Once you have a design concept or trend in mind, you can choose fabrics that communicate these.  Generally, it is the designer’s responsibility to shop for fabrics but our merchandisers also get involved here.. Fabric salespeople can be very helpful so even if you are not an industry professional you will be able to learn a lot on your visits – do not be put off..

Here are some key questions to think about before your trip in order to mentally prepare yourself and be in better negotiating position.

• Material composition for the fabric?
• When do you need the fabric?
• Where will you manufacture?
• How much fabric will you need?
• Which  colours to associate with your brand or designs preferred?
• What weight you are looking for?
• What width you need for the production?
• Technical specs or characteristics required for this fabric?
• What is your budget?

Next step, we must pick up some sample yardage at this stage.   This is an extremely important step in the fabric selection and production process. It is the time for you to see if your item, or items, works in this fabric. For the Sarobag, given there are 2 functions (garment as Sarong / carrying device as a bag) this is quite a critical step.

Sample yardage involves ordering a small amount of yardage, generally 3 to 5 yards / meters.  With this sample you can cut and sew a sample bag. Doing this allows you to see if the fabric works well and hangs well with the styles you had in mind.

At the markets you may also find more complex materials such as Interlining for the construction and other accessories which add to the overall quality of your bag.

ODM China office developed “urban angel wings” replicas for a church conference (Religious promos).   Attendees at the event all received this promotional gift with branding of the conference on it. It comes with a nice gift box as shown.

ODM develop several replicas, especially using polyresin material.  Our Stadium replicas are an ideal promotional item for sports events, professional baseball & soccer clubs, and arenas.

ODM’s designers can customize and design replicas according to your specifications.

They are great for airtight storage of cookies, tea, etc…  The big print area makes for great logo positioning and for this reason a lot of luxury goods such as Perfume and Spirits companies use option this for packaging.

These are the main processes which will take place in a custom designed tin container:

Design

The client will first give us a brief on how they want a product packaged – budget, materials, etc…  Some will already have artwork of their specifically designed tin box shape.  The client might describe the shape and dimensions of the tin box in detail – if visuals are absent our designers will assist in proposing the best shape and logo methods.

Mould Making

The artwork and drawings will be forwarded to our factory in China - additional designs such as logo, slogans,can be sent later once the body sizing is finalised etc…  Machinery in the factories is configured to create tins of the exact dimension for our clients. A period of 20 -25 days may be required to create the mould.

Sample Making

Given sufficient time and upon the client’s request, a sample of the tin box will be produced for clarification purpose. Designs from the client will be incorporated at this stage. Approximately 10 days is required for the sample to be made with full colour artwork.

If the tin box is to house something fragile clients might want to add a blister tray, foam or other lining/padding.

Mass production

After the client has confirmed and agreed on the sample, mass production can take place. Depending on the complexity of the shape and design (and qty. required), the lead time for manufacturing will vary.

Above are the key steps for creation of the tin boxes. Some steps may be shortened according to the client’s specification for the tins. All relevant costs for the process will be stated before the development stages begin.

(All figures in HK$ so divide by approx. 7.76 for US$)

The Patent Application Grant under the Innovation and Technology Fund provides funding support to Hong Kong companies and inventors in their first patent applications so as to help them capitalise and protect their intellectual work.   To further encourage creativity and innovation, they will raise the grant ceiling for each case from $100,000 to $150,000.   The expenditure ceiling in respect of patent applications in R&D projects funded by the Innovation and Technology Fund will also be raised to $150,000 correspondingly.

To encourage business organisations to increase their investment in R&D and strengthen their co-operation with R&D institutions, the Legislative Council approved in January this year a funding of $200 million to set up a “R&D Cash Rebate Scheme”.   They will launch the scheme in April this year.   More to follow….

Create Hong Kong was set up last year to support local creative industries.  Apart from continuing to tap the Mainland market through CEPA, it will explore strategies to promote the development of creative industries.   The $300 million CreateSmart Initiative launched last June was well received by the industry.

The Government has also waived our business registration fees for one year .  They are also reducing 75 per cent of salaries tax and tax under personal assessment for 2009-10, subject to a ceiling of $6,000.

As an aside, the HK Govt is also very interested in developing our position as a wine hub.  Great that they are giving so much support to wine trade shows given that the ODM Group is very strong in wine related products.

Click here for full budget speach..

For this project our staff has travelled to Fujian Province, a key locations for jug manufacturing in China. Located in Fujian, Fuzhou is a vibrant city famous for its fine lacquer ware, handcrafted fans, and is also a major.   Raw materials are readily accessible such as iron, steel and associated chemicals.

The Fuzhou factory that we would like to show you uses standard manufacturing processes and is equipped with standard machinery for the region.

Step 1:  Once the design of jug is finalized a mould is made and steel bases are manufactured.

Put an enamel base on the surface of the steel shape to give a base coating

Step 2: Place the jug onto a drying stove to dry the base enamel

Step 3: Once the jug is dry, we would shift the jug into the firing stove to heat the base enamel.   This allows it to set.

Step 4: A second coating – coat enamel is then coated onto the surface of the base enamel

Step 5: Place the jug with enamel coating onto the drying stove again

Step 6: Shift the jug coated in enamel onto the firing stove again to heat the enamel. This allows it to set.

Step 7: Once the firing process is finished, artwork would be placed onto the surface of the product using a special sticker called a decal.

Step 8: Lastly, we will place the artwork into the firing stove to emboss the logo onto the products

1. Is it possible to print all over colour? We can print on any area of the jug, and can print as many decals in place as required.   However, it is not possible to put 1 decal on due to the contours of the jug, handle, and spout.   To create an all over color effect, we suggest choosing a solid background colour and applying numerous decals in place.   This process is done by hand so the positioning of logos will not be 100% exactly same place on each jug.   This point can be taken into account when finalizing the designs.

2)      Is the decal durable and able to handle multiple washes? Definitely.   This decal printing method is designed to stay in place for years and this is a very standard print process that you can see on ceramics also.

3)      Can I change the shape and capacity of the jug? Definitely.   The ODM group would be happy to work with you to design a unique promotional product in any style and also work with you to propose a strong visual with logos printed in multiple locations.

Delivery mechanism is frequently as an on-pack promotion with food and drinks products.    For this reason ODM also offers Packaging machines to enable clients to automate the assembly process in their home markets.

The ODM group can provide a full service from conceptualizing ideas, to the developing of your favourite mascot.  

Below pictures show the process of prototyping for silicon figurines:

• Mould up with clay as per client’s artwork
• Clay sample finished
• Pour the PU liquid into a silicon mould
• Waiting for PU to be dry
• PU becomes dry & hard
• Get the PU sample out of the silicon mould
• Polish the PU sample
• Paint the PU sample as per client’s request
• A finished painted PU sample

From materials such as silicon, plastic, polyresin toceramics, The ODM Group can design and manufacture a mascot to suit any Taste and Budget.

Key markets showed interest in the Pen Fan included local Hong Kong market,  Japan, Europe and USA.   The 3 main improvements are pictured below.

For any prototype and mould development in China, contact ODM.