From print-on-demand to your first production run: the three stages
Most clothing brands move through three stages: print-on-demand or printed blanks to test designs, a local studio for small custom batches, then a first production run. Move to a production run once a design has sold, you can order 50 pieces per style, per colour and you can plan for three sample rounds, then 15–30 days to ex-factory.
| Stage 0: print-on-demand or blanks | Stage 1: local studio | Stage 2: production run | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you buy | A printed stock garment | Small custom batches | Your own garment, made to your specification |
| Your control | Artwork only | Fit, fabric and labels | Fit, fabric weight, colours, labels and packaging |
| Minimum | None | Small, set by the studio | 50 pieces per style, per colour with us |
| Speed | Days | Weeks | Samples, then 15–30 days to ex-factory, plus transit |
| Cost per piece | Highest | High | Lowest of the three, with price breaks as you grow |
| Move on when | Designs keep selling and printing eats the margin | Reorders are predictable and landed cost matters | You are scaling: volume programmes start at 2,000 pieces |
Stage 0: print-on-demand and printed blanks
Print-on-demand and printed blanks let you test designs with no stock and no minimum. You choose the artwork; the garment, fit and fabric are the supplier's. It is the right way to find out which designs sell. It stops being the right way when the same designs keep selling and the per-piece printing cost eats your margin, or when customers start asking for a better fit and a heavier fabric.
Stage 1: a local small-batch studio
A cut-and-sew studio near you makes small custom batches quickly, and you can sit in on fittings. You get your own fit, fabric and labels, at a high cost per piece. It suits the period when you are still changing the product between drops. Move on when your reorders become predictable and the landed cost per piece starts to decide your margin.
Stage 2: your first production run
A production run with us starts at 50 pieces per style, per colour, on stock fabric. You approve a proto, a fit and a pre-production sample in writing; nothing is cut before that. Our own specialist inspects every lot to AQL 2.5, and the goods ship FOB with the documents for duty-free entry into the US and 0% into the EU with a EUR.1. Payment is 30% before manufacturing starts and 70% once production is finished and the lot has passed inspection, or payment by letter of credit (LC).
Are you ready? Eight questions
Answer yes or no. Six or more yeses usually means a production run will pay off; fewer means stay a little longer at the stage you are in.
- Has the design already sold — a sold-out drop, steady print-on-demand sales or pre-orders?
- Will you order at least 50 pieces per style, per colour?
- Can you wait for samples, then 15–30 days to ex-factory, plus transit?
- Do you have a tech pack, or a reference garment we can work from?
- Do you want your own fit, fabric weight and labels, not a printed blank?
- Does landed cost per piece matter more to you than speed?
- Can you pay 30% before manufacturing starts?
- Do you sell in the US or the EU, where duty-free entry changes your margin?
A first run, worked out
Two styles, each in two colours, at the minimum of 50 pieces per colour: 200 pieces in total.
- Pullover hoodie: 100 pieces at $8.90 = $890 FOB
- Regular tee: 100 pieces at $6.90 = $690 FOB
- First run: 200 pieces = $1,580 FOB
- Plus samples ($20 per sample, which covers shipping it to you), freight and import costs
How to keep the first run safe
- Keep it to one or two colours per style, so each colour reaches the minimum
- Use stock fabric and stock colours; custom dyeing brings in the mill's higher minimum
- Approve the proto, fit and pre-production samples in writing
- Pay the 70% balance only once the lot has passed inspection
- Plan the launch date backwards from ex-factory, transit and customs
Questions
When should I stop using print-on-demand?
When the same designs keep selling and the per-piece printing cost eats your margin, or when customers want a better fit and a heavier fabric than a blank offers.
How small can a first production run be?
50 pieces per style, per colour, on stock fabric. Two styles in two colours each is 200 pieces.
What does a first production run cost?
Two styles, two colours each, at the minimum: about $1,580 FOB for 200 pieces, plus samples, freight and import costs.
Do I need a tech pack?
It gives the most accurate price. If you do not have one yet, send a reference garment, or say so in your enquiry and we will send you what a tech pack needs to contain.
