Creating a tech pack is rarely a one-and-done task. A style can go through measurement updates, material changes, revised construction details, and new comments before its specifications are finalized.

The harder part is keeping that information current when technical drawings, spreadsheets, PDFs, and other files live in disconnected tools. Your team still needs to know which specifications belong to the latest version of the style.

Tech pack software provides a structured system for creating and managing that technical product information as development moves forward.

This guide explains what tech pack software is, what information it manages, how it works, and where it fits into a fashion team's product development process.

TL;DR

• Tech pack software helps fashion teams create, organize, update, and share the technical product information manufacturers need to make a product.

• It keeps technical drawings, BOMs, measurements, construction details, colorways, artwork, sample comments, and revisions organized around the style.

• The typical process is to create or add a style, add product specifications, assemble the tech pack, review it, share it with the manufacturer, and update it during sampling.

• Common features include reusable templates, BOM and specification management, version control, collaboration and comments, and export or sharing tools.

• Onbrand PLM helps fashion teams manage live tech packs alongside samples, approvals, and other product development information in one platform.

What Is Tech Pack Software?

Tech pack software is a digital system used to create, organize, update, and share the technical product information needed to develop a garment.

In the apparel industry, it gives fashion designers and product teams a structured place to manage the specifications that manufacturers need to make the product correctly.

The exact setup can vary depending on the software and how a fashion business manages its products.

A tech pack is the technical documentation for a product, while tech pack software is the system used to create and manage that information as the product develops.

Depending on the platform, those capabilities may come from dedicated tech pack software or be part of a broader fashion product development system.

What Information Does Fashion Tech Pack Software Manage?

A fashion tech pack brings together the technical information a manufacturer needs to understand how to make a product.

Tech pack software can organize that information around the style, so your team can work with the drawings, specifications, and design details that make up the current tech pack.

Here is the type of information commonly managed in these systems:

The exact information you can manage depends on the platform. A system may cover the core technical specifications above and provide additional fields or tools based on how its tech pack workflow is structured.

How Does Tech Pack Software Work?

Tech pack software follows the product as its technical information takes shape.

You start with the style, add the specifications needed to make it, organize those specifications into the tech pack, and share the current information with the manufacturer.

As sampling moves forward, the tech pack can be updated to reflect approved changes. Here is what that process typically looks like.

1. Create or Add a Style

The workflow starts by setting up the style you are developing.

Depending on the system, you may create a new product record or begin with information you already have, such as a previous style, first sketch, technical drawing, or inspiration images.

At this stage, the product may still be an initial concept. The purpose is to give the design concept a place in the system before the detailed specifications are added.

2. Add the Product Specifications

Next, you add the technical information needed to communicate how the garment should be made.

That can include drawings, BOM information, measurements, construction instructions, colorways, artwork, and other product specifications.

The information should reflect the design intent clearly enough for the product to move into technical development. 

More intricate details, such as specific placements or construction instructions, can also be documented as the specifications take shape.

3. Assemble the Tech Pack

Once the product information is in place, it can be organized into the technical documentation your team will review and later share with the manufacturer.

The exact layout depends on the software, but the finished tech pack should bring the relevant specifications together in a usable format. 

That may mean arranging drawings alongside measurements, BOM information, construction notes, artwork, and other technical data.

4. Review the Tech Pack Before Sharing

Before the tech pack goes to the manufacturer, technical designers and other members of the design and development teams can review the current specifications.

The team checks that drawings, measurements, BOM information, construction instructions, colorways, and other specifications are complete and consistent.

Correct any missing or conflicting information before handoff to reduce errors in the information sent to the manufacturer.

5. Share the Current Tech Pack With Manufacturers

Once the information has been reviewed, the current tech pack can be shared with the manufacturer for production preparation or the next stage of product development.

How that happens depends on the platform. Your team may export the tech pack as a file or give the manufacturer access to the relevant product information within the system.

Either way, the tech pack becomes a key reference for supplier communication about how the product should be made.

