Custom Products & Garment Catalog Operating Guide

Print Life Software provides a comprehensive custom product management engine that allows print shops to build and maintain their own proprietary catalog of blank garments, headwear, workwear, and promotional items. These custom products live alongside major wholesale distributor catalogs (SanMar, S&S Activewear, AlphaBroder) and are instantly accessible across the Quote Builder, Shop Inventory, Online Merch Stores, and the Customer Portal Design Lab.

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1. Feature Scope & UI Navigation

The custom product catalog allows shops to configure custom apparel blanks, customer-supplied items, non-distributor specialties, and reusable sizing scales:

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                             PRIMARY NAVIGATION PATHS                              │
├──────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┤
│ Custom Products Catalog  │ /products                 │ Suppliers & Inventory Menu │
│ New Product Builder      │ /products/new             │ Products -> + Add Product  │
│ Edit Product Details     │ /products/[id]            │ Products -> Edit Product   │
│ Import Supplier Catalog  │ /products/import          │ Products -> Import Catalog │
│ Design Lab Setup         │ /settings?tab=portal      │ Settings -> Portal Config  │
└──────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────┘

Main Custom Products Page (/products)

Access by expanding Suppliers & Inventory in the left sidebar $\rightarrow$ click Custom Products (/products):

• Product Catalog Table: Displays product thumbnail imagery, brand name, style code, wholesale base cost, active pricing matrix, and portal visibility status.
• Filter & Search Bar: Quickly filter products by brand, category, decoration method, or keyword.

Header & Row Action Controls

• + Add Product (Header Button): Opens the product creation wizard (/products/new) to define a new custom blank garment, colorways, and size tiers.
• Import Supplier Catalog (Header Button): Opens the batch catalog importer (/products/import) to import items from SanMar, S&S Activewear, or AlphaBroder.
• Portal Visibility Switch (Table Toggle): Controls whether the custom item appears in the self-service Customer Portal Design Lab and public online stores.
• Customer Supplied (Toggle inside Quote Builder): Instantly sets blank garment wholesale and retail costs to $0.00 across all sizes, ensuring customers are billed strictly for decoration labor and setup while maintaining accurate job unit counts.

Cross-App "My Products" Live Search Integration

Any custom product, customer-supplied item, or quick item created in the catalog is automatically cached and instantly available under the "My Products" filter in live search drawers across the entire application:

Application Area	Navigation Breadcrumb	Access Method
Quote Builder	Open any quote (/quotes-invoices/[id])	Click line item search $\rightarrow$ select My Products filter
Shop Inventory	Suppliers & Inventory $\rightarrow$ Shop Inventory (/inventory)	Open Live Search panel $\rightarrow$ select My Products
Online Stores	Merch Stores $\rightarrow$ Store Builder (/stores/[id])	Products tab $\rightarrow$ click Add Product $\rightarrow$ select My Products
Customer Portal Design Lab	Settings $\rightarrow$ Customer Portal (/settings?tab=portal)	Design Lab Products tab $\rightarrow$ click Add Product $\rightarrow$ select My Products

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2. Capabilities & Operational Boundaries

The custom product engine powers custom quoting, localized inventory, and customer-facing design labs without requiring external vendor API lookups:

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      CUSTOM PRODUCT CONFIGURATOR                       │
│  • Brand, Manufacturer & Style Taxonomy                                │
│  • Colorways with Hex Swatches & Multi-Angle Flat Images               │
│  • Reusable Size Scales (XS – 6XL) & Base Wholesale Costs              │
└───────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┘
                                    │
                                    ▼
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     "MY PRODUCTS" IN-MEMORY CACHE                      │
│   Instant zero-latency retrieval across all platform quoting tools     │
└───────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┘
                                    │
         ┌──────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┐
         ▼                          ▼                          ▼
┌─────────────────┐        ┌─────────────────┐        ┌─────────────────┐
│  QUOTE BUILDER  │        │ SHOP INVENTORY  │        │  ONLINE STORES  │
│ Custom Garments │        │ Track shelf bin │        │ Spirit wear and │
│ Customer Blanks │        │ Safety reorders │        │ corporate gear  │
└─────────────────┘        └─────────────────┘        └─────────────────┘

