A thought on Shapeways printing problems.!

[gully_raker]

:salute: G'day All!
Browsing through the many post on Shapeways printing quality the thought came to me that the bad printing may be caused by having only a few aircraft in the tray along with other stuff that requires printing in a different orientation (?)

The reason I say this is that none of the Aircraft we have received in the Bulk Orders Zoe has coordinated have had printing flaws. Because we order so many they obviously can fill trays & print with the optimin orientation for Aircraft.

Just a thought but it may have a bearing on the problem.:confused:

[Oberst Hajj]

Barry, I have been thinking the same the last couple of days.

[Pseudotheist]

Speaking of which, it may be useful to point out, if it hasn't been already, that there's a feedback suggestion on the Shapeways site to allow designers to specify print orientation. If you have a Shapeways account, you can support the recommendation:
http://feedback.shapeways.com/forums/111989-shapeways-feedback/suggestions/2543810-specify-print-orientation

[Hunter]

:salute: G'day All!
Browsing through the many post on Shapeways printing quality the thought came to me that the bad printing may be caused by having only a few aircraft in the tray along with other stuff that requires printing in a different orientation (?)

The reason I say this is that none of the Aircraft we have received in the Bulk Orders Zoe has coordinated have had printing flaws. Because we order so many they obviously can fill trays & print with the optimin orientation for Aircraft.

Just a thought but it may have a bearing on the problem.:confused:

No, Barry, I don't think you're confused. I think you maybe on to something. Clipper1801 and I always order in bulk now, and since we have the quality is much, much better than our early piecemeal orders from last summer. (winter to you I guess)

[jbmacek]

I've been wondering the same. The largest batch I ordered was a-okay. The last couple that have been one-sies and two-sies have been "meh." I'll have another data point today, when some replacements for the last "meh" batch show up.

[Guntruck]

Speaking of which, it may be useful to point out, if it hasn't been already, that there's a feedback suggestion on the Shapeways site to allow designers to specify print orientation. If you have a Shapeways account, you can support the recommendation:
http://feedback.shapeways.com/forums/111989-shapeways-feedback/suggestions/2543810-specify-print-orientation

Done!

[Mike W]

March 6 email to me from Shapeways' CEO after I sent him photos of good and bad Kampfflieger SPAD 13s that I had ordered at different times:


Hi Mike.

I understand you have been in contact about this issue with multiple people in our organization. I recognize that the quality is not good enough for your application. There are still limitations to the technology and we are working every day to improve.

The only puzzling thing I cannot explain is why the prints in the first picture look so much better than in the others. There is some information we are missing. I would love to print your planes like that every day, but I am unsure how that was achieved.

Best,

Robert

March 6 email to me from Customer Services:



Hi Mike,

I received reaction regarding your complaint.

It has to do with the orientation of the models when we plan them in. The customer can not choose the orientation because we plan our trays in as efficient as possible so we can offer our low prices.

I will refund you the amount of the models.
You can expect this amount within 48 hours.

I hope this helps you out.

Regards,

Joost
Kind Regards,

Joost

[Mike W]

I've been wondering the same. The largest batch I ordered was a-okay. The last couple that have been one-sies and two-sies have been "meh." I'll have another data point today, when some replacements for the last "meh" batch show up.

I've never done a order over 6. However, my orders of 4-6 aircraft have been all bad while orders in only ones or twos have generally been good...

[rote Flügel]

got my fingers crossed for some good prints that I just ordered.. but I know I'll be contacting them in case they don't turn out as they should.. oddly.. I'm thinking.. if they can afford to reprint all these items and not miss the material.. I think maybe they could lower their prices.. maybe it's just my thinking .. but if you can afford to give away so much free stuff.. the prices should be lower.. ah well.. they are rather cheap as it is... but 5 bucks would be way better than 9 bucks.. then I could afford to buy up 10 at a time..
Oh. and I voted and remarked at the link Todd posted up as well.. maybe we can make a change for the better with our votes.. and remarks..

[jbmacek]

Crap. This batch was one for three. The two re-orders I made, i.e., the replacement planes for those I had ordered for my kids the last time around, are again messed up.

[Mike W]

After a 2012 rund of 17 out of 18 bad models, I actually received an order with 2 out of 2 good models. A Nieuport 24 bis and a Nieuport 24 that are real gems. Amazing! I note that the box and the inside packing slip both state New York. Most or all of the bad models were Netherlands. So, my next order will again be for just 2 models.

[Doug]

I agree with Barry. So far I have only participated in Zoe's larger orders and the standard of models was a high quality. Though I also note what other who have bought small numbers have said. It still seams a hit or miss affair. I will also add that I have only ordered W.S.F.