6. Update the Tech Pack During Sampling

The tech pack may change once physical samples are reviewed.

Fit comments can lead to new measurements, a material may be replaced, or a construction instruction may need adjustment before the specifications are finalized.

During development, approved changes are added to the current tech pack. Version-controlled software can also maintain a record of revisions as product information changes.

This helps the team work from the latest specifications as sampling continues and production timelines move forward.

Tech Pack Software vs. Spreadsheets, Illustrator, and PDFs

Tech packs do not have to be created in dedicated software. Fashion teams may use spreadsheets, Illustrator, PDFs, and other digital tools to build and share the same technical documentation.

The main difference is how the product information is organized and maintained. File-based workflows keep different parts of the tech pack in separate documents, whereas tech pack software can bring more of that information into a single system.

Tech Pack Software vs. Spreadsheets

Spreadsheets are commonly used for measurements, BOMs, material specifications, and other structured product data. Teams can update cells, add tabs, and organize information around their existing workflow.

The manual work comes from keeping that spreadsheet aligned with drawings, artwork, comments, and information stored in other tools. Tech pack software can keep measurements, BOM information, and other specifications attached to the same product record.

Tech Pack Software vs. Adobe Illustrator

Illustrator is commonly used to create technical drawings, flats, artwork, and other visual product details. It is a design tool, so the technical information surrounding those drawings may still be maintained separately.

Tech pack software may let you upload, link, or create drawings within the platform, depending on the system. The drawings then sit alongside the specifications associated with the style.

Tech Pack Software vs. PDFs

PDFs are commonly used as the finished format for sending tech packs to manufacturers. Once exported, however, the PDF represents the product information at that moment.

If specifications change, you need to update the source information and may need to export and share a new version. Tech pack software can maintain the underlying product information as it changes and may also provide revision management or shared access.

Using separate files can create data silos when drawings, measurements, BOMs, and revisions live in different places. That does not make a file-based workflow inherently wrong.

The bottom line is that you can successfully create tech packs with spreadsheets and design software. Dedicated systems simply provide a different way to structure and maintain the same product information.

How Tech Pack Software Fits Into Fashion Product Development

Tech pack software supports the transition from fashion design into the technical product development work needed to prepare a product for manufacturing.

Once the design process moves from the initial idea into development, product development teams turn that direction into measurements, materials, construction details, and other specifications documented in the tech pack.

The tech pack then becomes a working reference during sampling. A sample may reveal that a measurement needs adjusting, a construction detail needs clarification, or a material needs changing.

Those approved revisions are added to the specifications before the product moves into production.

How the software fits around that work depends on the platform. A dedicated system may focus mainly on creating and maintaining tech packs.

Fashion product lifecycle management (PLM) software can connect tech pack information with materials, samples, approvals, other development data, and, depending on the platform, other business systems.

This creates a more connected workflow within a single platform. That connection can continue through the entire product lifecycle, beyond the initial creation of the tech pack.

Common Features in Tech Pack Software

Key features in tech pack software support the work around product specifications, from setting up a style to keeping its technical information current.

Exact functionality varies by platform, but these are common capabilities you may see.

Templates and Reusable Product Data

Tech pack templates can provide a starting structure for products that use recurring information.

If your team develops several products of the same type, it may also be possible to reuse information from a previous style and update the specifications that are different.

This avoids rebuilding the basic structure of every tech pack from the beginning.

BOM and Specification Management

Structured fields give teams a place to maintain BOM information and other technical product data against the style.

Depending on the platform, that can include material specifications such as composition, color, supplier details, or fabric texture, along with trims and other components.

When a specification changes, the relevant information can be updated on the product record.

Version and Revision Management

Product specifications can change several times before approval.

Version and revision features help maintain the current information as measurements, materials, construction instructions, or other specifications are updated.

Depending on the system, previous versions or revision history may also remain available for reference.

Collaboration and Comments

Collaboration features give designers, product developers, and other team members a place to discuss product information as the style develops.

