Why We Built Our Own Printing and Garment Factory (and What 3,000 Brands Taught Us)

Our response is based upon understanding what the needs of designers and brand builders really are, and also recognising that the traditional POD model was not created to meet these needs. The concept of freedom is simply about eliminating the word ‘no’. Traditional supply chain systems, and many POD service models, create an environment where designers or brand builders constantly receive this message: "You can’t print at these positions", "You can’t combine embroidery with direct-to-garment printing", etc...unless you place an order for 100 pieces.

At PODpartner, the idea of freedom is about three types: Design Freedom, 18 print positions, Jumbo 24x24" printing area, Financial Freedom, no inventory, no upfront costs, only pay when products are sold, and Brand Freedom, you control your tags, your packaging and we don't. The goal is to make the supply chain completely transparent and allow the brand to be the focus of attention. This is the story of why we built our own factory, and what the last five years and over 3,000 international brands have shown us about freedom.

How POD Usually Works
In order to know why PODpartner exists, you have to understand the industry we came from.

A normal print-on-demand (POD) business has a set-up of a print shop, partners with a blank clothing vendor such as Gildan or Bella+Canvas, and provides decorating services. This has been a successful way to start a business for several reasons: lower barrier to enter into, faster than a traditional business to get started, less money required to start. For most people starting, this seems perfect.

However, when using this type of setup there are structural limits created by using external blank vendors, you lose control of what types of fabrics are used.

When you limit yourself to four print positions, front, back, and sleeves, coordinating more positions at different facilities becomes almost impossible. If a POD business wants to offer printing or embroidery, they cannot do so on the same shirt because coordinating these two processes requires seamless communication between two separate locations. Because of this process, production times for POD businesses are typically 7-10 days because they spend 7-10 days waiting for their external supplier to deliver the blanks and they spend the remaining time trying to manage the transition between the two parties involved.

If a POD business wants to sell a shirt with a new design, they will be limited to the styles and cuts provided by their external blank vendors. "We can't make that shirt" is often followed by "This is just how POD businesses operate". Designers have to work within the constraints that they were not given a choice to create.

Why We Built Different
We did not 'decide' to have a factory built. We were born from one.

The founding team of PODpartner has a long history of working in garment manufacturing. The big conversation in 2019 wasn't about whether or not to create a factory, it was "How will we use our manufacturing DNA to disrupt the POD market".

We analysed existing POD companies and saw that they were simply technology based middlemen who had no control over the fabric. We realised that our experience in manufacturing would be an asset. We determined that we would take our traditional manufacturing capabilities and transform them into a flexible on-demand process. We didn't need to figure out how to make clothing because we were already experts in this field, we just needed to learn how to make clothing faster and better for the digital creator.

The first year was difficult. The biggest issue we faced was what I refer to as the "clash of industrial rhythms". Our factory operated under Bulk Logic that produces thousands of hoodies. However, our new pod business was an On-Demand Logic which meant that we were handling single, unique orders instantaneously.

Bridging these two worlds required us to completely re-design and re-engineer our legacy systems so that our manufacturing operations could accurately predict and inventory the correct premium blanks so that our print side never had to wait. Aligning the massive capacity of our manufacturing operations, with real time and fragmented demands of consumers, was a massive operational  shift.

We spent five years learning how to do this.

But every time we broke through a barrier, it validated the effort. The first 48 hour turn around. The first print plus embroidery combo garment. The first time we were able to produce custom branded products per order with no minimums. The response from customers told us everything: "Wait...you can really do this?"

What Vertical Integration Unlocks
Here's what becomes possible when you control every step of production.

48-Hour Production
We are not rushing our team, it's just taking away friction from the process. Traditionally, 80% of a garment’s lifecycle is spent waiting to be picked, shipped to a printer and for a file check. We have removed this ‘dead time’ through vertical integration and digital intelligence.

Our warehouse is literally the print shop, so there is zero transit time. The proprietary software manages the workflow of all orders once they arrive in the system, assigning the most effective production line for each item, based on fabric type and print method, at the moment of receiving an order. This means if a Tik Tok trend blows up on a Friday, PODpartner sellers can be ready by Monday.

18 Print Positions + Dual-Process Capability
Where others offer four print positions, PODpartner has 18. In addition to the traditional front, back and sleeves, you can also print on the inside label, pocket details, cuff, shoulder, hems and more. With PODpartner designers will be able to design from all angles.

A real-world example is when a streetwear company approached us to create a complex ‘multi-media’ design on a heavyweight charcoal colored hoodie. They wanted to place a vivid, photorealistic portrait of a person on the back of the hoodie while having a high density 3-D embroidered logo and printed pattern blend into one in the same area, highlighting a three-dimensional sense of sophistication.

We were able to accomplish their project easily because our industrial grade, direct-to-garment printers are set up to provide vibrant colors on dark fabric. Additionally, our integrated factory was able to add the embroidery to the hoodie at the same time that we did the printing so the customer got a product that resembled high-end fashion rather than an online print-on-demand product.

