Sep 11, 2026Services Overview
What to Ask a PET Felt Supplier Before Ordering
Buying PET felt acoustic panels? Here are the key questions to ask about drawings, samples, tolerance, specifications, packaging and delivery before ordering.
What Should You Ask a PET Felt Acoustic Panel Supplier Before Ordering?
Ordering PET felt acoustic panels can look simple.
You send the supplier:
12mm 2400gsm 1220 × 2440mm Black 500 pcs
Then you receive a price.
The price looks good.
You confirm the order.
But after the order is placed, more questions can appear:
Is the size the exact finished size?
What tolerance can the supplier control?
Is the sample exactly the same specification as mass production?
How will the panels be packed?
When can the goods really be ready?
These questions are much easier to solve before the order than after production has started.
So when you are buying PET felt acoustic panels, I don't think you need to ask your supplier hundreds of questions.
But there are several details that are worth confirming clearly.
1. Can You Send the Drawing?
If your PET felt panel is custom, a drawing is often much more useful than a long email.
For example, you may need:
- special panel dimensions
- CNC cutting
- holes
- grooves
- curved edges
- geometric shapes
- furniture components
- custom wall patterns
A supplier may understand your written description differently from how you imagine it.
A drawing gives both sides something concrete to discuss.
It also allows the supplier to check whether the design is suitable for the material and production process.
This is especially important for CNC projects.
A design may look easy on a computer, but the actual cutting result can depend on the thickness, GSM, material structure and design details.
So before asking:
“How much is it?”
I usually prefer:
“Can you send me the drawing first?”
2. What Exactly Is the Material Specification?
Don't only confirm the thickness.
For PET felt, I recommend confirming at least:
- thickness
- GSM
- sheet size
- color
- construction
- quantity
Thickness and GSM should be considered together.
For example, 2400gsm is one of our regular specifications for PET felt up to around 15mm thickness.
But it should not simply be treated as the specification for a single-layer 24mm panel.
For 24mm PET felt, we have different construction options.
One is laminated 12mm + 12mm, with approximately 4800gsm total when both layers are 2400gsm.
Another is single-layer 24mm, which we regularly produce at around 4300gsm.
This is a simple example of why the specification should be discussed as a complete combination, rather than choosing one number separately.
3. Is the Quoted Size the Finished Size?
This sounds like a small question.
It isn't always.
Suppose you need:
600 × 2400mm
You should make sure both sides understand whether this means:
the finished board size
or:
the production sheet size before cutting.
For standard flat panels, this may be easy to understand.
For custom panels or CNC projects, it becomes more important.
If the final product needs to fit another component, furniture system, frame or production fixture, the finished dimension needs to be clear.
A few millimeters can sometimes matter much more than expected.
4. What Tolerance Can You Control?
This is one question I strongly recommend asking before production.
Not:
“Can you make this size?”
But:
There is a difference.
A supplier may be able to produce a 600mm-wide board.
But if your production process requires a much tighter tolerance, simply confirming “600mm” is not enough.
This becomes especially important when PET felt is being used as a component or raw material for another product.
For example, some of our customers use black PET felt as the backing material for wood slat acoustic panels.
Their production process has specific dimensional requirements, so tolerance is much more important than it would be for a simple decorative wall panel.
This is why I always suggest discussing tolerance before the order is confirmed.
Not after the material has arrived.
5. Can You Approve a Physical Sample First?
For a new supplier, I think a sample is often worth the time.
A sample allows you to check things that are difficult to understand from photos.
You can see:
- actual color
- surface feeling
- thickness
- firmness
- cutting quality
- material structure
- appearance
For custom products, a sample can also help both sides understand the requirement.
But there is another important point.
Sample approval should not mean the production specification is still unclear.
The sample should be connected to the final order specification.
If the sample is 12mm / 2400gsm, but the production order is 12mm / 2000gsm, then they are not the same material.
So I recommend confirming:
What exactly is the approved sample specification?
This simple question can prevent misunderstanding later.
6. Will Mass Production Follow the Approved Specification?
This question is especially useful for repeat orders.
If you have already approved:
- color
- thickness
- GSM
- size
- tolerance
- surface
- processing
then the mass production should be based on the same confirmed specification.
Of course, manufacturing always has reasonable production tolerances.
The important thing is that both sides understand what is acceptable before production begins.
For repeat customers, consistency becomes even more important.
You don't want to receive one specification this month and something noticeably different next time without knowing why.
7. How Will the Panels Be Packed?
Packaging is sometimes discussed too late.
The buyer focuses on the product and price first.
Then, just before shipment, someone asks:
“How will you pack the panels?”
This can create unnecessary problems.
PET felt panels are relatively large compared with their thickness.
During international transportation, the packaging needs to protect them from pressure, bending and handling damage.
So before ordering, ask:
- How are the panels stacked?
- Are they packed in cartons?
- Are pallets used?
- How many pieces per package?
- How will the packages be protected during loading?
- Is the packaging suitable for the shipping method?
The best packaging is not necessarily the packaging with the most materials.
It should provide suitable protection while also making reasonable use of container space.
For larger orders, this can affect the total logistics cost as well.
For this point, I have writen an article to explain, welcome to click for more details:
8. How Many Panels Can Fit in the Container?
This is another question that is easy to forget.
