The Sampling Process: From RFQ to Delivery

Sep 29

A great sample program starts long before the first swatch is cut. For designers, showrooms and sales reps, the sample is often the first time a customer touches your fabric, leather or wallcovering, so every detail matters.

At Acme Sample, we have been helping brands put their materials in front of buyers since 1955, when we started producing textile stack books right here in High Point, North Carolina. Today we handle the entire journey under one roof: sample production, commercial printing, inventory management and fulfillment. Here is a step-by-step look at how a project moves from your first request for a quote (RFQ) to samples arriving at your customer's door.

Step 1: Submit Your Request for Quote (RFQ)

Every project begins with a conversation. The more we know up front, the faster and more accurate your quote will be. A strong RFQ usually covers:

Sample format: swatch cards, memos, chain or ring sets, hanging samples, ring pages, waterfalls or wallcovering samples. Not sure which fits? Just tell us how the samples will be used.
Materials: the type of material (fabric, vinyl, leather, wallcovering) and how many patterns or colorways are in the collection.
Quantities: how many finished samples or sets you need, and whether you expect reorders.
Size and finishing: dimensions, pinked or straight-cut edges, sewn edges, grommets, eyelets or labels.
Printing needs: headers, labels, backprinting, catalogs or brochures that should accompany the samples.
Timing and destination: your target launch or market date, and whether samples ship to one location or many.

Don't worry if you don't have every answer yet. Part of our job is helping you fill in the blanks.

Step 2: Meet Your Dedicated Project Manager

Once your RFQ comes in, it is assigned to a dedicated project manager who stays with your program from start to finish. Your project manager reviews your goals, recommends the sample format and construction that best showcase your material, and flags anything that could affect cost or timing.

From there, you receive a quote built around your actual project, not a generic price list. Having one point of contact means no repeating yourself to different departments and no details lost in hand-offs.

Step 3: Design, Graphics and Proofing

Your samples are a marketing piece as much as a product, so branding has to be right. Our in-house graphics team builds the printed elements of your program, including headers, labels, cards, catalogs and backprinting, and matches colors so everything looks consistent across your collection.

Before anything goes into production, you review and approve proofs. This is the moment to confirm logos, pattern names, colorway numbers, care information and layout. Catching a typo on a proof is easy; catching it on a thousand finished samples is not.

Step 4: Material Intake

Next, your material arrives at our facility. Each roll or hide is received, identified and logged against your project so the right pattern and colorway end up on the right sample.

If you use our inventory management program, your material can stay with us after the run. It is inventoried for easy access, which makes future sample replenishment faster and lets you send cut yardage orders straight from your online portal.

Step 5: Production

This is where your samples take shape. Depending on the format, production can include:

Cutting material to size with pinked or straight edges
Sewing edges or attaching material to printed headers
Mounting swatches on single or multi-panel cards, island cards or die-cut overlay cards
Adding eyelets, grommets and hangers for ring pages and hanging samples
Applying ID labels, or backprinting wallcovering samples
Assembling memos onto beaded chains or rings, or building cascading waterfall displays

Because our commercial printing happens on-site, printed components and sample assembly stay on the same schedule. That means fewer outside vendors, fewer shipments between facilities and fewer chances for delays.

Step 6: Quality Check

Throughout production, samples are checked against your approved proofs and project specifications. We look at the details your customers will notice: clean cuts, secure attachment, correct labeling, accurate color and consistent presentation from the first sample to the last. Your project manager keeps you updated so there are no surprises.

Step 7: Kitting, Delivery and Fulfillment

Finished samples can ship in bulk to your office or warehouse, but many clients take advantage of our kitting and fulfillment services instead. We can pair samples with catalogs, brochures and other marketing pieces, assemble complete kits, and ship them directly to showrooms, sales reps, designers or end customers.

For ongoing programs, our third-party logistics services handle seasonal launches and routine orders through an integrated online portal. Your team stays focused on designing great products while we take care of packing, shipping and replenishment. Keeping production and fulfillment in one place also eliminates extra transportation delays and handling charges.

Ready to Start Your Sample Program?

From RFQ to delivery, Acme Sample gives you one partner, one project manager and one streamlined process, all made in the USA. Whether you are launching a new collection or refreshing an existing sample program, we'd love to help you make it stand out.

Olivia Marx