Help with Tina Card Mold or No Mold (2 Viewers)

[Worthy_Cap]

Getting ready to put a Tina order together. What are the pros and cons of card mold vs. no mold? Does it affect stacking, spinners, etc..? Other than the discoloration near molds…any reason to go with either or?

All help and opinions appreciated!

 

[Venturalvn]

Having 2500+ cards mold and just received 1200+ no molds (textured), let me give you my thoughts: no molds by a long mile.

Clearer printing, better stacking (more stability, fewer spinners), better sound, feels better in the hands.

 

[allforcharity]

No mold should have slightly mote friction compared to card molds. But I don't have actual chips in front of me to compare.

 

[Worthy_Cap]

Having 2500+ cards mold and just received 1200+ no molds (textured), let me give you my thoughts: no molds by a long mile.

Clearer printing, better stacking (more stability, fewer spinners), better sound, feels better in the hands.

Thanks! So, no mold, textured is what you would recommend?

 

[Venturalvn]

By a long shot!

 

[Rooster410]

I have both and prefer CM due to look, feel and sound. Also way less spinners in my CM sets than the no molds textured.

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

Thanks! So, no mold, textured is what you would recommend?

100%. I love using the entire face for art.

Also, full disclosure, Ive been finding more and more spinners in my no molds. My players have never known anything different so we don't care that much, but we'll see if they keep changing.

 

[Colquhoun]

100%. I love using the entire face for art.

Also, full disclosure, Ive been finding more and more spinners in my no molds. My players have never known anything different so we don't care that much, but we'll see if they keep changing.

I figured this would happen. When I first got the textured no-molds, there were some “semi spinners”. They spun like a half-turn, but you could tell they really wanted to spin!
I figured as they became more worn, that friction or grip would lessen and they would spin more. It sounds like that’s what’s happening.
Honestly though, spinners never really bothered me as much as it annoys some folks here.

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

I figured this would happen. When I first got the textured no-molds, there were some “semi spinners”. They spun like a half-turn, but you could tell they really wanted to spin!
I figured as they became more worn, that friction or grip would lessen and they would spin more. It sounds like that’s what’s happening.
Honestly though, spinners never really bothered me as much as it annoys some folks here.

Youre right, worse on the little 5c pieces. I totally see why it would throw you off if youre not used to them, but Im still very happy with the product.

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

Getting ready to put a Tina order together. What are the pros and cons of card mold vs. no mold? Does it affect stacking, spinners, etc..? Other than the discoloration near molds…any reason to go with either or?

All help and opinions appreciated!

You're not going to get a consensus here, or even much agreement. It should come down to which one you prefer, not what others prefer. Do you like most plain ceramic chips? Do you want artwork all across the face? Personally, I don't so in my own custom sets I only used no mold for my Bounty chips. I love cards mold because I want my chips to emulate compressed clay chips. I want a mold. I want edge spot designs and centered art that looks like an inlay.

Both are great chips at a great price. Both have pros and cons. You need to decide which one gives you the look that you want.

 

[Worthy_Cap]

Are there any Tina molds that have recessed inlay but no outer mold like the cards?

 

[Colquhoun]

Are there any Tina molds that have recessed inlay but no outer mold like the cards?

Yes, they’re known as hybrids. An example can be seen here:
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/nuts-hybrid-tina-chips.95735/

 

[andrebttx]

I’m glad you’ve asked this question so I can follow this discussion. I like my card mold set a lot, but I think I need to go ahead and track down a shuffle stack of the textured no molds for comparison.

For people that have handled both textured BRPro chips and Tina No Molds, how would you say they compare?

 

[Venturalvn]

I’m glad you’ve asked this question so I can follow this discussion. I like my card mold set a lot, but I think I need to go ahead and track down a shuffle stack of the textured no molds for comparison.

For people that have handled both textured BRPro chips and Tina No Molds, how would you say they compare?

BRPro blanks are far higher quality - no spinners and stack like bricks. Tina's printer seems cleaner, and the colors are brighter.

