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Geographic Order Routing
Geographic Order Routing

How OrbitKit routes your orders to printers

Jeff Schnitzer avatar
Written by Jeff Schnitzer
Updated over a year ago

OrbitKit's integrated print network is composed of many of the same print companies that offer services on Printify. However, OrbitKit handles order routing for you, appearing as a single seamless service.

OrbitKit's sophisticated order routing logic takes into account:

  • Which printers can print the items in the order? Not every printer prints every item, or every color available.

  • If there are multiple items in the order, which printers can ship them together in a single package? Fewer shipments are much better.

  • Which printers have stock available to print right now? OrbitKit checks realtime inventory at the printers to avoid backorder delays.

  • Which products can be substituted? A premium tee could be a Bella 3001, Anvil 980, or NextLevel 3600 - but not a Gildan 5000.

  • Which printers are in the same country as the customer? If possible, we avoid customs delays.

  • Which printers are physically closest to the customer? Shorter distance means faster shipping.

The best thing is that OrbitKit handles all of this for you, automatically. You don't need to configure anything!

Mini-FAQ

Which printers are you using?

Click on "Printers" on the main menu when you are logged into OrbitKit. Or click on a product to see the list of printers that print it (and what colors/sizes they print).

Can I pin orders to a specific printer?

If you have strong opinions, we can come up with customized order routing solutions for you. Reach out to support.

Can I use <cheap low-quality printer> and get cheaper prices?

We select printers based on print quality, timeliness, and geography. High-quality printers tend to have very similar wholesale pricing, which is why OrbitKit charges a single price for a product no matter who prints it. Cheaper second-tier print companies exist, but they aren't worth the quality problems. You know who they are, we know who they are, and we avoid them.

Will orders always be sent in a single shipment?

Almost always. It's rare, but it's still possible for an order with multiple items to be sent out in multiple shipments. If this happens you will be charged separately for shipping each.

Of course, this is undesirable for everyone, so OrbitKit's routing system strongly favors single-shipment fulfillments. But some orders may not be possible (say, a mug and a tee color that isn't printed by a facility that can also do mugs). You can influence this by picking your product/color offerings carefully, but it's rarely a problem.

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