What happens if I do not approve the sample?

Placement — the logo a little higher, the back print a little larger. Colour — a thread one shade warmer, a print matched more tightly to the Pantone. Fit — a body length, a sleeve. Details — a drawcord colour, a label position. Most samples are approved first time or after one round; a second round is normal for cut-and-sew garments with a new pattern, where the fit is being settled.

Tell us what is wrong, specifically — a photograph with a note on it is ideal. We change the sample and send it again, photographed or couriered. Where the change needs a new setup — a new screen because the artwork changed, a new digitising file because the size changed — we say so and quote it; a change to placement or thread colour costs nothing. The lead time for bulk starts from the approved sample, so each round moves the delivery date by the time it takes.

Occasionally a brief asks for something the fabric or the method cannot do — text too small to embroider, a photograph in a two-colour screen print, a colour that will not discharge. We say so at mockup stage if we can see it coming, and at sample stage if not, and propose the version that will work. If none does, we would rather stop there than take the order into bulk.