The minimum order quantity (MOQ) for printed synthetic fabric from Surat is typically a few hundred metres per design for digital printing and in the low thousands of metres per design and colourway for rotary screen printing. Plain dyed fabric usually sits in between, with the MOQ set by the dye lot rather than the design. The figure is not fixed by any rule; it comes from the economics of setting up a screen, a dye bath or a print run, and it moves with how busy the mill is and how much you are ordering overall.
Buyers often arrive with a figure in mind from garment sourcing and are surprised by how the fabric trade counts. In Surat the unit is the metre, the lot is the roll, and the MOQ is quoted per design, per colourway and sometimes per base fabric. It pays to ask the mill to quote all three.
Why MOQs differ by process
- Digital printing has almost no set-up cost per design, so the mill can run a few hundred metres and still make the job worthwhile. The limit is usually the base fabric lot rather than the print.
- Rotary screen printing needs an engraved screen for every colour in the design. Each screen costs money and time, so the mill wants a run long enough to spread that cost, which pushes the MOQ into the low thousands of metres.
- Plain dyeing is limited by the jet or beam dyeing machine. A machine load is typically several hundred metres and the mill will not run a half-empty bath for one shade.
- Greige weaving has its own minimum. A special construction may need the weaver to set up a loom, and loom set-up is typically justified only by thousands of metres.
How to work within the MOQ
Group colourways on the same base fabric so that the dyeing and greige minimums are shared across designs. Start with digital for the first season, confirm which designs sell, and move the winners to rotary once their volume justifies it. Ask whether the mill holds standard greige in stock, because stocked constructions usually carry lower minimums than anything woven to order.
Also ask what happens if you fall short. Some mills will accept a smaller run at a surcharge, others will ask you to take the full MOQ, and a few will offer to hold surplus greige for your next order. Getting this in writing before the strike-off avoids an awkward conversation later.
Surplus and shortfall
Printed fabric usually arrives with a tolerance on quantity, typically a few per cent either way, because rolls are cut where the fabric runs out rather than at an exact metre. Build that tolerance into your garment plan rather than treating the MOQ as an exact delivery. If you need an exact number of metres, say so in the order and expect the mill to print a little over and charge for what it ships.
How Creston & Co helps
We check which constructions a mill actually stocks, confirm MOQs in writing before sampling starts, and look for a backup unit that can take a smaller run if the main supplier cannot. We inspect rolls before loading so the metres on the packing list are the metres in the container. A free 20-minute sourcing review is the quickest way to find out what minimums apply to your particular fabrics.