[toad94]

This is part 2 of my custom chip adventures in 2002/2003. Part 1 is here: http://www.chiptalk.net/forum/custom-chips-general/50441-ordering-custom-asms-2002-long-but-pr0n.html


When I first started looking for customs, the 2000 chip minimum and $150 artwork per design Chipco charged was too much for me to reconcile. So in 2002 I ordered a set of less-expensive ASMs; the finest chips in the home market, IMO. Poker nights, casino nights—fun was had by all. But…

Being in Colorado, most of the casinos use Chipcos. The constant exposure to Chipcos when playing at the local casinos revived my interest in Chipco’s Pro-Tech chips. As much as I love my ASMs, I wanted to try something different.

So I contacted Chipco and got the ball rolling on a custom set. At the time (2002/2003), their Pro-Techs cost: 39mm, 80 cents; 44mm, 95 cents; 47mm, $1.25. Also, a very cool option of putting UV ink on the chip was available for 10 cents.

I sent my artwork to Chipco and within a few weeks (I think, memory hazy on the timing) I received the proofs. What a mess. I didn’t do my artwork on Photoshop (since I never learned how to use it) but Holy Cow. The fonts were all messed up. The colors were completely different. Design elements missing all over the place.

I don’t have the first round of proofs they sent, but for analogy purposes, imagine sending a picture of a one-dollar bill to Chipco, and getting back a proof of a Monopoly $1 bill. Man, was I bummed. (okay, maybe that analogy is a bit harsh, but we’re not talking about minute details here—we’re talking missing dollar signs, completely different colors in some areas (blue instead of orange? Yeah, that’s close…), straight lines where there used to be curves, entirely different fonts, etc.)

I sent numerous emails detailing my concerns. I got back responses about how their color palette could only be stretched so far, maybe my monitor wasn’t adjusted properly, etc. So I took photo paper and printed out each chip in 8” fashion and snail-mailed them a manila envelope of glossy chip design printouts. They fixed almost all of the issues (like getting the font to look less like a preschooler writing with crayons and more like the font I had used) but the green still looked like celery and the black looked like charcoal. More rounds of emails begging for some attention to detail followed.

The next email read like this: “Mr. Huntley, we believe your needs fall outside our design and manufacturing capabilities…” Oops, I really did it this time. They’re ready to cut me off. So I wrote back saying “Not at all, we’re now very close on the fonts and design elements. I just want a darker green on the $25s, darker black on the $100s, and maybe a little better color-matching on the edge design.”

I had a few anxious days waiting for a response. I was fully expecting Chipco to give me the finger and send me packin’. Finally, after four days, I received some slightly modified proofs. The greens were a bit greener, the blacks a bit blacker. But the edges, well, you’ll see in the pics how that turned out.

I okayed the proofs and about three months later I received three big boxes of chips. The colors turned out much better than I had feared. And to be fair, me not using Illustrator or Photoshop caused a lot of the headaches in the first place.





Looking back, I’m glad Chipco worked with me as hard as they did because the chips are great. Chipco’s satin texture feels awesome. The colors are vibrant and the detail is quite good. I’m also very glad I got the 44mm chips when I could.

Complaints with the finished product:
The gradient on the $100 rolling edge looks terrible, messes up the look of the stacks (my fault entirely—very poor design). In fact, as much as the black ink bled over the colors of the face of the chip, the face isn't very good, either. And this is really a shame, because black chips are usually my favorite. Oh well.
The images are not quite as sharp as I’d hoped they would be. I still like the overall look, but the gradients are nearly as smooth as I would hope they would be and I didn't expect as much "bleed" between colors.
The color matching from the design face to the rolling edge (esp. on the $2.50 and the $1000) is not even close.
The 44mm, although very cool and not available from Chipco anymore, wobbles a little when the stacks get higher than about 15 chips. Not fully “spinners” in the true sense of the word—the don’t actually spin—but enough wobble to notice a difference from their 39mm counterparts.

So the big question is whether or not I’d go with Chipco again. Other than a large tournament set or roulette set of Unicorns, I’d say no. I understand deeper colors and sharper images can be obtained from Pro-Techs if you have perfect artwork or if you’re a casino with plenty of $$$ to get the chips just right. But I’m not a casino and I’m not a professional graphic artist. Besides, my less-than-perfect artwork has worked just fine for PCO to produce beautiful ASMs for years now. To be fair, some places like Home Poker Chips offer artwork services and serve as a middle-man between the consumer and Chipco. With their expertise I’m sure the chips would come out exactly as expected. I just didn’t have that resource back when I got my chips.

