A tech pack is the written contract between your idea and the production floor: everything the factory needs to price, sample and build your garment without guessing. A good one gets you an accurate quote in one round. A vague one gets you a cheap-looking price that changes later — after the gaps are discovered.
This guide covers what to include, what factories actually read first, and what to send if you do not have a tech pack at all.
What a complete tech pack contains
There is no single mandatory format — a clear PDF or spreadsheet is fine. What matters is that these elements are present and unambiguous:
- Technical flat drawings — front and back views, with call-outs for details like plackets, pockets and stitch types.
- Measurement chart — every point of measure, per size, with tolerances (e.g. chest ±1 cm). Tolerances are what inspection is later judged against.
- Bill of materials (BOM) — fabric composition and weight, trims, threads, labels, zips and buttons, each with placement.
- Construction notes — seam types, stitch density, hem and neckline finishes, reinforcement points.
- Artwork files — prints, embroidery or label artwork as vector files, with size and placement measurements, not just a mockup.
- Colour standards — Pantone references or physical swatches rather than on-screen colours.
- Packing instructions — folding, polybag, tags, carton assortment.
What the factory reads first
A production team prices risk as much as it prices fabric. The measurement chart and BOM get read first because they drive cost; construction notes get read second because they drive feasibility. If your chart has no tolerances, or your BOM says only “premium cotton”, the quote you receive is a guess — and guesses are always revised upward once reality arrives.
Version your pack (v1, v2…) and date every revision. When changes happen mid-development — they will — a version number prevents the expensive question of which spec the sample followed.
No tech pack yet? Start anyway.
Factories that do genuine product development can work from less. At Dilshad & Sons (Private) Limited, a reference garment you like, clear photos and a short brief — target fabric feel, fit and quantity — are enough to begin. The specification is then documented together during development, so a written reference exists before sampling starts.
What you should never do is skip the specification entirely. If neither side writes it down, the bulk order is being built on memory.
Last updated · Published by Dilshad & Sons (Private) Limited, a garment manufacturer in Faisalabad, Pakistan. Have a question this guide does not cover? Ask it inside an enquiry — it reaches the production team, not a chatbot.