[jello-broom]

Originally Posted by palmimports

it wouldnt fix the shifting problems- but a printed color chart done using the ink/paper would allow you to see those colros that can be printed.
If you send me an image with YOUR red we would change it to the red closest to the color chart- but its impossible to guarantee YOUR red will print exactly as you see it on your screen.
I think thats what chipco does

Perhaps ... I'm picking colors out from the color wheels so when I place an order I can say "I want color number xxxx" so I know that color will be THAT color I see on the wheel ... I just think it'd help out everyone if you, Gene, and anyone else that provides ceramic chips to have a definied color palette (from their printing equipment) that customers can pick from ... you know what I mean? Then people wouldn't have to worry about trying to find the perfect Red (for example) on their computer screen, and instead pick a Red from predetermined Reds.

[kmalsom]

Originally Posted by jello-broom

Perhaps ... I'm picking colors out from the color wheels so when I place an order I can say "I want color number xxxx" so I know that color will be THAT color I see on the wheel ... I just think it'd help out everyone if you, Gene, and anyone else that provides ceramic chips to have a definied color palette (from their printing equipment) that customers can pick from ... you know what I mean? Then people wouldn't have to worry about trying to find the perfect Red (for example) on their computer screen, and instead pick a Red from predetermined Reds.

Especially if you provide the CYMK or sRGB color codes for each color on the wheel.

[Johnny5]

There seems to be quite a bit of misinformation in this thread, hopefully I can clear some of it up rather than contribute any further to it.

First, with all respect, the opinions of vendors selling specific products need to be taken with a grain of salt. In this case, obviously Joe thinks that the "equinox series III no spin" blanks (aka the standard Sunfly Chinese blank, correct?) are the best because that's what he sells! Let's face it, the vast majority of casino's would (and clearly do) choose Chipco, over any other ceramic and to suggest otherwise is just misleading. In my book, the only real casino ceramic currently available to consumers is Chipco (if that matters to you).

Chipco has their own fixed color palette which is good and bad. Good because they use their own spot colors & can achieve brighter and more vibrant colors than some other ceramic vendors printing standard CMYK. The colors are what they are, so if you have colorwheel chips, you know what the colors will look like in the end product. Bad because it is limited, and artwork needs to take this into account and be created (or adjusted) properly for best results. When going with Chipco, you NEED TO use the colorwheel chips as a reference and also have trust your designer and/or reseller. Chipco doesn't do prototyping (well they do, but it's expensive) albeit the need for this service is slightly reduced because of their fixed color palette. They are also far more expensive than the other options. If you like Chipco's, those are the tradeoffs.

I have a set of Chipco's myself and there are ZERO spinners present, however I have many newer Chipco sample sets that do contain spinners. I agree that for the price they certainly should not. Spinners aside, Chipco's do stack better than any other Ceramics currently available (other than possibly the old NJ blanks).

All of that being said, the other ceramics in the market are really nice and I take nothing away from them. They are all high quality chips, priced well and look great which is why they seem to be taking over the market these days! The introduction of aligned edges really give them an 'edge' over Chipco IMO, and the print quality is quite close.

For those who don't know, vector artwork is completely scalable artwork (ie. ai/eps). Raster art isn't scalable, and is made up of individual pixels (ie. gif/jpg). Vector artwork can be 'rasterized' (for instance if you wanted to post a design mockup you created in Illustrator, you might export the artwork as a jpg), however I don't understand the logic in rasterizing vector artwork for printing. JM (did you actually rasterize the AI artwork I sent)? I assume not, and that you meant 'vectorized'. Perhaps in Joe's process it actually works, however in my experience, vector artwork will typically produce higher quality (sharper) print results than raster artwork. At 600dpi+, the difference may be small or even nonexistant, however I can't see the raster art actually printing better.

Anyway, that's my 2¢(CAD). As always get samples, do your research etc....

[T-roy Boy]

I apologize for hijacking your thread,

If you (or anyone) were willing to spend $.75, $.90, or $1.25 per chip for a denom on one side and a custom lable on another side, which chip would you get?

I got a quote for nexgens at $.57 per chip, but I just don'e know if I like them.

Thanks
T-roy

[JM]

I didn't change the artwork you sent at all, but you're right, I meant vectorized (if that is a word!) there. I'm going to go correct that. I had raster on the brain for some reason lol.

[the3rd]

Maybe I'll just wait for B&G to get into the home market.
I think many casinos don't use anything but Chipco because they don't know of any competitors. Plus gaming commissions require some sort of built-in identity/security measure that other vendors can't offer yet.

Casinos and large businesses in general have two major concerns when buying products of this type: bottom line and the need for a vendor to deliver on promises. Chipco must produce a quality product so as not to effect the bottom line of its customers. But it doesn't mean that its products are so good as to not merit considering other options. A lot of people get hung up on this. A company can market it toilets as being used in more prisons than any other brand. That is a certain testament to their durability, but that doesn't do much for me if I don't run a prison.

As for the art issue, I'm not as artist, but when I told a friend who makes his living with Adobe products about this, he was baffled as well. He said something like, "it's only an inch-and-a-half big. How could changing format right before printing make a difference." But I'll take Joe's word for it. He's got the chip printer and the rest of us don't.

Originally Posted by Johnny5

...do your research etc....

Thanks. I think that is what everyone in this thread is here for.

[King of the Farm]

Originally Posted by Johnny5

There seems to be quite a bit of misinformation in this thread, hopefully I can clear some of it up rather than contribute any further to it.

Anyway, that's my 2¢(CAD). As always get samples, do your research etc....

Pffft...

Don't listen to Johnny. He doesn't know sh!t.


Oh wait, I agree with everything he said.

[Hokemon]

Johnny is the man.

[cschwatk]

Hey guys,

It's been a while since I made a post so I thought this might be a good thread to add to.

I just wanted to let you guys know that you can't upload a vector file in to the ChipLab, however everything you are editing inside the designer outputs as a vector file for print (the borders, backgrounds, etc.). If you have a vector file just send it to us and we can add it to your artwork. There is no additional cost for such additions. We can even add it in on the backend so you can play with it in the designer application.

I also wanted you to know that we use PDF files for output...but that's because it's an open source format that easily integrates with the rest of our software.

For Chipco's - choose us. Best prices, best editing tools, best turnaround times. If you want us to help you with designing your art we have full time artists...the fee is a flat $50.

Cheers - hope this finds you all very well,

Chase Schwatka

[smitty007]

Originally Posted by palmimports

I have to read our contracts to make sure release of manufacturer information is permissable-
weve manufactured for 2 US casinos and are awaiting bid approval for a 3rd not in the USA. THe out of country one definately prohibits this in addition to all of them not allowing release of specs or artwork.

I think there's also something in our wareohuse bond/insurance regarding this I need to review-- I'll see what we can mention in the next few days
JOe

Joe,
Are the casino's using the textured or smooth ceramics from you?