Shopify Integration Help Pages

Configuring Products for Visual Ink Fulfillment in Your Shopify Store

Expanding your Shopify store with print-on-demand products can be a highly effective way to diversify your offerings, minimize upfront costs, and manage inventory more efficiently. When you integrate with a Visual Ink Fulfillment Center, you gain access to a wide range of product customization support and comprehensive order fulfillment tools, allowing you to focus on growing your brand without the logistical headaches. However, to ensure a smooth and profitable operation, it’s crucial to carefully configure your Shopify products to work seamlessly with Visual Ink. This requires thoughtful planning and precise configuration. In this tutorial, we’ll walk you through the key steps to successfully add print-on-demand products to your Shopify store.

Step 1: Align Product Offerings with Visual Ink Fulfillment Center

  1. Review Available Products:

    • Start by checking the products you want to offer in your Shopify store are available and correctly configured in your Visual Ink Store. This alignment is crucial for seamless fulfillment.

  2. List Products in Shopify:

    • Add these products to your Shopify store by creating individual product listings.
    • Provide clear product images and configure the variants (size, color) to match the Visual Ink store offerings.
       

Step 2: Configure Metafields for Product Designs

  1. Understand the Importance of Metafields:

    • Metafields in Shopify allow you to store custom information that can be accessed by Visual Ink. In this case, you’ll use metafields to store design files and area references used for decorating your products.
       

Step 3: Price Your Products for Profitability

  1. Calculate Costs:

    • Determine the cost for each product in your Visual Ink Store, including any additional fees for printing, shipping, and handling.
    • Factor in Shopify’s transaction fees and any other expenses you may incur.

  2. Set Your Retail Price:

    • Price your products in a way that covers all costs and leaves room for profit.
    • Use a markup percentage that ensures you are profitable after paying all your expenses.
       

Step 4: Configure Product Inventory Settings

You'll need to adjust the inventory settings for each product to ensure they are configured for fulfillment in Visual Ink.

  1. Go to Products in your Shopify admin.
  2. Select the product you want to configure.
  3. Scroll down to the Variants section.
  4. Set the product's inventory location to Visual Ink.
     

Step 5: Configure Shipping Options to Match Visual Ink

    • Understand Shipping with Visual Ink:

      • Visual Ink doesn’t offer direct shipping integration with Shopify, so you need to manually set up shipping options in Shopify to align with the shipping methods configured in Visual Ink. Check the shipping methods configured in Visual Ink to set up shipping rates in Shopify to match the shipping options in Visual Ink.

    • Set Up Flat Shipping Rates in Shopify:

      • A practical approach is to create flat shipping rates that approximate the average cost of shipping through the carriers used by the Visual Ink. Flat rates simplify the process, reduce surprises at checkout, and ensure that your shipping charges remain consistent.

    • Create Shipping Profiles:

      • Go to Settings > Shipping and delivery in your Shopify Admin and set up shipping profiles for different product categories or shipping methods (e.g., Standard, Expedited, International).
      • For each profile, define flat shipping rates that cover your expected shipping costs. For example, you could set a “Standard Shipping” rate at $5.00 and an “Express Shipping” rate at $15.00.

    • Adjust Rates Based on Order Size or Value:

      • To better reflect your actual shipping costs, you can create tiered flat rates based on order size, weight, or value. For example, orders under $50 might have a standard shipping rate of $5, while orders over $50 might qualify for free shipping or a lower rate.

    • Test Your Shipping Setup:

      • Place test orders to ensure that the shipping options and rates appear correctly at checkout and align with the shipping costs you expect to incur.
         

Step 6: Sync and Test

  1. Sync Products with Visual Ink:

    • Make sure your Shopify products are synced with the Visual Ink store, particularly the design metafields.

  2. Place a Test Order:

    • Before going live, place a test order to ensure everything works as expected. Check that the order flows correctly from Shopify to the Visual Ink and that the correct design is applied.

  3. Review and Adjust:

    • After testing, review the entire process and make any necessary adjustments to pricing, product listings, or metafield configurations.
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