Mid-season, mid-squad
Adding to a kit you already own
3 minute read
A player joins in October. A jersey is lost on an away trip. A second team is added and nobody budgeted for it. Reorders are not an exception to how a season goes; they are part of it, and they are much easier when the first order anticipated them.
What we keep, and what that saves you
We hold the approved artwork, the colour references, the pattern and grading used for your run, and the roster sheet as it was signed off. A reorder is therefore a production slot rather than a new project — no mockup round, no artwork discussion, no approval meeting.
What we cannot hold is the dye lot. A garment produced in February and one produced in October come from two runs, and while they will match to the reference, they are not literally identical cloth. Under floodlights nobody will tell; laid flat on a table in daylight, somebody eventually will.
That single fact is the argument for ordering spares with the original run rather than later, and it is worth putting in the same conversation as the roster — the approach set out in our guide to sizing a squad before an order goes in.
What a reorder involves
- Artwork
- Already approved — nothing to redo
- Lead time
- Shorter than a first order, because only production remains
- Minimum
- Lower than a first order for existing designs, and stated when you ask
- Colour
- Matched to the original reference; a new dye run, not the original one
- Names and numbers
- Added from the same font and layout as the original sheet
What we keep, and what it saves you
A reorder is a production slot rather than a new project because these five things already exist.
- Approved artwork
- The exact files that produced your kit, in the state you signed off. No mockup round, no revisions, no approval meeting.
- Colour references
- The Pantone or physical reference the run was matched to, so a later garment goes to the same target.
- Pattern and grading
- The block and the size grade built for your squad — this is why a reorder fits like the original rather than like a different maker’s medium.
- The roster sheet
- Names, numbers, sizes as signed off, so adding one player does not mean rebuilding a spreadsheet.
- Decoration setup
- Screens, stitch files or panel layouts, depending on the method. This is the expensive step in several of them and it is already paid for.
The one thing we cannot keep
The dye lot. Cloth dyed in February and cloth dyed in October are two runs, and while both go to the same reference, they are not literally the same material. Under floodlights nobody will tell; laid flat on a table in daylight, somebody eventually will.
That is not a defect and no manufacturer can promise otherwise — it is simply what happens when polyester is dyed on two occasions. It is also the entire argument for ordering spares with the original run rather than when you need them.
The arithmetic is uncomfortable but simple: two or three spare jerseys in your commonest sizes cost a fraction of the same garments as a single-piece reorder in October, and they come from the cloth the rest of the squad is wearing. It is the cheapest insurance in a kit budget and the line most often cut from a quote.
For a program that knows it will grow mid-season — a club with a rolling intake, a school taking transfers — that spare allowance should be part of the specification rather than an afterthought, in the same way sizes are settled before the design in our guide to sizing a squad quickly.
What changes a reorder into a new order
Four things that mean starting again rather than repeating.
A design change, however small
A new sponsor, a moved crest, a different collar. It is a new mockup and a new approval — worth doing at the start of a season rather than halfway through.
A discontinued fabric
The one thing that can make a later run genuinely different. If you are an active customer we tell you before it happens rather than after.
A gap of several years
We keep artwork indefinitely for active customers, but ask us to confirm before you plan around a file from four seasons ago.
A different supplier’s original
If the first kit was not ours, send a physical garment rather than a photograph. We can match cloth in the hand; we cannot match a screen.
Follow-up questions
How long do you keep artwork on file?
Indefinitely for active customers. If it has been several years, ask us to confirm before you plan around it.
Can we reorder just one jersey?
Usually yes for an existing sublimated design. The per-unit cost is high, which is what makes ordering spares up front the better decision.
What if we want to change the design slightly?
Then it is a new mockup and a new approval, not a reorder. Small changes are still worth making at the start of a season rather than mid-way through.
Do you tell us when a fabric is being discontinued?
If you are an active customer with that fabric on file, yes. It is the one thing that can make a later reorder genuinely different from the original.
How long do you keep our artwork?
Indefinitely for active customers. If it has been several years, ask us to confirm before you plan around it.
Can we reorder a single jersey?
Usually, for an existing sublimated design. The per-unit cost is high, which is exactly what makes ordering spares up front the better decision.
Will a reorder match the original?
To the same colour reference, closely. It will be a different dye run, which under floodlights is invisible and on a table in daylight eventually is not.
What if we want to change the design slightly?
Then it is a new mockup and a new approval rather than a reorder. Small changes are worth making at the start of a season rather than mid-way through.
Do you warn us if a fabric is being discontinued?
If you are an active customer with that fabric on file, yes. It is the one thing that can make a later reorder genuinely different rather than merely a different lot.
How many spares should we order with the first run?
Two or three in the commonest sizes for game kit, and considerably more for practice gear. It is the cheapest line in the quote and the one most often cut.