What goes wrong when tech packs live in files
A tech pack in Illustrator and a bill of materials in Excel start out fine. The trouble shows up when the same measurement has to be typed into both and then again into the next style.
A large apparel group told us its packs live in Illustrator files and Excel bills of materials and shared drives and email. There is no PLM in that setup. The latest file is whichever one someone emailed last.
What happens after the factory sends changes back
When the factory sends a change back someone edits the file by hand and sends a new copy. The next round does the same. After a few rounds the factory may be sewing from a copy nobody can find.
In Artifax there is one pack. Everyone edits that pack. The latest version is the one on the screen.
Files and AI tech pack software side by side
The same jobs land in different places once the pack is one editable file.
| Illustrator and Excel | Artifax | |
|---|---|---|
| Where measurements come from | Typed into each file by hand | Drafted from the design and then edited |
| Changing a spec after a fit round | Edit the file and send a new copy | Edit the pack once and export again |
| Sending to a second factory | Build another file in that factory's layout | Export again in that vendor's template |
| Which version is current | Whichever file was emailed last | The pack everyone is looking at |
| Who can edit | Whoever has the file | Anyone working on the style |
What you keep from Illustrator
Designers can keep drawing in Illustrator. Artifax exports an editable PDF that opens there. The drawing stays with the designer. The measurements and the materials live on the pack so they are typed once.
Editable tech packs is where that editing is described.
How teams usually make the move
Most teams start with one category and leave the rest of the archive where it is. They bring the old packs for that category into Artifax and keep the file way running beside it for a season. The factory still receives a pack it can build from.
If the real question is whether you also need a PLM the place to read is do we need a PLM.
What it looks like in Artifax
A pack in Artifax carries the measurements and the construction callouts and the bill of materials. Your technical designer can change any field before the factory sees it. The same style can go out again in a vendor template after a fit comment.
Thousands of tech packs have been made this way. How a pack gets built is on tech pack generation.