merch_mockup_production v1.0.0

name: "merch_mockup_production" description: "Produce product and merch mockups that match the real item: print files that pass print-on-demand specs, garment and product reference shots, honest labelling of mockup images, and a sample-first check before a drop goes live. Use when preparing a print-on-demand drop, exporting print files for tees, hoodies, posters, mugs, all-over print or embroidery, building listing mockups, checking a file before upload, or deciding whether a product is ready to sell."

Merch Mockup Production

Purpose

Get a merch drop from artwork to a live listing without the three failures that cause most returns: a print file that fails provider specs, a mockup that promises more than the real product delivers, and a drop launched before anyone held the physical item. This skill is store-neutral. It works for any print-on-demand provider and any storefront, with per-product spec sheets, a runnable preflight checker, and worked drop plans.

Workflow

1. Lock the product list first. Name each product, blank, colour range, print method (DTG, all-over print, sublimation, or embroidery), and provider before touching files. Specs follow the product and method, never the other way round.
2. Build print files to the spec sheet. Open references/spec-sheets.md and export each file to the sheet for its product type: format, transparency, print size in inches, target DPI, and sRGB IEC61966-2.1 colour. Work from the provider template for that exact product and delete the guide layers before export.
3. Run the preflight checker on every file. python3 scripts/preflight.py <file> --profile <profile> with profiles such as dtg-tee, poster-18x24, mug-wrap, aop-tee, blanket-large, sticker-3x3, and embroidery-source. Run python3 scripts/preflight.py --list-profiles for the full list, or pass --width-in and --height-in with --min-dpi and --target-dpi for a product with no profile. Fix every FAIL. Write down a decision for every WARN. No file uploads with an open FAIL.
4. Build mockups from the checked files only. Use the provider mockup generator or a template set matched to the exact blank and colour. Export a gallery per product: straight product shot, lifestyle or room shot where it helps scale, one close detail, and the provider size chart. Check print size and placement in the mockup against the file, because generators scale art differently across blank colours.
5. Label mockups honestly. Apply the labelling rules in the Operating Rules to every listing, image set, and ad that uses a rendered image. Write the labels during mockup work, not at publish time.
6. Order and inspect samples. Follow references/sample-check.md. One sample per product type, provider, and print method is the minimum before that product type goes live. Inspect placement, size, colour in daylight, detail, transparency errors, build quality, and for apparel the wash test. Photograph the sample for the listing.
7. Fix, version, and re-check. Any change the sample forces gets a new file version, never an overwrite. Re-run preflight on changed files. A product type that fails the sample check with no file fix gets dropped, not listed.
8. Build the listing and do the phone check. Sample photos lead where the marketplace rewards real photos. Mockups cover unsampled variants and the listing says so. Set processing times from what the sample order actually took. Open the finished listing on a phone and read it as a buyer before calling it live. For full timed plans, follow references/drop-plan.md.

Output Contract

• Print file set: one file per product and placement, named with product, placement, and version, each with its preflight result recorded as pass or the WARN decisions written out.
• Spec record: per product, the sheet used, the print size in inches, target and floor DPI, format, and colour profile.
• Mockup gallery: per product, the exported image set with the mockup or sample-photo status of each image known and label text written for the listing.
• Sample record: the completed record block from references/sample-check.md per sampled product type, with a pass, fix, or kill verdict.
• Listing pack: title inputs, real dimensions, processing time taken from the sample order, production partner disclosure where the marketplace requires it, alt text per image, and the mockup label placed next to the images it describes.
• Drop status: a short list of which products are cleared to go live, which wait on a sample or a fix, and which were killed, with one line of reason each.

Operating Rules

1. Pixel math decides resolution, not the DPI stamp alone. Required pixels = print inches x DPI. An 18 x 24 inch poster at 300 DPI needs 5400 x 7200 pixels.
2. Provider floors that this skill treats as the shared baseline: DTG and all-over print 150 DPI minimum with 300 DPI as the working target, paper and canvas 300 DPI, mugs and phone cases 300 DPI, large fabric prints 120 to 150 DPI accepted. When a product page states a tighter spec, the tighter spec wins.
3. DTG files are PNG with a real transparent background. JPG cannot carry transparency and prints its background as a box. Semi-transparent art prints badly on DTG; use solid colour or halftone.
4. Colour work happens in sRGB IEC61966-2.1, designed inside the CMYK range. Printers convert on their side and out-of-range colours shift, neons most of all. Only a physical sample proves a colour.
5. All-over print designs cover 100 percent of the template and bleed, keep important elements inside the safe area, and survive a placement shift. Printify states shifts up to 0.5 inch; Printful warns sublimation can shift up to 2 inches and front to back alignment cannot be guaranteed.
6. Embroidery is a separate discipline: bold shapes, lines at least 0.05 inch (1.3 mm) thick, text at least 0.25 inch high, few solid colours, no gradients. Trust the digitisation preview over the mockup, and always sample.
7. Honest labelling, plain version: any image that is a render rather than a photograph of the physical item gets described as a digital mockup in the listing text, placed close to the images, in plain words a buyer cannot miss. Phrases that work: "Digital mockup. The photos below show the real printed sample." when sample photos exist, or "Digital mockup of the finished product." when they do not yet. Never present a render as a photograph, never add props or contents the buyer does not receive, and never show scale with a room or model shot without real dimensions stated next to it.
8. Marketplace rules sit on top of honest labelling. On Etsy, a stock or mockup image is allowed when a production partner prints your original design onto a base item such as a tee or mug; a unique item a partner manufactures needs a real photo of the finished item; a personalised listing must lead with a finished customised example, not blank product or placeholder text. Disclose production partners on the listing where the marketplace requires it.
9. The FTC standard behind rule 7: a disclosure that keeps an ad from being deceptive must be clear and conspicuous and as close as possible to the claim it qualifies, on every device. A label buried below a long description or behind a link does not meet it. If a platform cannot show the label clearly, do not run the image there.
10. Sample-first is a gate, not advice. No product type goes live unsampled. Sampling one per design is waste; sampling one per product type, provider, and print method is the standard.
11. Never overwrite a print file version. A returned batch must trace back to the exact file that produced it.
12. Listing images and print files are separate assets. A listing photo never becomes a print file and a print file never becomes the listing photo.
13. Verify provider numbers at the source before a drop. Product pages and help centres change specs; the sheets in references/spec-sheets.md are dated by the research in the run notes and are a floor, not a substitute for the template on the product page.