Jones Design Company LLC

Most custom apparel quotes become disposable work.

The job gets entered once for Screen Print, again for DTF, again for the customer quote, and again for the vendor PO.

The math is not the problem.

The problem is that the information stops being useful every time the order moves to the next step.

We built a free Production Quote Tool around a simpler idea:

Enter the job once. Compare production. Create the Quote or Invoice. Prepare the PO. Keep the complete job for next time.

No account required. Use your pricing. Keep your data with you.

https://gojdc.com/blogs/blog/why-custom-apparel-quoting-creates-so-much-duplicate-work

I could use your help.

A customer called recently with what sounded like a fairly simple problem.

She needed a better way to quote apparel jobs.

Not because she didn’t know her pricing. Not because she didn’t understand the work.

The problem was everything surrounding the calculation.

A customer asks, “How much for 36 shirts?”

So she checks the garment cost. Finds the right pricing sheet. Counts colors and print locations. Quotes it out two different ways: Screen Print and Direct to Film to see what makes more sense. Adds shipping. Checks the margin. Then turns all of that into something presentable for the customer.

If the customer approves it, much of the same information gets entered again to prepare a purchase order for whoever will produce the job.

It works.

But like many processes inside small, growing, and home-based apparel businesses, it works because the owner has learned how to hold together a collection of spreadsheets, calculators, old quotes, pricing sheets, supplier websites, memory, and other disconnected tools.

Her original request was smaller than what we ultimately built.

At first, I thought we were creating a quick calculator to help one customer compare the production cost of Screen Print and Direct to Film.

Then we started following the job through the rest of the process.

The garment cost still matters.

Markup still matters.

Shipping still matters.

The customer needs a Quote.

The supplier needs a purchase order.

Some businesses offer Screen Print. Some use Direct to Film. Some need to compare both. Every shop has its own pricing, vendors, minimums, payment methods, and way of doing business.

Somewhere along the way, I realized this wasn’t really one customer’s problem.

We have more than 17,000 transfer customers. We work with brokers, decorators, home-based businesses, established print shops, and people who started by making shirts for friends and family.

A lot of them are running some version of the same duct-taped process.

And most don’t need—or want—a complicated ERP system.

They just need a better way to quote the whole job.

So that’s what this became.

The Production Quote Tool can:

• Build a complete customer Quote
• Calculate Screen Print production cost
• Calculate Direct to Film production cost
• Compare both production methods when needed
• Show the cost and margin for each option
• Prepare a supplier purchase order
• Include garments, decoration, shipping, tax, and payment information
• Use your company name, logo, pricing, vendors, and business settings

The generated Quote belongs to your business.

Your logo. Your pricing. Your customer.

The tool runs in the browser, can be installed like an app (desktop or mobile), and keeps its settings on your device.

Your quoting tool—and it’s free.

We’re getting ready to put it in the hands of a small group of beta testers, and I’d genuinely like to know whether we got it right.

If you run an apparel business, try using it to quote a real job.

Where does it save you time?

What feels confusing?

What did we miss?

And—most importantly—would you use it again the next time someone asks:

“How much for 36 shirts?”

Try it here:

https://altdtf.com/pages/tools/quote/

I’d appreciate the feedback.

Production Quote Tool Create branded apparel quotes, calculate production costs, and prepare supplier purchase orders for Screen Print, Direct to Film, or both.

Most apparel operations don’t break because of lack of demand.

They break because the production system can’t handle growth.

Rush orders.
Artwork revisions.
Inventory delays.
Shipping cutoffs.
Vendor coordination.
Production bottlenecks.

At some point, scaling stops being about getting more orders…

…and starts becoming an operational systems problem.

We put together a breakdown of why apparel production becomes difficult at scale — and what modern fulfillment and production systems are doing differently.

Read here:
https://gojdc.com/pages/why-apparel-production-breaks-at-scale

Why Apparel Production Breaks at Scale (And Why Most Shops Hit a Wall Before They Realize It) Most apparel operations don’t break because of lack of demand. They break because the production system can’t handle growth. At first, everything feels manageable: orders are organized artwork is easy to track production schedules stay clean...

DTF vs Screen Print vs DTG.

Same goal. Completely different outcomes.

Know the difference before your next order.

https://gojdc.com/blogs/blog/dtf-vs-screen-print-vs-dtg

If you’re running a print shop…

How much time are you losing to:
• long press times
• second presses
• reorders that don’t match
• poly jobs that go sideways

Most DTF works… until you try to scale it.

We built our process for exactly that:
• 6 second press
• instant peel (no second press)
• consistent reorders
• built for production

If you’re trying to move faster, this is worth a look 👇

DTF for Print Shops That Need to Move Faster DTF Transfers for Print Shops: Built for Speed, Consistency, and Scale If you’re running a print shop, you already know — most DTF works… until you try to scale it. If You’re Running a Print Shop, You Already Know the Problems Press time slowing down production Reorders that don’t match Po...

Most DTF fails the moment you try to scale it.

Press times kill throughput
Reorders don’t match
Polyester jobs turn into returns

If you’ve seen it, you know.

Why Most DTF Fails in Production (and How to Avoid It) Why Most DTF Fails in Production (and How to Avoid It) DTF transfers look simple on the surface. Upload artwork, print, press, done. And at small scale, that’s mostly true. But production is where things fall apart. The Problem Isn’t Print Quality — It’s Production Reality Most DTF providers...

70% off DTF Transfers : FLASH SALE
Sale Ends @ 2pm!

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