A unit price may look attractive.
But if the loading quantity is poor, the final landed cost may not be as attractive.
For large flat PET felt panels, loading efficiency needs to be considered together with packaging.
A good supplier should be able to discuss the expected loading quantity based on:
- panel size
- thickness
- quantity
- packaging method
- pallet requirements
The exact loading quantity should still be confirmed before shipment, because the final packing arrangement can affect the result.
But it is worth discussing early.
9. Is the Material in Stock or Made for My Order?
This is a very useful question when you need a short lead time.
Ask:
“Is this specification currently in stock?”
or:
“Does it need new production?”
These are two different situations.
For regular specifications, a supplier may have stock available.
For custom size, special color, special GSM or special processing, production may need to be arranged.
The lead time can therefore be different.
For our regular PET felt sheets, lead time is normally shorter when material is already available.
Custom sheets normally need additional production time.
So if your project has a fixed installation date, don't only ask:
“What's your lead time?”
Ask:
“Based on my exact specification, when can the goods be ready?”
That question gives you a much more useful answer.
10. What Happens If I Need a Custom Size?
Custom size sounds simple.
But it can affect:
- production
- material utilization
- MOQ
- lead time
- packing
- loading quantity
- final price
For example, changing from a standard sheet to a special size may not be just a matter of cutting the board.
The production method and material utilization may change.
This is why a supplier may quote a different price for a custom size even when the difference in dimensions looks small.
If your project needs a non-standard size, ask the supplier to explain whether it is:
standard production, cut-to-size, or specially produced.
That will make the quotation easier to understand.
11. What Tests or Certifications Are Available?
If your project has fire or acoustic requirements, it is a good idea to ask about available test reports before ordering.
A simple question is:
“What test reports or certifications do you have for your PET felt panels?”
You can also ask:
“Which product specification was used for the test?”
A test report normally covers a specific sample or product construction tested under a certain standard. It does not mean that a manufacturer needs to test every color, size or production specification separately.
For example, a manufacturer may have a fire test report based on a particular thickness and GSM, and this report can be used as a reference when supplying other standard colors or sizes of the same or similar material construction, depending on the requirements of the project and the applicable standard.
NRC is affected by factors such as the panel thickness, product structure, test setup and installation condition. So when comparing acoustic test results, it is better to look at the test conditions instead of comparing NRC numbers alone.
12. What Is Included in the Price?
This is probably the most basic question, but also one of the most important.
Before comparing quotations, confirm what the price actually includes.
For example:
PET felt sheet only?
CNC processing included?
Special packaging included?
Pallet cost included?
Sample cost included?
FOB or another shipping term?
Two suppliers can quote the same product at different prices because they are not quoting exactly the same scope.
This is why I prefer to compare the complete quotation, not only the unit price.
One More Question: Can We Confirm Everything Before Production?
For custom orders, I think this is one of the best habits a buyer can develop.
Before production starts, try to have one final confirmed specification.
For example:
Material: PET felt
Thickness: 12mm
GSM: 2400gsm
Size: 1220 × 2440mm
Color: confirmed sample
Tolerance: confirmed
Processing: CNC drawing approved
Quantity: 500 pcs
Packaging: confirmed
Delivery: confirmed
This does not need to be a complicated document.
It simply gives both sides the same reference.
When something changes later, it is much easier to identify what changed.
Good Communication Is Part of the Product
I have seen many problems in manufacturing that were not really caused by bad material.
They started with an unclear sentence.
A size was misunderstood.
A sample was approved but the GSM was not confirmed.
A drawing was updated but the old version was used.
The packaging requirement was discussed too late.
The delivery date was understood differently by each side.
None of these problems are very complicated.
But once production starts, they can become expensive.
That is why I believe a good PET felt supplier should not only give you a price.
The supplier should also ask questions.
Sometimes you may think:
“Why are they asking me so many details?”
But if the questions are related to the actual product and production, they are usually a good sign.
It means the supplier is trying to understand what you really need to receive, not just what number to put on the quotation.
Before You Place the Order, Check These 7 Things
If you don't want to read the whole article again, at least remember these seven:
1. Drawing
Is the drawing clear and is the latest version confirmed?
2. Material specification
Are thickness, GSM, size and color clearly confirmed?
3. Sample
Has the physical sample been approved?
4. Tolerance
Is the required tolerance clearly agreed?
5. Packaging
Do both sides understand how the panels will be packed?
6. Delivery
Is the production and ready date based on your actual specification?
7. Final quotation scope
Are you comparing the same product, processing and shipping terms?
These questions are simple.
But they can prevent many misunderstandings.
Working on a PET Felt Project?
If you already have a drawing, sample, specification or even just a rough idea, you don't need to wait until everything is finalized.
Send us what you have.
We can first check the basic requirements — thickness, GSM, size, tolerance, processing and packaging — and let you know if anything needs to be clarified before quotation or production.
Sometimes one question before production can save much more than one negotiation on price.
If you have a PET felt project coming up, send me the drawing or specification and let's check the details before you place the order.
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📩 Send us your project drawings or specifications, and we will respond with a clear quotation and production suggestion within 24 hours.
Email: info@hengmy.com
