Design & proofing services

What the design service covers

Design and proofing services is the workstream that turns the buyer's brand book into production-ready artwork. The supplier's design lead runs the artwork cleanup, the Pantone matching, the decoration technique selection and the physical sample sign-off. The supplier issues a digital proof and a physical sample for the buyer's approval at the sample stage. The supplier retains the approved artwork for the legal retention window.

The brief captures the brand book, the logo files, the typography, the colour palette, the decoration technique preference and the deadline. The supplier runs a brand-book review at the brief stage and identifies any gaps — missing logo files, missing colour references, missing typography files, missing decoration technique notes. The supplier closes the gaps with the buyer's brand lead before the artwork cleanup begins.

Artwork cleanup covers the vectorisation of the logo (if the buyer supplies a raster logo), the simplification of the colour palette to a Pantone Coated or Pantone-Uncoated reference, the alignment of the typography to the brand book and the preparation of the artwork for the decoration technique. The supplier uses Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign for the artwork preparation. The supplier holds an Adobe Creative Cloud enterprise licence.

Pantone matching

Pantone Coated / Uncoated matching is the standard colour reference for Czech and pan-EU B2B merch. The supplier holds a Pantone library with the full Pantone Coated (C) and Pantone Uncoated (U) ranges. The supplier matches the buyer's brand colour to the closest Pantone reference and issues the Pantone reference on the artwork specification. The supplier holds a Delta-E tolerance of ≤ 2.5 on cotton via reactive dye and ≤ 3.0 on polyester via sublimation.

CMYK workflows with ICC FOGRA 39 profiles are used for Czech print runs. FOGRA 39 is the standard ICC profile for coated paper in the Czech Republic and Germany. The supplier holds the FOGRA 39 profile in the artwork preparation and print systems. The supplier issues a print proof with the FOGRA 39 profile applied for the buyer's approval at the sample stage.

RGB workflows with sRGB IEC 61966-2.1 are used for digital-only artwork (for screen-printed apparel with a complex gradient or a photographic element). The supplier holds the sRGB profile in the artwork preparation system. The supplier issues a screen proof with the sRGB profile applied for the buyer's approval at the sample stage.

Decoration technique selection

Decoration technique selection depends on the substrate, the artwork complexity, the volume and the budget envelope. Screen print, DTF, embroidery, sublimation, pad print, laser engraving, debossing and foil stamping are the standard decoration techniques. The supplier's design lead recommends the decoration technique at the brief stage based on the substrate, the artwork complexity, the volume and the budget.

Screen printing — best for cotton, polyester and cotton-poly blends with a flat-colour artwork. Pantone Coated matching is standard. AQL 1.0-2.5 inspection. Volume threshold: 100+ units per SKU for cost efficiency. Production lead time: 10-15 working days.

Embroidery — best for polo shirts, hoodies, caps and bags with a logo or text artwork. Pantone Coated matching via Madeira Polyneon thread. AQL 1.0-2.5 inspection. Volume threshold: 50+ units per SKU. Production lead time: 7-12 working days.

DTF (Direct-to-Film) — best for small-batch apparel with a complex or photographic artwork. CMYK with white underbase. AQL 1.0-2.5 inspection. Volume threshold: 25+ units per SKU. Production lead time: 5-10 working days.

Sublimation — best for polymer-coated items (mugs, drinkware, mouse pads) and polyester apparel with an all-over print artwork. CMYK with the dye-sublimation colour profile. Volume threshold: 50+ units per SKU. Production lead time: 7-12 working days.

Pad printing — best for hard goods (pens, USB sticks, keychains) with a logo or text artwork. Pantone Coated matching. AQL 1.0-2.5 inspection. Volume threshold: 100+ units per SKU. Production lead time: 10-15 working days.

Laser engraving — best for hard goods (metal, glass, wood, leather) with a logo or text artwork. The artwork is etched into the substrate, not printed on top of it. Volume threshold: 25+ units per SKU. Production lead time: 5-10 working days.

Debossing and foil stamping — best for leather goods, premium paper goods and packaging. The artwork is pressed into the substrate (debossing) or applied with a metallic foil (foil stamping). Volume threshold: 50+ units per SKU. Production lead time: 10-15 working days.

Physical sample sign-off

Physical sample sign-off is the buyer's approval of the decoration technique, the Pantone matching and the substrate. The supplier produces a physical sample at the sample stage and ships the sample to the buyer for approval. The supplier holds a target resolution window of 7-10 working days from the brief to the sample approval. The supplier produces the sample at the supplier's Prague head office with the supplier's in-house sample production facility.

The sample sign-off is documented in the sample sign-off record with the buyer's brand lead's signature. The supplier retains the sample sign-off record for the legal retention window. The supplier uses the sample sign-off record as the reference for the production batch. Any deviation from the sample sign-off record is flagged on the production AQL inspection and reported to the buyer's brand lead.

