When does the lead time start?
When artwork is approved and the production deposit is received — not when you first make contact, and not when the quote is sent. Those two things are what let work begin: the approved artwork is what we make, and the deposit is what releases the sample and the fabric.
Why it starts there and not earlier
Until artwork is approved, nothing can be digitised, separated or exposed onto a screen, and any size breakdown could still change. Until the deposit is in, fabric is not drawn and the sample is not made. Starting the clock earlier would only mean promising a date we could not control.
It is also why the days between enquiry and confirmation are the ones you own. A brief that arrives with final artwork, a locked size breakdown and a Pantone reference confirms in a day. One that arrives as a rough idea takes as long as the conversation does — which is fine, but it is not lead time.
The sequence, and where the clock sits
Six steps from an idea to a delivered order. The lead time is step five.
You send what you have
Artwork, a reference, a quantity, any date.
We quote
A real per-piece price, usually within 24 hours.
Artwork and specification agreed
Digital mockup approved in writing; sizes, colour and labels settled.
Deposit and sample
The deposit releases the pre-production sample; you approve it or ask for changes.
Production — the lead time
7–10 days straightforward, 10–14 working days involved, from approved sample.
Dispatch
Balance before dispatch; shipping quoted separately by destination.
Related questions
- Does the lead time include the sample?
- No — the sample precedes it. Bulk production begins from the approved sample.
- Does it include shipping?
- No. Shipping is added after dispatch: one to three days in Pakistan, three to seven by courier abroad.
- What if I approve the mockup but pay the deposit later?
- The clock starts on the later of the two. Both are needed before work begins.
- Can I shorten it?
- Send final artwork and a locked size breakdown with the brief, and answer the sample approval quickly — those are the days that stretch.
Where to go next
More questions on ordering
What is the minimum order quantity for custom clothing?
Fifty pieces per design, mixed freely across sizes and stock colours. Medical scrubs start at 100 because of the fabric run. A custom dye…
Can I order fewer than 50 pieces?
Sometimes — it is worth asking rather than assuming. A smaller run can work where the garment is a stock blank, the decoration is simple…
How long does a custom clothing order take?
As fast as 7–10 days on a straightforward run — decorated stock garments, artwork approved, sizes locked. More involved work — cut-and-sew…
Ask us the rest
Send the garment, the quantity and any date you are working to. A real price and a mockup come back, usually within a working day.
Get a quote