eclipsegrafx

As a person who deals with both pad and print I will say they both have their strengths and weaknesses. Some of the benefits of digital printing: More colors can be used More durable (depending on the vendor offering the service and how current their technology) More detailed, digital printing can really produce some fine details at a small scale. With some of the books we offer in lego size, you need a magnifying glass or a cellphone photo to actually read the words. You can not get this level of detail with pad printing. (again dependent on the vendor being used) The ability for textured print (this can add depth to a print) Pad printing advantages The ability to print metals smoother flatter prints (great for photos) Ability to print on round surfaces without losing details and also a greater coverage on round surfaces In terms of speed, it all depends on the project at hand. All results will vary depending on the printer being used and if the person cares about the details they are producing. We have a high standard that causes us to chuck a lot of, what would seem like, good prints. Both have setup costs, but pad will have more set up costs, typically per color. I would definitely do pad prints for large volumes when possible but it depends on the amount of colors involved. hope this helps.

Hi, its Victor - AKA Eclipsegrafx, I have been on this forum for several years now and competed in at least one contest but never really was able to hang around due to time and also how big this forum is. O.O Man you guys are huge! Anyway, I am hoping to start small and hang around the MCW section (as advised) and every once in a while venture out. I am primarily a customizer then a builder. I hope to strengthen my building skills soon but for now I am having fun making all my minifigures. :D When ever I can I will give some feedback and input on custom designs I see. I hope to become a valuable member some day to the community but for the time being.... baby steps :P. Well thanks for listening.

Thanks Night stalker! We always love hearing feedback (good or bad) and hope to improve all around next year. :D

I want to apologize to the whole EB community. I hate this drama and I further hate it coming on to another reputable forum. To Clarify this whole LIE this guy is spitting about the young justice release: Pop did have there figures designed first and no one mind at all because it was distinctively different. As soon as eclipseGrafx (we) announced our figures and showed off our designs "poppunkmonkey" decided to not only change their designs but use replicas of our new figure styles. It wouldnt have been such a big deal if the style was similar to LEGOs but we spent about a month working on a template that would compliment LEGOs style and match that of the cartoon. They then (within a week) changed all their templates to match suit. Phoenix Custom Bricks did release screenshots of their upcoming figures, and the difference here is that theirs is distinctively different then ours or that of minifigs4u. They did not copy us but used the same reference material to make their own rendition of the figures (as the_customizer was explaining). Also owning your own printer doesn't make you or your practice more or less credible. (FYI) Lastly, I would take whatever PCW says with a grain of salt as he has been caught in his web of lies many times before.

Raminator- I apologize for how the conversation quickly went south. I was asked to come post and shed some light on pricing for printers and the rest... Well sorry. If you have some spare funds and are willing to explore the world of printing I believe a pad printing starter kit costs about 1500. It would come with everything needed to print (including 1 color pad printer) and to make plates. I am not sure how readily available it is in Germany though.

LOL No I have not been talking to DIY tshirt printer. Thats a funny comment to make. You print more then LEGO? Interesting... In a recent conversation you told me you were just designers not printers and now you are telling me you are the printer too? What is the correct story now? But solvent is old inkjet technology that companies are phasing out for UV inkjet. Pad companies aren't phasing out Pad for UV though. I have been biting my lip here to not bring the Flickr drama here. Eurobricks is a awesome community and does not need to be tarnished by lies and embellishments. I won't be responding anymore to reduce the outbreak that is sure to follow. I am sorry to all the EB moderators. Keep up the good work. :)

Its funny I hear directly from UV printer companies (the companies themselves) that people who are already using Pad don't switch over as often as new buyers would because the clarity isn't the same. But if you think you can speak for those companies outside of your expertise level then by all means I am sorry for contradicting you. You also weren't the first to print 360 on lego. ;) Trust me on that one. Actually solvent is the LEAST durable of the three. It is OLD technology. Again from years of experience and working with other companies. It does not eat into the plastic like UV and Pad does. And in the end, cost of time and materials, a pad printer really does more then a digital can. Albeit you still need more maintenance but the results rendered are still worth it. Lastly, unless you are using cheap ink, pad ink also bonds ("eats") into the plastic as well. Thats why some LEGO torsos are harder to erase then others. I come from a background of this stuff from before LEGO and have been in the printing and designing industry far longer then I have been in the LEGO community.

