Trying to find a solution for iphone blanks corners... We can do it! :-)

[asfasf]

Tried to make some iPhone cases according to the manual by ArtyGamer but did not manage to get the corners that good. Corners are pretty ok when I use film though. But there is also a problem with the front edges, please check the image.
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[RichardAu]

ArtyGamer,

Is your temperature/time for Epson or for Ricoh?

Thanks for sharing,
Richard

[ArferMo]

Any chance of a few more pictures to follow on from putting the hot former in to the new case.

I'd like to see if you do any more to the corners before putting in to the vacuum unit and also some pics of it being placed in to the vacuum unit if you get time please.

A VERY USEFUL THREAD

[membrane]

I've tried to get someone to help me with a video but it's just not been possible thus far. What I did (for now) was to take photos while I was doing a case to let you see what I was doing. They're just phone photos so the quality is a bit gash, but hopefully you'll get a better idea and be able to see the outcome.

Photo 01 (below):
This is how I tape my designs - just one reasonably long piece of tape at the top and bottom of each print. On the blank side, obviously!



Photo 02 (below):
This is how it looks on the printed side, with the tape now behind it. You'll notice that my Photoshop template has a white guide box to let me see where the aperture is on the case - an iPhone 4 in this instance. You may also notice that the image is considerably lighter than the finished case - this is because I literally wasted dozens of test-print cases, tweaking the curves each time until I got to the point where the finished case matched the on-screen representation. I now use that same curve layer for all my designs prior to printing so that I know the finished case will be black where it's supposed to be, white where it's supposed to be, and the colour gradients exactly how I want them.



Photo 03 (below):
This is where I now peel the protective film from the case and place it exactly where I want it on the printed design. The peeling process creates enough of a static cling that the case doesn't shift easily once it has been placed on the design. You can still move it if need be, but it's best to use the white box as the pivot point so that this part remains a constant while you adjust the distance on either side to get a vertical symmetry. You'll also notice that I leave a LOT of bleed around my image - this is so that the sides get full coverage and so the edges also take on the print rather than the customer looking down at their phone and seeing a white edging.



Photo 04 (below):
Close up of the white box within the aperture so you can see how it's lined up. Obviously, I've left a considerable amount of overprint so that the camera window doesn't end up with a white edge around it.



Photo 05 (below):
Once the jig has been in the vacuum press heating up to 200 degrees for twenty minutes (from cold), I take it out and place it directly on to the case while it remains in situ. I had trouble working out how I could possibly take a photo of this stage as I need two hands, and I couldn't. So what I actually do is to hold my left index finger down firmly on the case at the bottom area while I slot the hot jig into the top part of the case, then I slip my finger out at the same point as I push the jig down with the rest of my right hand. Obviously I'm wearing gloves at the time! The case NEVER moves, which will be a combination of the static cling and the fact that I'm holding it down while I place the jig inside the case. It also helps that the cases are slightly larger than the jigs until they're heated.



Photo 06 (below):
Now that the heated jig is sitting in the case, I pull up the top tape and secure it to the jig, then do the same with the bottom tape. I make sure to pull these pretty tight while I press down hard on the jig so that no cold air ever gets between the case and the printed design as I'm sure that could affect the result. So you'll see from this that there is NO design whatsoever inside the case, unlike many of the YouTube videos where they encourage you to fold it all over the place and tape it in various places. Ultimately, all you need to do is hold it in place long enough to get it into the vacuum press and that takes care of shifting the design to the case, so there's really no need to go crazy like you're wrapping up fish and chips with newspaper! As soon it's in the press, I hold my palm down on top of the case while the vacuum kicks in so that it has a ridiculously tight fit over the top of the case and jig. Once the vacuum has pulled the membrane down fully on to the base of the chamber, I then look at the corners to see if they need a little nudge - if they've been gathered TOO much by the vacuum process, I'll rub my fingers gently down the crease to help disperse it. Then I close the lid...



Photo 07 (below):
The finished case! This remained in the heat press for 3 minutes and 30 seconds, and to save time messing around with timers while the press is hot and there's a hot jig sitting on the case, I kept it sitting at the twenty minutes it was originally set at, and just paused the timer once it reached 16 minutes 30 seconds remaining, disengaged the vacuum and took it out straight away. As soon as the print was ripped off, the case went straight on to a dummy iPhone 4 that I got from Amazon (links to all my dummies at the bottom), and dropped straight into a bucket of cold water.



Photo 08 (below):
You'll see from this image that the design not only goes right up the sides of the case but also on to the facing edge. This probably isn't necessary, but I just don't like the idea of someone maybe getting a predominantly dark case from me and it being let down by this glaring white edge that you'd see as you looked at the phone. That was my main reason for wasting so much time working out the best way to go about doing these cases. You can also just about make out that the corners have also taken on the design, but the next photo will show that better.



Photo 09 (below):
Apart from the dodgy bit of loose plastic at the bottom (which I smoothed off with a Dremel when I noticed it after I took the photo), you'll see that the image carries all the way around the corners and edges of the case. My thoughts are that I get a better transfer because I'm not folding the design here and there with creases all over the place. I'm letting the vacuum do all the work, and I just give it a little nudge by smoothing it where I think it's necessary, depending on how the vacuum membrane gathers the image at the corners.




EDIT: Forgot the links to the dummies!

iPhone 4/4S: http://amzn.to/1qsGDiR
iPhone 5/5S: http://amzn.to/1shbjza
Samsung S3: http://amzn.to/1liqyqF
Samsung S4: http://amzn.to/1gaEq7k

I've been trying to use your method without any success. I keep having creases. I tried to smooth them out after the membrane gets sucked down but I can never get them completely out (any suggestions on how to to this properly?). I have a few more questions:

Do you have the suction (pressure) turned all the way up or is it at a specific setting?

What sublimation paper are you using? Maybe yours is better at folding around corners than what I've been using?

[Justin]

Wow....longest quoted post ever! lol

[socialgiraffe]

I just followed your method exactly Artygamer and it worked really well, no faffing with wrapping, corners came out lovely and all is good.

Great thread and your post gets my "post of the month" award

[ArferMo]

@ArtyGamer Mark..... I'm running out of finger nails and cases trying to suss out how you do those wonderful corners with paper.

Please please please find time for the next installment of pictures or a close up video..... I'm in danger of damaging my press with frustration

[socialgiraffe]

ArferMo

He is not doing anything to the corners, the vacuum is taking care of them. Look at picture 6, that is exactly how the puck (with printed sheet) is put in the machine (with the case and printed sheet at the top). The membrane is then placed over the puck and the vacuum is turned on, as the membrane molds around the iphone case you can smooth out any creases using your fingers (with gloves obviously).

Keep at it mate, Arty really showed a great way of doing these here, and once it all clicks you will be so happy

[ArferMo]

socialgiraffe thanks, that's what I have been doing but when the vacuum pulls down the corners don't seem to pull in tight enough even with prodding and poking its almost like the paper is too thick and stiff or maybe there is not enough vacuum. Could you post a close up picture of one of your corner's, not the finished case but when the vacuum has been applied and you have smoothed it please.

[socialgiraffe]

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Its a terrible picture, but it gives you the idea.