Garment blank batch checklist: receive, hold or release a delivery

What to take away

Treat every delivery as a batch with its own identitysupplier style, color, size and received batch number.
Compare each lot with the approved reference, not with memory of the last order.
Every lot ends in one written outcomerelease, hold or reject, with the reason beside it.
Keep lots physically separate until their equivalence is approved.
A change of supplier, factory, fiber, structure, weight, finish, color, batch, construction, process or care sends the blank back through review.

Treat the lists below as a template, not a finished specification. Every item needs criteria and numerical tolerances set for the actual garment, color and process. A checked box means the named evidence exists; it should never mean "looked fine."

The three outcomes a delivery can have

Every lot ends with a named outcome. Release means the evidence sits inside the approved range. Anything less needs a written disposition, and an unresolved failure carries a hold or rejection rather than moving on to production.

What the checks show	Outcome	What to write down
Identity matches and results sit inside the approved range	Release	Approver, date and revision
Results pass only under a limit	Release with a condition	The limit, beside the approval
Unidentified or mixed lot, or missing labels	Hold	What is missing and who was asked for it
Shade change, dimension drift or altered heat response	Hold until the affected checks pass again	The check that failed and the readings
Failed decoration, or evidence outside the approved range	Reject, or hold with a disposition	The failed sample and its settings, kept in the trial record

Substitutions follow the same rule. A replacement style, color or lot is held until the affected checks pass again, because a blank that is close on paper can behave differently under heat.

Receiving the delivery: identity first

Identity is the first gate because every later result attaches to it. A delivery that cannot be tied to a style, color, size and batch cannot be compared with anything, however good the garments look. Record these details before the cartons are opened for inspection.

Product and Order Identity

Internal project and sample codes assigned
Supplier and purchasing contact recorded
Supplier style number and specification saved
Purchase order, date, carton, batch recorded
Ordered and received quantities reconciled
Substitutions, back orders, split shipments identified
Untouched control retained per configuration

Supplier style number recorded exactly as printed on the order.
Color code recorded beside the supplier color name.
Size shown on the label and on the received sample recorded.
Purchase order number recorded.
Received batch or lot number recorded.
Quantity received counted against the purchase order.
Date received recorded.

Labels come next. Transcribe the labeled fiber names and percentages exactly, capture the country-of-origin statement and the manufacturer or dealer identity as applicable, and photograph the care instructions and warnings.

What a label must carry for graphic shirts is set out in the guide to US apparel labeling rules. Where the label and the order disagree, or the information conflicts, send it back to the supplier for clarification before anything else is tested.

Comparing the lot with the approved reference

Shade can vary within and between cartons, so compare the lot with the approved physical color reference rather than with the supplier's color name alone. Do it under consistent lighting, and record the variation you find.

Supplier color name recorded, not replaced with a generic color.
Units compared under consistent lighting.
Shade tolerance stated, for example a Delta E of 1.0 or less (typical; the buyer sets the final limit).
Shade variation within and between cartons recorded.
Dark and saturated colors flagged for heat and migration trials.
Approved physical color reference retained.

Dimensions come second. Condition the samples under the stated method, define the measurement points, and record the tool, surface, operator and garment layout. Measure the points the approved specification defines, on several units.

State the tolerances in advance, for example ±1/2 in for length and ±1/4 in for width against the approved specification. Keep the individual readings rather than only an average, and quarantine and investigate any outlier.

Lots that are mixed or unidentified are held, not tested. The guide to dye migration and mixed batches covers how those problems show up on the press and in the wash.

What sends a blank back for review

A lot that passes once is approved only for the conditions it was tested under. These changes reopen the approval:

Supplier or factory
Fiber or fabric structure
Fabric weight
Finish or coating
Color or dye batch
Garment construction
Decoration process or settings
Care instruction

The first evaluation of a blank for a new job is a different task, covered in the guide to evaluating a garment blank. The checks here assume that work was done and ask whether the new lot still matches it. How to qualify a blank for print in the first place has its own guide.

Spot-check the new lot on the press and in the wash

A lot that matches on paper still gets a short trial on the actual process, run with the recorded settings of the approved reference. Use the production artwork version and the intended ink or transfer, then inspect the decorated sample for shine, scorch, staining, distortion and color movement.

Actual production artwork version and dimensions used.
Equipment identity and settings recorded.
Actual temperature, time, pressure and cure readings captured where possible.
Length and width change measured before decoration, after process heat and after the proposed care cycle, for example by AATCC TM 135.
Colorfastness method named, for example AATCC TM 61 for laundering.
Failed settings and samples preserved in the trial record.

Seams and hardware are inspected on the actual production equipment. Place the smallest and largest sizes on it, and keep hardware clear of platens, hoops and heat-press contact. The New Mexico State University guide's discussion of interfacings, underlinings, and linings notes mismatched support can restrict a knit's stretch.

For covered U.S. textile apparel, the FTC's Care Labeling Rule text requires manufacturers and importers to provide regular care instructions and to possess a reasonable basis for them before sale. Confirm coverage and obligations for the actual product and market.

Records that close the batch

Acceptance criteria and tolerances are explicit.
Every tested style, color, size and batch is named.
Approved process settings and consumables are frozen.
Conditional limits are written beside the approval.
Decorated reference and untouched control retained when practical.
Approver, date and revision recorded.

The approval covers the decorated garment as a complete product, so the record shows the lot, the process and the care result together. A later lot is then compared with that record rather than with anyone's recollection.

Common questions

Must every checklist item apply to every garment?

No. Mark nonapplicable items with a reason. Do not delete checks merely because the first sample looked safe.

Can two lots of the same style and color be mixed?

Keep them physically separate until equivalence is approved. Mixed lots hide which one caused a shade or dimension problem.

Is the supplier's size chart enough?

No. It is a purchasing reference. Measure received samples using your documented method and compare the results with both supplier and finished-product requirements.

Can the decorator write a different care instruction from the blank label?

Only with an adequate basis and after resolving coverage and responsibility. Test the finished garment, because decoration can change safe care.