Why can't others provide this type of service? This is due to a compatibility problem between ‘wet’ and ‘physical’ processes. If you embroider first then raised thread can damage DTG print head. At PODpartner we use what we call the ‘Hybrid Workflow’ proprietary sequencing and curing calibration to treat the entire garment as a single piece of art that requires unified manufacturing.

Premium Embroidery & Deep Customisation
We will take files in a professional format called DST, not just JPG images, and we allow you to select from up to 15 different colors at once with each order while our competitors only allow you to choose six.

Zero-Inventory Branding
The thing that really surprised us is that we assumed that the top problem for sellers would be the quality of the printed product. However, it turned out that being able to have their own custom hang tag was the emotional turning point for many of them. Sellers said things such as "When my customer is using my custom hang tag, and not some generic one, that makes me think I am actually running a business." That small piece of cardboard created an enormous amount of both trust and value.

Hang tags are produced and packaged per order, with no minimums required and no pre-procurement costs, which results in savings of $650 or more. This has literally levelled the playing field, as previously, you had to spend $5,000 + to purchase inventory, print hang tags, and store boxes. Now, a college student, a stay-at-home mom, or a community leader can start a brand new line of products, all while having $0 spent upfront. The qualification  shifted from ‘Capital’ to ‘Creativity’.

Free Shopify Customisation Tools
End customers can customise items at no cost with our free customising layers which enables them to give an emotional value to an item while the item is being produced. The reason customers are willing to wait longer for a product to be shipped is because they have been a part of creating something rather than wait only to receive a generic commodity. Sellers benefit by increasing conversion rates and reducing the “where is my order?” anxieties associated with this type of transaction when providing customers with a customised experience. Our competitors require an additional fee for this service. We do them for free because a successful seller builds a successful platform.

Quality Control & Honest Reality
We utilise a ‘Gatekeeper’ process for quality control. Inspecting the fabric prior to cutting, blank checks prior to printing, human and AI analysis of all products after production, and a final check prior to packaging. We do not simply perform a quality check at the end of each process, but instead perform quality checks throughout each transformation step.

What can fail? The reason is that since we specialise in heavyweight fabrics with textured surfaces than cheap tees. It takes specific pre-treatment of rugged textures to get sharp quality prints. On occasion we will reject a print and have to reprint. In addition, if an order is delayed because of carriers or other reasons, we have a delay compensation policy where we will absorb the costs to ensure that our user's reputation is protected.

The Competitive Reality
Traditional POD providers aren't doing anything wrong, they're operating efficiently within their model. But that model creates inherent constraints. Here's how the differences break down:

Vertical integration turns constraints into engineering problems rather than logistics impossibilities.

Innovation Continues
Jumbo DTG is now available on the market with the largest print area in the industry at 24" x 24" compared to the 12" x 16" standard. Rising streetwear labels told us competitors' small rectangular prints looked like ‘stickers’ floating in the middle of shirts. Jumbo DTG prints full garment images, in all colours possible without cracking. The products are no longer ‘cheap merchandise’, but ‘high end fashion’.

By the end of December, HTV (Heat Transfer Vinyl) will arrive which gives you the opportunity to add texture and finishes to your product lines that cannot be achieved with DTG printing. Different hand-feel and aesthetic options for POD. Currently, no other POD suppliers support Jumbo DTG and HTV services, only we exclusively offer both. Our competitors cannot support the same capabilities because these features require new technical support which they do not have.

Our innovation philosophy is very simple; we listen to what our 3,000 brands we sell to what they actually need and then we ask ourselves how do we make it happen. We are not bound by what our suppliers offer. If our sellers need something, we build it.

Freedom Delivered
It’s not about what your product will include. It is about freedom. Freedom from being limited by the supply chain. Freedom for true fashion brand entrepreneurs to create their own authentic products without having to make sacrifices. Freedom to be able to react to opportunity within hours instead of weeks. Able to truly liberate design flexibility, allowing designers’ imagination to become reality.

When barriers fall, fashion entrepreneurship can be open to anyone who has an idea. You do not require capital for inventory or relationships with manufacturers. You do not have to settle for ‘it is not possible’ when you ask if something is available.

The model has been proven through five years of operation. Over 3,000 international brands use PODpartner. We are a new, but innovative driven team that continiously develops R&D and provides extensive resources with our manufacturing partners. The combination of manufacturing roots and continuous innovation of technology gives us the ability to actually solve the industries biggest problems.

We have learned the greatest lesson from our brands that it is not just to produce a better print. It is to give them a sense that they are a real company. If you have an idea, we will provide the factory.

If you've ever been told "sorry, we can't do that," maybe it's time to work with someone who owns the factory.

Ready to explore what's possible?
Explore capabilities at PODpartner.com

Professional embroidery: podpartner.com/embroidery

Free Shopify tools: podpartner.com/customisation

Try Jumbo DTG for your next collection:https://www.podpartner.com/jumbo-dtg-apparel