With the recent announcement of the Printful and Printify merger, many print-on-demand customers are left wondering what lies ahead for their businesses. While this merger promises growth and consolidation for the companies, significant questions remain about how it could impact the countless small businesses and creators who rely on these platforms. Let’s look at some potential areas of concern following this news.
1. With Potential Layoffs: Will Service Levels Decline?
Whenever two companies merge, there’s often a shake-up in staffing. Redundancies in roles—especially in customer support, product development, and operational teams—could lead to layoffs. And in the case of this merger, this could be the case. With limited information available, a spokesperson for the group has been quoted as saying,
“There will be some areas of overlap between the two companies and some changes to teams will take place.”
If they move forward with changes to consolidate teams, with fewer people to handle day-to-day tasks, response times may slow, customer support could become less personalized, and technical innovation maybe stifled. Printful and Printify users may soon find it challenging to get the prompt, personalized assistance they need to be successful.
2. Price Increases: Could This Be the Start of Higher Costs?
If both of these companies were extremely happy with their financial performance and market positions, would they consolidate? That’s not likely the case, as they both believe working as a single company is better for both of them. Consolidation often comes with new pricing structures. Here’s why; not only are the companies combining teams, they are also combining investor pools. And these investors want a return on their investment, which will certainly mean a stronger desire for profits and profitability.
TechCrunch said it best; “Consolidation can also be a strategy to drive up prices by reducing consumer choice — a tactic that private equity has been known to deploy —” and make no mistake these companies are owned in part by private equity.
As Printful and Printify combine their services, the pressure to maintain or boost profit margins might lead to price adjustments for customers. Increased costs could impact businesses that depend on predictable pricing, forcing them to re-evaluate their choice of print-on-demand providers. Could this merger make the service more costly for small businesses?
3. Technology Transitions: Which platform wins?
For now, the combined group has stated; “the two existing brands will be maintained for the “foreseeable future.” But the companies have not provided any specific timeframes for how long either platform will be supported. Wise business leaders know, the bottom line is that building, supporting, and innovating on two different technology platforms can be twice as expensive. So ultimately, it may look attractive, financially, to consolidate into a single technology platform.
It could be a matter of time before one group of users will be forced to move to a different platform, resulting in disrupted workflows or changes in user experience. Technology transitions are rarely flawless, and customers could encounter bugs, unfamiliar systems, or longer setup times for their stores. Will these disruptions affect order processing and customer satisfaction?
The matter is further complicated because some major eCommerce providers don’t allow a single company to post multiple similar apps by the same company. For example, Shopify’s app listing rules clearly state;
“Multiple apps with overlapping functionality created by the same Partner – App must not be identical to other apps you’ve published to the Shopify App Store.” Which is further discussed in Shopify’s Partner Program agreement under Unauthorized and Prohibited Developer Activities, “Create multiple Applications that offer substantially the same services.“
With the combined entity now in possible violation of Shopify’s partner program agreement, it’s unknown how this situation will be resolved, in the “foreseeable future.” Apliiq has reached out to Shopify for comment.
4. Innovation at Risk: Could Consolidation Stifle Development?
Historically, competition has driven Printful and Printify to innovate, offering new products and services to meet market demands. However, as a single entity, there may be less motivation to push the envelope. Without the incentive to outdo each other, Printful and Printify could potentially focus on cost-cutting rather than pioneering solutions. How might this merger affect future service improvements?
It’s more common for smaller organizations, not bigger ones, to drive innovation and market change. For example, Ford, GM, or Volkswagon were far better positioned than Tesla to drive EV innovation, but none did until, a new entrant came along to shake things up. California Association of Business Brokers says it best; “There are many reasons that innovation is hard within larger companies. Bureaucracy and groupthink are two factors that occur, but perhaps more importantly is that innovative people tend to prefer to work for smaller companies and organizations. They feel more comfortable in the small business environment.”
5.Lacking Focus: The Pitfalls of Trying to Be Everything to Everyone
The Printful-Printify merger signals an even greater push to capture a broad, global market, but in their quest to be everything to everyone, everywhere, they risk spreading themselves too thin. Print-on-demand providers already face substantial challenges, from managing complex global logistics to catering to highly diverse customer needs.
One Redditor, alacatit2, from the /printondemand reddit subgroup, summarized it well;
“I believe we’re approaching a breaking point. The mainstream POD providers can no longer maintain quality standards while handling the massive volume of orders. They’re simply going through the motions, rushing to ship items as quickly as possible with minimal oversight. As customers increasingly associate POD with low quality, they’ll become less willing to pay the prices sellers need to charge for even a modest profit.
The situation is further complicated by POD providers now offering risky products like coffee, candles, and supplements. They’re not educating their sellers about the liability risks of selling these items, and when something inevitably goes wrong, the POD providers won’t be held responsible – the sellers will.”
As companies try to expand their reach, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain quality and reliability across such a wide range of offerings. This lack of specialization may ultimately compromise their ability to deliver consistent, high-quality service, leaving customers to wonder if the merger sacrifices focus for the sake of scale.
6. Timing of the Announcement: A Strategic Move or Cause for Concern?
Interestingly, the Printful-Printify merger announcement is scheduled for November 5th—U.S. Election Day. This timing could be seen as an attempt to avoid too much public scrutiny, as media attention will be heavily focused on election results. If the merger were universally positive news, one would expect it to be announced at a time that maximizes visibility, not one that risks being buried under the day’s biggest headlines. This timing raises questions about whether there may be concerns or potential downsides that the companies hope will go unnoticed by their customers and partners.
Of course, both of these companies are Latvian, not American companies, so this timing decision may unknowingly picked, not a willful hiding of bad news.
7. Impact on Printify’s Printing Partners: Will Small Businesses Be Left Behind?
For years, Printify has relied on a network of third-party printing partners to fulfill orders, helping small and medium-sized businesses integrate into the print-on-demand ecosystem. However, with Printful’s extensive in-house printing capabilities, there’s a possibility that the newly merged company will shift production to its own facilities. This change could put countless Printify printing partners—many of whom are small businesses—at risk of losing revenue and livelihood. For these partners, the merger could mean being edged out by a centralized, in-house operation, disrupting relationships and potentially compromising the diversity and quality that comes with multiple specialized printing providers.
“If Apliiq were printing for Printify, I’d be concerned” – Ian Gruber, Apliiq CEO
8. Team Compatibility: Will Past Tensions Create Internal Friction?
While Printful and Printify may appear aligned in their business goals, history suggests there could be underlying tensions between the teams. In fact, Printful previously took legal action against Printify over issues related to intellectual property, a conflict that required a court settlement to resolve. Although they reached an agreement, mergers between companies with such a history don’t always lead to smooth internal integration. Differing cultures, unresolved grievances, or lingering competition could make it challenging for these teams to work together effectively. This potential discord raises questions about how well they’ll be able to unite their operations and maintain focus on serving customers amidst internal friction.
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