Sample pricing follows a separate cadence. Catalogue samples are dispatched free of charge on buyer-side requests for up to three samples per programme. Custom samples (with buyer logo, custom Pantone match or custom packaging) are charged at the per-unit sample price with a refund against the first production order. Sample lead time is 5-10 working days from artwork approval. Sample shipping is by PPL or Zásilkovna with a 24-48 hour domestic window.

Czech and EU regulatory context

Czech and EU regulatory context is a core part of the design workstream. OEKO-TEX Standard 100 (class I or II) on skin-contact textiles. GOTS certification for organic cotton. GRS for recycled polyester with minimum 20% recycled content. FSC on paper and packaging. REACH SVHC declaration on chemicals with no SVHC above 0.1% w/w. RoHS on electronics. Pantone Coated / Uncoated matching. CMYK with ICC FOGRA 39 profiles for Czech print runs.

GDPR compliance follows EU Regulation 2016/679 and Czech Personal Data Protection Act 110/2019 Coll. The buyer supplies the artwork and the brand book to the supplier for the artwork cleanup. The supplier signs a confidentiality agreement with the buyer before any artwork is shared. The supplier retains the artwork for the legal retention window and signs a destruction certificate with the buyer at the end of the framework agreement.

The supplier holds a copyright-respect policy on the artwork cleanup. The supplier does not reproduce copyrighted artwork without the buyer's authorisation. The supplier signs a copyright-respect declaration with the buyer at the framework agreement. The supplier retains a copy of the buyer's authorisation for any third-party artwork (for example, a licenced character or a licensed sports league logo).

Logistics & distribution

Sample shipping is by PPL or Zásilkovna with a 24-48 hour domestic window. International sample shipping is by DHL or FedEx with a 48-72 hour window to Bratislava, Vienna, Berlin and Warsaw. The supplier holds daily carrier windows with each contracted carrier from the supplier's Prague head office. The supplier retains a sample shipping record with the carrier reference and the date.

Artwork storage is on the supplier's cloud-based artwork management system (AMS). The AMS holds the vectorised artwork, the Pantone references, the ICC profiles, the decoration technique notes, the sample sign-off records and the production references. The AMS is integrated with the supplier's ERP for invoicing and with the supplier's WMS for production. The AMS is GDPR-compliant and processes the artwork data only on documented instructions.

The supplier holds a 7-year retention window for the artwork and the sample sign-off records. The supplier signs a destruction certificate with the buyer at the end of the framework agreement. The destruction certificate covers the artwork, the Pantone references, the ICC profiles and the sample sign-off records.

Pricing and MOQ

Design and proofing services are priced per artwork hour with a clear scope at the brief stage. Tier 1 (1-4 artwork hours per programme) is priced at the standard per-hour rate. Tier 2 (5-19 artwork hours per programme) earns a 5% volume discount. Tier 3 (20+ artwork hours per programme) earns a 10% volume discount and includes a free Pantone library access for the buyer's brand lead.

Sample pricing follows a separate cadence. Catalogue samples are dispatched free of charge on buyer-side requests for up to three samples per programme. Custom samples (with buyer logo, custom Pantone match or custom packaging) are charged at the per-unit sample price with a refund against the first production order.

Production MOQ depends on the decoration technique and the product — 25 units for engraved glassware and laser-engraved drinkware, 50 units for embroidered apparel, 100 units for screen-printed apparel, 250 units for custom-mixed stationery items. The supplier does not run discount codes or promo codes on production MOQ; volume discounts are negotiated at the framework level.

Roles & responsibilities

The supplier-side team is built around three named owners — design lead, artwork specialist and brand consultant. The design lead owns the Pantone matching, the artwork cleanup, the decoration technique selection and the sample sign-off. The artwork specialist owns the vectorisation, the colour simplification and the production reference preparation. The brand consultant owns the brand-book review, the brand-alignment workshop and the framework agreement.

The buyer-side team usually has three named owners — brand lead, communications lead and procurement lead. The brand lead owns the brand book, the logo files, the typography and the colour palette. The communications lead owns the artwork approval and the sample sign-off. The procurement lead owns the framework agreement, the unit price and the dispatch window.

Case studies

Škoda Auto — Pantone matching for the new-employee onboarding programme across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Austria. The supplier matched the Škoda Auto brand colour to the closest Pantone Coated reference and issued the Pantone reference on the artwork specification. The supplier produced a physical sample with the Pantone matching for the buyer's approval at the sample stage. The supplier produced the production batch with the Pantone matching across the four destinations.

ČEZ — brand-book alignment for the partner recognition programme across the Czech Republic. The supplier reviewed the ČEZ brand book, identified the gaps (missing logo files, missing colour references) and closed the gaps with the buyer's brand lead. The supplier ran the artwork cleanup and the decoration technique selection. The supplier produced the production batch with the brand-aligned artwork.

Kofola — decoration technique selection for the summer brand campaign across the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The supplier selected the DTF technique for the small-batch apparel with a complex artwork. The supplier produced the physical sample with the DTF application for the buyer's approval at the sample stage. The supplier produced the production batch with the DTF application across the two destinations.

