding | White-labelled. Free packing slip with a black and white logo. Inside labels from $0.99 and outside labels $2.49 per item, with pack-ins at £0.45 each plus storage | Fully white-labelledPrinted neck labels, garment relabelling, swing tags and branded packing slips with your logo |
| Store integrations | 20+ platforms, including Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, BigCommerce, Amazon and TikTok Shop | Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, Squarespace, Not On The High StreetPlus a direct API for custom builds |
| Fees and plans | Free plan, or Growth at £19.99 a month for up to 33% off products and 9% off branding. Some add-on fees are still priced in US dollars | No subscription, minimums or commissionFixed prices in pounds, including VAT |
| Support | 24/7 live chat and email | A UK team you can callHelp with setup, artwork and orders |
Printful details are taken from Printful's UK website and independent reviews, checked October 2026. Services and prices change, so check with each provider before you decide.
Where the differences show up for your customers
Where each order is made
A UK printer only helps your customers if the products they buy are actually made there.
Printful
Its Wolverhampton site makes DTG clothing, embroidery, mugs, posters and phone cases. Other products are made at its sites in Europe and further afield, so a mixed order can arrive in several parcels. If a customer's order from outside the UK is worth more than £135, they pay VAT and customs before it's delivered.
Live Ink
Every product is printed or embroidered in Bristol and sent by Royal Mail Tracked, with no customs charges for UK customers. Your customer gets a tracking number, and your store's order status updates to match.
What your products are made from
Customers who care about where their clothes come from will ask. You need answers you can back up.
Printful
Offers an eco range made with organic or recycled materials, but it sits alongside conventional garments, and certifications are shown product by product. Parcels arrive in mailers made with recycled plastic.
Live Ink
Everything in the catalogue is retail grade and sustainably sourced, printed with GOTS-certified inks and independently tested for skin safety and wash durability, then sent in plastic-free paper mailers. If you claim your brand is eco-friendly, you can prove it on every product.
What you pay
Your margin depends on more than the product price.
Printful
The lowest product prices come with the Growth plan at £19.99 a month, which becomes free once your sales reach $12,000 a year. Branding add-ons such as inside and outside labels are priced in US dollars.
Live Ink
One fixed price list in pounds, including VAT, for every seller. No subscription, no commission and no minimum orders.
Room to grow
Print on demand is a good way to start. Successful designs often move on to bulk runs, events and wholesale.
Printful
Offers bulk orders alongside print on demand, using the same digital print and embroidery methods.
Live Ink
Over 15 years of garment production. DTG, DTF, embroidery, screen printing and live event printing all happen in one UK factory, so your best sellers can move to bulk without you changing supplier or quality.
Which is right for you?
Each service fits a different kind of brand. Here's an honest guide.
Printful could suit you if
- You want the widest product range, including footwear and home and living
- You sell on Amazon, TikTok Shop, Wix or BigCommerce
- Your customers are spread across the US and Europe
- Sustainability is a nice extra rather than part of your brand
Live Ink is the better fit if
- You want every product to be organic or sustainable, with certified inks you can promote
- You want plastic-free packaging on every order
- You want every order made in one UK factory, with no customs charges for UK customers
- You'd like your best prices without paying for a monthly plan
- You'd like a UK team you can call and a factory that grows with you
Printful vs Live Ink FAQs
Yes. Create a free Live Ink account, connect your store and build your products on our garments using your existing artwork. You can link the new products to your existing Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce or Squarespace listings, so you don't need to rebuild your shop.
Partly. Printful's Wolverhampton site makes DTG clothing, embroidery, mugs, posters and phone cases for UK orders. Other products are made at its sites in Latvia, Spain and further afield, and shipped to the UK. Every Live Ink order is printed or embroidered at our own production site in Bristol.
With Printful, it depends where the order is made. For orders made outside the UK and worth more than £135, your customer pays VAT and customs on delivery. Under £135, Printful charges you the VAT instead. Live Ink orders are made in the UK, so UK customers never pay customs charges.
Our prices are fixed, in pounds and include VAT, with no subscription and 0% commission on your sales. Printful's lowest prices need its Growth plan at £19.99 a month, and branding add-ons are charged per item. Our garments are organic and retail grade, so base prices reflect that. Use the profit calculator on our Shopify print on demand page to work out your margins.
No. Printful has a free plan, with an optional Growth plan at £19.99 a month for up to 33% off products, which becomes free once your sales reach $12,000 a year. Live Ink has no subscription and takes no commission. You pay only the fixed price for the garment, the print or embroidery, and postage.
Some are. Printful has an eco range made with organic or recycled materials, but it sits alongside conventional products, and parcels ship in mailers made with recycled plastic. At Live Ink every garment comes from organic and sustainable ranges, printed with GOTS-certified inks, and every order ships in a plastic-free paper mailer.
Yes. We ship worldwide from Bristol, and we have guides for setting up shipping rates and US export duties in Shopify.
No. Live Ink orders can be fully white-labelled with printed neck labels, garment relabelling, swing tags and branded packing slips, so each order arrives as your brand.
Print your brand in the UK
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