Why do I need a tech pack?
A: Efficiency, Quality, Cost and fit. ( Surely you don't need more reasons than that !)
Without knowing why you need a tech pack you might think it's something you can do without... Sure you can send a rough sketch on the back of an old receipt, but if you want the production process to be smooth you need technical packs. Not only do technical packs help to avoid expensive mistakes they also increase your speed to market. The cost of manufacturing errors and delayed samples will have a much greater impact on your budget than if you'd just done it right from the start.
A great technical pack will communicate exactly what you need in a professional and concise way. It will bridge the gap between idea and tangible product. Ideas and vision have got you to this point but product development requires detail. From day one you want your factory to understand your design. Think of your technical pack as an instruction manual. Sending factories a sketch with no instructions is similar to buying a complicated Ikea flat pack with no instructions. Although it's not impossible to figure out, it will take much longer and there might be pieces missing.
Regardless of the country you’re going to produce in your factory will speak fluent "tech pack". The use of appropriate language will ensure that you're on the same page as your manufacturer at every step. Accurate diagrams and labelled measurement points remove any risk of misunderstanding. If you're dealing with a factory over seas it's likely their first language won't be English. Confusing language and no diagrams will likely result in your production timeline rapidly increasing and poor fitting samples. Samples can cost up to 3x their bulk so not only are you adding valuable time here, but money and lots of it! Imagine a collection of 6 styles and each sample costs $30. Getting the fit right with one round of sampling is going to cost $180 but having to sample 3 or 4 times is going to cost you $540 +( This isn't taking into consideration any shipping costs)
Finally that leads us on to fit. Fit is critical for all intimate apparel. For swimwear in particular, 1cm taken or added in the wrong place can mean a potentially embarrassing moment for your customer. Technical packs act like a diary when you're at the sample fitting stages. You can build a history of amendments that hold your manufacturer accountable. You can refer back to this document and the measurements in it, to ensure the fit you want is the fit you get ! Technical packs are a blue print. Without recording measurements how will you repeat or even improve your product as you grow?
I could go on forever explaining how important tech packs are but for now these are the essentials ! I'm always here to grab "virtual coffee" and talk more about all things tech and swim don't be shy reach out.