Custom Camouflage Strike-Off Approval for Hunting Apparel

By Sialkot Sample Masters Editorial Team

A camouflage print can look approved on a screen, then arrive in bulk with the pattern scaled differently, the greens reading warmer under store lighting, or the pockets cutting through a motif that looked balanced on the flat cloth. A documented camouflage strike-off approval gives you a chance to catch those changes before cutting. It gives a US brand a physical, documented reference for what the print is supposed to look like before cutting begins.

What a Camouflage Strike-Off Approval Actually Covers

A strike-off is a small physical print of your artwork on the intended base cloth, made to show how the pattern, colors and hand will look once printed. For camouflage, it is the first point at which the brand can judge the pattern as a real object rather than as pixels.

Start With Artwork Rights and Files

Before anyone prints anything, settle who owns and may use the artwork.

• Confirm reproduction rights, manufacturer permissions and any licensor sign-off before printing. Keep the approved artwork revision with the sample record.

Then pin down the files. Ask for the layered or separated artwork, the stated repeat unit (width, height, and any half-drop or offset), the intended physical scale of the print, and a named color reference for each color in the pattern. A flattened image with no repeat information leaves the factory guessing at scale and seam behavior, and guesses are what you end up approving.

Scale and Repeat Control

Camouflage depends on the size of its shapes relative to the wearer. A pattern printed 10 percent larger or smaller than intended is not just a cosmetic change; it alters the character of the design.

Check on the strike-off:

1. Measured repeat: measure the repeat on the printed cloth and record it against the artwork's stated dimension. Note that fabric can relax or shift after printing and finishing, so measure on the finished strike-off, not the wet print.
2. Repeat consistency across the width: confirm the repeat does not drift from one selvedge to the other.
3. Motif size on the garment: hold the strike-off against a pattern-piece template to judge how large the shapes will appear on a sleeve or chest panel.
4. Print direction: mark the lengthwise fabric direction on the swatch and state whether the artwork has a top and bottom. Many camouflage designs have an implied "up" through branch or leaf orientation.

Direction, Seam Alignment and Pocket Placement Versus Deliberate Nonmatching

Decide early, and write down, whether the garment is meant to match across seams or not. Both are legitimate choices, but they carry different cutting costs and different approval criteria.

Matched placement means the pattern is meant to continue across a seam, a front placket, or onto a pocket. It requires pattern pieces designed with the repeat in mind, marker planning that accounts for fabric used to align motifs, and a clear definition of which seams are critical.

Deliberate nonmatching means the garment is cut efficiently and the pattern is allowed to break at seams. This is common in camouflage because the busy design hides discontinuities. If this is the intent, say so in the technical package, so a reviewer does not later flag a mismatch as a defect.

Check on assembled samples: pattern direction on every panel, pocket and flap placement against the spec, and whether any single motif lands awkwardly, such as a high-contrast shape cut in half at a zipper.

Substrate, Colorway and Lot Controls

A print is an interaction between ink and cloth. The same artwork on a different fabric will not look the same.

• Substrate: the strike-off should be made on the fabric you intend to use in bulk, identified by construction, fiber content and finish. A strike-off on a similar but different cloth is only a rough indication.
• Colorway: approve a representative physical strike-off for each intended colorway. Do not extrapolate approval from one to another.
• Lot control: specify that bulk fabric lots be identified, kept distinct, and compared against the approved strike-off. Ask how lots are tracked through printing, finishing and cutting, so that garments cut from one lot are not mixed with another within a single garment.
• Finishing: note any treatments applied after printing, such as a specified water-repellent finish, because they can change appearance and hand. Confirm what was applied to the strike-off versus what will be applied to bulk.

For fabric considerations specific to performance outerwear, see our technical fabric guidance.

Physical Evaluation Under Agreed Lights

Visual judgment is only as reliable as the lighting and procedure behind it. AATCC EP9 is the AATCC evaluation procedure for visual assessment of color difference of textiles, and it is a sound basis for structuring how reviewers look at samples. It describes a method; it does not tell you whether a given camouflage strike-off is acceptable.

