01 — The Brief
When the artwork outgrew the merch.
Most bands treat merch as an afterthought — one tee design, a cheap blank, whatever the nearest printer will run. Ksetravid didn't. By early 2025 the band's artwork had outgrown the merchandise it was being printed on, and the gap was getting hard to ignore.
The connection came through the design world. Dipayan Das of Dipayan Das Arts — who creates logos and album artwork for metal bands across India and beyond — was already getting his work printed through Merchland. When Ksetravid handed Dipayan the brief for their album art and individual song artworks, he knew where the printing should go.
In May 2025, Pritam, the band's guitarist, reached out directly. He came with evidence: more than 50 reference photos of merch the band had received from a previous supplier, piece after piece they weren't happy with. The printing was flat, the garments thin, the finish nothing like the artwork deserved. We went through every photo and gave honest, specific feedback — what had gone wrong, and what good would actually look like.
Then came the order. Not a cautious one-design test — a full set, eight configurations, four album artworks:
Round-neck t-shirts — 180 GSM biowash cotton, the soft heavyweight kind that survives repeated washes without going thin
Oversized t-shirts — 220 GSM loop-knit biowash cotton, structured drape
Tank tops — 180 GSM biowash cotton, built for the touring summer crowd
Crop tops — carrying the "Lord Varaha with Horns" artwork
Basketball shorts — printed both sides, the hardest piece in the set to get right
For an independent band, this was an unusually large commitment. The question was simple: could a new partner deliver the quality the artwork demanded — and earn the right to print everything that came after?
02 — The First Order
80+ pieces, eight configurations.
The full first order ran to 80+ pieces across eight product-and-design combinations. The four artworks — Anamnesis, Meditate & Ouroboros, Lord Varaha with Horns and Mask Goddess — were split across the garments by print method.
The apparel was printed using Direct-to-Garment (DTG) — the method that lays ink into the fabric for soft, detailed, full-colour results that hold up on dark cotton. The basketball shorts used Direct-to-Film (DTF) — the sharp, durable transfer method that handles bold artwork on technical fabrics without cracking at the seams.
We shipped the order, and the feedback came back fast: the band was genuinely happy. The printing matched the artwork; the garments felt the way they should. On the back of that delivery, Arunav stepped in as the band's dedicated point person for everything merch — the single contact who would coordinate every order from then on.
03 — The Pivot
Where trust was earned.
One piece in that first batch wasn't right. The basketball shorts had a stitching problem — cut too tight, not comfortable to wear or perform in. The band asked, plainly, whether anything could be done.
Here's what we did. Instead of mailing a replacement and calling it settled, we asked where the band's tour was headed. The answer landed perfectly: Ksetravid were playing Kolkata in roughly ten days. We took the shorts back to our manufacturing master, had every pair re-cut and re-stitched to a comfortable fit — and didn't raise an invoice for any of it.
When the band reached Kolkata, we went to the venue in person, handed over the corrected shorts, and collected the faulty pair to bring back to the warehouse ourselves.
We didn't bill the re-stitch. We drove the new shorts to their Kolkata venue and put them in the band's hands.
That was the moment. Not the first order — the fix. A free re-cut and a face-to-face handover did what no quote or sample could: it turned a vendor into a partner.
04 — The Expansion
Shopify, dropship, and full control.
With trust in place, the relationship changed shape. Ksetravid opened a Shopify store to sell directly to fans — and rounds three and four ran entirely through it.
The model was straightforward: the band collected order data from their store and passed it to us; we produced each piece and dropshipped it directly to fans, in whatever city they were in. No warehouse of unsold stock, no bulk gamble — merch made to match real demand.
Then it went one step further. At a certain point we took over the merchandise pipeline end to end — orders landing on the band's Shopify store flowed straight to us, and we printed and shipped each one to the customer directly.
05 — Beyond the Order
One band, one merch partner.
What started as a quality complaint is now an always-on partnership. The same four artworks stay in continuous rotation, printed to order across the band's catalogue — Anamnesis on round-neck tees, oversized tees and tank tops; Meditate & Ouroboros across oversized tees, tank tops and basketball shorts; Lord Varaha with Horns anchoring the crop-top run; and Mask Goddess as a statement piece on DTF-printed basketball shorts.
Four order rounds in, the band is now planning a new album — and from every conversation so far, the merchandise for it is coming to Merchland too. One band, one merch partner, no more shopping around.
Orders land on the band's Shopify store and ship from our floor — the band never touches a box.
06 — Snapshot
The order at a glance.
Metric | Detail |
|---|---|
Client | Ksetravid — Indian Metal Band |
Segment | Music / Independent Artist |
Product Types | Round-neck tees (180 GSM biowash), oversized tees (220 GSM loop-knit biowash), tank tops (180 GSM biowash), crop tops, basketball shorts |
Total Units | 80+ pieces in the first order, plus ongoing per-order fulfilment |
Print Method | Custom DTG Print (apparel) + Custom DTF Print (basketball shorts) |
Order Phases | 4 rounds — bulk first order, free re-stitch, two Shopify-fed batches — plus always-on fulfilment |
Delivery Geography | Kolkata to pan-India dropship |
Outcome | Exclusive merch partner running the band's full Shopify pipeline; album merch in planning |
07 — FAQ
Questions, answered.
Why did Ksetravid switch their merch production to Merchland?
Ksetravid were unhappy with merchandise quality from a previous supplier — flat printing and thin garments that didn't do their album artwork justice. Guitarist Pritam sent Merchland over 50 reference photos for an honest quality assessment. Merchland's feedback, followed by a first order that genuinely matched the artwork, gave the band the confidence to move production over.
How did Merchland fix the basketball shorts issue for Ksetravid?
The basketball shorts in the first batch were stitched too tight to be comfortable on stage. Merchland had every pair re-cut and re-stitched by its manufacturing master at no charge, then hand-delivered the corrected shorts to the band at their Kolkata tour stop and collected the faulty pair in person. That free fix and personal handover earned the band's full trust.
Can a band run an always-on Shopify merch store with Merchland?
Yes. After the first orders, Ksetravid opened a Shopify store and Merchland took over the pipeline end to end — orders placed by fans flow straight to Merchland, which prints each piece to order and dropships it directly to the customer. There is no bulk stock to hold and no unsold inventory risk; production simply matches real demand.
What print methods does Merchland use for band and music merch?
Merchland uses Direct-to-Garment (DTG) printing for soft, detailed, full-colour artwork on cotton apparel, and Direct-to-Film (DTF) printing for bold, crack-resistant artwork on technical fabrics like basketball shorts. For Ksetravid, four album artworks were printed across eight garment configurations using a mix of both methods.
How do I get a quote for custom merchandise from Merchland?
Email contactus@merchland.in or call +91-62899904011. Visit merchland.in and submit the inquiry form with your design brief, quantity, product type, and deadline.
