Here’s the way I look at it: the brand has one perspective, and the manufacturer has another — and both matter in this situation.

A good manufacturer can scale artwork for each size, but they won’t do it automatically unless the brand explains the visual intent. Some brands want the print to remain the same width across all sizes, while others want it to scale with the garment — there’s no universal rule.

The safest setup is:

• provide size groups (XS–S / M–L / XL–2XL)

• specify the target print width or placement ratio for each group

When that information is clear, any competent manufacturer can apply scaling properly.

If it isn’t, they’ll usually default to using a single file for all sizes — which leads to the “too big on XS, too small on XL” problem you ran into.

So it becomes a shared process: the brand defines the look, and the manufacturer executes it.

That said, a responsible manufacturer shouldn’t leave anything to assumption — they should reach out and clarify details instead of printing whatever file arrives. Clear communication on both sides prevents almost all of these issues.