How to Optimize Development with the Help of a Tech Pack Company
Time to read: 16 minutes
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Working with a tech pack company can play a key role in keeping up with giant retailers, copycat competitors, and consumer demand.
Why? When looking at the end-to-end product cycle for any apparel company, it’s typically the planning, design, and product development phase that takes the longest. This stage provides an excellent opportunity to cut costs through technology and automation.
By using tech packs to present your design vision to your manufacturer, you not only work more efficiently and deliver your products to stores in a shorter amount of time, but you can do it while increasing quality.
Let’s look more closely at the benefits of outsourcing tech pack design services, available tech pack companies for hire, and what to expect from working with them!
The Pros of Working with an Experienced Tech Pack Company
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Here are the most important wins for you when outsourcing to clothing tech pack designers:
1. Save Precious Time
By working with a tech pack company, you shorten each phase of the fashion cycle which can typically last between 12 and 30 weeks:
Planning, design, and development – a detailed tech pack is essential in this stage to minimize misunderstandings between you and your factory, as well as make adjustments easily and quickly;
The sell-in phase – an apparel company can showcase their collection to retailers remotely through digital prototypes;
Production and delivery – a tech pack aids the quality control process and informs the factory and various other suppliers about the required materials and quantities.
2. Cut Costs in Production
Have your design assembled in the most cost-effective way, while using the most appropriate materials from your price point. Small efficiencies in a design can go a long way when multiplied in mass production.
In addition, making fewer errors in apparel development means lower sampling costs. Also, you don’t waste precious resources (less fabric is wasted on samples).
If you want to see some example figures, read this article on saving costs with tech packs — essentially, you can save thousands of dollars in production, sampling, and more.
3. Develop a Good Relationship with Your Factory
Tech packs are the bridge between design and production — even more so when the parties involved come from different backgrounds.
If you collaborate with a factory overseas, keep in mind that you will work with people of different cultures, who may also speak different languages. You’ll be asking your factory to do a lot of unpaid guesswork if you don’t provide clear visual specifications. Don’t expect them to have your orders prioritized if you don’t respect their time!
4. Learn from the Tech Pack Designer’s Expertise
By hiring a professional, you receive technical guidance along the way; you have help choosing the right materials and assembling them.
The designer also helps you make more fit-for-purpose products — isn’t this a defining argument for any sustainable business?
What’s more, you do not only get the documentation for your current design, but you also deepen your knowledge about the craft and gain experience for your next ones.
5. Ensure You End Up with High-Quality Tech Packs for Clothing Manufacture
A good tech pack designer is up-to-date on the latest trends and requirements in the apparel industry: fabric characteristics, suppliers, software updates, conventions in technical drawings, sizing, and more.
Avoid the need to spend endless time on research — call a tech pack company instead!
6. Boost Productivity Even If You’re Already a Tech Pack Expert
Designers usually believe that hiring a tech pack company is reserved for new or independent brands with little experience in production. However, those who have been on the market for years or whose second language is Adobe Illustrator can also have a lot to gain.
Consider the 80/20 Rule applied to business: for any given event, 80% of the consequences come from 20% of the causes. Essentially, you can run your business more effectively by outsourcing the most time-consuming tasks — founders and designers shouldn’t be spending hours creating measurement spec sheets in Microsoft Excel.
7. Invest in Your Brand’s Intellectual Property
Any professional design service will have a “work made for hire” (WFH) agreement with you, meaning that your brand legally owns the copyright of the design.
You want to ensure that you or your company owns the product and is the registered design creator to prevent copyright infringement. If you don’t own the rights to your design, there won’t be anything you can do when someone else knocks it off!
How to Choose the Best Tech Pack Design Service If You Want Results
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In this section, we will highlight the key features to consider when looking for a suitable tech pack company to work with. Later, we will provide you with a broader picture of the main tech pack services that are available.
Top Tips for Finding the Best Tech Pack Provider for Your Brand
While the benefits listed above hold true when outsourcing tech packs, it's a good idea to go the extra mile and consider the following criteria as well:
✔ Pick tech pack design services with a good ROI.
At Tech Packs Co, with our extensive experience in design and manufacturing, we can make your product more commercial to get you more sales. We can also create a more cost-effective and feasible design.
✔ Look for a tech pack designer that can save you time.
Do not settle for a company that needs a lot of clarifications from you throughout the process — after all, the point is not to do it yourself.
With your input data, we can deliver your clothing tech pack in approximately four weeks!
✔ Choose a company that works closely with your team.
We are a small, close-knit team of three. We start each project with a ‘kick-off call’ and keep the client updated throughout the process.
✔ Find tech pack design services with expertise.
Our team has made over 1000 tech packs for startups and renowned brands all over the globe. And it has real-world experience with woven and knitted apparel, accessories, bags, home textiles, and more!
✔ Choose a service that has positive reviews.
Look at the testimonials page and company logos to check where their clients have launched their collections and sold their products.
✔ Find a tech pack design service that shows you what they can do.
If they don’t display their portfolio online, they should be able to provide you with samples at your request.
Our example tech packs have been downloaded more than 10,000 times, and our templates are used all over the industry by many professionals.
✔ Find a company that can work with you remotely.
Remote work is proven to be more efficient than working in a regular office space.
At Tech Packs Co, we have a unique remote process to maximize efficiency and get results fast for our customers!
Clothing Tech Pack Designers: Comparison chart
A tech pack company isn’t the only option when starting to work on your tech packs for clothing development.
Below is a chart showing who you can collaborate with for your tech pack design. We have also included some information on taking the DIY route to offer a complete picture of this topic.
Smooth and Speedy Apparel Development with Tech Packs Co
From fast development to creating a superior end product, the benefits of outsourcing an excellent tech pack designer are invaluable.
Here is what you can expect when starting a collaboration with Tech Packs Co:
The first step of apparel development is receiving a reference sample from the clothing brand we work with. So, you would need to find a similar product to the one you want to create or send us a custom-made prototype.
The second step is the onboarding consultation, where we strategize the design together. We are also happy to advise on materials, components, and construction!
The third step is up to us: we turn the rough initial idea into a solid design concept via a professional tech pack.
That’s it!
Book a free consultation and let us streamline your clothing line development!
Author Bio
Tech Packs Co founder Belinda is a technical fashion designer from London, now based in Los Angeles. Belinda had her first job in fashion at the age of 15, fixing swatch cards together. Since then, Belinda has been designing & creating tech packs for more than a decade... for household name brands and independent designers alike.