[T.Rob]

Welcome!

One word of caution on samples... Make sure you have a sample of what the CURRENT custom chip blanks will be. Nevada jacks old texture is just that old. The sunfly texture blanks have changed, and may no longer be available from anyone. Joe may be able to clear some of this up, specifically for sunfly blanks, but i believe blanks have been changing (or have changed) over the past 3 to 6 months, and if you are getting custom chips you want to sample the blank that will be used on your new chips, not an old version of what used to be.

I do not think Chipco has changed so you are safe with probably any of their samples, but you may want more than one design to see different print qualities.
The sunfly changes will need to be clarified by someone who knows. Joe help us out here? Again, a couple different designs is good for different print qualities.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by T.Rob

Welcome!

One word of caution on samples... Make sure you have a sample of what the CURRENT custom chip blanks will be. Nevada jacks old texture is just that old. The sunfly texture blanks have changed, and may no longer be available from anyone. Joe may be able to clear some of this up, specifically for sunfly blanks, but i believe blanks have been changing (or have changed) over the past 3 to 6 months, and if you are getting custom chips you want to sample the blank that will be used on your new chips, not an old version of what used to be.

I do not think Chipco has changed so you are safe with probably any of their samples, but you may want more than one design to see different print qualities.
The sunfly changes will need to be clarified by someone who knows. Joe help us out here? Again, a couple different designs is good for different print qualities.

I believe we are the only company that print our orders in the main factory and ship directly from there. Other companies order blanks, atleast 50,000 at a time, to print themselfs. This means they might get stuck with an older inferior blank. When ordering from us you always get the latest and best Sun-Fly blanks.

Overall it is my experience that ChipCo still offer sharper printing than we do and a more grippy surface texture. However, the benefits from ordering Sun-Fly chips by far compensates for this. I can give you several reasons why most people would choose Sun-Fly before ChipCo in a heart beat:

- We can print almost any color you would like. ChipCo will only print 80 specific colors.
- We will print 100% of the chip's surface if you want us to. ChipCo always leave a white unprinted ring around the edge.
- We do not require that our company initials are printed on the chip. ChipCo does.
- We offer aligned edge spots. ChipCo does not.
- Our pricing is by far lower than ChipCo's.
- We can offer even the smallest of customers excellent service. It is not uncommon that we exchange 5-10 emails with the same customer in a single day.
- We can offer faster turnarounds. All orders are, under normal circumstances, delivered within 2 weeks.
- We offer two different surface textures - Satin and Linen ("Smooth" and "Textured").

I can think of more reasons why to go with Sun-Fly but I think that is more than enough to demonstrate the great advantages.


Matt

[palmimports]

Originally Posted by Matt

I believe we are the only company that print our orders in the main factory and ship directly from there. Other companies order blanks, atleast 50,000 at a time, to print themselfs. This means they might get stuck with an older inferior blank. When ordering from us you always get the latest and best Sun-Fly blanks.

Overall it is my experience that ChipCo still offer sharper printing than we do and a more grippy surface texture. However, the benefits from ordering Sun-Fly chips by far compensates for this. I can give you several reasons why most people would choose Sun-Fly before ChipCo in a heart beat:

- We can print almost any color you would like. ChipCo will only print 80 specific colors.
- We will print 100% of the chip's surface if you want us to. ChipCo always leave a white unprinted ring around the edge.
- We do not require that our company initials are printed on the chip. ChipCo does.
- We offer aligned edge spots. ChipCo does not.
- Our pricing is by far lower than ChipCo's.
- We can offer even the smallest of customers excellent service. It is not uncommon that we exchange 5-10 emails with the same customer in a single day.
- We can offer faster turnarounds. All orders are, under normal circumstances, delivered within 2 weeks.
- We offer two different surface textures - Satin and Linen ("Smooth" and "Textured").

I can think of more reasons why to go with Sun-Fly but I think that is more than enough to demonstrate the great advantages.


Matt

Matt couldnt have said it better myself- not to mention- A USA rep and a European Rep with well proven track records.

[palmimports]

Originally Posted by T.Rob

Welcome!

One word of caution on samples... Make sure you have a sample of what the CURRENT custom chip blanks will be. Nevada jacks old texture is just that old. The sunfly texture blanks have changed, and may no longer be available from anyone. Joe may be able to clear some of this up, specifically for sunfly blanks, but i believe blanks have been changing (or have changed) over the past 3 to 6 months, and if you are getting custom chips you want to sample the blank that will be used on your new chips, not an old version of what used to be.

I do not think Chipco has changed so you are safe with probably any of their samples, but you may want more than one design to see different print qualities.
The sunfly changes will need to be clarified by someone who knows. Joe help us out here? Again, a couple different designs is good for different print qualities.

