For Kong Screenprinting, producing custom apparel is about more than just one-off jobs. It’s about long-term partnerships with brands that expect consistency, quality, and professionalism every time.

Based in Austin, Texas, Kong works with a range of national and international brands, delivering high-visibility merchandise programs where details matter and expectations are high. One of those ongoing partnerships is with Topo Chico, a globally recognized beverage brand whose merch programs require careful coordination across multiple teams and stakeholders.

Projects like these demand more than great printing. They require a workflow that ensures everyone—from brand managers to production staff—shares the same vision before ink ever touches fabric.

That’s where SEDDI’s Decorator platform fits into Kong’s process.

As co-owner Bruce Braden explains:

“For us, being confident that what we are printing is going to match the customer’s vision is paramount. Using Decorator to create realistic, detailed, true-to-the-final-product mockups helps ensure everyone is aligned and gives us confidence that as long as production matches the mockups, our customers are going to be ecstatic.”

Decorator has become part of how Kong delivers reliable results for clients, helping turn complex approvals into smooth production runs.

The Challenge: Aligning Expectations Before Production

For Kong Screenprinting, great production starts with clear decisions upstream.

Kong regularly works with organizations where approvals must pass through multiple stakeholders. In these situations, unclear mockups can slow down projects and create uncertainty.

From Bruce’s perspective, alignment is everything:

“For us, being confident that what we are printing is going to match the customers’ vision is paramount. In a large organization with multiple stakeholders like Topo Chico, different departments often each have their own vision for what the end product is going to be.”

Traditional mockups often leave room for interpretation, especially when it comes to graphic size, placement, and decoration details.

That uncertainty creates questions, and questions create delays.

Realistic 3D Mockups Create Alignment

3D Mockup of Black Top Chico Chicas T-shirt

For the Topo Chico project, Kong used Decorator to build realistic, production-accurate visuals before printing began.

Instead of flat templates or approximate digital proofs, the team generated true-to-reality 3D mockups showing exactly how the shirts would look when printed.

These visuals became the reference point for everyone involved.

“Unclear mockups create questions, which create delays. In large organizations like Topo Chico, where approvals must go through multiple stakeholders, anything in the mockups that is unclear has the potential to derail the approval process.”

By giving stakeholders a clear, accurate representation of the final garment, Kong was able to move projects forward without unnecessary revision cycles.

“The realistic, ‘true to the final product’ mockups from Decorator eliminate the ambiguity that comes with the traditional mockup process. So our customers have fewer questions and we have a much smoother approval process.”

With clearer visuals, Kong could move faster toward production with confidence that expectations were aligned.

Eliminating Guesswork Around Print Size and Placement

One of the biggest challenges in decorated apparel is communicating how large a design will look on a finished product.

Traditional mockups often require designers to estimate scale visually. That process introduces risk.

“The most common questions our customers have are related to how big the graphic is going to look on the shirts.”

Topo Chico Mustard Tee Size Comparison

Decorator removed that uncertainty.

“Traditional mockups require the designer creating it to guess how big the design is going to look on the shirt in real life. Decorator eliminates the guesswork and allows our customers to confidently see the scale of their graphic on the shirt that they have chosen.”

By visualizing artwork on accurate digital versions of real apparel across the size range, Kong was able to show customers exactly what they would receive.

From Approved Design to Production Floor

Man preparing a t-shirt for printing

Once the designs were approved, Decorator continued to play a role.

Instead of rebuilding instructions manually, Kong exported production-ready printing tech packs directly from the approved designs.

These tech packs became the blueprint for printing.

“We use iPads and computers at each of our production stations to view the mockups for quality assurance.”

The production team used Decorator visuals and tech packs as a shared reference.

“The tech packs upload seamlessly to our production management software and can easily be viewed on different displays to ensure all of our team is aligned on how the end product should look.”

This reduced interpretation and helped ensure consistency across the production run.

Tech Packs as a Production Standard

For Kong, the tech pack is more than documentation, it’s a quality control tool.

Because Decorator automatically captures placement, scale, and decoration details, production instructions are clear and consistent.

Kong Topo Chico Techpack

Instead of relying on manually assembled PDFs or notes, the production team works from standardized specifications tied directly to the approved design.

This helps:

  • Reduce production errors
  • Improve internal alignment
  • Speed up job setup
  • Maintain consistency at scale

The same visual approved by the customer becomes the reference used on the print floor.

A Better Customer Experience

Kong Screenprinting focuses heavily on delivering a strong customer experience.

Decorator fits naturally into that approach.

“Our ultimate focus is on providing a great experience for our customers. Anything that makes the experience better for them makes complete sense to us.”

Clear visuals improve communication and build confidence.

“Decorator helps our customers accurately see what their order is going to look like and gives them the confidence to know that what we are going to create matches their vision.”

For projects where brand reputation matters, that confidence is critical.

Why Decorator Works for High-Visibility Projects

For Kong Screenprinting, Decorator is especially valuable on projects where accuracy and presentation matter most.

Pile of printed t-shirts by Kong Screenprinting

By combining:

  • True-to-reality 3D mockups
  • Faster approvals
  • Production-ready tech packs
  • Clear internal alignment

Decorator helps Kong deliver complex projects with fewer delays and fewer surprises.

The result is a smoother path from concept to production.

Key Takeaways from Kong Screenprinting’s Modern Print Shop Workflow

1. Clear visuals accelerate approvals

Realistic mockups reduce questions and speed up stakeholder alignment.

2. Accurate scaling builds confidence

Customers can see exactly how designs will look before production begins.

3. Tech packs reduce manual work

Production instructions are generated automatically from approved designs.

4. One reference keeps teams aligned

Sales, customers, and production all work from the same visual source of truth.