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Buyer's Guide · Production
No vague "6–8 weeks." Here's the day-by-day calendar from deposit to delivery, plus the rush options and holiday windows that actually affect your order.
Standard 500-piece sublimation order, ocean freight to US East Coast. Larger or smaller orders scale proportionally.
PO & deposit
Order confirmed, 30% deposit received
Artwork finalization
Mock-up, color proof, size spec sheet approved
Fabric & trim procurement
Poly or cotton blank sourced, custom labels ordered
Sublimation printing
Design printed on transfer paper, calendar-pressed onto fabric
Cut & sew
Fabric cut to pattern, panels sewn, decorations attached
QC & pressing
Each piece inspected, steamed, folded, bagged
Carton packing
Export cartons packed, marks & labels applied
Export clearance
Customs declaration, container loading at Yiwu port
Pre-shipment sample (optional)
We send a finished sample for your approval before vessel departure
Vessel departure
Ocean freight Yiwu → Long Beach / Hamburg / Sydney
Ocean transit
22–27 days depending on destination
DDP delivery
Customs cleared, last-mile to your warehouse
Standard
35–50 days
PO to door, ocean freight. Production: 12–18 business days. Transit: 22–32 days.
Rush (+20% production)
25–35 days
Production compressed to 7–10 business days. Available for orders under 500 pcs and existing designs.
Air freight
15–22 days
Production 10 days + air transit 5–7 days. Adds $1.20–$2.50 per shirt vs ocean.
⚠ Artwork changes after production start
Each round of revision adds 2-3 days. Approve the mock-up before we go to print.
⚠ Custom fabric (non-stock color or GSM)
Adds 7-12 days for dyeing + testing. Order fabric 3 weeks before design final.
⚠ Holiday windows
Chinese New Year: stop taking orders 3 weeks before, resume 2 weeks after. Plan around it.
⚠ Pantone / spot color match
We can CMYK-match 95% of Pantone colors. True spot color adds $200 setup + 2 days.
⚠ Custom labels or tags
If you supply your own labels, send them 2 weeks before production. We can also source for you.
Standard production is 12-18 business days from artwork approval and deposit receipt. For 1,000+ pieces, allow 18-25 business days. Add 25-35 days for ocean freight to the US/EU. Total door-to-door standard: 35-50 days from PO.
Yes, on most orders. Rush production (7-10 business days) is possible for orders under 500 pieces, with a +20% production surcharge and subject to line capacity. We don't accept rush for new clients or first-time designs — we need a 5-day pre-production sample to dial in colors.
Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) is the big one — typically 10 days off in late January or February. We stop taking new orders about 3 weeks before and resume 2 weeks after. Plan any large order around the holiday with a buffer. Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day (Oct 1) are 3-5 day breaks that don't usually affect lead times.
Yes. For 2,000+ piece orders, we offer staggered shipments at no extra cost. We produce in batches of 500-700 and ship as each batch finishes. Useful for events with multiple dates or for replenishing stock without overloading your warehouse.
Vessel cut-off is typically 3 days before scheduled departure. If we miss the cut-off due to a production delay on our side, we rebook the next available vessel at our cost and refund any demurrage. This has happened fewer than 5 times in the last 12 months.
Every order gets a tracking link: you can see design approval status, fabric in stock, printing progress, cut & sew progress, QC photos, packing photos, and shipment booking — all in real time, updated by the line supervisor.
Tell us your event date or restock deadline. We'll work backward and tell you exactly when the PO needs to land.