8 minute read

Managing Products

Control your product catalog with draft mode, visibility settings, and SKU management for seamless order fulfillment.

Product management overview

Your product library is the heart of your PrintPort3D business. Each product represents a unique SKU that your customers can order—complete with 3D model, material specifications, pricing, and shipping configuration.

Unlike traditional inventory systems, PrintPort3D products are print-on-demand. There's no physical inventory to track—each product is manufactured when ordered. This gives you unlimited flexibility to add, modify, or remove products without leftover stock concerns.

Draft Mode

Test products privately before making them live to customers.

SKU Matching

Automatic order routing based on product SKUs from your store.

Manual Mapping

Orders for draft products require manual product selection.

Delete Products

Remove test products or permanently delete items you don't need.

Product status types

DraftNot ready for production
ActiveLive & accepting orders

Draft products & testing

Draft mode lets you create and test products before they go live. Products marked as drafts won't automatically fulfill orders—instead, they'll appear as SKU mismatches, requiring you to manually select which product to print.

How draft mode works

When an order comes in for a draft product, PrintPort3D treats it as an unrecognized SKU. You'll see it in your Orders dashboard as "SKU Mismatch" status, where you can manually map it to the correct product.

When to use draft mode

Testing new products

Upload the 3D model, configure materials, and verify costs before launching publicly.

Sample orders & customer approvals

Create draft products for one-off custom requests where you want manual control before printing.

Pricing calculator experiments

Test different material configs to see how they affect production costs.

Setting a product as draft

1

Create or edit a product

When creating a new product, you'll see a "Save as Draft" checkbox at the bottom of the form. Check this box before saving.

2

Draft indicator appears

Products in draft mode show an amber "Draft" badge in your products list.

dashboard.printport3d.com
Product list showing draft badge
Draft products are clearly labeled with an amber badge
3

Orders trigger manual mapping

If a customer orders this product (via your store), the order will appear as "SKU Mismatch" in your orders dashboard. You'll need to manually select which product to fulfill it with.

Draft products don't auto-fulfill

Orders for draft products will NOT automatically send to production. This is by design—it gives you a chance to review and confirm before printing.

Making a draft product live

When you're ready to accept automatic orders:

1

Edit the product

Click Edit on the draft product.

2

Uncheck Draft mode

Scroll to the bottom and uncheck "Draft Mode", then click Save Changes.

3

Orders now auto-fulfill

Future orders for this SKU will automatically match and send to production without manual intervention.

SKU matching & order routing

PrintPort3D automatically routes orders from your connected stores (Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce) by matching the SKU from your store product with the SKU in your PrintPort3D catalog.

How automatic matching works

1
Order arrives from your store

Customer orders "Dragon Statue" with SKU DRAG-001-RED

2
PrintPort3D searches your catalog

Looks for a product with SKU DRAG-001-RED

3
Match found → Automatic fulfillment

Order automatically sends to production with the correct 3D model, material, and settings

SKU best practices

Use consistent, descriptive SKUs across all platforms. Example format:PRODUCT-SIZE-COLOR(e.g., VASE-SMALL-BLUE, GEAR-20T-BLACK)

When SKU matching fails

If an order's SKU doesn't match any active products, OR if the matched product is a draft, the order status becomes "SKU Mismatch".

Common causes:
  • Product is in draft mode (intentional manual review)
  • SKU typo in your store vs. PrintPort3D
  • Product not yet added to PrintPort3D
  • Product was deleted
  • Case sensitivity mismatch (SKU001 vs sku001)

Fixing SKU mismatches

To fix a SKU mismatch, update the SKU in your PrintPort3D product to match your store. Edit the product, change the SKU field to match exactly (case-sensitive), and save. Future orders will then automatically route to the correct product.

Manual mapping is order-specific

Manually mapping an order doesn't update the product's SKU. If you fix the SKU in your PrintPort3D product catalog, future orders will match automatically.

Product management best practices

Always use draft mode for new products

Create new products as drafts to verify pricing, 3D model preview, and material costs before publishing. This prevents accidental orders for untested items.

Keep SKUs consistent across platforms

Use the exact same SKU format in Shopify/Etsy/WooCommerce and PrintPort3D. Consistency prevents SKU mismatches and ensures automatic order routing.

Delete only test products with zero orders

Once a product has orders, avoid deleting it. Instead, set it as draft. Deletion removes order history and breaks analytics.

Use descriptive product names

Include key details in product names for easy identification: "Dragon Statue - Large - Red PLA" is better than "Dragon1".

Troubleshooting

Orders showing "SKU Mismatch" for live products

Check that:

  • Product is NOT in draft mode (check the draft badge)
  • SKU matches exactly (case-sensitive)
  • There are no extra spaces in the SKU

Can't find a product in my catalog

If a product seems missing:

  • Check if it's set as draft (filter by "Drafts Only")
  • Try searching by SKU instead of name
  • Verify you're looking in the correct user account
  • Contact support if product was accidentally deleted