Apliiq ‑ Print On Demand

Not only is this app super easy to use, the quality of products and the work with print and embroidery is second to none. On top of that, their customer service is out of this world. I have worked with Peter on a few occasions and he has gone over an beyond the normal realm of customer service to make sure that me and our companies were taken care of. I no longer look at Apliiq as just an app on my shopify account but I consider them a business partner.. I can't recommend them enough!

This app is an excellent way for an artist to put their artwork on clothing. Keep up the great work!

I've used various print on demand providers over the years and this company is now at the bottom of my list. Actually, they are no longer on my list as the quality of their print work on sweatshirts is so low that I will never use them again.

I sell my art designs on Gildan sweatshirts every year for the holidays and this year I decided to go with Apliiq because of their excellent reviews and I wanted to automate this portion of my business.

Unfortunately, their print on demand quality, especially on RED GILDAN SWEATSHIRTS, is far from excellent... more subpar and below average. Anything printed white appeared as pink. So my Santa Claus's beard was pink... a pink beard on Santa?! Oh... he had pink eyes too. One person comment how my Santa looked high... that was NOT the look I was going for.

I brought this concern to customer service and they pretty much told me that's just the way DTG is, even though I insisted that my other DTG vendors were able to print white on red without issue.

That was the moment I should have left but I didn't and decided to give them a chance. So I kept them as my supplier and processed over 300 orders with them between October through mid December 2022. Now I'm dealing with customer complaints daily in my inbox and on social media. Every single last complaint was about the print quality. I understand that some of the fabric will bleed through the ink but the amount of bleed through from their printing process was terrible. I offered red, green, black and dark gray sweatshirts and the print quality on all of them were extremely poor but was most noticeable on the red ones. Some of my customers have now requested refunds just from looking at the shirt right out of the package while others have requested refunds due to the art fading away after one wash. I even had one customer who bought a shirt from me 5 years ago and from this year share photos of how the shirt from this year has faded. The 5 year old shirt looks like it was the one just bought.

In addition to the terrible print quality, they ran out of stock on the blanks I needed the most and didn't alert me until well after that fact. This caused me to scramble to find a replacement vendor AND to cancel orders. All in all, I had 22 order cancellations due to them being out of stock.

Other issues were present but were most likely due to the rush of the season. Still, having customers request refunds and shame me on social media all because of Apliiq's poor print quality has put a stain on my business. My customers don't know who Apliiq is so I'm the one dealing with the fallout.

Lastly, their online portal is outdated and does not do a good job of keeping track of the nuances with each order.

If you're only using Apliiq to print your t-shirts you may fair better than me. However, if you're using them to print on sweatshirts for your apparel business... RUN!!!

Shout out to their customer service rep KIM who was the most helpful even though I was not happy with all of the headaches. The one star is for her.

I use this app for all my printed apparel. Peter helped me last night for like an hour. We were on the phone and live chatting. He helped with a refund, suggestions on my print and just a nice guy to talk to. Thanks Peter

So I have mixed feelings about this company. I’m trying to start my own brand, and have done my research and Apliiq does have great print quality. However, the wait time for the base garment is ridiculous. So you have to wait at least a week for the garment to be received by them, then it takes a couple days for it to get printed, then they ship to your customers. So your customers are waiting anywhere between 14-20 days for their order. Now who in their right mind would wait 14-20 days for their order. Then their “rush” delivery is about $35 for just a few days earlier, so how is that rushed? On a positive note, their customer service is great. Very attentive when they are online and seem very patient. My advice to Ian, the owner or at least one of them if I’m not mistaken, is to supply the blank garments at your location so your customers and ours have a better customer experience. Waiting 2 weeks for an order is a bit ridiculous and how brands fail. You claim to help people start a brand, but you’re actually hurting the same exact people that put that trust into your company. Like I said, your quality is amazing, however, your process is a bit ridiculous.

I really give Apliiq 4.5 stars because there are some minor things that need to be improved.

*Read this for an in-depth review (not sugar-coated).

I started my clothing brand with Apliiq and everything is great. What makes them the best in the dropshipping business is the variety of different products, having 2+ decorations on the same product, and labeling options, which is probably the most important detail of any clothing brand.

