We’re back with the fourth in our series of Shop Owner tips to help you get your shop ready for the holiday season.
Personalization is one of the most popular ways to make a gift special. Not coincidentally, it is one of the greatest things we can do with 3D printing! Luckily, it’s easy too.
If you have a model that can be personalized, you can turn it into a co-creator. Good models that could be personalized include rings, tags, keychains, company logos, business card holders, and iPhone cases. The list is endless!
Making a model into a Co-Creator is easy. On your My Models page, under the description there is a link to make this model a Co-Creator
You will get this pop-up where you can specify what is able to be customized on your model whether it is adding text, adding an image or even changing the size. You also indicate how long it will take you to make these changes once someone has ordered your model.
Best Practice Examples. Kaetemi makes this customizable keychain that can have custom images.
This is the what the customer sees for kaetemi’s model:
Another example is Ovidu Opresco’s ring which is able to be customized with text and for ring size.
For more instructions, see this tutorial page on Co-Creators and consider if any of your models could become co-creators.
As always, if you have tips or any questions, share them here!
This would be sooo much easier if we could define this somehow on the 3D file (either before or after uploading it).
Then there would be no delay with having to process the file again manually and re-upload for printing.
There would obviously be set limitations, and strict definitions for the changes (such as for images only and text only, or both…).
I can see this being extremely useful for the designer side as well, if you’re, say, printing a set of mugs for a client, you can then change the ’embossed’ logo for a different client also interested in the same item.
I would find this seriously useful for the serialisation of prints, by having a similar process set for the designer where serial numbers or QR codes could be automatically generated per print.
I know we’ve passed September but there are still some chestnuts about…
Cheers,
Luis.
Thanks for sharing, Luis! Really helpful feedback.
In addition to your normal client work, would an improved co-creator platform inspire you to work with other types of customers? What kinds of templates have you thought about?
Hiya,
Thanks for the response.
What I mentioned was what I would expect the Co-Creator platform to offer as optional alternatives to the current system: What I believe it should evolve into.
Without a clear outline on what you mean by ‘would an improved co-creator platform inspire you to work with other types of customers’ I cannot comment.
The current templates I use are to make custom branded items (logo currently printed on steel and pressed manually) so there are two prints involved: The item and the logo, both of which have to be shipped to me where I process them manually. Not ideal considering what could be done with the technology available.
Aside from client batches, the personalisation option would also extend the meaning of 3D printing to truly encompass its uniqueness.
Cheers,
Luis.
I agree with Luis.
I want to purpose a solution: it would be great to have a sort of visual scripting implementation – a sort of Grasshopper-like platform – to parametrize geometry rules and keep some parameters free with number slider o image uploader.
It would be great.
Goodbye..
I’d also be very interested in an improved version of co-creator.
My main idea would be, as mentionned by @Luis, is the ability to add a “serial number” zone, in order to have the added value of uniqueness for the customer, and a huge amount of saved time for the designer . (Editing and re-uploading objects each and every time it is sold would be an almost impossible task)
Please tell me it’s on your agenda ? 😉