Custom Ceramics? (1 Viewer)

[Chris La Mantia]

I have generally avoided the idea of ceramic chips; I've only ever played with clay (or plastic, of course), and the few sample ceramics I have seen have been low-resolution as if they were printed on a cheap inkjet.

But one of the custom chip ideas in my head would only work on a ceramic, and I know @Mr Tree recently got an awesome ceramic set done so I am guessing improvements have been made in the process.

Is there a particular sample set or company I should be looking at as an example of ceramics done well?

Thanks!

 

[MrWitti]

Often it's less the capability of the printer and manufacturer that defines the quality of the chips, it's the graphic that can have huge influence. As an example certain colors might be more dominant when they re sublimated on the chips. Certain effects can be a bit more tricky (ie color-fading). As such having this kind of feedback and advice from the vendor, can significantly improve the product.
In my view a ceramic chip on a smooth blank looks more detailed than on a textured.
If you can spend some additional $$, print samples.

I have ceramics from some of the vendors here, but all seem to offer top service and support, maybe check them out first

 

[Nex]

I have samples of (purportedly) relatively low-quality ceramics, namely Scroll and Nile Club, as well as a full set of custom Sun-Fly chips.

What all three have in common is the slight blurriness of the graphics everywhere. (Well, I don't know what source graphics they used for Scroll/Nile Club of course, but the source graphics for my Sun-Flys were vector-based, hence not low-res and extremely sharp.) I think this simply stems from how the color is applied, which I was told is done by sublimation, where the colored wax temporarily transforms into a gaseous state - which would explain the loss of crispness.

However, the Nile Clubs' printing quality definitely is much lower than the other two. For many colored areas, when you examine them really close, you can actually see the different dots of primary color that were used to create the impression of a mixed color when viewing from a normal distance. On the Scrolls, this is barely visible, and on the Sun-Flys everything appears to be a solid color.

What also influences the visible print quality/sharpness is the texture of the chip. The Sun-Flys are roughed up with a very tiny grid pattern, which naturally create rises and recesses on the surface and this certainly has to negatively influence the outcome of color sublimation (bigger travel distance -> bigger room for aberrations). The Scrolls have a very similar texture, whereas the Nile Clubs are completely smooth.

 

[MillyS]

Ceramics done properly are now superb. As mentioned above some colour combinations bleed a little more not giving that crisp contrast. Black and yellow comes to mind.

Sun fly
Old west poker supplies
BrPro Poker

Are all great.

There are others but I haven't used them myself.

 

[Mr Tree]

I have generally avoided the idea of ceramic chips; I've only ever played with clay (or plastic, of course), and the few sample ceramics I have seen have been low-resolution as if they were printed on a cheap inkjet.

But one of the custom chip ideas in my head would only work on a ceramic, and I know @Mr Tree recently got an awesome ceramic set done so I am guessing improvements have been made in the process.

Is there a particular sample set or company I should be looking at as an example of ceramics done well?

Thanks!

Chris, did you have a chance to handle my Paymasters? If not let me know next time you are over and I will get them out.

 

[BGinGA]

Hard-pressed to beat the print quality and feel of GOCC custom ceramics, although you will pay a bit more for it.

Sun-Fly, OWPS, ABC, PGI, and BRPro all do a decent job, and are competitively priced on customs.

Using a top-notch art file is a must.

 

[Chris La Mantia]

Chris, did you have a chance to handle my Paymasters? If not let me know next time you are over and I will get them out.

I missed them last time!

 

[Matijan]

The detail in Puzzlemonkey's sample run looks great here:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/happy-dia-de-los-muertos.8951/

 

[ChrisB]

Ceramic manufacturers should be printing using the highest DPI possible as it takes the longest to print but produces the sharpest image quality. Also dye sub colors on screen don't always come out the same when printed so the manufacture needs to know how to tweak the colors. If the transfer paper is not applied tightly to the face or sides the transferred image can ghost or gas causing colors to bleed or flare out of area.

 

[HighPlainsDrifter]

Are the GOCC a more smooth or rough ceramic?

 

[CdnBeerLover]

Depends on the finish. I have some pictures of the finishes in the GoGuard thread in their sub-forum.

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/goguard.19676/

My personal preference is the one used on the Windy Crest chips made for @CraigT78.

 

[HighPlainsDrifter]

Thanks --

How much do these run nowadays? Couldn't see any prices on their website.

 

[CdnBeerLover]

I believe GOCC are normally in the 80-90c range. They periodically have sales (eg the recent Easter one), though.

Only way to know for sure is to contact them (ekoch@gameoncc.com).

 

[Mr Tree]

They also scale their pricing to order size I believe. Always worth contacting them.

 

[RiverAce01]

I just put in an order for custom ceramics. Got a great price and couldn't really go above what I got. Anxiously waiting the order to come in and see how they come out. I, too, have never used ceramics, But after watching some YouTube videos about them, think they will be a great type of chip for what I've ordered

 

[Mr Tree]

I will heartily endorse GOCC from personal experience. I think their product is fantastic and they are great to work with.

 

[HighPlainsDrifter]

Thanks!

 

[CraigT78]

I would second the recommendation of GOCC - they were fantastic to work with and the product is very well done. Get samples! They weren't all that much....

 

[CraigT78]

Are the GOCC a more smooth or rough ceramic?

Smooth but very slightly textured. Like parchment paper.

 

[HighPlainsDrifter]

Out of curiosity, did you send them custom graphics? And if so, what was the resolution?

 

[CraigT78]

Out of curiosity, did you send them custom graphics? And if so, what was the resolution?

Yes, and I have no idea. The artwork was done by @p5woody. Then their art department adjusted one of the colors after a trial run. Great people to work with all around.

 

[p5woody]

Yes, and I have no idea. The artwork was done by @p5woody. Then their art department adjusted one of the colors after a trial run. Great people to work with all around.

The artwork was vector based so it isn't resolution dependent. Unlike raster graphics, vector images are not resolution-dependent. Vector images have no fixed intrinsic resolution, rather they display at the resolution capability of whatever output device (monitor, printer) is rendering them. Also, because vector graphics need not memorize the contents of millions of tiny pixels, these files tend to be considerably smaller than their raster counterparts. Overall, vector graphics are more efficient and versatile. Common vector formats include AI, EPS, CGM, WMF and PICT (Mac).

 

[HighPlainsDrifter]

One more question. Was reading about how Chipco ceramics often bleed color after a few years... then found out this may happen with other ceramics, especially red ones. Does anyone know if that happens with GOCC chips?

 

[Ken]

I have Chipco ceramics made in 2002. The red chips bled enough to notice but it wasn’t horrible.

I had some GOCC chips made in 2014. They haven’t shown any signs of color bleeding yet.

 

[Mental Nomad]

One more question. Was reading about how Chipco ceramics often bleed color after a few years... then found out this may happen with other ceramics, especially red ones. Does anyone know if that happens with GOCC chips?

Ceramic chips are printed via dye-sublimation. The ink is printed onto transfer paper, then pressed against the chip and heated. The heat transfers the color, like an iron-on.

If you store the chips where it can get hot, some color can transfer - especially the old Chipco red.

Dye-sub inks have improved over the years and don't bleed as easily, but it's still best to keep them in a cool place. I'll bet a hot trunk in the summer has caused the bleeding on a fair number of old ceramics.