Print on demand mockups stand in for a photoshoot, because the product doesn't exist until someone orders it. Your supplier's free generator puts your file on the exact blank it will print, and that covers most of a listing. Custom scenes and a short video fill the gaps. Below are the images a listing needs, Etsy's rules for mockups, the generator options, size charts and color images, video mockups, and how to build scenes around a printed sample.
What print on demand mockups need to show
A mockup is a realistic picture of the finished product, made before it exists, so a buyer can judge the design on the item. Printful's glossary lists front views, back views and close-ups for apparel. Put the images in the order a buyer asks questions:
- A clean product shot. The item alone, front on, against a plain backdrop. This is usually the first photo, so frame it landscape or square with space around it.
- A worn or in-use scene. A shirt on a person, a mug in two hands, a tote on a shoulder. This is the photo that shows scale and fit.
- The back, if it's printed. A back print is its own image. Buyers can't assume one.
- A close-up of the print. Texture, ink on fabric, stitching on embroidery, or the glaze on a mug.
- A size chart. Measurements from your supplier, laid out as an image.
- The colors you sell. One image per color, or one image of the colors side by side, using only the ones you list.
- A short video. A few seconds of motion: a mug turning, a hoodie on someone walking.
Etsy allows 20 photos and 2 videos per listing, so the whole set fits. Each product has its own details to show: the t-shirt mockup page covers front and back shots, the hoodie mockup page covers zip-ups and embroidery, and the mug mockup, tote bag mockup and sticker mockup pages cover curved surfaces, canvas and cut edges.
Etsy print on demand mockups: what the rules allow
Etsy normally requires original photos of the actual item, not renderings or stock photos. Its Listing Image Requirements spell out three cases that matter for print on demand:
- Designs printed by a production partner. When a partner prints your original artwork onto a base item like a shirt or mug, a stock photo mockup is allowed.
- Products a partner manufactures to your design. If you design the item itself, such as a piece of clothing or furniture, and a partner makes it for you, Etsy asks for a real photo of the finished piece.
- Personalized items. Etsy wants a customized, completed example as the main image. Etsy doesn't allow the main image to be a photo of the blank item or a mockup with filler text such as "Your Text Here". Later photos can use computer-generated mockups to show the options.
Etsy's image help adds the technical rules, as of September 2026. Listing photos should measure 2000 pixels or more on each side, and the first photo should be horizontal or square, since it sets the shape of the photos after it. Etsy crops thumbnails into three shapes (square, portrait, landscape), so keep the product centered with room around it. Transparent PNGs aren't supported: any transparent area shows up black. Product Mockup's Size option sets the shape, not the pixel count, so check each downloaded mockup's width and height before you upload. The Etsy mockup size guide has pixel sizes for every shape, and the Etsy mockups how-to covers adding mockups to a listing.
Print on demand mockup generator options
Each type of tool starts from something different: a design file, a template, or a photo of a printed sample. As of September 2026:
| Option | Cost | Starts from | Good for | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Printful mockup generator | Free with a Printful account | Your design on a Printful product template | Studio, lifestyle and model shots; a separate embroidery mockup generator | Only Printful's catalog; for video mockups Printful points to Placeit, with 15% off for Printful merchants |
| Printify mockup generator | Free; AI Mockups need Premium, from $39 a month or from $24.99 a month billed yearly | Your design on 2,000+ products | Front and back views, flat lays, lifestyle scenes, PNG downloads with no watermark | Only Printify's catalog |
| Template libraries (Placeit, Canva, PSD files) | Subscriptions, free tiers or free downloads | Your design file | More models and settings than a supplier offers | Templates are shared with other shops; check each license |
| Toybox Product Mockup | Currently 75 credits per image | A photo of your printed sample | Scenes built around the real product | Doesn't place a design file onto a blank |
| Toybox Video Creator | Pro plan, currently 350 credits per clip | A mockup image as the start frame | 4, 6 or 8 second clips, wide or vertical | 720p; its sound is dropped on Etsy |
Supplier mockups are the accurate base, because the print sits where you placed it on the blank that ships. The Placeit alternatives comparison covers template libraries in detail, including their licenses.
When to use supplier mockups and when to make custom scenes
Supplier mockups and custom scenes each fit a different job. Four common cases:
- Forty designs on one blank. Use the supplier generator with the same template for every design, so the shop grid is consistent and every print is placed correctly.
- A design that needs a setting. For a cozy autumn hoodie or a holiday mug, the scene around the product is part of the idea. Order a single printed sample, shoot it, and build a lifestyle scene per collection.
- A personalized product. The lead photo has to be a real, filled-in item, so order one personalized sample and photograph it. Generated mockups can show the other options.
- A product you haven't ordered yet. Stick to supplier mockups until a sample arrives. A custom scene of an item you've never seen can't be checked against reality.
A custom scene tool like Product Mockup needs that printed sample, because it places the item you photographed rather than printing a file onto a blank. The AI product photography guide covers scene ideas across product types.
