The terms, from the factory floor rather than the dictionary

36 terms

Print on demandPrint on demand, POD

A selling model where an item carrying a design is listed in a store and is not printed or shipped until a customer orders and pays.

Direct-to-garment printingDTG

Printing that drives water-based ink into the fibres of a finished garment, so one piece prints with its own design, no setup, no minimum.

Direct-to-film printingDTF

Printing the design onto a film and heat-pressing it onto the fabric with an adhesive layer, so polyester, blends and dark garments take it.

SublimationSublimation

Transferring dye by heat into a white polyester-coated surface until it becomes part of it; the method for mugs, mouse pads and metal prints.

Screen printingScreen printing

Printing that pushes ink through a separate screen per colour, so it costs a lot to set up and little per piece once the run is in the hundreds.

EmbroideryEmbroidery

Decorating a piece by stitching the design in thread from a digitised file; the stitch count sets the cost and gives a logo a raised finish.

BlankBlank

The product before printing: a plain tee, a white mug or poster stock, whose material, weight, cut and sizes decide what can be printed on it.

Print placementPlacement

Where the design sits on the piece, with its bounds in centimetres: full front, back or chest pocket, and one print file per placement.

MockupMockup

An image of the product with the design on it before printing, used in the store and for approval; it proves nothing about the real print.

SampleSample

One piece made or printed before the run, to be handled, washed and measured; the one test no image can replace.

Fabric weightGSM

The fabric's weight in grams per square metre, the number closest to how a piece feels: about 150 is light and summery, 280 heavy and structured.

Tech packTech pack

The file a factory reads before it quotes: the drawing, measurements per size, fabric, thread, labels and packaging, with no question left.

Size chartSize chart

A table tying each size to real measurements in centimetres, chest, length and shoulder, because a size letter differs between brands.

GradingGrading

Deriving the other sizes from one base size with fixed increments per measurement, so the piece keeps its cut from S to XXL.

Woven labelWoven label

A woven cloth strip carrying the brand name, sewn into the neck or the side, and what tells a branded piece from a printed blank.

Cut and sewCut and sew

Making the piece from raw fabric: cutting it to the pattern and sewing it, so the cut and the fabric are yours rather than a blank supplier's.

Minimum order quantityMOQ

The smallest quantity a factory will run a line for, because the setup cost is paid in full before the first piece and spread across the run.

White labelWhite label

A ready-made product one factory makes and several brands sell under their own names; the piece is shared and only the name is yours.

Private labelPrivate label

A product made to one brand's specification and sold to no one else; the cut, fabric and label are its own, for a minimum, a sample and time.

FulfilmentFulfilment, 3PL

Everything that happens to an order after payment: picking, checking, packing, handing it to the carrier, and taking it back if it returns.

Third-party logistics3PL

A company that stores, packs and ships on a seller's behalf, so the selling stays with the seller and the parcel leaves the company's warehouse.

Stock keeping unitSKU

A unique code for each variant of a product, colour and size together, used to count stock and pick an order without confusing two similar pieces.

ReturnReturn

A delivered order the buyer sent back, unlike a parcel refused at the door and returned unopened; it is inspected before rejoining stock.

Cash on deliveryCOD

The buyer pays the courier at the door rather than in the store, so the delivery becomes what decides whether the money is collected at all.

National AddressNational Address

Saudi Arabia's official address format (building number, postal code, additional number); since January 2026 carriers must reject parcels without it.

Return policyReturn policy

What a store states before payment about what can be returned, when and at whose cost; required by the E-Commerce Law, and no bar to a defect claim.

Commercial registrationCR

A business's entry with the Ministry of Commerce, one for the Kingdom since April 2025, with no expiry and a paid annual confirmation.

Freelance documentFreelance document

Proof that an individual works freelance in their own name, accepted in place of a commercial registration to document an online store.

Store documentationE-commerce documentation

A free certificate from the Saudi Center for Competitiveness and Business establishing a store owner's identity, issued within days.

Value added taxVAT

A 15% consumption tax the seller collects and remits to the authority; registration is mandatory once taxable supplies pass SAR 375,000 in a year.

E-invoicingFatoora

The obligation on VAT registrants to issue invoices electronically since December 2021 and connect to the Fatoora platform by an announced date.

SABERSABER

The standards authority's platform issuing conformity certificates before customs clearance; imported goods it covers do not enter without one.

DropshippingDropshipping

Selling a product you do not own: the customer orders from your store, the supplier ships it under your name, and you pay only after it sells.

Conversion rateConversion rate

Orders divided by visitors over the same period, times a hundred; thirty orders from 1,500 visitors is 2%.

Tracking pixelPixel

Code in a store's pages that reports what a visitor did to an advertising platform, so it knows which advert sold; its data falls under the PDPL.

Abandoned cartAbandoned cart

A cart a visitor added a product to and then left before paying; its commonest cause is friction at the last step rather than a change of mind.