Matt and I ALWAYS keep the folks here at CT up to date on any changes-- currently were staying with what we market- the Equinox series III blanks- hi gloss edge in smooth or textured. There are no other changes planned in the blanks for the near future other then our hybrid which is being loaded on the boat real soon and the 43mm ceramics which we should have in production within 2 weeks

[Buzzerbeater]

Originally Posted by Matt

- We do not require that our company initials are printed on the chip. ChipCo does.
- We can offer faster turnarounds. All orders are, under normal circumstances, delivered within 2 weeks.

These two points depend on where you buy your Chipcos from. When I bought mine from TheChipLab I did NOT have the CI initials printed on my chips and I had my order in about 2 weeks.

[Hokemon]

Just my 2 cents, but I kinda like the "CI" on my Chipcos. Shows I've got the real deal - not a wanna be .

[Matt]

Originally Posted by palmimports

Matt and I ALWAYS keep the folks here at CT up to date on any changes-- currently were staying with what we market- the Equinox series III blanks- hi gloss edge in smooth or textured. There are no other changes planned in the blanks for the near future other then our hybrid which is being loaded on the boat real soon and the 43mm ceramics which we should have in production within 2 weeks

Yeah, that is correct. Palm Imports are using the latest and best blanks just as we do


Matt

[jello-broom]

Originally Posted by Matt

- We can print almost any color you would like. ChipCo will only print 80 specific colors.

Those 80 specific colors that Chipco has ensures that the color you want your chips to be will BE that color ... there'll be no guessing and no need for prototyping ... I think the specific 80 colors is a good thing ... and I think 80 colors is pretty plenty.

Originally Posted by Matt

- We will print 100% of the chip's surface if you want us to. ChipCo always leave a white unprinted ring around the edge.
- We do not require that our company initials are printed on the chip. ChipCo does.
- We offer aligned edge spots. ChipCo does not.

On a Chipco, I like the white ring ... but when non Chipco ceramics use a white ring, it seems odd (??). The "CI" mark on a Chipco is so small and can be so unintrusive, it doesn't matter if it's there or not. For a ceramic chip, aligned "edge spots" aren't essential ... sure you can do some "neat" stuff with that option, but I don't consider aligned edges as a plus for a ceramic.

IMO, I don't see any of the quoted points above as negative against Chipco.

Originally Posted by Matt

- Our pricing is by far lower than ChipCo's.
- We can offer faster turnarounds. All orders are, under normal circumstances, delivered within 2 weeks.
- We offer two different surface textures - Satin and Linen ("Smooth" and "Textured").

In my eyes, these ARE valid points for choosing SunFly over Chipco ... although I wouldn't mind paying more and waiting longer to get Chipcos.

I should also add, that full face printing is a valid point too, but like I said, I don't mind the white ring on a Chipco.

[the3rd]

Originally Posted by jello-broom

Those 80 specific colors that Chipco has ensures that the color you want your chips to be will BE that color ... there'll be no guessing and no need for prototyping ... I think the specific 80 colors is a good thing ... and I think 80 colors is pretty plenty.


On a Chipco, I like the white ring ... but when non Chipco ceramics use a white ring, it seems odd (??). The "CI" mark on a Chipco is so small and can be so unintrusive, it doesn't matter if it's there or not. For a ceramic chip, aligned "edge spots" aren't essential ... sure you can do some "neat" stuff with that option, but I don't consider aligned edges as a plus for a ceramic.

IMO, I don't see any of the quoted points above as negative against Chipco.


In my eyes, these ARE valid points for choosing SunFly over Chipco ... although I wouldn't mind paying more and waiting longer to get Chipcos.

I should also add, that full face printing is a valid point too, but like I said, I don't mind the white ring on a Chipco.

Austin5String made a color chart for Joe, although I have to say it has too many blue options and some of the essential colors for poker chips aren't very vibrant. I agree that aligned edge spots are not very important to ceramics unless you want a replica design. I've only seen a couple designs where the white ring works. A chip seems incomplete to me with the ring. You can't forget prototyping as a nice service you can't get from Chipco. HPC offers a money back guarantee, but it is nice to see what your chips will look like without investing time on something you may not like and have to send back.

[jello-broom]

Originally Posted by the3rd

You can't forget prototyping as a nice service you can't get from Chipco. HPC offers a money back guarantee, but it is nice to see what your chips will look like without investing time on something you may not like and have to send back.

I'll agree, prototyping IS a nice service and may be important to do (that is, IF you need to have prototypes made in the first place) ... but what I mean is, with a specific color palette, such as the one with Chipco/HPC, all you need is Chipco color wheels and you can choose colors knowing that's what they'll look like, instead of relying on colors you've chosen from your computer screen and then possibly dealing with color shifts in the printing process with other ceramics ... for me, that would be the main (and probably ONLY) reason to get samples/prototypes first if I were to get SunFly/ABC ceramics; to ensure and correct color accuracy.

Although it WOULD be nice if you could get a few samples of a custom Chipco made before you buy, I don't think it's really necessary ... I'll trust them.

Originally Posted by the3rd

Austin5String made a color chart for Joe ...

I really think it would be great if all custom ceramic retailers had their own specific palette (color wheels/samples) so you can easily pick and choose colors.