POD: Designs, Mockups, and Studio

In this chapter, you'll learn Protsy's three tools for print on demand (POD) selling: the Designs library where you keep your designs, the Mockups warehouse where you keep your blank product photos, and Studio, where you place designs on mockups in bulk. In short, the flow is: you upload or generate a design once, place it on blank product photos, and send the resulting images to your listing.

When do these menus appear?

The Mockups, Designs, and Studio menus appear in the sidebar only when your active store's product type is Print on demand (POD) or Mixed (both). If your store is set to Physical / handmade, these menus are hidden; even if you type the page address directly, you're redirected to the dashboard.

You can change the product type in the Product type field on the Settings → General screen. For details, see the Dashboard and Settings chapter.

Tip: If you have more than one store, the menus change based on the product type of the store selected at that moment. It's normal for these three menus to disappear when you switch from a POD store to a physical store.

How Printful / Printify fit in

Protsy doesn't connect to your Printful or Printify account separately, and it doesn't forward your orders to them. Your POD orders are fulfilled by your Printful/Printify integration on Etsy; Protsy's job is to prepare the design, the mockup images, and the listing. Printify's product catalog is used in only one place: to take the print area from the catalog when uploading a color set (see Uploading a color set).

Designs (/designs)

The page title is Design library. All the designs you've uploaded or generated with AI are listed here as cards. Each design is a single card; its enhanced versions live inside the same card.

Uploading designs

1. Drag and drop your files onto the Upload designs area, or click the area to choose them.
2. You can choose several files at once; each file becomes a separate design.
3. During the upload, progress shows like Uploading… 3/10. When it's done, you'll see a message such as 10 designs added.

Accepted formats are PNG, JPG, and WebP. The limit is 200 MB per file. If some files can't be uploaded, the top of the page lists which file failed and why, under a heading such as 2 files couldn't be uploaded:.

Tip: If a product type tab (for example, T-shirts) or one of your own categories is selected before you upload, the uploaded designs are added directly to that group.

Adding from Google Drive

If your Google Drive account is connected, you'll see the Add from Drive button below the upload area.

1. Click Add from Drive. Google's file picker opens.
2. Open your Drive folder, select the designs (you can select several), and press Select.
3. When adding is done, you'll see a summary such as 5 added, 2 already in the library, 0 failed.

If you select a file you've added before, it's skipped and no duplicate is created in the library. Only JPG, PNG, and WebP images are added; the limit is 200 MB per file.

If Drive isn't connected, the button says Connect Google Drive instead. You set up the connection on the Settings → Connection screen (see Integrations).

Warning: Protsy doesn't watch a Drive folder automatically. Files you add to the folder later don't come in on their own; you need to select the new ones with Add from Drive each time.

Generating a new design with AI

1. Click the New design button.
2. Describe the design. Mention the product too (T-shirt, tote bag, sticker…) so it lands in the right group.
3. If you like, choose a style: Graphic / illustration, Typography, Detailed art, Painterly, or Photographic.
4. If you like, add a sample image with Add reference image.
5. Click Generate designs. When the result arrives, the Your design is ready card appears.
6. Every generated design is saved to your library automatically. Add to library closes the window and shows the result in the library. Generate again generates a new design; the previous result stays in the library, and you can delete it from its card if you don't want it.

Note: If the credit system is enabled on your account, AI design generation spends credits. This window doesn't show a price in advance; if you don't have enough credits, generation doesn't start and the warning Insufficient credits. Please top up your credits. appears. For information about your credits, see the Getting started chapter.

Tip: You can write rules you want AI to follow in all designs (style preferences, themes to avoid) in the Design content rules field on the Settings → General screen.

Browsing the library

• The Search designs box searches by design name.
• Product type tabs (All, T-shirts, Mugs, Posters…) group your designs; each tab shows the number of designs in that group.
• With the Per page selector at the bottom of the page, you can show 12, 24, 48, or 96 designs per page. Your chosen tab and page size are remembered for your next visit.

Your own categories

Next to the product type tabs, you can create your own categories (for example, "Christmas 2026" or "Cat designs").