Size charts and color images
A size chart answers the question a mockup can't: will it fit. Take the numbers from your supplier, not from a generic chart. Printful's product measurements for the Bella+Canvas 3001 tee look like this, and Printful notes that measurements can vary by up to 2 inches (5 cm):
| Size | Length (in) | Width (in) |
|---|---|---|
| S | 28 | 18 |
| M | 29 | 20 |
| L | 30 | 22 |
| XL | 31 | 24 |
| 2XL | 32 | 26 |
Set the chart as a plain image with large numbers so it reads on a phone, and type the same numbers into the description. For colors, show only what you list. Printful offers the 3001 in 84 colors, and its heather colors are a different blend that contains polyester. A supplier mockup per color shows each shade more reliably than recoloring one photo.
How to make a print on demand video mockup
A print on demand video mockup is a short clip of the product moving, such as a mug turning or a hoodie on someone walking. Each marketplace sets its own limits. As of September 2026:
- Etsy. Each listing takes up to 2 videos, each up to 15 seconds and 100 MB, and Etsy removes the audio once a video is on the listing. Etsy wants a 2:1 or 1:2 aspect ratio, and its ideal resolution is 1080 px or higher.
- Shopify. Product videos can run up to 10 minutes and 1 GB, at up to 4K (4096 x 2160 px), as .mp4, .mov or .webm files.
- Supplier routes. Printful points merchants to Placeit's video mockups, with 15% off a Placeit subscription.
Video Creator in Toybox turns a mockup image into a clip. Video Creator is powered by Google Veo 3.1. Add the image with "Start from a photo", pick Wide 16:9 or Vertical 9:16, and choose 4, 6 or 8 seconds. Describe small motion, for example "slow push-in toward the mug on the counter as steam rises, the mug and its print stay still". Clips are 720p MP4 and take a few minutes. Clips come with sound, but Etsy removes audio from listing videos, so let the motion show the product. Video Creator needs a Pro plan and currently costs 350 credits per clip.
Before an AI clip goes on an Etsy listing, check three things:
- The shape. Video Creator's 16:9 and 9:16 aren't Etsy's 2:1 or 1:2, so preview how the clip sits on the listing before you publish.
- The resolution. 720p is below Etsy's 1080 px ideal. Video Creator Lite (Pro plan, currently 220 credits at 1080p) has a 1080p option, and its 1080p clips are always 8 seconds.
- The print. Text and fine lines can blur or shift as the product moves, so keep the motion short and step through the clip frame by frame.
The product mockup video page has more motion ideas.
Common print on demand mockup mistakes
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Buyers say the print is smaller than pictured | A styled mockup scaled the design up | Lead with the supplier mockup and state the print size in the description |
| Colors look different when the order arrives | One photo recolored for every shade, or a heather shown as flat | Use a supplier mockup per color, or photograph each sample in daylight |
| Transparent areas show up black on Etsy | A transparent PNG was uploaded | Export every image with a background |
| The main image shows "Your Text Here" | A placeholder mockup used for a personalized item | Photograph a finished, filled-in example for the first photo |
| Search results crop part of the item | A tall first photo, or the product too close to the edge | Lead with a horizontal or square image and leave space around the item |
| The listing video plays silent | Etsy removes audio from listing videos | Plan motion that explains the product without sound |
| The mockup looks softer on Etsy than on your screen | Etsy compresses uploaded images | Upload images of 2000 px or more on both sides, Etsy's recommendation |
Make custom scenes in Product Mockup
Product Mockup in Toybox AI builds scenes around a photo of a printed sample: a shirt, hoodie, mug, tote or sticker you ordered once. Each run returns one image, and the tool tries to hold the item's shape, colors and print as photographed.
- Order one sample from your supplier and photograph it in daylight on a plain background. Save it as a JPG or PNG, 10 MB at most.
- On the Product Mockup page, log in (free accounts can use it) and choose the photo for "Product photo".
- Choose the Scene that matches the shot: On a model for apparel, In hand for mugs and stickers, Flat lay for folded items, or Custom, where you type the setting in up to 180 characters.
- Under More options, choose Landscape 3:2 or Square 1:1 as the Size if the image will lead an Etsy listing, then describe props, light and angle in "Anything else?".
- Click Create mockup and allow about half a minute.
- Hold the print up against your design file and the sample, then save the image or download the PNG.
Notes for a seasonal lifestyle scene, with On a model picked, can look like this:
An adult model sits on a porch step on a cool autumn morning, holding a mug of coffee low in both hands. Show everything from the knees up, with the full front print visible above the hands. Soft golden light from the left, maple leaves on the steps, background softly blurred.Every plan, Free included, can use Product Mockup, at a current 75 credits per image (near 75 cents at top-up prices). Pro plans add "Want to change something?" for fixing a wrong detail, currently 85 credits a request. The pricing page lists current plans and top-ups.