Ceramics are a class of poker chip distinct from the other main classes: plastic, china clay, and clay. The distinguishing feature of ceramics is that their graphic design is printed across the face and along the rolling edge using dye-sublimation printing, which allows them to have a full-face design of any sort desired, whereas the other three classes limit the custom-printed area to the center decal / inlay.
Most ceramic suppliers provide options for full custom artwork; most also offer stock designs that you can purchase without needing to supply your own artwork, and some allow limited "semi-custom" alterations of stock designs to change out text and denominations.
There are several different types of blanks that the suppliers use to print their chips; accordingly, each supplier's chips will feel somewhat different. Some are textured, some are smooth; some are sharp-cornered, some are beveled; etc. Although different ceramics do feel different from each other, as a class they all feel somewhat alike, and feel very different from the other classes (plastic, china clay, and clay).
Your main options for ceramics are as follows:
Stock mass-market designs available from major retailers such as
Amazon and
eBay. Common examples are Laurel Crowns, Nile Clubs, and Scrolls. These aren't well-regarded by PCF members.
Stock designs, semi-customs, or full customs from ABC Gifts and Awards / BR Pro Poker (the two companies have merged even though their websites have slightly different product offerings). These are quite well-regarded here. Popular designs include Dia De Los Muertos, Tiki Kings, and Nevada Jack Skulls, but they have a very large selection of stock designs, and most can be semi-customized.
Full customs from Sun-Fly. They offer three main types of chips. Their PolyChrom chips are standard ceramics, similar to the others discussed here. Their PolyClay chips have debossed designs molded into the edge of the chip, which gives them an appearance somewhat similar to clay chips (but note that they're still very different from clay chips). Their PolyInno chips are what we call "hybrid" chips - they have a recess molded into the center of the chip which takes a decal, which again makes them look somewhat similar to clay chips (but again note that they're still very different from clay chips). Sun-Flys are well-regarded here, but note that shipping costs and/or minimum order quantities can make them expensive outside of group buys.
Full customs from certain Chinese suppliers who operate out of Alibaba.com. These are generically referred to as "cards mold" chips around here, since the first large purchase of them used an edge mold with debossed cards, but there are also diamond molds available, as well as plain molds. The cards molds and diamond molds are similar to the Sun-Fly PolyClay chips in that they have debossed designs molded into the edge of the chip. There are two different suppliers that various PCF members have worked with, named "Tina" and "Anita". Tina and Anita have provided chips that are similar yet slightly different from each other.
Chips from these two Chinese suppliers are very affordably priced, typically 30 cents each when purchased in large quantities through group buys, and somewhat more expensive when purchased as an individual. Drawbacks include long production and shipping times, although individual orders go through and are delivered faster than group buys. Most PCF members have been very happy with the chips they received, especially given the price, although there have been some quality issues. You can read people's comments about quality, and a comparison between the two vendors,
in this thread.
To learn more about how to work with these Chinese suppliers, including how to contact them and arrange an individual purchase, see
this thread. Alternately, people run group buys on a frequent basis, and depending on the timing it might be possible to join in the group buy to get a better price and let someone else handle the purchasing logistics, at the cost of a longer delay before getting the chips. You can read through
the Group Buys forum section to see whether there are any active group buys still looking for people to join.
Old casino chips and custom sets. The first manufacturer of ceramic chips was Chipco; they sold chips to casinos but are now out of business. Casinos still use ceramic chips supplied by companies such as Bourgogne et Grasset; they are generally only available to casinos and not to the general public. However, older chip sets made by Chipco, B&G, and others can sometimes be found for sale in the PCF Classified Ads, for example
here,
here, and
here. And
here's a thread with examples from a wide variety of manufacturers, most of them now out of business.
Other assorted suppliers and designs:
- You can get a handful of stock designs from BBO Poker Tables. These haven't been discussed much here. Here's one review of them, and if you search for "BBO ceramic" you'll find some other discussions about their chips (they also make poker tables).
- Slowplay makes a line of ceramics. There's not much information about them on PCF, probably just this one thread.
- EPT (European Poker Tour) is a commonly-found design on ceramic chips, and you can get them from several vendors (here's an example from MandyChips.com). I haven't seen any discussion of these.
- There's a new mass market design called Bullets that's recently become available. I haven't seen any reviews of these on PCF.
With this background information, you can search the forum to get a lot more details, reviews, and examples for almost all of the above, and that can both help you make a decision about what you'd like to purchase
and give you better information about how to purchase them.
HOWEVER: Whether you end up going with mass-market chips or full customs, it's important to
get samples first of any chips that you think you
might be interested in, before you order a full set. Even with the cheapest set it's still going to be a significant investment, and all of these feel different enough from each other that you may well have strong preferences for one over another. Getting samples is a cheap way to make sure you're going to enjoy the chips you end up with.
Good luck, and feel free to ask more questions any time! PCF is full of experienced, helpful, and mostly friendly people.