Bear Grips Pro ShopsCustom Ink Alternative for Dojos: Print-on-Demand vs Bulk Ordering
- Bear Grips Pro Shops vs Custom Ink: no setup fee, no minimum, no bulk upfront payment.
- POD ships directly to students. Screen printing requires you to distribute.
- Cost comparison: per-unit is higher in POD for large orders, lower total cost of ownership.
- School stores stay open permanently. Bulk orders are one-time events.
A Custom Ink alternative for martial arts dojos exists in print-on-demand school stores, and it solves several problems that bulk screen-print ordering creates for school operators. Bear Grips Pro Shops is not a volume screen printer. It is a school store platform where students order individually, shirts print individually, and you earn a margin without handling inventory, upfront costs, or distribution. Here is how the two models compare for a martial arts school.
How Custom Ink Works vs How Bear Grips Pro Shops Works
Both services produce custom-printed shirts. The process and model differ in almost every other respect:
| Factor | Custom Ink / Local Screen Print | Bear Grips Pro Shops (POD) |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum order | Typically 6 to 24 pieces | None |
| Setup / design fee | Often included in minimum, sometimes extra | No setup fee |
| Upfront payment | 100% before production | $0 (students pay at order) |
| Inventory management | You hold and distribute shirts | None. Ships to each buyer directly |
| Store availability | One-time order event | Always open. Ongoing passive income |
| New student access | Wait for next bulk run | Immediate. Order any time |
| Unsold shirt risk | High. Wrong sizes become waste | None. Printed only when ordered |
When Bulk Screen Printing Still Makes Sense
Bulk screen printing wins in one specific scenario: very large quantity orders (100+ pieces of the same design) where cost per unit is the primary concern and you can accurately predict sizes. If a martial arts school is ordering 150 identical tournament shirts in pre-confirmed sizes and has the cash to front the order, a bulk screen printer will deliver a lower per-unit cost than any POD service.
For everything else, the economics favor print-on-demand:
- Ongoing school store with unpredictable order volume
- New student onboarding (you cannot predict when students join)
- Belt promotion shirts (emotional purchase moment, not a scheduled batch)
- Gift purchases by parents and family members (they buy when they want to, not on your schedule)
- Holiday or seasonal products (limited time, unpredictable demand)
- Youth sizing alongside adult sizing (impossible to predict youth size distribution accurately)
The Real Cost Comparison for a Martial Arts School
Total cost of ownership for a martial arts school apparel program goes beyond per-unit shirt cost:
- Admin time: Collecting sizes, coordinating payment, placing a bulk order, receiving shipment, sorting by size, distributing at class: 4 to 10 hours per shirt run. POD: 30 minutes of initial setup and 0 hours per ongoing order.
- Unsold inventory: Every bulk order produces leftover shirts in the wrong sizes. A conservative 10% waste rate on a 60-shirt order at $15 per shirt is $90 in unsold inventory per run. POD waste: $0.
- Cash float: A 60-shirt order at $15 per shirt requires $900 upfront before a single sale. POD requires $0 upfront. The school earns margin only on shirts that sell.
- Opportunity cost of downtime: Between bulk runs, students who want a shirt cannot get one. That is potential revenue lost. POD stores are always open.
For a school with 60 to 100 active students, the total cost comparison over a 12-month period typically favors POD for operator cost, even if per-unit price is higher.
See the revenue math for school stores: dojo merch shop setup and income guide.
Switch from Bulk Ordering to a Permanent School Store
Free setup, no minimum, no upfront cost. Students order their own shirts, you earn a margin on every sale.
Start FreeFrequently Asked Questions
Is Bear Grips Pro Shops a replacement for Custom Ink for martial arts schools?
For ongoing school stores and recurring apparel programs, yes. Bear Grips Pro Shops removes the minimum order, upfront cost, and distribution requirements that Custom Ink and local screen printers require. For very large single-event orders above 100 pieces, bulk printing may still win on per-unit price.
Does Bear Grips Pro Shops have setup fees or design charges?
No setup fees and no per-design charges. You upload your logo or design when setting up your school store. It applies to every product you activate. There is no charge to add, change, or update designs.
Can a martial arts school run both a POD store and do bulk orders?
Yes. Many schools use Bear Grips Pro Shops for ongoing shirt sales and periodic reorders while still placing a one-time bulk order through a local printer for a specific large event (state championships, anniversary celebration). The two approaches are not mutually exclusive.
