So you want to make your life simple when it comes to creating Tech Packs. You want something that will do the work for you. You want computer software to take away the stress, lack of experience, cost and time of creating Tech Packs…..

Well in this post I’ll explain why Tech Pack software only helps certain people and why you need to be careful about what they promise and what you choose. So let’s look at some of the features that they offer.

Software, or online services, simply format the information you give them and organise it onto sheets. But the important point to note there is “information YOU give”. Most of the software I have seen [and I have been asked to consult on 7 over the years], all format information, but do not provide it themselves.

2 of the software companies I have worked with, provide templates for Tech Packs, so, I suppose, provide a template of information. However even during our consultations, I did point out that this wouldn’t help their users, since any change to the template, could throw out the fit, measurements, shape and even the techniques needed to make their garments.

Since my advice wasn’t what they wanted to hear, apparently my 20 years of fashion industry experience wasn’t good enough and needless to say, they ignored me and carried on selling products to users that don’t work, or mislead them into buying products that doesn’t do what it promises.

COST

Software and online tools are good for collating information and laying it out for you in a more organised way, although I do have an issue with the large amount of pages that they use. Bigger, is not always better when you are moving lots of pages around, from department to department, in a factory.

The software or tools, still only work though, if you have the experience and knowledge to put this information into the software, in the first place. If you do have this information and experience, I think the idea of software or online tools, could be a good one in terms of cost.

The cost of owning a design package like Illustrator® can be expensive and with everything going online and using subscription models these days, it is only going to get worse. In that case I can see the point of someone with the skills and knowledge using a service like this, to save on money.

TIME

Software and online tools won’t however, save you time. You will still need to add all of the information you need, into their system. Upload sketches you have done else ware and adapt any default settings that they have in their software. This means it may in fact, take you longer than doing your own.

Essentially you’re still doing and adding everything you would need to do into the software, that you would have to do if you were creating one yourself, on a spreadsheet or graphics package.

PRIVACY

In my company, confidentiality is really important. My team have it written into their contracts and I extend that confidentiality to every client from the first moment I speak to them, regardless of whether they sign a confidentiality agreement or not. I have special servers that store all of this information off line and I do everything I can to protect the security of my clients work.

I have to admit, I don’t know anything about client security for online tools or software, even in the seven tech companies I worked with. We discussed it of course, but I have no idea how seriously they take it. I do know however that some of them offer free accounts, in return for your Tech Packs being part of an open database. In other words, each Tech Pack can be seen online with a simple search on a web browser and quite often, they are used for promotion and marketing.

For example, in knitwear, there are some yarns that are very common when it comes to retail products. But, if you want to include a lace stitch in your design, then you will need to change the yarn, because the elastic fibres in the yarns, won’t go through knitting machines programmed for lace stitches. Or if you are using a template for a shirt and want to change it to a stretch fabric, then you’ll have to change all of the measurements, otherwise it will be too big, since woven fabrics and stretch fabrics have different properties. Or if you have a coat template and want to adapt it for rainy weather, will you remember to change the metal zips and buttons to plastic ones so that they don’t rust and make sure that it passes the legal regulations, so that it is “fit for purpose” etc etc [ As a side note if you’re interested, there is a blog post called LAW: FIT FOR PURPOSE which explains this]

The reason that these different combinations will never be available through software, is that no one would be able to programme the amount of variations in one lifetime, that the software would actually need, to work properly. Actually, a whole team of people wouldn’t be able to do it. This is why I also advocate that when you have Tech Packs made, you use a specialist in the product or fabric area, that you need.

So if you are looking at something you think will create a Tech Pack for you, then I’m afraid that this little magic pill doesn’t work. Even in my Fashion Services business, we provide product templates for different products, for people to purchase. Each one is tailored per consumer market and fit; provide specific fabric details; machinery information and of course, specific measurements. I also make it really clear who should and more importantly, shouldn’t, use them, as well as what parts you can change. [ If you want more information on this, you can click HERE ]

FINALLY….

We’ve talked about cost, time, privacy, experience and knowledge. I’ve also said why software and online tools don’t actually create Tech Packs, miss selling themselves to customers and if they provide templates, why they can be a dangerous option.

To sum up, essentially, these tools and software, don’t provide you with knowledge and experience, which is exactly the thing that you need to create products.

[wc_fa icon=”cogs” margin_left=”” margin_right=””] Action Steps:

I will of course leave this choice up to you. Maybe they are exactly what you need and want, for your particular situation. But to help you make your decision, I’ll leave you with some important questions you should ask yourself when making your choice.

• Do you have the relevant experience and knowledge to create a proper Retail Standard Tech Pack? Can you add the information you need to?
• Can you alter the default settings where you need to?
• Will it save you time?
• Will it save you money?
• Will your designs be kept private and secure?

P.S

If you think that you might need some help with Tech Packs, then we have a ton of things to help you discover and develop your own Tech Pack skills, or take away all of your stress by getting them done for you.

DEVELOP YOUR OWN SKILLS