The tech pack: how to brief a manufacturer properly

The single biggest cause of production disputes is a vague brief. A tech pack fixes that: it is the specification that tells a factory exactly what to make, so 'right' means the same thing to both sides. When a shipment argument reaches us from elsewhere, the root cause is almost always the same — something both parties assumed and neither wrote down.

This guide covers what belongs in a tech pack, section by section, the mistakes that cause the most expensive misunderstandings, and what to do if you do not have one yet — because you can absolutely start without one, as long as you know what the factory will need before bulk.

What a tech pack is — and is not

A tech pack captures measurements, materials, construction, trims, colours and tolerances in one document. It removes guesswork — and the arguments that follow guesswork. It is not a mood board, a lookbook or a single flat sketch; those communicate intent, while the tech pack communicates instructions. A good one lets a factory that has never spoken to you cost the garment accurately and build a first sample that is recognisably your product.

The sections, in the order factories read them

Points of measure deserve special respect

The POM table is the contract inside the contract. Each measurement — chest at 2.5 cm below armhole, body length from HPS, sleeve length from shoulder point — gets a number and a tolerance, usually ±1 to ±1.5 cm on major points. When a fit sample arrives, you measure it against this table; when bulk arrives, the inspector does the same. Without it, 'the fit feels off' is an opinion. With it, it is a finding.

The mistakes that cost the most

• No tolerances — every measurement needs one; fabric is not sheet metal, and a spec without tolerances is unenforceable in both directions.
• Screen colours instead of standards — specify Pantone TCX (textile) references and approve physical lab dips. RGB values are not a dye recipe.
• Fabric named by feel — 'premium heavyweight cotton' is not a spec. Write composition, construction, finished GSM with tolerance, and reference an approved swatch.
• Missing revision control — every change gets a new revision number and date, and old versions are withdrawn. Factories sew what is in front of them.
• No care-label content — fibre composition and care instructions are legal requirements in most import markets, and retailers audit them.
• Overloading the flat — cramming construction notes onto one drawing until nothing is readable. Use callouts and detail views.

“A tech pack is cheap insurance. The cost of writing one is a few days. The cost of not writing one is a production run that matches nobody's expectations — and no document to say whose fault that is.”

Starting without one

Plenty of good programmes start from a reference garment and a conversation. A capable manufacturer can reverse-engineer a sample you like, draft the pattern, and build the tech pack with you through the sampling process — proto to fit to pre-production — so that by bulk, the full spec exists. What matters is not who writes the document but that it exists before bulk fabric is cut. At Belle Vouz we build tech packs for buyers routinely; what we need to start is a reference sample or clear sketches, your target fit, and your size range.

Tools of the trade

Adobe Illustrator remains the standard for technical flats; purpose-built platforms like Techpacker and Backbone structure the BOM and POM data; a disciplined spreadsheet does the same job for small ranges. The tool matters far less than the completeness — factories receive beautiful, useless tech packs and ugly, complete ones every week, and they will take the ugly complete one every time.

Send us whatever you have — a full tech pack, a sketch, or a garment you want to improve — and we will tell you what is missing, build the document with you, and quote against it properly.