Please don’t get me wrong, I love my set of Chipcos. But one of the main topics on Chiptalk involves whether to choose clay or ceramic for custom chips. Even though I enjoy playing with both types, if I could choose only one, I would go with clay. Part of the allure of poker chips for me concerns their history (of the chips & games and of gambling in general), and to that end I like the historical/nostalgic element of clay chips. The fact that my custom ASMs are basically the same chip as the ones made 50 years ago and used at the Thunderbird, Flamingo, and Dunes is appealing to me. Also, the tactile qualities of how clay chips sound, feel, look, and smell (yes, smell; at least with a new box of 'em) is hard to beat.

Here are my chips as they now stand. It includes the ASM set discussed in part 1, a set of roulette chips from PCO, some faux clay color-tests I'm working on, and the aforementioned Chipcos. Thanks again for reading!

[palmimports]

Originally Posted by toad94

This is part 2 of my custom chip adventures in 2002/2003. Part 1 is here: http://www.chiptalk.net/forum/custom-chips-general/50441-ordering-custom-asms-2002-long-but-pr0n.html


When I first started looking for customs, the 2000 chip minimum and $150 artwork per design Chipco charged was too much for me to reconcile. So in 2002 I ordered a set of less-expensive ASMs; the finest chips in the home market, IMO. Poker nights, casino nights—fun was had by all. But…

Being in Colorado, most of the casinos use Chipcos. The constant exposure to Chipcos when playing at the local casinos revived my interest in Chipco’s Pro-Tech chips. As much as I love my ASMs, I wanted to try something different.

So I contacted Chipco and got the ball rolling on a custom set. At the time (2002/2003), their Pro-Techs cost: 39mm, 80 cents; 44mm, 95 cents; 47mm, $1.25. Also, a very cool option of putting UV ink on the chip was available for 10 cents.

I sent my artwork to Chipco and within a few weeks (I think, memory hazy on the timing) I received the proofs. What a mess. I didn’t do my artwork on Photoshop (since I never learned how to use it) but Holy Cow. The fonts were all messed up. The colors were completely different. Design elements missing all over the place.

I don’t have the first round of proofs they sent, but for analogy purposes, imagine sending a picture of a one-dollar bill to Chipco, and getting back a proof of a Monopoly $1 bill. Man, was I bummed. (okay, maybe that analogy is a bit harsh, but we’re not talking about minute details here—we’re talking missing dollar signs, completely different colors in some areas (blue instead of orange? Yeah, that’s close…), straight lines where there used to be curves, entirely different fonts, etc.)

I sent numerous emails detailing my concerns. I got back responses about how their color palette could only be stretched so far, maybe my monitor wasn’t adjusted properly, etc. So I took photo paper and printed out each chip in 8” fashion and snail-mailed them a manila envelope of glossy chip design printouts. They fixed almost all of the issues (like getting the font to look less like a preschooler writing with crayons and more like the font I had used) but the green still looked like celery and the black looked like charcoal. More rounds of emails begging for some attention to detail followed.

The next email read like this: “Mr. Huntley, we believe your needs fall outside our design and manufacturing capabilities…” Oops, I really did it this time. They’re ready to cut me off. So I wrote back saying “Not at all, we’re now very close on the fonts and design elements. I just want a darker green on the $25s, darker black on the $100s, and maybe a little better color-matching on the edge design.”

I had a few anxious days waiting for a response. I was fully expecting Chipco to give me the finger and send me packin’. Finally, after four days, I received some slightly modified proofs. The greens were a bit greener, the blacks a bit blacker. But the edges, well, you’ll see in the pics how that turned out.

I okayed the proofs and about three months later I received three big boxes of chips. The colors turned out much better than I had feared. And to be fair, me not using Illustrator or Photoshop caused a lot of the headaches in the first place.





Looking back, I’m glad Chipco worked with me as hard as they did because the chips are great. Chipco’s satin texture feels awesome. The colors are vibrant and the detail is quite good. I’m also very glad I got the 44mm chips when I could.

