Do puzzles printed from black strong and flexible look as good as dyeing a puzzle yourself from something like Rit Dye?

Has anyone purchased a puzzle from Shapeways in black strong and flexible?

Thanks,

Jacob,

I only tried hand dying a puzzle once, but I did it wrong and it ended up coming out pretty bad. From what I understand, however, it's not a difficult process. Shapeways dying is more reliable, but it comes out more of a dark grey than the jet black you're probably looking for. It's also a bit more expensive than white. If you're willing to put in a little extra time and learn how to do it right, hand dying comes out better than black strong and flexible and is less expensive.

Apart from the tiny cubes I have never ordered anything else. To me it looks jet black and is perfect. I would never bother messing around with dyes just to save a few quid.

I have had a different experience. I just got a MegaTwist in BSF, and it is closer to navy blue than black. RIT dye is the way to go if you want the deepest black.

However, Tony does have a point about the cost being worth the time and mess savings.

-Eitan

Could you show a picture of the material so I have a better idea of what you received?

I am also not concerned about the cost, so you guys are right to say that. And if paying an extra 20 dollars means no time and mess I think it it totally worth it.

When I get a chance, I'll make a comparison photo. (May not happen for quite some time)

Shapeways new black dye process is far superior to the one they started with (the switch was made several months ago). I almost always order my puzzles in black, and they come through with a nice rich, deep color. It is better than the black I get when I've done the dyeing myself. I find the extra cost worth every penny when you factor in the cost of the dye, and the time and mess involved in the dyeing process. I know many others here will disagree with me, but that's been my experience.

My 1x2x3 is BSF, and is black...not navy. I don't have a puzzle that is dyed with rit dye to compare it to though.

Melysa

Just my t'penneth-worth. My first attempts at dyeing WSF black were abject failures, with the results being blotchy and purple rather than black. So I ordered BSF, and it was just really dark grey with a poor penetration depth. I have not ordered BSF since, as I perfected my dyeing process. It only takes half an hour and produces very black results. I've also dyed in other colours with good results, so I think I'll save the money and order WSF.

why not paste the sticker

Huh? Paste the sticker? What do you mean?

-Doug

The body color of a puzzle is important, and stickers only cover some parts of the puzzle. In fact puzzles with the stickers too large look odd and not as visually pleasing as those that show a bit of the puzzle underneath.

Dave

Be sure when ordering BSF that your puzzle does not have the (in)famous 'loose powder' (from the 3D sintering process).
A prototype of mine did, and after removing the semi-loose black powder, the white material came through. So, still no fully black puzzle and I had to re-color parts locally.

I just saw a compare picture of the Shapeways old black strong and flexible next to the the new one, and the new one does look greyish which is kind of a disappointment.

I will in the future just dye with fit dye or something, when I get a 3D printed something.

Here is the picture I found.

http://www.shapeways.com/blog/uploads/R ... nies_2.jpg

It seems to me the new one (on the left) is far blacker than the old one.

That new black looks like a huge improvement.

-Doug