Comments may be attached to a style, specification, sample, or other product information, depending on the platform.

Systems that support external access may also allow manufacturers or other partners to participate in those discussions.

Export and Sharing

Tech pack information eventually needs to reach the people making the product. Export features can turn the current specifications into a file, such as a PDF, that can be sent to a manufacturer.

Depending on the platform, teams may also be able to share product information through direct access to the system. The available sharing method varies by software.

Create and Manage Tech Packs for Your Fashion Brand With Onbrand

Onbrand gives your fashion brand a connected way to move from early design work into structured tech pack development without relying on scattered spreadsheets, exported files, and long email threads.

The platform combines Onbrand PLM for technical product development with Onbrand AI Design for earlier concept and visual work. Together, they give design and product teams a clearer handoff from idea to development while keeping the product information tied to the same broader system.

Onbrand PLM for Live Tech Packs and Product Development

Onbrand PLM gives fashion teams a shared place to build and manage tech packs as products move through development.

Styles, specifications, materials, colors, artwork, measurements, and BOM information can live in dedicated product libraries and remain connected to the current style. Teams can also manage samples, approvals, comments, and updates from the same environment.

One of the biggest differences is how teams share tech packs. Onbrand supports live, web-based tech packs, so factories and internal teams can work from current product information without relying only on exported Excel or PDF versions that may become outdated.

Brands using Onbrand have seen 55% faster tech pack creation and a four-week reduction in development, giving teams more time back as they work to bring products to market faster. Onbrand also states that implementation and data migration can take as little as 10 days.

BANDIER, for example, cut tech pack creation time by 55% with Onbrand PLM.

Onbrand AI Design for Concepts and Tech Pack Starting Points

Onbrand AI Design supports the work that happens before detailed tech pack development begins.

Fashion designers can start from a text prompt, sketch, or reference image and create concepts, flat sketches, mockups, colorways, and visual variations.

Teams can review those ideas together, leave contextual feedback, and refine the direction before technical development moves forward.

The connection to Onbrand PLM is what makes it ideal for the tech pack process. Approved concepts, visuals, and design details can move from AI Design into PLM, giving product teams a stronger starting point for building out specifications and tech packs.

That creates a more direct path from concept exploration to product development without treating design files and technical product information as completely separate stages.

Bring Your Tech Pack Process Together With Onbrand

Tech packs change throughout development, so the real value of software is keeping the current specifications easy to find, update, and share.

Onbrand brings live tech packs, product data, samples, and development work into one shared system, giving fashion teams a clearer way to move from specification updates to production.

Ready to bring your tech packs and product development into one place? Book a demo with Onbrand.

FAQs About Tech Pack Software

How much does Techpacker cost per month?

Techpacker’s Techpack Builder costs $70 per user per month with monthly billing or $35 per user per month when billed annually. Its PLM Professional and PLM Premium plans cost $95 and $125 per user per month, respectively, when billed annually.

What is a tech pack?

A tech pack is a technical document that tells a manufacturer how a product should be made. It typically includes technical drawings, measurements, materials, a BOM, construction details, colorways, artwork, and other specifications needed during product development and production.

A great design still needs this technical information before a factory can accurately interpret how the finished product should be made.

How much do people charge for tech packs?

The total cost of creating a tech pack depends on the product, its complexity, and who prepares the documentation. A simple garment may require less technical work, whereas products with detailed construction, multiple materials, artwork, or extensive specifications can take more time and cost more.

What does a tech pack include?

A tech pack usually includes technical drawings, measurements, a bill of materials, fabric and trim specifications, construction instructions, colorways, artwork, labels, and packaging details when relevant. It may also include sample comments and revisions as the product moves through development.

Can tech pack software replace spreadsheets?

Tech pack software can replace some spreadsheet-based tech pack work by keeping specifications, revisions, and product information in a structured system. That can form one part of a fashion brand’s digital transformation, but it does not automatically replace separate functions such as inventory management.