Production Process order: Neck labels then printing?

[BRGtshirts]

First, glad to see people still active on this.. Saw the posts a while back and glad to see the community rallying.

Now, maybe a chicken & egg question, but looking for people's thoughts when it comes to order process. Typically, we group decorations/production groups like this. We would follow the list going from top to the bottom in terms or production order. Sound about right and/or comments or other ways of grouping?

Pre-Production:
Neck labels (typically printed but maybe transferred)

Production (in this order):
Standard screen print (front prints, back prints etc.)
Transfers (if multi-dec0
then Embroidery (if a multi-deco job)

Personalization/transfers:
Names/Numbers

Post-production/finishing:
Folding & Bagging
Shipping

[zanegun08]

Where I worked previously it was done like this in your order, however I disagree with this.

In my opinion it should go highest failure rate to lowest failure rate.

So I would go screen printing, in order of hardest to easiest based off the image / garment.

Then I would do transfers, embroidery, and finishing.

What would happen is shirts would be relabeled, hem tags sewn on, front print, sleeve, and then someone would mess up the back print, and all that work prior was a waste.

Of course mistakes can happen in the opposite order, but it's much easier to un-sew and resew a label, or do a cover up neck label if you have to, than replace the whole garment and start over.

So just to reorder yours


Production (in this order):
Standard screen print - From highest failure rate to lowest (front prints, back prints etc.)
Transfers (lower risk) (if multi-dec) / Personalization/transfers / Names/Numbers
or Embroidery (low risk) (if a multi-deco job)

Finishing:
Neck labels (typically printed but maybe transferred)
Sewn Labels (beneficial to not go through the dryer)
Hang Tags
Folding & Bagging / UPC Labels
Shipping


Of course you cannot always do this as sometimes there is capacity somewhere, or production planning doesn't allow.  But in my opinion this is the best practice. 

Also what if you do the neck labels, but the front print changes colors (didn't look good like on the mockup) and it was supposed to match the print, now you are out of luck.

So highest risk to lowest risk is how you should production plan.  I think people's human nature is to do the easy print first to get it out of the way, but it's a flawed mentality as if you have a large mistake on the next one it was a waste of capacity, labor, garments.

One thing that can suckkkkk is you do all your other work and then doing the "easy" print and you get a screen rip on head one and there goes 18 shirts just like that of one size.  Can't production plan for everything!

[balloonguy]

We do not offer all these services so I am no help. I am curious though. Do you print extras? Have it built in to the cost? Charge differently for exact count or have an over/under run policy with customers? I just a couple 100 polos with left and right chest and both sleeves printed. I padded the order by 4 shirts per size just to be sure that if I found a hole or messed the last print up I would not be too upset. I printed all the extras. I gave them to the customer in a separate box as a gift so she could handle the "I need a different size" on her end and not ask me to do any extras.

[BRGtshirts]

Where I worked previously it was done like this in your order, however I disagree with this.

In my opinion it should go highest failure rate to lowest failure rate.

So I would go screen printing, in order of hardest to easiest based off the image / garment.

Then I would do transfers, embroidery, and finishing.

What would happen is shirts would be relabeled, hem tags sewn on, front print, sleeve, and then someone would mess up the back print, and all that work prior was a waste.

Of course mistakes can happen in the opposite order, but it's much easier to un-sew and resew a label, or do a cover up neck label if you have to, than replace the whole garment and start over.

So just to reorder yours


Production (in this order):
Standard screen print - From highest failure rate to lowest (front prints, back prints etc.)
Transfers (lower risk) (if multi-dec) / Personalization/transfers / Names/Numbers
or Embroidery (low risk) (if a multi-deco job)

Finishing:
Neck labels (typically printed but maybe transferred)
Sewn Labels (beneficial to not go through the dryer)
Hang Tags
Folding & Bagging / UPC Labels
Shipping


Of course you cannot always do this as sometimes there is capacity somewhere, or production planning doesn't allow.  But in my opinion this is the best practice. 

Also what if you do the neck labels, but the front print changes colors (didn't look good like on the mockup) and it was supposed to match the print, now you are out of luck.

So highest risk to lowest risk is how you should production plan.  I think people's human nature is to do the easy print first to get it out of the way, but it's a flawed mentality as if you have a large mistake on the next one it was a waste of capacity, labor, garments.

One thing that can suckkkkk is you do all your other work and then doing the "easy" print and you get a screen rip on head one and there goes 18 shirts just like that of one size.  Can't production plan for everything!

That's why I ask the board! Thanks so much. In my mind I was certainly thinking from that hardest to easiest, but really like your reasoning behind the different deco methods. That also removes a 'pre-production' section and lumps it in with 'personalization/finishing',  thus simplifying it.

Most of our neck labels are transfers, but I think that still falls into 'easier' thus done after the main printing.

Again, thanks for the response.   

[BRGtshirts]

We do not offer all these services so I am no help. I am curious though. Do you print extras? Have it built in to the cost? Charge differently for exact count or have an over/under run policy with customers? I just a couple 100 polos with left and right chest and both sleeves printed. I padded the order by 4 shirts per size just to be sure that if I found a hole or messed the last print up I would not be too upset. I printed all the extras. I gave them to the customer in a separate box as a gift so she could handle the "I need a different size" on her end and not ask me to do any extras.

Funny you ask as we're internally revisiting that policy right now. That's not a bad idea to add in additional shirts to the order, it certainly is a lower cost than resetting up. Typically, we like to be under 1.5% which is easy on the larger jobs, harder on the smaller ones (you mess up two shirts on a 70pc and you're approaching 3% error). So trying to factor that in.

[Evo]

I would only add - go from "most involved" to "simple". Some prints can be not very difficult per se, almost routine, but the setup involved can be a time killer. Look at the process and think of it in terms of what would take the most labor to re-do and go from there. And yeah, on multiple processes it's never a bad idea to bake in some extra, simply as a cost-of-goods when calculating the pricing. When all is said and done the extras can be offered to the client for some margin fluff. Win/win.

[CBCB]

If multiple styles are getting the same care labels then it’s literally more work to:

Separate all the shirts into each job. Print the fronts. Print the care labels and separate them all again?

I would rather print all the labels, separate them into jobs, then print the jobs. It’s simply less work overall.

Otherwise you end up sorting them twice. Out of the boxes and again after doing the care labels.

Adding a layer of over-production is the start to any waste. In this case it’s over-processing to avoid defect.

[BRGtshirts]

If multiple styles are getting the same care labels then it’s literally more work to:

Separate all the shirts into each job. Print the fronts. Print the care labels and separate them all again?

I would rather print all the labels, separate them into jobs, then print the jobs. It’s simply less work overall.

Otherwise you end up sorting them twice. Out of the boxes and again after doing the care labels.

Adding a layer of over-production is the start to any waste. In this case it’s over-processing to avoid defect.

Good point. I think if we separated we would not rejoin - meaning if we separate they stay separated through to the end. Thus, in that instance I'm thinking neck labels could go on front or backend without adding of unnecessary additional steps. Because I completely agree, no over-production or over-processing (one I don't think about all that much).