Although they have many options for us to be creative, there are a few cons about this company. Let's go through the pros & cons:

Pros
- Creativity (having more than one decoration type on the same product).
- High-quality products
- Labeling options
- Cheap/Affordable (only if it's the blank and 1 decoration type)
- Customer service (live chat or phone is best)
- Does wholesale
- FREE campaigns

Cons (very minor things)
- Pricey when putting different decoration types and/or the same decoration type on 1 product (each print/file cost extra, even if both designs is on the front)
- Embroidery's biggest size is 4x4 (great for chest location but not great to expand your creativity with embroidery). This needs to be expanded in my opinion
- Can't upload your own artwork for the cut & sew, but you can do it for the hood linen and patches for some reason. ???
- Labeling prices

Let me explain about the labeling prices:

Simply put, you pay $100/yr for subscription, but once you run out you have to pay $100/100 labels, $200/200 labels, etc., to restock (understandable).

Now the part they need to fix!
While you are restocking your labels, your subscription is STILL active, meaning you have to pay $100 when your bill is due.

For example:
I've restocked my labels and paid $100/100 labels. Then I had to pay ANOTHER $100 the next week or 2, due to my subscription so I've paid $200 in a month. That's not right! If you ask me, they need to get rid of the subscription and have only the label prices for restocking purposes or specify what the subscription is for.

Their wholesale is a great option for those who are not into dropshipping. I wish they would invest in a space to keep inventory for screen printing purposes (where we have to buy it in bulk, but can't dropship them). This will give companies the opportunity to dropship screen printed products. No other dropshipping company is doing that! Just an idea for ya Apliiq.

Shipping time is about 7-10 business days (give or take). On your "Orders" page, it shows the estimated time it'll arrive at your customer's location. It's pretty spot on. It can be delayed due to their new approval system, but it's to assure you of the best quality for your customer. The worst I have experienced is about 2 days after the estimated time, so make sure it's clear to your customers that it takes about 1-2 weeks (that's with shipping time included).

The most important question is the quality of their work. Their overall quality is 8/10. You really have to do your homework and know which material is best suited for what you are trying to do. Obviously, digital print(DTG; Direct-to-Garment) is the most important. DTG is best with midweight to Heavyweight 100% cotton garments. Their placements can be a little troublesome sometimes and that's the scary part. You want to have a manufacturer that is consistent with their work. Sometimes the artwork isn't straight (vertical or horizontal) and that goes for all of the decoration types. Everything else is perfect! You HAVE to make sure the artwork/design is straight and centered at all times Apliiq. I can't express this enough! This doesn't happen often, but it shouldn't happen at all in my opinion.

Their work is good for what they do. I wouldn't recommend Apliiq or any other print on demand companies if you're going for over the top or luxurious quality. POD is for an everyday lifestyle that's affordable.

Profit margins can be slim, but the quality of the garment and Apliiq's awesome work, you can upsell your products for a higher profit, but not drastically.

Overall, this company is absolutely great and is heading in the right direction. They are ahead of other companies due to label options alone! Minor adjustments here and there, and adding different decoration types that are fast for dropshipping (3D puff embroidery, dye sublimation, tackle twill, laser applique, embossing, etc.) this company could take over the dropshipping market, EASILY!

*Easier said than done though.

Really wanted to like this company because of the large product selection, customization and white label options (we actually spent $100 on private label hang tags), but the shipping just takes too long and the process isn't transparent. One of our Canadian customers has been waiting 2 months for a hoodie and it's been a struggle getting this resolved with the Apliiq team (although I will say that Kim is great). All in all, it's a shame about the shipping times as we likely won't be able to see any ROI on our hang tag investment.

Apliiq is a really great company to choose. I had an issue with one of my customer order and my issue with taking care. I didn’t have to explain as much about what the issue was about.

I was having many mishaps with Printful due to their poor print quality and lack of customer care and decided to look for a new print on demand company. After many months of research, I am SO glad I found Apliiq.
I ordered some samples from them and was surprisingly pleased with the print quality.

The biggest reason I've decided to switch all of my products over from Printful to Apliiq is their consistent stellar customer service. Peter Lamb is absolutely fantastic to work with. He's always been patient with answering all of my questions and goes above and beyond in ensuring I received all the help I needed.
If you are starting a clothing line I highly recommend giving Apliiq a try!

If you are looking for a small business, intimate, personable service and support. This is the one apparel dropshipping company that will provide you that. They also provide a unique value I have not found with anyone else, which is woven brand labels. For a company that dropships, I cannot tell you how important this is for growing your BRAND name.