 

[Colquhoun]

I’m glad you’ve asked this question so I can follow this discussion. I like my card mold set a lot, but I think I need to go ahead and track down a shuffle stack of the textured no molds for comparison.

For people that have handled both textured BRPro chips and Tina No Molds, how would you say they compare?

The standard blanks from BRPro are superior. The texture is smoother, but still has a great gritty feeling, almost like sandpaper. The faces of the BRPro chips are slightly concave, so there are zero spinners. I also think their printing is more consistent. Customer service with them is great, and getting samples made is easy.

The textured no molds from Tina are more textured feeling, it’s like a deeper hatch pattern. More spinners, because there’s plenty of chips where the center of the face touches the center of other chips. What these have going for them is the price and the ability to get tributes and replicas of real casino chips.
Also, the BRPro chips have a glossy edge, while the Tina chip edge has a matte texture.

I personally prefer the feeling of the BRPro chips and appreciate the consistency, but the price point of Tina chips cannot be ignored. Recommendation, as always…get samples and decide for yourself

 

[andrebttx]

I personally prefer the feeling of the BRPro chips and appreciate the consistency, but the price point of Tina chips cannot be ignored. Recommendation, as always…get samples and decide for yourself

Yeah, that’s pretty much where I’m at. I really love my DDLM cash set, but my Aria’s Cards Mold tournament set also ran about half of that price. And considering my wife and I want aligned edges on this next set, the price discrepancy grows even more. Hence why I’ve gotta grab a no-mold sample.

But I definitely have to echo all of the positives you listed about BR Pro as a company and their products.

 

[4SUMERZ]

I have a 500 cash set of Tina no-mold Mirage tribute chips and I have found zero spinners to date.
The feel and image color is outstanding.

 

[Coyote]

I got a set from Tina, through Black Arrow vendor (@justincarothers ) and I am very satisfied (New Greek Mold hybrids).
No spinners and even labels aligned to the edge spots. VERY nice for the price.

 

[andrebttx]

Yeah, that’s pretty much where I’m at. I really love my DDLM cash set, but my Aria’s Cards Mold tournament set also ran about half of that price. And considering my wife and I want aligned edges on this next set, the price discrepancy grows even more. Hence why I’ve gotta grab a no-mold sample.

But I definitely have to echo all of the positives you listed about BR Pro as a company and their products.

Just as a revisit to update from this post, we did end up getting Tina’s textured No-Molds, and are very satisfied with how they came out. I ordered 1400 to be able to winnow down to a set of 1200 in the event of spinners / due to the 25x ordering count, and I didn’t need to be worried at all. No spinners at all among the 39mm chips, and very very few among the 43mm - like, a couple per denomination, tops.

So I can definitely endorse both Cards Mold and No Mold, and would say it’s pure personal preference at this point.

 

[boujibud]

love how those turned out. was just reading this for some anecdotal advice as I go into a ceramic purchase. thanks for sharing!

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

Just as a revisit to update from this post, we did end up getting Tina’s textured No-Molds, and are very satisfied with how they came out. I ordered 1400 to be able to winnow down to a set of 1200 in the event of spinners / due to the 25x ordering count, and I didn’t need to be worried at all. No spinners at all among the 39mm chips, and very very few among the 43mm - like, a couple per denomination, tops.

View attachment 1232208

So I can definitely endorse both Cards Mold and No Mold, and would say it’s pure personal preference at this point.

That faux hot stamp turned out fantastic. I had to double take - thinking "how did he hot stamp a Tina chip?"

 

[SeanGecko]

That faux hot stamp turned out fantastic. I had to double take - thinking "how did he hot stamp a Tina chip?"

Faux hot stamps by Tina can look really good.

 

[andrebttx]

That faux hot stamp turned out fantastic. I had to double take - thinking "how did he hot stamp a Tina chip?"

Thank you - all credit to @timinater for knocking it out of the park! (Though part of the reason I reached out to him in the first place is specifically because I had seen his faux hot stamp designs)