Supported Capabilities

• Proprietary Garment Cataloging: Create custom cut-and-sew garments, local distributor blanks, headwear, tote bags, stickers, or specialized hard goods.
• Multi-Colorway Swatches: Define unlimited colorways per product with custom color display names, exact hex color codes for visual rendering, and dedicated flat mockup photos.
• Reusable Sizing Taxonomy: Assign global size profiles (Adult Unisex, Youth, Ladies Fitted, Talls) to standardize sizing across your entire catalog.
• Size-Specific Pricing & Upcharges: Set baseline wholesale costs per product with size-specific upcharge deltas (e.g., standard price for S–XL, $+$2.00$ for 2XL, $+$3.00$ for 3XL).
• Zero-Cost Customer-Supplied Blanks: Toggle any item to "Customer Supplied" to automatically zero out blank garment costs while applying the appropriate decoration pricing matrix.
• Instant "My Products" Search: Access proprietary items instantly in search drawers without waiting for external distributor network calls.
• Customer Portal & Design Lab Publishing: Toggle portal visibility to let clients select your proprietary blanks when designing custom orders online.

Operational Boundaries

• No Automated Distributor Stock Tracking: Custom products are managed internally. Live multi-warehouse stock feeds apply exclusively to connected PromoStandards distributors (SanMar, S&S, AlphaBroder). Physical stock for custom products is tracked in Shop Inventory (/inventory).
• Customer-Supplied Misprint Responsibility: Marking an item as "Customer Supplied" zeroes blank billing costs, but shops should ensure their customer terms outline misprint replacement policies for client-supplied blanks.
• Catalog Deletion Safety: Deleting a custom product archives it from active search pickers but preserves historical line items on existing quotes and invoices.

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3. Step-by-Step SOP Workflows

Workflow 1: Creating a New Custom Blank Product

1. Expand Suppliers & Inventory in the left sidebar and click Custom Products (/products).
2. Click + Add Product in the top-right corner.
3. In the General Details tab:
   • Enter the Product Name (e.g., Heavyweight Streetwear Tee).
   • Enter the Style SKU / Code (e.g., PL-101).
   • Enter a detailed customer-facing description (fabric weight, blend, fit).
   • Upload a primary hero image thumbnail.
4. In the Categories tab:
   • Select or type a new Brand (e.g., Independent Trading Co. or In-House Private Label).
   • Select or type a Style category (e.g., T-Shirts, Hoodies, Headwear).
5. Click "Save & Continue".

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Workflow 2: Configuring Colorways, Hex Swatches & Images

1. From the product editor, navigate to the Colorways & Sizes tab.
2. Click + Add Colorway.
3. Enter the color display name (e.g., Vintage Washed Black).
4. Click the color circle to pick the exact visual Hex Color Code (e.g., #222222) or enter the hex code manually.
5. Upload flat garment images for this specific colorway (Front, Back, and Side angles).
6. Repeat for all available product colors.

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Workflow 3: Assigning Reusable Sizes & Cost Upcharges

1. In the Colorways & Sizes tab, scroll to the Available Sizes selector.
2. Check off the sizes offered for this product (e.g., S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL).
3. Set the Base Wholesale Cost (e.g., $4.50).
4. In the Size Upcharges table, enter additional wholesale costs for extended sizes:
   • 2XL: $+$1.50$ (Wholesale: $6.00)
   • 3XL: $+$2.50$ (Wholesale: $7.00)
5. Select the default Markup Matrix to apply when this product is quoted.
6. Click "Save Product".

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Workflow 4: Quoting Customer-Supplied Garments ($0.00 Blank Cost)

1. Open an active quote or create a new quote in Quotes & Invoices (/quotes-invoices).
2. Click + Add Line Item and open the product search drawer.
3. Select My Products $\rightarrow$ choose a generic customer-supplied template (or select any matching blank style).
4. In the line-item configuration card, locate the Customer Supplied switch and toggle it ON.
5. The wholesale blank cost and retail blank price immediately drop to $0.00 across all entered sizes.
6. The system calculates and quotes the customer exclusively for decoration labor, screen fees, and setup charges while preserving full garment size counts on the shop traveler.

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Workflow 5: Publishing Custom Products to the Customer Portal Design Lab

1. Go to Settings $\rightarrow$ click the Customer Portal tab (/settings?tab=portal).
2. Scroll to the Design Lab Products section.
3. Click + Add Product to Portal.
4. In the search drawer, switch the supplier filter to My Products.
5. Select your custom blank garment.
6. Toggle Visible in Portal to ON.
7. Clients accessing your passwordless Customer Portal (/portal) can now choose this garment when submitting custom artwork through the interactive Design Lab!

