The seven checks
Measure the garment flat and compare to the size chart. Look at the neck rib recovery by stretching it twice. Check the shoulder seams for puckering. Look at the print edge under raking light. Then wash it twice and repeat.
- Chest width and body length against the chart — within ±1cm.
- Neck rib recovery after stretching — does it return?
- Shoulder and side seams for puckering or twist.
- Print position and edge sharpness under raking light.
- Cure: wash twice at 40°C and check for cracking or fading.
- Shrinkage: measure again after the wash.
- Colour: compare against the approved swatch, not against memory.
Why the wash test is the whole point
Almost every decoration failure — cracking, fading, colour migration, corrugation — appears after washing, not before. A sample that is only looked at verifies nothing about durability.
Two washes at 40°C catch most of it. A washing machine is a more honest inspector than a buyer.
What a sample costs and how it is credited
A sample is charged at roughly the single-piece cost plus decoration plus freight — typically $40–90 delivered depending on destination and method. It is not free, and a supplier who sends free custom samples is charging for them somewhere else.
We credit the sample cost against the bulk order, so if the order proceeds the sample is effectively free.
Approving without a sample
Buying 100 pieces of a stock blank is a reasonable no-sample decision: the garment is already made and photographed, and the risk is a colour you have not seen.
Buying a production run without a sample is not reasonable. Grading, dye and decoration all change between the first and the thousandth piece, and you will not see it until the container arrives.