A product template is a reusable template for a product: a Printful product + print file combo that exists independently from any of your stores and is saved only on Printful.
A product template only contains product details all stores (and all the different ecommerce platforms Printful integrates with) can have in common. This means you can start creating a product with a premade template, add the remaining info, and push it to any store!
Note: adding products to a store using product templates is possible only for stores that have the product push function (currently all integrations except Big Cartel, Gumroad, and ShipStation).
The common details of a product template depend on its product category because these details are also the main factors that influence the printed outcome.
For example, for t-shirts, it's color + print file, for posters, it's size+print file. For t-shirt product templates, size isn't a deal breaker because the print area is the same for all sizes. But for posters, size is a deal breaker because they have print areas of different sizes.
To create a product template, go to Dashboard > Product templates > Create product template. It's like creating a product, but with fewer steps. Learn more about using product templates here.