Mockup Generator & Visual Proof Approvals

The Mockup Generator in Print Life Software empowers print shops, graphic designers, and sales reps to create photo-realistic, multi-angle garment proofs in seconds. Built directly into the Quote Builder, the generator features continuous artwork placement across garment colorways, precision canvas crop framing to eliminate catalog padding, customer proof inspection on public approval portals, and automatic synchronization to shop floor Production Travelers.

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1. Feature Scope & UI Navigation

How to Access the Mockup Generator

The Mockup Generator is integrated directly into the Quote Builder:

1. Open any quote or invoice at /quotes-invoices/[id] (or click + Quote to start a new project).
2. Scroll to the Project Items & Decorations section.
3. On any Decoration Card (e.g., Front Chest Screen Print), locate the dedicated action button bar at the bottom.
4. Click the Generator button (with the Sparkles icon) to open the fullscreen Mockup Generator Studio.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Mockup Generator Studio                                            [ ✕ Close ] [ Done ]     │
├──────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────┤
│ Garment Colorways    │ Live Artboard Canvas                         │ Customer Art Library   │
│ (Left Sidebar)       │                                              │ (Right Sidebar)        │
│                      │ Toolbar: [ Trim Top ▾ ] [ Trim Hem ▾ ]       │                        │
│ ┌──────────────────┐ │          [ Flip Garment ] [ Reset Crop ]     │ ┌────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Bella 3001       │ │                                              │ │ Logo_Vector.svg    │ │
│ │ • Black          │ │ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ 300 DPI • 3 Colors  │ │
│ └──────────────────┘ │ │                                          │ │ └────────────────────┘ │
│ ┌──────────────────┐ │ │                                          │ │ ┌────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Bella 3001       │ │ │         [ Draggable Artwork ]            │ │ │ Mascot_White.png   │ │
│ │ • Heather Navy   │ │ │          (Locked Coordinates)            │ │ │ 300 DPI • 1 Color   │ │
│ └──────────────────┘ │ │                                          │ │ └────────────────────┘ │
│ ┌──────────────────┐ │ │                                          │ │                        │
│ │ Bella 3001       │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ [ + Upload Artwork ]   │
│ │ • White          │ │                                              │                        │
│ └──────────────────┘ │ Bottom Action: [ + Assign Mockup ]           │                        │
├──────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────┤
│ Assigned Proofs Dock:  [ Proof 1: Black ]  [ Proof 2: Navy ]  [ Proof 3: White ]             │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Studio Interface Overview

• Left Sidebar (Garment Colorways): Automatically lists every product style and colorway selected on the quote's garment line items.
• Center Artboard Canvas: High-resolution interactive visual canvas. Renders base garment photography with draggable, resizable, and rotatable artwork overlays.
• Canvas Toolbar: Quick-access framing controls:
  • Trim Top (Collar) slider: Trims excess catalog blank space above the neckline.
  • Trim Bottom (Hem) slider: Trims excess blank space below the waistline.
  • Trim Sides (Width) slider: Centers the garment body horizontally.
  • Flip Garment: Toggles between Front and Back photography when dual-side blanks are available.
  • Reset Crop: Restores the canvas to the original uncropped catalog photo.
• Right Sidebar (Art Library Panel): Displays customer brand assets, vector logos, and the + Upload Artwork dropzone.
• Bottom Dock (Assigned Proofs Tray): Displays thumbnail previews of all generated colorway proofs assigned to that decoration location.
• Header Actions:
  • Done (Primary Button): Saves all assigned proofs to the decoration card and returns to the Quote Builder.
  • Close (✕): Closes the studio.

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2. Capabilities & Operational Boundaries

Supported Capabilities

• Multi-Proof Assignment per Location: A single decoration placement (e.g., Full Front) can hold multiple colorway proofs (e.g., Black Tee, Heather Navy Tee, White Tee). Each proof tracks its own individual customer approval state, rejection feedback, and timestamp.
• Continuous Artwork Placement: Once an artwork graphic is sized and positioned on the artboard canvas, its X/Y coordinates, scale, and rotation persist across colorways. Users can cycle through 5 different shirt colors and generate 5 proofs in seconds without re-uploading or re-aligning artwork.
• Canvas Crop & Framing Engine: Eliminates empty white margins commonly found in supplier catalog feeds (SanMar, S&S, AlphaBroder). Framing locks across the entire session, ensuring every colorway proof exports with matching physical scale and zero letterbox/pillarbox bars.
• Responsive Mobile & Tablet Stepper: On screens smaller than 1024px, the interface adapts into a full-width 3-step segmented tab stepper (1. Garment $\rightarrow$ 2. Artboard Canvas $\rightarrow$ 3. Artwork) with large touch sliders for shop floor tablet use.
• Granular Customer Approval Lifecycle: Clients review proofs on their public approval portal with individual per-colorway approvals or itemized revision requests.
• Automated Production Traveler Sync: Approved colorway proofs automatically populate shop floor Production Travelers (/quotes-invoices/[id]/print/traveler) and Contractor Work Orders.

Operational Boundaries

• Interactive Visual Proof Arranger (Not Vector Drawing Software): The Mockup Generator is designed to composite, scale, position, and frame artwork proofs onto real blank apparel. It is an interactive mockup arranger, not a vector node drawing tool or illustration canvas.
• Per-Proof File Formats: High-resolution proof exports are rendered and saved as high-density composites (PNG) for instant browser review and print traveler display.