Pilsner Urquell — premium gift set design with debossing and foil stamping. The supplier selected the debossing technique for the leather goods and the foil stamping technique for the premium paper goods. The supplier produced the physical sample with the debossing and the foil stamping for the buyer's approval at the sample stage. The supplier produced the production batch with the debossing and the foil stamping.

Brand-book review & alignment

Brand-book review is the workstream that validates the buyer's brand book before the artwork cleanup. The supplier's brand consultant reviews the brand book against the buyer's brand book reference and identifies any gaps — missing logo files, missing colour references, missing typography files, missing decoration technique notes, missing size and scale references, missing context (for example, where the logo is used and where it must not be used). The supplier closes the gaps with the buyer's brand lead before the artwork cleanup begins.

Brand alignment is the workstream that aligns the artwork to the brand book. The supplier's design lead runs the artwork cleanup, the colour palette simplification, the typography alignment and the decoration technique selection. The supplier issues the artwork specification with the Pantone reference, the decoration technique, the substrate specification and the sample reference. The buyer signs off on the artwork specification before the artwork cleanup is finalised.

The supplier holds a brand-alignment workshop with the buyer's brand lead, communications lead and procurement lead at the brief stage. The workshop runs for 2-3 hours and covers the brand-book review, the artwork specification and the decoration technique selection. The workshop is in Czech or English at the buyer's preference. The supplier issues the workshop minutes within five business days of the workshop.

Artwork cleanup workflow

Artwork cleanup workflow covers the vectorisation of the logo (if the buyer supplies a raster logo), the simplification of the colour palette to a Pantone Coated or Pantone Uncoated reference, the alignment of the typography to the brand book and the preparation of the artwork for the decoration technique. The supplier uses Adobe Illustrator for the vectorisation, Adobe Photoshop for the raster cleanup, Adobe InDesign for the layout preparation and Adobe Acrobat for the proof preparation.

The artwork cleanup is documented in the artwork specification with the Pantone reference, the decoration technique, the substrate specification, the sample reference and the production reference. The artwork specification is shared with the buyer's brand lead for approval at the sample stage. The supplier retains the artwork specification for the legal retention window.

The artwork cleanup is a recurring workstream — the supplier re-runs the artwork cleanup for each new product, each new decoration technique and each new brand-book revision. The supplier holds a version-controlled artwork library on the supplier's artwork management system (AMS). The AMS retains the artwork versions, the Pantone references, the ICC profiles, the decoration technique notes, the sample sign-off records and the production references.

Artwork management system

The supplier operates a cloud-based artwork management system (AMS) that holds the version-controlled artwork library. The AMS exposes a buyer-side portal that the buyer can use to view the artwork, download the artwork files, request a new artwork version and review the artwork history. The AMS is integrated with the supplier's ERP for invoicing, with the supplier's WMS for production and with the supplier's brand consultant for brand-book reviews.

The AMS holds the artwork with a version number, a creation date, a modification date, a brand lead approval date and a sample sign-off date. The AMS supports the artwork review workflow — the brand lead reviews the artwork in the AMS, comments on the artwork and approves the artwork with a digital signature. The AMS records the approval in the artwork audit trail.

The AMS is GDPR-compliant and processes the artwork data only on documented instructions. The supplier signs a data processing agreement with the buyer before any artwork is uploaded to the AMS. The supplier retains the artwork for the legal retention window and signs a destruction certificate with the buyer at the end of the framework agreement.

Production reference preparation

Production reference preparation is the workstream that turns the artwork specification into a production-ready reference for the supplier's production team. The production reference covers the Pantone reference, the decoration technique, the substrate specification, the screen count or thread count, the colour sequence and the curing or fixation parameters. The supplier's artwork specialist prepares the production reference from the artwork specification.

The production reference is shared with the supplier's production team at the production kick-off. The production kick-off is a meeting between the supplier's artwork specialist, the supplier's production lead and the supplier's quality-control inspector. The kick-off covers the artwork specification, the production reference, the AQL inspection standard and the dispatch window. The kick-off typically runs for 1-2 hours.

The production reference is retained for the legal retention window. Any deviation from the production reference during the production cycle is flagged on the AQL inspection and reported to the buyer's brand lead. The supplier does not run discount codes or promo codes on the production reference; the production reference is included in the per-unit production price.

Compliance and certificates

OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certificate (class I or II) on skin-contact textiles. GOTS certification for organic cotton. GRS for recycled polyester with minimum 20% recycled content. FSC on paper and packaging. REACH SVHC declaration on chemicals. RoHS on electronics. Pantone Coated / Uncoated matching. CMYK with ICC FOGRA 39 profiles. Adobe Creative Cloud enterprise licence. Pantone library access.

GDPR compliance under EU Regulation 2016/679 and Czech Personal Data Protection Act 110/2019 Coll. Copyright-respect compliance under Czech Act 121/2000 Coll. (the Czech Copyright Act) and EU Directive 2001/29/EC. The supplier signs a copyright-respect declaration with the buyer at the framework agreement and retains a copy of the buyer's authorisation for any third-party artwork.