1. Click the Category button at the end of the tabs.
2. Type a Category name and press Enter.
3. To rename or delete a category, click the arrow next to its tab and choose Rename or Delete.

When you delete a category, the designs inside it aren't deleted; they stay in the library without a category.

Bulk selection: moving, downloading, enhancing

1. Click the Select button at the top right. Checkboxes appear on the cards.
2. Click designs one by one, or use Select all on this page. Your selection is kept across pages and tabs.
3. With the selected designs, you can:
   • Move to category: From the menu that opens, choose one of your own categories, Remove from category, or a product type.
   • Download selected: The version in use of each design is downloaded. You can download up to 200 designs at a time.
   • Enhance selected: Enhances up to 20 designs together (see the "Enhancement (Enhance)" heading below).
4. When you're finished, click Done.

Tip: Your browser may ask once for permission to download multiple files. If you allow it, later bulk downloads work smoothly.

Design card

When you hover over a card, these actions appear:

• Rename with the pencil icon.
• Download with the download icon (the version in use).
• Delete with the trash can icon. If the design has several versions, all of them are deleted together.

The print file status shows at the bottom left of the card: Print ready, Preparing…, or Print file failed. At the bottom right, a badge such as Enhanced or 2 versions shows that the design has more than one version.

For repeating patterns such as wallpaper, the card has a Pattern repeat (cm) field. Here you enter how many centimeters apart the pattern repeats on the wall.

Design details window

Click a design's image to open the details window.

• Full screen: Opens the design at full resolution; you can zoom in by scrolling or double-clicking.
• Versions: Lists the original and enhanced versions. You can switch to another version with Use this version, go back to the first one with Revert to original, or remove an unused version with Delete this version.
• Linked listings: Listings created with this design. You can link it to an existing listing manually with Link to a listing, or use the X icon to Remove link.
• Create listing from this design: Opens AI listing creation with this design attached. If Protsy AI is enabled on your account, it opens in Protsy AI; otherwise, it opens on the AI listing screen (see Listings and Protsy AI).

Preparing the print file

The print file is the 300 DPI file the manufacturer will use. Protsy doesn't prepare it unless you ask.

1. Find the Print file section in the design details window.
2. If the design has a background and will be printed on a product such as a T-shirt or mug, turn on the Remove background option. If you leave it off, the design stays as it is.
3. Click Prepare for print. The status moves through Queued…, Removing the background…, Upscaling to 300 DPI…, and Finishing the file….
4. When it's ready, you can download it with Download print file. To change the settings and generate it again, use Prepare again.

Warning: For products such as T-shirts and mugs, the background needs to be removed; otherwise, the design prints on the product like a box. This option doesn't appear for pattern products such as wallpaper.

Note: If the credit system is enabled on your account, preparing a print file (background removal and upscaling) spends credits. If you don't have enough credits, the card shows Print file failed; after topping up, you can restart it with Try again.

Enhancement (Enhance)

Note: This feature appears if it is enabled on your account.

Enhancement upscales and sharpens a low-resolution design with AI. The result is saved as a new version; the original stays in the library.

1. Open the Enhance tab in the design details window (for several designs, use Select → Enhance selected).
2. Answer the What is it? question with Design / text (keeps lettering and lines crisp) or Photo (natural detail for product photos).
3. Choose one option for Size:
   • Auto: Upscales the image to the smallest scale that's enough for printing.
   • Scale: Multiplies the width and height by the factor you choose. Anything above 4x runs in two passes.
   • Print size: You choose one of the preset Posters, Photo, or International paper sizes, or Custom size, and set the DPI. The image isn't cropped; its proportions are kept.
4. For Style, choose Text & lines, Illustration, Standard, or Low-res source.
5. At the bottom of the panel, check the Total cost and your Balance, then click Enhance.
6. When the result arrives, review the Before / After comparison by dragging the handle. If you like it, click Apply.

Note: If the credit system is enabled, enhancement shows how many credits it will cost before it starts. If the credit system isn't enabled, the same spot says Included in your plan. In a two-pass job, if the second pass can't run, only the first pass is charged.

Dark-shirt version

Note: This feature appears if it is enabled on your account.