Complaints with the finished product:
The gradient on the $100 rolling edge looks terrible, messes up the look of the stacks (my fault entirely—very poor design). In fact, as much as the black ink bled over the colors of the face of the chip, the face isn't very good, either. And this is really a shame, because black chips are usually my favorite. Oh well.
The images are not quite as sharp as I’d hoped they would be. I still like the overall look, but the gradients are nearly as smooth as I would hope they would be and I didn't expect as much "bleed" between colors.
The color matching from the design face to the rolling edge (esp. on the $2.50 and the $1000) is not even close.
The 44mm, although very cool and not available from Chipco anymore, wobbles a little when the stacks get higher than about 15 chips. Not fully “spinners” in the true sense of the word—the don’t actually spin—but enough wobble to notice a difference from their 39mm counterparts.

So the big question is whether or not I’d go with Chipco again. Other than a large tournament set or roulette set of Unicorns, I’d say no. I understand deeper colors and sharper images can be obtained from Pro-Techs if you have perfect artwork or if you’re a casino with plenty of $$$ to get the chips just right. But I’m not a casino and I’m not a professional graphic artist. Besides, my less-than-perfect artwork has worked just fine for PCO to produce beautiful ASMs for years now. To be fair, some places like Home Poker Chips offer artwork services and serve as a middle-man between the consumer and Chipco. With their expertise I’m sure the chips would come out exactly as expected. I just didn’t have that resource back when I got my chips.

Please don’t get me wrong, I love my set of Chipcos. But one of the main topics on Chiptalk involves whether to choose clay or ceramic for custom chips. Even though I enjoy playing with both types, if I could choose only one, I would go with clay. Part of the allure of poker chips for me concerns their history (of the chips & games and of gambling in general), and to that end I like the historical/nostalgic element of clay chips. The fact that my custom ASMs are basically the same chip as the ones made 50 years ago and used at the Thunderbird, Flamingo, and Dunes is appealing to me. Also, the tactile qualities of how clay chips sound, feel, look, and smell (yes, smell; at least with a new box of 'em) is hard to beat.

Here are my chips as they now stand. It includes the ASM set discussed in part 1, a set of roulette chips from PCO, some faux clay color-tests I'm working on, and the aforementioned Chipcos. Thanks again for reading!

good post. One of the biggest problems with ceramic chips is: as a manufacturer WE know what will print well- what will print ok and what will print so-so. The designer most times doesnt know- you cant know. You cant know what colors to avoid- what doesnt print well- what artwork wont work- what color shifts will take place- etc... its a learned process - normally through designers who do alot of ceramic chip designs and keep notes on what to avoid- what fonts to avoid- how big to make a font etc... and usually only AFTER a job is made and the problems surface.

I think if the manufacturers took the time to write an article for potential orders- detailing the pitfalls to avoid- it would help alot of people get exactly what they want.

We all know chipco produces an awesome chip- vibrant colors- etc-- but I think its ONLY when artwork is done the way it needs to be done in order to produce these results. Working outside of AI or PSD I am sure can cause problems- and it IS the preferred software to be used- in addition to corel draw I am sure.

We see a ton of crappy artwork-- sometimes we dont know a chip wont look snappy until after 100 or more are printed- I am sure its the same for chipco- so basically the orders are printed and what ya get- ya get. The only control is the artwork-- but for some reason there is nothing published regarding how to submit artwork- what to use- what fonts wont work- what color combinations wont work-

Again- good post though.

Seems like a simple solution to write this info and make it available.

[tastic]

The edge design on those black chips is spectacular...very cool all stacked/racked

Originally Posted by toad94

[toad94]

Originally Posted by tastic

The edge design on those black chips is spectacular...very cool all stacked/racked

Very kind of you, tastic. On the original design, the gradient went to black much faster. On the completed chips, the gradient takes up so much space, the black gets overwhelmed. I wanted a blacker black, so to speak.

[toad94]

UPDATE: Add-ons arrived today. I called a few weeks ago to see about adding to my set just to even out the quantities of $1s, $5s, and $25s. I could not locate my order # from 2003, but Tina at Chipco was able to find it and away we went.

The only hiccup concerned the 44mms. I had heard Chipco didn't allow non-casinos to order 44mms anymore. But since I was told at the time I ordered the original set that I could add to the set later, I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask, as if the 44mm designs were grandfathered in before the rule came into effect. Nope. No 44mms. Period. No biggie, really, I'm glad to have the ones I have.

Anyway, after getting the quantities and $$, it took two weeks for the chips to be printed and then shipped. All in all, a very smooth transaction with good communication.

Now to the chips: about 500 add-ons. One minor problem is that some of the $25s are a darker shade of green than the originals. Not a big deal. The other pic is my 39mm set together.