Mock-Up

 

 

 

 

Before you print your customer’s order, you should send them a digital mock up for final approval. It shows the garment color, print placement, print size (approximately), and ink colors.. Do this to make sure everyone is on the same page. Once they approve it, then print it. This can save you money and headaches should something be discovered to be wrong with the design after it is printed. This also saves you time and the customer money because an actual sample is not printed. Printed samples are extremely cost prohibitive. Providing a mock-up to your customer also helps your company look more professional.

It is best to show the design on the garment that will be used when the design is printed. You can obtain an image for the garment by contacting the manufacturer that makes the garment, a wholesaler that sells the garment or there are many companies online that sell garment templates to be used in a design program. A Google search will show you many options.  It’s best to get an image that you can change the color of the garment. 

Is the Mock-Up to scale?

The artwork proof that you receive is not to scale, and there are a few reasons for this. One of the main reasons is simply because the printer does not know what size t-shirt the digital t-shirt represents. It is impossible to specify what shirt the t-shirt template represents, because the printer may have no idea what sizes the customer will be ordering and in nearly all cases the customer orders a range of different sizes and shirt styles. Another reason why the proof may not be to scale is because different t-shirt styles have different cuts and the proof may not be anatomically correct or exact. For instance a shirt like American Apparel is more of a fashion fit style tee, whereas a shirt like the Gildan Heavyweight is a unisex tee with a more boxy cut to it. Some printers use generic templates when they are not sure what garment the customer will pick. Most proofs include the exact specs of the design as it will look on the screen for the print. So when the customer see 11’’ wide specified on the proof that means that the design will be printed exactly 11’’ wide on the actual t-shirts that they receive. The customer can hold up a ruler and verify that. The main thing to keep in mind is that 11’’ wide will look different on different shirts. If the design is printed on a youth shirt that will take up most of the shirt width. On the other hand if it is on a plus size adult shirt there will be much more blank shirt left over.

Just remember that while the design itself will be printed exactly the same on all shirts, the way it looks in relation to the shirt will vary depending on the shirt size. For this reason if the customer have a wide range of shirts it is important to figure out a size that will be okay for all the shirts.

Until next month

Cora Kromer
cora@qdigitizing.com