On dark T-shirts, dark ink disappears. The dark-shirt version lightens the dark parts of a design to make a copy that suits dark products. It's free and ready in seconds.

• If you check the Also make a dark-shirt version box while uploading, it's created automatically for every new design.
• For an existing design, click the moon icon on the card (Create dark-shirt version).
• To change the setting, open the Dark shirt tab in the design details. Check the preview with the How much turns light setting, then click Create dark version or Remake with this setting.

When the dark version is ready, the card shows a Dark ready badge, and Studio automatically prints this version on dark products. Whether a mockup counts as light or dark is set by the Product tone (Auto, Light, Dark) setting in the Edit mockup window.

Share link

Note: This feature appears if it is enabled on your account.

From the Share link section in the design details window, you can give someone without a Protsy account (for example, your print shop) a link they can use to download the design.

1. For Expires, choose Never, In 7 days, or In 30 days.
2. If you like, check Include the print file.
3. Click Create link, then Copy link.

When you close a link with Revoke link, that link stops working for good.

Mockups (/mockups)

The page title is POD Mockup Warehouse. A mockup is a blank product photo that doesn't have a design on it yet (a plain white T-shirt, a blank mug, an empty wall). You make the design once, then place it on top of these photos; you don't need to generate new images for every variation.

Adding a single mockup

1. Click Add mockup. The New mockup form opens.
2. Choose the source:
   • Upload: Drop a PNG or JPG photo of the plain product onto the Upload a blank product photo area.
   • Generate with AI: Type something like "Plain white ceramic mug on a neutral background" in the Describe the blank product field and click Generate.
3. Mark the Print area: Place the quadrilateral over the spot in the photo where the design will be printed, and drag its corners so it sits on the product.
4. Fill in the Name (for example, "White T-shirt — front") and Product type (T-shirt, mug, poster…) fields. The product type is used to match designs with the right mockups.
5. Choose a Blend: Multiply (light products) for light-colored products, and Soft light or Flat overlay for others.
6. Click Save mockup.

Tip: In photos shot at an angle, the print area shouldn't stay a rectangle; it should be a trapezoid. That's what makes the design sit on the product at a natural angle. Free corners mode lets you move each corner separately.

Tip: If you choose several files in the upload area, the form switches to color set upload on its own.

Uploading a color set

This adds every color of the same pose (white, black, gray T-shirt…) at once, and you mark the print area only once.

1. Click Upload a color set.
2. Type a Set name (for example, "Unisex T-shirt — front, flat shot").
3. With Choose the color photos, choose one photo for each color (PNG, JPG, or WebP).
4. On one photo, drag the four corners over the print area. If you like, use Use a print area from the Printify catalog to search for the product in the catalog and get its real print dimensions.
5. Apply the same area to every photo in the set with Apply to all colors, or choose Save for this photo only.

Actions on the mockup card

• Edit mockup: Changes the print area, name, product type, and the Blend, Shading, and Print width (cm) settings. If you enter the print width, Studio can print the design at real size.
• Recolor: Changes the fabric color; shadows and wrinkles are kept. You can paste a hex code. Recoloring requires a garment mask.
• Mask: Protsy extracts the fabric mask automatically and shows an Auto — check it badge on the card. You can fix it with a brush and eraser using Edit mask. For several mockups, use the Generate masks for all button at the top of the page.
• Surface layers: Derived so the print follows the fabric's wrinkles and shadows. You can do this in bulk with the Derive surface layers for all button; a mask is needed first.
• Delete.

Your mockups are grouped by product type. You can search by brand or product name (gildan, comfort colors, mug…) with the Search your mockups box.

Protsy library

Note: This feature appears if it is enabled on your account.

If you don't have your own photos, you can use Protsy's ready-made mockup templates. The My mockups and Protsy library tabs appear at the top of the page.

• In the library, mark the ones you use often with Add to favorites and see them with the Favorites filter.
• You can hide templates you don't want with Hide from the library.
• You don't need a copy just to adjust placement; you can pick library templates directly in Studio.
• If you want to change the print area, mask, or layers, click Customize. A copy of the template is added to My mockups.