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3. Step-by-Step Operating Procedures

Workflow 1: Launching the Studio & Positioning Artwork

1. In the Quote Builder (/quotes-invoices/[id]), scroll to your decoration card.
2. At the bottom of the card, click Generator (Sparkles icon).
3. In the right panel, select an existing customer logo or click Upload Artwork (AI, PDF, PNG, SVG).
4. The graphic appears on the central garment canvas with an active bounding box.
5. Drag to position the artwork (e.g., center chest), drag the corner handles to scale, or use the rotation handle to angle the art.

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Workflow 2: Framing Supplier Catalog Blanks with Canvas Crop Sliders

Wholesale catalog photos frequently have excessive empty white space above the collar or below the hem:

1. In the top canvas toolbar, drag the Trim Top (Collar) slider to the right (0–40% range).
2. The empty space above the collar is cropped away, moving the shirt up to fill the viewport naturally.
3. Use the Trim Bottom and Trim Sides sliders to center the chest area.
4. The framing immediately locks for your entire session—any subsequent garment colorway you select will maintain identical scale and framing!

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Workflow 3: Multi-Colorway Continuous Proofing

1. With your artwork positioned and framed on the first garment (e.g., Black), click + Assign Mockup below the canvas.
2. The proof immediately saves to the bottom Assigned Proofs Dock.
3. In the left sidebar, click the next colorway (e.g., Heather Navy):
   • The shirt background updates instantly.
   • The artwork stays locked in the exact same physical coordinates, scale, and rotation!
4. Click + Assign Mockup again to capture the second proof.
5. Repeat for remaining colors (e.g., White).
6. Click Done in the top header. All proofs are attached to the decoration card.

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Workflow 4: Reviewing Customer Proof Approvals & Revisions

1. When you email proofs to a customer, they open their private review portal.
2. The client browses through each assigned colorway proof:
   • If satisfied, they click Approve Artwork.
   • If changes are needed on a specific color (e.g., "Please change text to white on the dark shirt"), they click Request Changes and type their notes.
3. When a revision is submitted:
   • The quote status automatically updates to Needs Revision.
   • The specific rejected proof displays a red revision badge with the customer's exact feedback in the Quote Builder.
4. Staff can open the Mockup Generator, swap the artwork file to white ink, and click + Assign Mockup to update the proof.

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Workflow 5: Generating Production Travelers for the Shop Floor

1. Open any approved quote or invoice at /quotes-invoices/[id].
2. In the top action bar, click Print Paperwork $\rightarrow$ select Production Traveler.
3. Studio automatically formats a visual proof gallery:
   • Displays every approved colorway mockup alongside its garment color badge (e.g., Heather Navy).
   • Displays placement notes, ink/thread colors, and print size dimensions.
   • Press operators see the exact proof visual at the press with zero guesswork.

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4. Business Logic & Alignment Formulas

1:1 Pixel Export Alignment

When exporting high-resolution composite proofs, Studio calculates the natural aspect ratio and scales artwork coordinates to match the source photography:

$$\text{Export Scale} = \frac{\text{Source Image Natural Width}}{\text{Rendered Artboard Width}}$$ $$\text{Physical Art X} = \text{Canvas X} \times \text{Export Scale}$$ $$\text{Physical Art Y} = \text{Canvas Y} \times \text{Export Scale}$$

This mathematical alignment ensures that whether you position a 3.5″ pocket logo on a laptop screen or a phone display, the final exported proof maintains exact proportional placement on the physical garment.

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5. Troubleshooting & Diagnostic Matrix

Symptom / Question	Root Cause	Exact Remediation Step
Artwork changes position when switching colors	Artwork was deleted or re-selected manually.	Continuous Placement automatically locks artwork coordinates. Simply click a new colorway in the left sidebar without deleting the active artwork.
Catalog garment has large empty space above the collar	Distributor photo padding.	Drag the Trim Top slider in the canvas toolbar to remove empty margin and center the neckline.
Crop sliders reset between colorways	Session was closed or refreshed.	Framing locks continuously during an active studio session. Adjust framing before assigning proofs.
Customer rejected one shirt color out of three	Colorway-specific revision request.	Open the decoration card, review the customer's rejection notes, open the Mockup Generator, update the artwork on that specific color, and re-assign the proof.
Where do proofs appear on the shop floor?	Traveler paperwork view needed.	Open the Work Order $\rightarrow$ click Print Paperwork $\rightarrow$ select Production Traveler to view the full visual proof gallery with colorway badges.
Can I preview the back of the garment?	Product blank has back photography available.	In the canvas toolbar, click Flip Garment to switch between front and back views.

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6. Frequently Asked Questions & Action Prompts

How do I create mockups for multiple shirt colors under the same decoration?

1. Open the Mockup Generator by clicking Generator on any decoration card.
2. Select your first garment color on the left.
3. Position and scale your artwork on the canvas, then click + Assign Mockup.
4. Click your second shirt color on the left—your artwork remains locked in place!
5. Click + Assign Mockup again.
6. Repeat for all colors, then click Done in the top header.

[How do I remove blank space above shirt collars?](chat:How do I remove blank space above shirt collars in mockups?) • [Show me Quotes & Invoices](chat:Show me the Quotes page)

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How do I remove blank white space above a shirt collar?

In the canvas toolbar directly above the garment, drag the Trim Top (Collar) slider to the right (0–40%). This trims empty catalog margins above the neckline and centers the garment on the artboard. The crop setting remains active across all shirt colors in your session.

[How do customer proof approvals work?](chat:How do customer proof approvals work?)

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How do customer proof approvals work?

When you email proofs to a customer, they can review each colorway proof individually on their approval portal. They can approve all proofs or reject a specific colorway with written feedback (e.g., "Make text yellow on the black hoodie"). If rejected, the quote automatically flags as Needs Revision on your dashboard.

[Show me the Dashboard](chat:Show me the Dashboard)