WHAT IS “PRINT ON DEMAND”?

What Is Print on Demand?

A little look behind the scenes at how many Projects817 pieces go from something you choose on our site to something made for you.

Made After You Choose It

With print on demand, a product isn’t made simply because we think someone might eventually buy it. Production begins after an order is placed.

That means your Projects817 piece doesn’t spend months sitting in a warehouse waiting for a home. You choose it first. Then we make it.

How It Works

Projects817 works with production partners who help turn our designs into finished products. Depending on the piece, that can involve printing, cutting, sewing, assembling, finishing, and quality checking before your order begins its journey to you.

Rather than producing huge quantities of every design, we’re able to offer a broader collection while producing pieces based on what our community actually chooses.

Step 01 You choose it.

You find the design, product, and size that feel right for you and place your order.

Step 02 We make it.

Your piece moves into production, where it is created, prepared, and checked.

Step 03 It heads your way.

Once production is complete, your order ships and you receive tracking information.

Why Projects817 Uses It

Print on demand gives us the freedom to create differently.

Instead of filling a warehouse with large quantities of products and hoping every piece eventually finds someone who wants it, we can make products in response to actual orders.

That allows us to:

  • Create a wider variety of designs without unnecessary bulk production
  • Experiment with new ideas and collections
  • Produce based more closely on what our community actually chooses
  • Reduce excess inventory
  • Keep individuality at the center of what we make
Less “make it and hope.” More “you chose it, so we made it.”

Printed & Made to Order

Depending on the product, creating your Projects817 piece can involve a combination of printing technology and hands-on production.

Materials have their own texture, print surfaces behave differently, and parts of the production and finishing process involve real people. Because of that, two pieces may occasionally have very small variations.

Minor differences in color, positioning, texture, or finishing can be a normal part of made-to-order production and don’t automatically mean something is wrong with your piece.

That said, there’s a difference between a natural production variation and an item that arrives damaged, defective, or incorrect. If something genuinely isn’t right, we want to know about it.

A Little More Time Is Part of the Process

Because we begin producing your piece after you order it, there is a production period before shipping begins.

Please allow approximately 7–10 business days for production and quality inspection before your order ships.

Production time and shipping time are separate. Once your finished order has been handed over to the carrier, its delivery journey begins.

After shipment, delivery typically takes approximately 2–4 weeks, depending on your location, the carrier, customs processing where applicable, and other factors outside our control.

What Happens During Busy Periods?

Made-to-order production works differently from pulling a finished product off a warehouse shelf. Orders enter production as they are received, so particularly busy periods can sometimes create longer production times.

Holidays, major promotions, unusually high order volume, carrier disruptions, or other unexpected events can occasionally slow things down.

If there is a significant delay affecting your order, we’ll do our best to keep you informed.

Where We Ship

Projects817 isn’t everywhere just yet. At the moment, we ship to:

Continental United States
Australia
New Zealand
United Kingdom

As Projects817 grows, we’ll continue looking at where we can go next.

Why We Think It’s Worth It

Made to order isn’t the fastest way to make things. That’s kind of the point.

We’d rather create a piece because someone actually chose it than produce more simply for the sake of having more.

It takes a little patience on your end and gives us a way to keep unnecessary production lower on ours.

For Projects817, that feels like a better way to do things.

Still Curious?
We’re happy to help.

Have a question about how something is made, production time, or an order you’ve already placed? Email us at customerservice@projects817.com .