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Custom Fabric Printing: Artwork, Repeat Size, Strike-Off and Pantone Matching
What you need to supply for a custom fabric print — artwork format, repeat size, colour count, strike-off approval, Pantone matching and realistic minimums.
Custom printing is where most new brands lose time, usually because the first conversation is missing three or four pieces of information. This is what we need, why we need it, and what happens at each stage.
What to send with your enquiry
- The artwork — vector or high-resolution raster. For digital printing, 300 DPI at final print size.
- Repeat size — the tile dimension. If you have not set one, say so; we will advise.
- Fabric base — or the garment, and we will suggest bases.
- Quantities — sampling and bulk are quoted separately.
- Colour references — Pantone codes where colour is critical.
Repeat size is the decision people underestimate
The repeat is the tile that steps across the cloth. It determines whether your print reads as a texture or a statement, and it directly affects wastage in the cutting marker. A large repeat on a small garment means more waste; a small repeat on a maxi dress can look busy and cheap.
It also determines whether the print is directional. A one-way motif or a vertical stripe forces one-way cutting and adds 15–20% to fabric consumption — worth knowing before you commit the artwork, not after.
Strike-off: approve on cloth, never on a screen
A strike-off is a short trial print of your design on the actual base. It is the only honest way to see how colour, detail and scale behave on that cloth — a fine line that looks crisp on a monitor can close up on a textured base, and colours shift between fabrics.
Approve the strike-off physically before bulk. Every hour spent here is cheaper than a rejected bulk run.
Pantone matching and lab dips
For solid colours we work to a supplied Pantone code and produce a lab dip — a small dyed swatch — for your physical approval.
Two honest limitations. First, no screen shows colour accurately enough to approve from; approval must be physical. Second, the same Pantone reads slightly differently across compositions, because polyester and viscose take dye differently. If colour must match across two bases in one garment, tell us upfront so we can manage it deliberately.
Minimums, plainly
- Catalogue designs, catalogue bases — from 1 metre. Any of our designs, printed to order.
- Recolouring a catalogue design to your Pantone — no design charge above 100 metres.
- A base not listed online — 100 metres minimum, because it is produced specially for you.
- Your own artwork — depends on base and method; send the brief and we will confirm.
A realistic sequence
- Send artwork, base, quantities and colour references
- We confirm feasibility, repeat, method and price
- Strike-off or lab dip produced
- You approve physically, or we adjust and repeat
- Bulk production, dispatched within a week of confirmation from Surat
Browse our print collections or the full directory if you would rather start from an existing design and recolour it — that is faster and cheaper than developing from scratch.
Need a rate, a sample or a custom development? Message us on WhatsApp with the design code, fabric base, quantity and your city — that is everything we need to quote. Or email info@clothwala.com. See the fabric buying FAQ and the full fabric directory.
