602nds Custom Cycling Kit – Part 1

Jun 29, 2010

When 602nds set out to have our own custom cycling kit we has some distinct requirement that needed to be met:

1. Low quantities – We were wanting an initial run of around ten jerseys, bibs and caps.
2. Design flexibility – Although we had a vague idea of the proposed jersey we needed them fully designed for minimal if not free design cost.
3. Quality – There is nothing worse than buying average quality cycling clothing when you spend so long in the saddle. Although possibly a contradiction, we wanted the best quality for the best price.
4. Value for money – Like all of us, we wanted the jerseys to be as cheap as possible whilst still being the best possible quality… long shot?

With these requirements we researched manufacturers to find Champion System being able to meet all of our needs.

Champion System have offices in the USA, Europe and Australia with manufacturing in China. Jerseys are described as being excellent quality with full sublimation printing that ensures the artwork is printed directly into the weave of the fabric, just like the pro jerseys.

Set-up

After getting in contact with Champion System we were provided clear instructions by email on how to proceed in getting the ball rolling.

After providing an idea of what gear we required an invoice was received requiring a deposit payment of 50% of the proposed order. The deposit provides a commitment to Champion System who from this point on provide unlimited free design.

The deposit was paid by electronic funds transfer and confirmation provided the following day by the Australian representative that the funds had been received. An email was promptly sent providing login and password information to access the Customer Control Panel within the Champion Systems website.

Design

Upon entering the Customer Control Panel instructions are provided for uploading graphics and providing a description to the Champion System graphic designers for how the jersey and other pieces of the kit might look.

The Champion System website has a gallery of jersey pictures and templates that can be downloaded for your own purposes of ‘colouring in’ and to come up with your own suggestions which could then be translated to the Champion System designer.

With the initial process only taking a couple of days, the deposit is paid, all ideas, concepts, logos and other graphics uploaded – we wait for a preliminary design proof.