Murphys Sketches – Print on demand webshop

Print on demand required for a royally good cause

Artist Kerri Cunningham usually creates poems and sketches based on her life as a busy mum-of-three under the business and pen name Murphys Sketches. As the sad news of the death of HRH Queen Elizabeth II emerged, Kerri created a sketch inspired by a photo of the Queen and Prince Philip sitting together on a picnic blanket.

Created using black pen and coloured pencils, the illustration shows the back of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philp and one of their beloved corgis. Prince Philip has his arm around the Queen and the image is captioned ‘Hello again Lilibet’ – the Queen’s childhood nickname that Prince Philip often used.

Kerri’s initial intention was simply to post the art on Instagram in Her Majesty’s memory. However, when the image went viral on social media, hundreds of people started asking Kerri for prints of the sketch.

Realising the opportunity to raise money for charity, Kerri put out a message on Instagram for a printer that could help her manage the volume of orders, so all the profit could go straight to the NSPCC.

The NSPCC was chosen because the Queen had been a patron of the charity until she was 90, and as the parent of three young children, it’s a cause close to Kerri’s heart.

Emma and Paul from THEMPC saw Kerri’s plea for a company that could create print on demand art and knew that they had the capabilities to turn her idea into reality.  They already support local children’s charities through their business and – with three young children themselves – it felt right to take on such a worthwhile project, in memory of such a beloved monarch.

The art of timing

Time was of the essence with this project. To maximise the window of opportunity to raise funds for the NSPCC, the art prints needed to be produced quickly, while the nation’s attention on the Queen’s death was at its most focused.

It was impossible to forecast how many prints Kerri would sell for charity. For cost-efficiency, she needed a print on demand option where nothing would be wasted to maximise the profit raised for the charity. The solution needed to be flexible and scalable to meet demand and the prints would never go ‘out of stock’.

Anyone that wanted the prints would need to be able to view, order and pay for them easily online. Based upon THEMPC’s recommendation, Kerri decided to offer A4 and A5 prints, as well as A6 greeting card packs and a selection of bundles containing prints and greetings cards.

A user-friendly web shop selling premium print-on-demand art prints

THEMPC is a family run business based in Hampshire offering a full range of marketing services for clients, including print on demand art. Kerri knew she could trust THEMPC to take the lead and get these products to market ASAP.

Here’s how it was achieved:

• Set-up a branded, user-friendly web shop using THEMPC’s SwagOnline merchandise management software, where customers could buy the prints and THEMPC could manage the web to print orders and shipping on Kerri’s behalf
• Synced the web shop with WooCommerce – an ecommerce platform – enabling Stripe to handle a high volume of payments
• Produced print samples on luxurious Stucco Old Mill Classic White 280gsm paper for Kerri to approve, working with Fedrigoni, a specialist premium quality paper manufacturer
• Used an in-house Canon ImagePress c810 Digital Press to produce high-quality prints on demand
• Photographed the final products and uploaded them to the print on demand website
• Wrote and posted product descriptions
• Suggested the RRP’s for each of the products
• Integrated the web shop with Royal Mail, so that postage costs could be automatically calculated based on exact weights and dimensions of selected items and their destination
• Facilitated worldwide shipping to open the fundraising project to a wider audience

A further two sketches were also made available: one showing one of the Queens corgis on a picnic blanket with a single white flower and the strapline ‘Goodbye your Majesty’, the other depicting the Queen with one of her corgis and two rainbows. Many people saw two rainbows in the sky the day the Queen died.

The jewel in the crown – thousands raised for charity

The collaboration between Kerri (Murphys Sketches) and THEMPC has been a resounding success, showcasing THEMPCs ability to produce beautiful-printed items in-house using innovative methods and sustainable techniques.

• Over £17,000 has been raised for the NSPCC to-date
• 100% of the profits go to the NSPCC (minus web development charges, print and postal costs)
• Nearly 5,000 items sold through the print shop since its launch mid-September, with 2,200 orders processed in the first 2 weeks alone
• Every order was printed on demand and shipped within 24-72 hours of being received
• The artist has a completely outsourced system – all she had to do was provide THEMPC with the artwork – we take care of the rest
• Print on demand minimises the environmental impact of the project, prints are only produced when orders are placed, so there is no unnecessary stock produced – good for charity, better for the planet

Testimonial

“THEMPC has enabled me to raise funds for such a good cause and celebrate the life of the Queen in a way I never could have dreamed of. I am so grateful that Paul and Emma reached out. I had a positive feeling from the moment I first met them online – and they and made my vision a reality.

“With the generous support of the public, we’ve raised a serious amount of money to help children experiencing tough times. I’m sure the Queen would approve.” – Kerri Cunningham, Murphys Sketches 

If you’re looking for a print on demand company to produce art prints, or print on demand greeting cards, look no further. Call our helpful team of experts on 01256 352415 to get your print store up and running in days.