[tonypap]

Originally Posted by the3rd

I'm in the minority on this site when I say I prefer ceramics. Like Joe said, Chipco has more contracts with casinos, so if it is all about bragging rights; "my chips are used in more casinos than any other," go with them. Get samples. Haven't heard that one before, have you. Since I have samples of everthing and have played with full sets of most out there, here's my 2 cents.

Blanks. There are 4 I know of for the home market. The best blank is the Sunfly. No sharp edges anywhere. Small, smooth injection molding mark. Superior flatness. B&G is better IMO, but unavailable. Sorry Joe. Next best, IMO is Chipco due to its texture, followed by ABC then CasinoTek. I think NJ is reserving their old blanks for re-orders by previous customers.

Texture is more subjective. I and most prefer the Chipco texture. ABC is doing away with textured chips. Original NJ are too rough and ruins the image quality. Some think smooth varieties are too "toy-like." They are mostly diehard clay people.

Print quality is only as good as the art file. But apples-to-apples, ABC is every bit as good as Chipco and they are better than Sunfly, NJ and CasinoTek. I suspect BR Pro's printing on a Sunfly blank is going to knock my socks off. Don't get me wrong, I'm not slamming anyone. All wil produce a chip you will be probably be more than happy with, but when it comes to hair-splitting I give the edge to Chipco, ABC and BR Pro. I can't find the post, but after doing your art in a vector program, converting the final image to a raster format may result in a better chip. I think it was Joe at PI or Gene at ABC who said this. Please don't read too much into this, I may have been hallucinating.

Options. Chipco can't do aligned edgespots. I think this is a moot point. If you want aligned edgespots get clays.

Search for and read my other posts regarding ceramics. There are many which may be helpful. I WILL be getting a custom set eventually. It stinks being at the mercy of artistic friends with Adobe software.

WOW...that was very informative. THANKS! I will definitely consider all of your points!

[palmimports]

Originally Posted by tonypap

Is there any way I can get a sample of your new ceramics?

but of course- send me an email to: palmimports@aol.com
Given the SAME IDENTICAL artwork- most everyone's printing will be good- it comes down to: price- customer service- and blank preference.
If you like chipco's white ring- then those are the chips to go with albeit theyre pricey.

If spinners are unacceptable consider equinox blanks ( although with the warped paulson issue becoming acceptable were gonna start selling spinners soon) ( that was a joke)

Although our newest series of blanks are damn close to chipco's rim design--
not to add more confusion to an already confusing topic

I still maintain- if you buy chipco chips- you should expect and demand as near perfection as humably possible-
same with Paulsons-
if you want to charge me 1.00 for a chip and the ones you made for years were dead on the money- then dont tell me now its acceptable that my chips are warped- and theyre made in mexico now to save money ( and increase profit as the price of the chip didnt drop by the difference in labor costs)
so.. the product is now slightly inferior- theyre making alot more money- and its what it is.

I spent alot of time and money having a TRUE mold made for my ceramic chips-- and were STILL making changes-

CHina seems to be able to make a chip thats not warped- although the fit and finish isnt in paulsons league-- it wil when were done with it--
I'm rambling and going off topic- send an email and I'll get you samples incl chipcos

[tonypap]

Originally Posted by palmimports

but of course- send me an email to: palmimports@aol.com

e-mail sent!

[JM]

If you can wait about a week Tony, I'll make sure Susan sends you one of these chips with her thank you note. They are made by ABC using their new smooth blanks and they feel VERY nice and look great.

[tonypap]

Originally Posted by JM

If you can wait about a week Tony, I'll make sure Susan sends you one of these chips with her thank you note. They are made by ABC using their new smooth blanks and they feel VERY nice and look great.

Thanks, JM. I'm in no rush at all. I still haven't even started working on my artwork!

-t

[Hokemon]

This debate will never end. However my two cents and my money went for custom CHIPCOS (photos soon) - I am completely and utterly happy with them. When you get the samples from all of the manufacturers (I did), it will be crystal clear which are the best. If price is no object, CHIPCO is your brand. In my opinion, if you are serious about custom ceramics and price is a consideration for you than you should save your money until you can afford CHIPCOS. Good luck.

[palmimports]

Originally Posted by Hokemon

This debate will never end. However my two cents and my money went for custom CHIPCOS (photos soon) - I am completely and utterly happy with them. When you get the samples from all of the manufacturers (I did), it will be crystal clear which are the best. If price is no object, CHIPCO is your brand. In my opinion, if you are serious about custom ceramics and price is a consideration for you than you should save your money until you can afford CHIPCOS. Good luck.

LOL I agree- its like saying- who makes the best car.
Like ive said before- I have a TON of chipcos here- many are excellent- and many are so-so- the so-so chips were probably done using customer supplied artwork which was also so-so.
Good artwork= good chips. GREAT artwork = GREAT chips.
poor artwork-poor chips.

A big problem is: go call chipco and say- " listen- I'm thinking about ordering a 300 or 500pc set of ceramics- could you do a few mockups for me so I can see how the finished product will look?"
... can ya tweak my artwork for me without additional costs?
... can ya do away with the artwork fees, setup fees- other fees?
... can I see a scan of my mockups in a day or two?
...can ya perhaps send me a few mockups if I pay the shipping and a small fee for the mockups?
... can I have these by next week- I have company coming over for a big game?
... will your chips have a hi gloss edge ?
... will ya replace any real bad spinners quickly?
... I need 100 chips for my birth announcement-- can I get these for less then 75 cents each?

With that said- they DO make a very high quality poker chip
Thats why some people drive BMW/Lexus/mercedes even though a chevy will get them to work in the same manner

[Hokemon]

Well said. From the initial design conception to receiving my chips took around 3 months.

Tonypap: good luck in your decision!

[noelsarchs]

Originally Posted by JM

If you can wait about a week Tony, I'll make sure Susan sends you one of these chips with her thank you note. They are made by ABC using their new smooth blanks and they feel VERY nice and look great.

I just placed my order with ABC for the new kokopelli's using the old textured blank....I'm now wondering if I should have gone with this new smooth chip? Arghhhh!

Maybe the reason I'm sticking with the old textured is because it seems that the others in the group buy are doing the same. Therefore I have an outlet with these others if I ever want to sell some of the 800 chips I ordered.

But now I'm having doubts about which one to use only because ceramics are a new experience for me.

[the3rd]

Originally Posted by Hokemon

This debate will never end. However my two cents and my money went for custom CHIPCOS (photos soon) - I am completely and utterly happy with them. When you get the samples from all of the manufacturers (I did), it will be crystal clear which are the best. If price is no object, CHIPCO is your brand. In my opinion, if you are serious about custom ceramics and price is a consideration for you than you should save your money until you can afford CHIPCOS. Good luck.

How was the centering on your chips? I think it was at Bally's in LV, a lot of their chips were off center, approx. 2mm, to the point of the image touching the edge. By a lot I'm talking about one per stack or 5%. I wasn't looking hard either. This was before I came to chiptalk. IMO, that is too high a rate for the price they ask. BTW, Who did you order from, homepokerchips, chiplab or marlow?