I am sorry for the late post to this but it was just brought to my attention. 1. You do NOT need 30-100k to buy a digital printer. Yes there are some in that price range but you can get them cheaper. And depending on what you need it for the cheaper ones may suit your needs. I have found digital (not UV) printers starting at about 5k. THe difference is the curing process and the ink durability. With a regular digital printer you would need to seal the ink in some manner so it doesnt wear off as easy. I have found UV solvent inkjets starting at about 20k. A little easier to swallow then a 30k printer but it does do the same work, quality and if bought from the right company you can get some nice warranty packages with it (not extra). Pad printers can start at about 700 for a manual 1 color printer and go up from there. A decent 2 color printer could be about 3-5k. Some of the companies out there start with a 1or 2 color machine and just run the projects through multiple times to get the needed amount of colors on their project. For 4 colors and up you can start spending about 20-30k and upwards. I do not imagine there being a need to spend more then 40k on either technology. For pad printing the 2 important ingredients are the pads you are using and the ink. The machine is just a middle man to get your artwork to where you need it. More and more people are not moving over to digital because of durability and what not, its just cost effecient and simpler then making plates. Pad can produce more product in the same amount of time as digital can. Apples to apples. There are many reasons why most companies WILL NOT transfer over to digital. You will never get the same level of clean details with digital as you can with pad, you will not get the same coverage either. Pad allows you to print better on rounded surfaces where digital has huge limitations. Yes digital can withstand more tests but when its scratched it chips away alot easier then pad. LEGO for one, will never switch over to digital, atleast not in the foreseeable future with current digital technology. You are correct, for larger batches, pad printing is best by far. The amount of time it would take to make 1000+ head prints on a 2-4 color pad printer would be a fraction of what it takes on the digital. Though the extruded texture of the ink that you mention here can be reduced by more experienced printers. I have been striving to achieve near pad quality on my stuff. If you look on my flickr our latest designs have a mix of raised and not raised prints on them. It really all depends on what you are shooting for. Though I predominantly print with digital I prefer pad. But because I do figures in smaller batches with multiple colors, digital becomes more economical for me for now. I do offer both pad and digital prints though. Check us out on flickr or our website. (hope its ok to mention this here if not moderators please feel free to delete this) thank you. That looks very nifty and fun to play with it. Id like to get my hands on one of those sets.

Not that I know of unless you have a printer like Will from BA.

Since he is on vacation I can't find any of his work to link you to, sorry. Hopefully in a week he should have some stuff up but I know he was also behind on order. What exactly (if anything) are you looking for?

Actually its not more difficult to do. It (in my opinion) is easier BUT its more expensive. I will have a line of printed heads coming out soon but in order to make an order I had to buy a minimum of 50 heads. Other printers do 100 pieces. I plan on offering alot more but I need to build up the capital for it. The reason people don't offer it as much as you might like is that for decals you can make one figure to display and then make the rest of the figures as you go. With printed pieces you have to start holding inventory and it may get pricey especially if some of your items don't sell fast enough. I know of some clones that will be printed in the future by someone else as well. There is only one other customizer who does fully custom printed minifigs and his shop on ebay is closed so I can't even link you to him yet. Christo offers some really high quality stuff. But it is also very expensive.

That torso is great. Love the detail work.

I can make them shorter. I did actually but that one was just a functionality design to have multiple ways of holding it. My original one didn't have the middle piece added to it. If you would like me to do a couple more designs for maul just let me know. I will try them in black. :)

I am probably too late I just saw the GMT on the deadline but here goes nothing: Theme: TURTLE POWER! (Ninja turtles/Cartoons) Character : Donatello Costume Cost: I can't say since it was stuff that I had already but millipu was 7$ for the whole pack. Some electric tape and paint. The paint is 2$ per color.... so maybe 12$ Oh and the label paper for the torso. Materials used: Lego pieces, Milliput, paint, crazy glue, and electic tape. Auntmay in her closet ready for TURTLE POWER! I wanted to go with something a little different so I chose a character from one cartoon series to place into another series. Ever since the death of uncle Ben, and Peter Parker moving out, Aunt May had to find things to do to fill in the gaps of her new found life. It seems fun to go to costume parties and eventually it became a regular thing for her. This year she was excited to find a vintage suit of one of her favorite oldies cartoons. Donatello! Wait till the girls see me in this! She thought to her self. :)

I vote 2 for Morgan19 and 1 for the penguin. I chose them for there originality and how much they made me laugh. :P

Its ok. I had to atleast give it a shot. :) Not sure how far in the running I would have made it anyway. I will still post my second idea over the weekend. :)

Yeah I figured, Maybe an exception can be made? Pweeeze? :( I was going to stay up last night to do it and fell asleep at my desk then woke up early only to double check the ending time and realize I may have been too late. Though the time only says 12 GMT I wasn't sure if it was midnight or mid day. Oh well. If there is an exception I'd appreciate it but if not I understand. Its not like I would have an advantage over the rest :P.

Thank you! The childhood comment was exactly what I wanted it to do. The mask can actually stay on without the electric tape too which is pretty cool! I originally was going to make it out of paper/cardboard to portray more of that childhood feeling.

Hope I am doing this right. Thanks for the welcome. I joined some time ago but was never familiar on the forum style. I think I am getting the hang of it. I decided I will make both my ideas and vote which I like better. :P Then post that one up.

Not sure if I missed it or not but how many entries are we allowed? I have 2 different ideas I want to do but don't know which would be better. Also, if possible to know, what will the judge(s) be looking for in the winning figs? Thanks.