I am currently in the early stages of validating a small business around custom printed cards, mostly small decks / indie TCG-style products, and I am trying to be careful about choosing a print-on-demand partner before scaling. I’ve done some surface research and, like most people, came across the larger general POD platforms (Printful, Printify, etc.). At the same time, I also found more niche providers that seem focused specifically on cards, like QPmarketnetwork, I am personally drawn to them.

Before I begin testing anything at scale, I would love to hear from people who have actually shipped physical card products before;

What mattered most to you when you were choosing a POD partner early on?

• Were there any red flags you wish you caught sooner?
• Did you start general and move to a niche, or the other way around?
• What were their print consistency across batches like?
• And how did they handle proofs, revisions and reprints?

I am not looking for hype, just trying to learn from folks who’ve been through the trial-and-error phase already.

I will appreciate any real-world insight.