Wallpaper mockups

When the product type is wallpaper, the "product" is a room's wall. The Generate with AI option shows a Describe the room field. You drag the print area to the corners of the wall; furniture in front of it isn't a problem, because the mask keeps it in front of the pattern. The Wall width (cm) field is required for wallpaper.

Studio (/studio)

Studio places the designs you choose on the mockups and colors you choose all at once and generates the image set. Nothing is published automatically; you send the photos to a listing yourself.

Generating a set

1. Click the first button (Pick designs) on the vertical bar on the left and choose one or more designs. You can choose up to 25 designs at a time.
2. Choose mockups with the second button (Mockups). You can type words like t-shirt, hoodie, or mug in the search box.
3. With the third button (Colors), choose from your mockups' color presets. If you don't choose a color, the mockup prints in its own color.
4. In Edit mode, place the design on the canvas (see below).
5. In the summary line at the top, check the design × mockup × color = image count, and click Generate set.
6. When the results are ready, open them with See results.

Placing the design

• Drag the design to move it, pull a corner to resize it, and use the handle above it to rotate it.
• The toolbar has Center horizontally, Center vertically, Fit to the print area, and Reset placement buttons.
• Fit option: Fit keeps the whole design inside the area, Fill covers the area and trims the part that runs over, and Stretch distorts the design's proportions.
• If the mockup's print width has been entered, you can enter the design's real size with Print width (cm). The toolbar shows the print resolution; if it's low, a Low resolution warning appears.
• Switch to Preview mode to see the placement on all selected mockups together. If one mockup needs a different placement from the others, use Edit this mockup separately for that mockup in the preview; you can undo it with Use the shared placement.

Tip: Hold Shift to turn off snapping, use the scroll wheel to zoom, and drag with the right mouse button to pan.

For wallpaper designs, Studio first asks How should this design go on the wall?: Mural (one piece) spreads a single image across the wall, and Pattern (repeat) repeats the design at the repeat size you entered.

Results

• Download each image individually with Download, or all of them with Download all.
• Use Send to a listing gallery → Which listing? to transfer the images to a listing's editor. You approve each photo in the listing editor before anything goes to Etsy.
• If some images couldn't be generated, use Retry failed.
• Protsy checks every image automatically. Images that don't show the product correctly are set aside as discarded and aren't offered as listing photos. Check images with a Worth checking badge by eye before publishing.

Does Studio spend credits?

No. Generating sets in Studio is free; you'll see Free — uses no credits on the generation line. Instead, there's a daily limit:

Your remaining allowance shows like 1850 of 2000 images left today and resets at midnight UTC.

Warning: A design whose print file is still being prepared is skipped in the generation and listed with the reason print file still being prepared. Wallpaper designs with no mode chosen or no repeat size entered are skipped too. You can complete the missing setting with the button next to the skipped design.

Credit summary

Frequently asked questions

I can't see the Designs menu in the sidebar. Your active store's product type may be Physical / handmade. On the Settings → General screen, set Product type to Print on demand (POD) or Mixed (both).

One of my designs looks faded in Studio and I can't select it. A faded card means that design's print file is still being prepared. Once it's ready, it will render. If the card can't be clicked at all, you've reached the 25-design limit; deselect another design.

My design looks like a white box on the product. The design's background hasn't been removed. In the design details, turn on Remove background and regenerate the print file with Prepare for print (or Prepare again).

I added new designs to my Drive folder, but they don't show up in Protsy. Protsy doesn't watch folders automatically. Select the new files with Add from Drive; ones added before are skipped.

Is the original of my enhanced design gone? No. The enhanced result is saved as a new version. You can go back with Revert to original from the Versions list in the design details.

Do the images I generate in Studio go to Etsy automatically? No. Send to a listing gallery only transfers the images to the listing editor. Approving what goes to Etsy is always up to you.

Other chapters

• 01 · Getting started
• 02 · Dashboard and Settings
• 03 · Listings
• 05 · Templates: By adding mockups to a POD template, you can have the images prepared automatically when you create a listing from a design.
• 06 · Orders, Shipping, and Finance
• 07 · Protsy AI and Insights
• 08 · Integrations