Why Having a Complete Tech Pack Can Transform Your Fashion Business
And the complete guide on how to create one
Did you know that as much as 9 out of 10 times, fashion designers and entrepreneurs around the world send incomplete tech packs to request a manufacturing quote?
Imagine walking into a Starbucks and just ordeing coffee with milk. The barista would probably ask what kind of milk do you want, also the size (‘Tall’, ‘Grande’ or Venti’), decaf or regular?, how much milk (capuccino, latte)? Even if it’s just a simple coffee it’s much better to be specific so the barista can make your coffee as quick as possible and to your liking. Imagine if the information were this incomplete when producing something as complex as a technical pack for a clothing item or accessory you wish to produce.
Vietnam-based manufacturing expert Chris Walker often refers to this as the ‘Starbucks analogy’ when trying to explain to fashion designers why it’s so important to prepare a detailed tech pack in advance if they wish to get an accurate quote for the production of a particular garment.
Since 2008, Walker has worked with countless brands and designers and guided them through garment and textile production in Vietnam, including getting through the language barriers, MOQ, finding the right factory, and more.
The Asian country is considered one of the top of the world for garment manufacturing thanks to it’s skilled labor (which even eclipses China in this sense) and it has become an increasingly popular sourcing hub for some of the world’s best known fashion labels.
“In an ideal world, every factory would provide a list of tech pack requirements to fashion designers in advance. This dilemma becomes the art and science of working with a manufacturer.”
Regardless of where you decide to produce, communication with your factory is essential. And Walker cannot stress enough that the correct execution of a tech pack can completely change the way you produce.
“Designers and manufacturers work efficiently together if they have the same expectations from the beginning of their relationship,” says Walker. When this is not clear, it leads to communication errors. “In an ideal world, every factory would provide a list of tech pack requirements to fashion designers in advance. This dilemma becomes the art and science of working with a manufacturer.” he adds.
But since there is no standard list, many designers make assumptions on what they think the factory needs to quote a price. Most of the time, information is missing and it leads to errors resulting in frustration and frictions between designers and factories.
“If the tech pack is accurate and complete then doing business between a fashion designer and factory is easy.”
For Walker, the tech pack is the contract between the designer and the factory and they achieve three main objectives:
1) It communicates all of the specifications and details of the designed garment or accessory which needs to be produced.
2) It clarifies what needs to be included in the price.
3) It prevents confusion and misunderstandings.
A fashion designer should not put the factory in a position where they have to guess what to do. This is why all the details need to be included in the tech pack. If the factory has to guess, and they guess wrong, then both parties will be frustrated.
When problems happen during production both sides will blame each other. In fact, if the tech packs are accurate and complete then the problem and solution will present itself within the tech pack. Either the designer made a mistake in the tech pack or the factory misunderstood the tech pack. The tech pack acts as a common reference point to resolve the problem.
For this reason, cloud based software like Techpacker is a great tools for designers and factories because the information is stored in one place and accessible to the designer’s team and the manufacturers. Every time someone makes a change to the tech pack the others see the changes without having to email back and forth.
Techpacker eliminates the need to manage multiple versions on more than one local computer. One version is saved to the cloud and everyone accesses the cloud. Tech Packer automatically manages changes in real time.
Regardless of the method you use to create your technical packs, don’t miss this complete guide provided by Chris Walker in order to ensure you meet all the requirements to get a quote. For more see below the full detailed list.
- Flat Sketch. The flat sketch is a two-dimensional technical drawing. The flat sketch is not just white fill and black outlines. No shading or texture details. There should be sketches of the front, back and any unusual details you consider important. The sketch should be in black and white and drawn to scale as best as possible.
(Related: What you should know about technical flats)
2) Measurement Chart for 1st Sample. I am assuming you don’t have all the size measurements for each size (small, medium, large, XL, XXL, etc.) To get started you must provide the factory with the measurements for at least one size — usually size medium. The factory will use these measurements to make the 1st sample often referred to as the fit sample.
(Related: 3 Tips for Writing measurement Specs and Is Alpha Sizing Right for Your Brand?)
3) Order Quantity Chart. Before the factory can quote a price for you, they need to know the quantity breakdown for the style (one style per tech pack.) They need to know quantity per color and or quantity per artwork.
4) Written or Visual Description. Write down any details about the garment that are not obvious in the sketches. Add more images if you have them. Describe in detail components like collars, plackets, cuffs, fastenings, bar tacks, artwork placement or packing instructions.
5) Bill of Materials. The BOM includes everything that needs to be bought to put the garment together. At a minimum you must include the main fabric and any additional fabrics. For fabric, describe the yarn, knit structure, weave structure, weight, Pantone color, finish and width. In addition to fabric, list things like lining, piping, ribbons, shoulder pads, neck tape, thread, buttons, labels, hang tags, hang tag thread, hang tag pins, tissue, poly-bags and desiccant bags. Be as detailed as possible to make sure nothing is overlooked.
6) List of Stitches and Seams. If you have any specific stitch or seam requirements then list them here. Illustrate or just write the descriptions of joining operations. Include details like stitches per inch, width of seams, seam allowances, and ISO numbers for each seam.
7) List of Embellishments. If you have any screen prints, embroideries, lace, appliqué, sequins, patches, shoulder pads, stones, or beads then list them here. You can illustrate or just write the descriptions of details like placement, ink type, Pantone colors and stitches per inch for embroidery.
8) Branding Artwork. Here is where you go into detail for anything that has branding on it. Branding usually is placed on labels, hang tags, embroideries or small prints. Show exactly where the branding artwork goes and reference the file name of the artwork. The files will need to be sent separately. Often branding will be combined with care instructions and information like country of origin, RN #s, fabric composition, and detailed washing instructions. Packing includes branding so be sure to include the details of branding on items like poly bags and carton boxes.
9) Measurement Chart for Grading.This section needs to exist but not necessarily filled in. As mentioned early, first the factory will quote price. Then they will make a “1st Sample.” If you decide to go ahead then they will grade your sample from medium size up to, say, XXL and down to say, XS. When they do the grading they will fill in this measurement chart. If you have the grading done in advance then include your complete measurements here. Be sure to include acceptable tolerances for each measurement.
10) Point of Measurement Diagrams. When it comes time to perform a quality control check the factory needs to know where to measure from. They need to be on the same page as you. Use illustrations to show clearly where you expect them to measure to check if the measurements are within tolerances.
For more details be be sure to take a look at Chris Walkers’ full garment tech pack checklist. Also, If you’d like to learn more about garment production in Vietnam, Chris has all of the information you need in Vietnam Insider.
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Related:
How to Prepare Kick-Ass Tech Packs
