Custom Edge Tape

********* PLEASE NOTE THAT I POSTED THIS IN THE FOR SALE SECTION ALSO *********

All -

Just taking a quick (and informal) poll.

Would you, hypothetically, be interested in purchasing custom edge tape (when I say custom, you could get your name, your club name, a logo, etc), and if so, how much would you be willing to pay (per racket) for it? The quality would be comparable to the butterfly edge tape (the blue one with the pink butterfly logo).

I ask because I have been working closely with a friend of mine who owns a print shop -- and we have come up with a really good product that pretty much mimics the BTY edge tape. Just trying to figure out if it is a product anyone would purchase!

Thanks in advance for your replies!
Gordy


Edited by Gordy - 01/15/2014 at 7:52pm

Thanks, Lineup. I am not trying to make a business out of this -- as the old saying goes, "no one ever got rich on edge tape!" I am just trying to see if there is a market to cover our costs.

I don't know a store that does, but the machine we are using can easily accommodate. Forgive me for my ignorance, but is that a common request? I thought most blades were between 5 - 7 mm + 2 x 2.2 max sponge = 11.2 mm max. Is it because you wrap your edge tape on the blade itself?

Again, sorry for so many questions! I am just trying to learn...

I think our club would like it.  Best in 15 mm.

I'm looking for more "Tenergy Tape 12mm. Rare as hen's teeth.

JimT - where I am with my cost right now, I think the 10 blade for $10 is going to be virtually impossible...The economies of scale don't really kick in at such a low quantity. $10 for a 10-blade is where most of the big manufacturers are right now from paddle palace, etc -- and they are producing mass quantities.

Also, is it a big deal if a "ten pack" isn't in a roll -- but ten pre-cut strips? I was thinking the strips would be 50cm, which is the longest I can find right now. I have seen 40's and 45's also...but 50 is the longest single-blade strip I have seen yet.

I am working on being able to customize the cut from 10mm - 15mm. Do I really need an 8mm?

THANK YOU EVERYONE for your feedback and suggestions...I hope to have more answers as the comments/suggestions come in - so keep 'em rolling.

I still don't know if I can pull this off given where my costing is right now, but I am sure as heck going to give it a try.

AndySmith was good enough to send me an email with his club name and logo. I had a couple of minutes this morning to whip this up as an example.

Obviously, everything in this can change (background, fonts), but I really liked how clean this looked. I especially liked the wood background... As an FYI, this pattern would be repeated three times over a 45cm (x 12mm) strip of edge tape.

Good and fun idea. As with most things... cost determines success or not.

As the old saying goes that I just invented...

"No one ever got rich off of edge tape."

JimT - as I said, it took a grand total of three minutes, so nothing wasted!

Just a quick update for those that might be interested.

It is premature right now to talk about price. I spent some time with my printer going over some options in terms of how we are going to print, cut, etc. I absolutely love the quality of the material and glue right now, but to use the current material is going to require some changes to the print process. I had some samples made and brought them to the club tonight, and everyone was pretty pleased with the quality of materials and quality of printing.

Where I sit right now, I think it is going to be too expensive for me to do one at a time unless I basically take orders and "hold" them until I can print multiples.at the same time. Once I get this rolling, I think that is a definite possibility - but for starters, I think the one-offs might be tough. I am meeting with the printer again to discuss this, and we will see what he says. Right now, my real "target" point is printing in batches of 100 -- that doesn't mean 100 of the same, but 100 at a time. So in essence, I could print 100 different individual pieces of edge tape for the same price as 100 of the same.

So here is a question - would you mind waiting a 1-2 weeks for delivery after order? I was thinking that if I had to go this route, I wouldn't collect payment until the pieces actually went to print. That way the buyer could be protected from the time delay.

Also, for those that might want to buy 10 or 100 pieces, is it a big deal if the pieces come individually cut rather than in a roll? Again, this is really important relative to the method we are going to use to print them.

So that's today's update.

I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone for helping me figure this out. I am still really hopeful I am able to move forward with this. Not only do I think there is a small business to be built here, but I think this could be a really cool addition to the sport and us as players.

I hope to have more tomorrow. Feel free to PM me with any questions!

If I order tape for 100 blades, how much would that cost me?

I think you should be able to compete with these prices:
http://www.tabletennis11.com/eur_eng/nittaku-edge-tape-stripe-guard-tt64267856#.Utj9NPt_j1E

They are for 1 blade but are also better quality compared to normal. So if quality is like the normal butterfly like you said, you can ask the same price for it being custom.
Something like the Donic sidetape with our clubname would be nice:
(Just made it in a paint quickly to get an idea)

No rush.  I think most people prefer rolls of tape.

I would definitely be interested in buying some and wouldn't mind waiting a couple weeks.

what are the options in terms of colors/fonts ?

Gordy wrote: Unlimited. Full customization. Logos, fonts, colors, etc.