Manufacturing: stage 05 of 9
A placement print has to survive the program's wash cycle and look identical on the last garment as on the first. Print type is selected against the fabric rather than applied uniformly, and it is approved on the bulk substrate before production.
Process
- 01
Artwork is separated and screens are prepared to the approved colour standard.
- 02
A strike-off is produced on the actual bulk fabric and approved for colour, hand feel, placement and size.
- 03
Cure is confirmed, because an under-cured print fails in the wash rather than in the factory.
- 04
Bulk printing runs against the approved strike-off, with checks through the run.
What you supply
- Vector artwork or a print-ready file
- Colour references
- Placement and size specification
What you receive
- Approved strike-off
- Bulk printed panels or garments
- Print inspection record
Risk
Every stage has a characteristic failure. Naming it is more useful than claiming it never happens.
The print is approved on a swatch and behaves differently on the bulk fabric.
Strike-offs are produced on the bulk substrate, not on a convenient sample of something similar.
The print cracks after a few industrial washes.
Ink system and cure are selected for the fabric and the laundering method, and confirmed before bulk rather than assumed.
Buyer questions
Screen printing suits larger runs and gives a more durable result on cotton-rich fabric. Heat transfer suits small runs, complex colour and placements a screen cannot reach. Fabric, run size and wash requirements decide it, not preference.
Yes, with an ink system selected to resist dye migration. Performance polyester is exactly the fabric where an unproven ink choice shows up later as discoloured print, so a strike-off on bulk fabric matters most here.
Send a specification and we will come back on construction, materials and commercial FOB costing against it.
Other manufacturing stages
Other manufacturing stages
Product Development
Development turns a reference garment, a sketch or a tech pack into a manufacturing specification the factory floor and your QA can both read the same way.
Fabric Sourcing
Fabric is usually the largest single line in an apparel cost and the hardest thing to change once a program is running.
Sampling
Sampling is where the specification is proven.