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4. Business Logic, Formulas & Rules

Customer-Supplied Garment Pricing Formula

When the Customer Supplied toggle is activated on any quote line item, the blank garment component is set to zero while decoration labor and finishing fees remain active:

$$C_{\text{blank}}(s) = $0.00 \quad \text{and} \quad P_{\text{blank}}(s) = $0.00 \quad \forall s \in \text{Sizes}$$

The total line item price is computed exclusively from decoration labor, print setups, and finishing operations:

$$\text{Line Item Total} = \sum_{s \in \text{Sizes}} Q(s) \times \left( P_{\text{decoration}} + P_{\text{finishing}} \right) + \sum \text{Setup Fees}$$

Where:

• $Q(s)$ is the quantity ordered for size $s$.
• $P_{\text{decoration}}$ is the decoration price per unit derived from the active pricing matrix.
• $P_{\text{finishing}}$ includes folding, polybagging, or custom tagging fees.

Wholesale Cost & Size Upcharge Calculation

For standard shop-purchased custom blanks, extended size upcharges increase the base wholesale cost before retail markup is calculated:

$$C_{\text{wholesale}}(s) = C_{\text{base}} + \Delta_{\text{upcharge}}(s)$$

The retail selling price per garment size is determined by applying the shop's target gross margin $M_{\text{target}}$:

$$P_{\text{retail}}(s) = \frac{C_{\text{wholesale}}(s)}{1 - M_{\text{target}}}$$

Example: If base cost $C_{\text{base}} = $5.00$, target margin $M = 40%$, and 2XL upcharge $\Delta(2\text{XL}) = $2.00$: $$C_{\text{wholesale}}(2\text{XL}) = $5.00 + $2.00 = $7.00$$ $$P_{\text{retail}}(2\text{XL}) = \frac{$7.00}{1 - 0.40} = \frac{$7.00}{0.60} = $11.67$$

"My Products" Query Filtering

Products classified under internal ownership are served directly from the tenant registry without invoking external PromoStandards distributor endpoints:

• Supplier is null, Custom, Customer Supplied, or Quick Item.
• Eliminates external network latency and avoids third-party rate limits.

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5. Troubleshooting & Diagnostic Matrix

Symptom / Question	Root Cause	Exact Remediation Step
Custom product does not appear in the Quote Builder search drawer	The search drawer filter is currently set to an external distributor (e.g. SanMar or S&S).	In the Quote Builder product search drawer, click the supplier dropdown and select My Products.
Extended size upcharge is not reflecting on the quote	The size upcharge field was left blank during colorway/size configuration.	Go to Custom Products (/products) $\rightarrow$ edit the product $\rightarrow$ open Colorways & Sizes and ensure the Size Upcharges table contains the appropriate dollar additions.
Customer-supplied shirt is still billing the client for blanks	The "Customer Supplied" toggle was not activated on the quote line item.	Open the quote in Quotes & Invoices, find the garment line item card, and flip the Customer Supplied switch to ON.
Product images do not render in the Customer Portal Design Lab	Image URL is broken, or flat colorway photos were not uploaded in the product editor.	Edit the custom product under /products, navigate to the Colorways tab, and upload high-resolution PNG flat images for each colorway.
Brand or Style category was misspelled	Category was created with a typo during product entry.	In the product editor under the Categories tab, click the category field, select or type the corrected name, and save the product.

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6. Frequently Asked Questions & Action Prompts

Q: Where do I create and manage our own custom blank garments?

Answer: Expand Suppliers & Inventory in the left sidebar and click Custom Products (/products). Click + Add Product to create custom garments, promotional goods, or customer-supplied blank templates.

[How do I create a custom product?](chat:How do I create a new custom product?)

Q: How do I quote a job where the customer brings their own shirts?

Answer: Add the blank style to your quote as usual, then toggle the Customer Supplied switch to ON inside the line item card. The blank garment cost instantly drops to $0.00, so the customer is only billed for decoration labor and setup while garment counts remain accurate on production sheets!

[Show me how customer supplied pricing works](chat:How does customer supplied garment pricing work?)

Q: How do I find my custom items when building a quote?

Answer: Open any quote in Quotes & Invoices, click + Add Line Item, open the Live Search panel, and choose My Products in the supplier dropdown. All of your custom blanks and customer-supplied templates appear instantly without external API latency.

[Take me to Quotes & Invoices](chat:Show me Quotes and Invoices)

Q: Can my customers order our custom blanks through the Customer Portal Design Lab?

Answer: Yes! Go to Settings $\rightarrow$ Customer Portal (/settings?tab=portal), locate the Design Lab Products section, click + Add Product to Portal, and select your custom product from My Products.

[How do I configure the Customer Portal?](chat:How do I configure products for the Customer Portal Design Lab?)