Decoration method against product type — 286 combinations

What this half of the matrix is for

The matrix carries two grids. One pairs each product type with the sector it fits and is listed under type x industry. This one runs the other axis: it pairs each decoration method with the product types that method actually works on. Read it from the method side when the question is not what to give but how to mark it, and the answer is a method whose limits are already known.

Every entry names one method and one product type and gives the reason the pairing holds. A screen print needs a flat panel and a light substrate. A DTF transfer needs a printable area and sits on top of the fabric rather than into it. An embroidery thread has a minimum stitch width, so fine detail on a coarse knit is not available at any price. Where a combination does not work, the entry says so and names the condition that would have to change.

Order quantity, lead time and price

Prices on these pages are quoted in euro excluding VAT, and a business customer in Spain receives a 21% VAT invoice issued through FACe/SII. A single figure on a matrix page is a starting rate for the simplest version of the product with one-colour decoration, not a quotation. The unit rate moves with quantity, with the number of colours, and with how much setup the artwork requires.

Minimum order quantity is the number that decides most programmes. Entry points typically run from 25 to 50 pieces for a single-colour screen print on a light garment, 50 to 100 for DTF and for embroidery, and higher where the method has to open its own production line. A pilot run below the minimum is possible at a higher unit cost, and it is worth doing once on the product type you are least sure about rather than across the whole range.

Lead time is quoted in working days from the approval of the artwork, not from the order. Standard production is 5 to 8 working days for a method that runs on an existing line, and 10 to 15 where the order has to open a new setup. Rush production in 48 to 72 hours carries a surcharge of 20 to 30% and needs artwork that is final on the first proof.

When it pays off, and when it does not

This half of the matrix pays off when the range is broad and the decoration is decided once. A company running the same programme across ten product types wants one decoration standard, one artwork file and one approval, and this is the list that shows which products can carry it.

It does not pay off when every item is a one-off. When the product changes every time and the decoration changes with it, a per-item decision is faster than reading 286 entries. The type x industry half of the matrix is the better tool in that case, because it starts from the situation rather than from the technique.

method x type (286 pages)

Alphabetical by method, then by product type. Every entry opens the page that sets out the pairing, its conditions, its price band and its lead time.

Tell us what the programme has to do

Send the quantity, the product, the decoration, the delivery city and the date you need it. We reply with a written proposal and the lead time that applies to your order.