Practical steps for a buyer-factory evaluation:

• Agree the light source in writing. Name the illuminant(s) both parties will use, for example a daylight-simulating source and one further source relevant to where the garment will be seen. Both sides should view under the same conditions.
• Control the surroundings. Neutral, non-reflective surroundings and consistent viewing geometry reduce arguments caused by the room rather than the cloth.
• Compare the physical reference to the sample side by side, in the same orientation, rather than from memory.
• Record the reviewer, date, light source and outcome, and keep the signed reference with its sample.

Metamerism, Gloss and Nap

Two colors can match under one light and diverge under another. This is metamerism, and it is a real concern for camouflage, which is often worn outdoors in varied light but evaluated indoors. Viewing the strike-off under more than one agreed light source is the simplest way to reveal a problem. If the brand has a specific concern, such as how the greens read in shade versus open sun, say so in the brief.

Gloss and nap also change perceived color. A matte print and a slightly lustrous one can look like different colors even when the pigments are the same. Napped or brushed fabrics can look lighter or darker depending on the direction the surface is viewed from. When approving, hold the swatch in the same pile direction as it will sit on the garment, and record that direction.

Measuring Color Without Overclaiming

ASTM D2244 covers the calculation of color differences from instrumentally measured color coordinates. It is a useful tool, but it needs to be used with care on camouflage.

A single average across a camouflage print can conceal differences among its colors. A measurement aperture may also span more than one fine feature.

A more useful approach:

1. Identify representative control patches: areas of the print large enough to measure that are predominantly one color. Mark them on the approved strike-off.
2. Measure each patch separately and record the values against the same patch on later samples or bulk, using the same instrument settings.
3. State the conditions: instrument, illuminant, observer, geometry and number of readings.
4. Treat measurements as support for visual judgment, not a replacement. Numbers can flag drift; the approval decision still belongs to the people looking at the cloth.

Do not adopt a universal numeric tolerance from someone else's program. Any limit should be agreed between you and the factory for your fabric, pattern and end use.

Separating Strike-Off, Assembled Sample and Bulk Retention

These are three different approvals, and treating them as one causes confusion.

Strike-off approval confirms the print on cloth: color, scale, repeat, surface. It does not confirm how the garment will look when cut and sewn.

Assembled sample approval confirms pattern direction, placement, seam and pocket behavior, and the overall appearance on the finished garment. It can reveal problems a flat swatch cannot.

Bulk retention is the practice of keeping signed reference material from the approved stage, and sometimes retained pieces from production lots, so there is something physical to compare against if a question arises later. Agree in advance who holds the references, how long they are kept, and how they are stored away from light and heat.

What to Ask for in Your RFQ

Include the approved artwork and repeat, the material and finish, placement rules, physical colour references, evaluation lighting and approval stages. Identify who may sign off on changes.

Our manufacturing services page outlines how we approach development and sampling for apparel programs.

FAQs

Can one ΔE value approve a whole camouflage pattern?

Not reliably. A multicolor pattern needs patch-by-patch measurement on representative areas, supported by visual evaluation. A single number can hide a shift in one color.

Is a strike-off approval enough to start cutting?

Usually not on its own. It confirms the print on cloth, but pattern direction and placement on the garment are confirmed on the assembled sample. Many programs require both before bulk.

Do AATCC EP9 and ASTM D2244 set acceptance limits?

No. They describe methods for visual assessment and for calculating color differences from measurements. Acceptance limits are agreed between buyer and supplier for the specific program.

Request a quote for custom camouflage apparel

If you are planning a camouflage hunting apparel program and want the strike-off, assembled sample and retention steps defined before development begins, send us your artwork status, repeat files, target fabric and placement intent. Request a quote and our team will review your brief and respond with questions and next steps.