UV Printing/Drilling/Faceplates through AmplifyFun (Tayda alternative)

Danbieranowski

Well-known member
Hey all,

We've had some seriously long discussions around here about one-off UV printing using Tayda's printing service. While I do like Tayda's service and options, meeting their file requirements and using their drill service options can be difficult and take some time. The need for companies who will do single pedal UV printing is growing, so I think having options is a great thing.

In researching alternatives, I met Spencer from AmplifyFun (@amplifyfun - https://amplifyfun.com/ - based out of Portland, OR). His prices are pretty similar to Tayda's, but his file requirements are far easier to work around (including working WITH Affinity Designer, not requiring vector artwork, and not requiring coordinates for your drill template), he can print on the SIDES of your 125B enclosures, and he provides other great services such as laser-engraved two-color plastic faceplates (these do require vector art) and milling. I especially like the faceplates to slap on top of mis-drilled or mis-printed pedals, or for pedals I've already built into plain enclosures that I now want to gussy up a bit.

I'm not associated with Spencer's business in any way (he is a member of this message board), I just honestly believe it's important that we all know what options we have out there, and I recently had a couple enclosures printed up and one of the plastic faceplates made and he did an excellent job and was super friendly and helpful throughout and deserves our business!

Here are 2 samples of his UV prints, a faceplate sample, and what his CNC looks like for drilling/milling:
Screen Shot 2021-08-11 at 6.13.23 PM.png Screen Shot 2021-08-11 at 6.13.49 PM.png Screen Shot 2021-08-11 at 6.12.48 PM.jpg Screen Shot 2021-08-11 at 6.14.28 PM.png


Here are the basics for how it works (@amplifyfun Spencer, please correct anything if it's inaccurate!):
1) He usually stocks white and black 125B enclosures that he sells for $8, or he can order you just about any other color, size, etc. Otherwise you can have any enclosures drop-shipped directly to him if you already have enclosures or want to order your own. If you want to use the laser-engraved plastic 3M backed toppers (like the Soup or Fuzz above), he prints those starting at $5 a pop and he can do just about any size/shape and offers a BUNCH of color options (including wood grain). You just peel the backing off and stick em on (or get em made without backing). The price is based on material used, so larger pedals = higher cost.
2) He has templates that he can provide for you to paste or build your design in. They are very organized and include different layers for different items. For example, there's a drill template layer with different hole-size markers. One of the layers he includes matches the PedalPCB Drill Guides, so you just put the hole-size markers over the holes you want on that drill template layer, and that's that. He will drill the holes at the size requested where marked (no coordinates required). Another layer example would be the artwork layer or the gloss layer. Just use his included swatches (they are embedded in the template) and apply to your white or gloss layer. I provided a single piece of artwork for printing on a black enclosure, and he created the white layer for me since I was worried I'd screw it up and the color layer would print over the top of it. He turned the proof over very quickly for approval (a process that Tayda doesn't provide).
3) He sends you an invoice for cost, which you can pay online.
4) He does the heavy lifting and sends you the enclosures. WEEE!

Here's an example of what a template looks like (the templates are subject to change at any time, so make sure you get the most current one from Spencer):

Screen Shot 2021-08-11 at 6.29.59 PM.png

Current pricing (again this may change at any time):
UV printing is $5 each side. He can print on the face of the pedal, and if you're using a smaller pedal like a 125B he can print the sides (but not the top and bottom because it won't fit in the printer that way). Add gloss for $1 each side.

Drilling service is $5 for the first 7 holes and $0.50 for each additional hole, per enclosure.

As stated before, the plastic faceplates start at $5 for 125B size.

This is obviously a ton of info, but the overall point is that there are viable alternatives out there run by folks just like you and me doing super cool stuff so we can make unique pedals. Hopefully people find this helpful!

-Dan
 
Those look amazing, good to know there's alternatives, although I guess the shipping from the States to my neck of the woods would kill it for me.
 
Really glad you shared this Dan!

Love that the drills can just be a layer and that he prints on all sides. I’m definitely going to order a couple from Spencer next time I’m boxing up an odd hole placement or am itching for side prints which is so damn cool.

really excited to see that more one off options are popping up and will definitely support that as much as I can

edit: really cool one from their insta

B7DD2BF4-6863-4657-ADD2-3BBCD6C7E119.png
 
I had a few pedals that I needed face and side printing for that I was gonna silkscreen. Might just go with this now! I had seen them before, but never knew they could print on sides too!
Definitely a lot more cost effective and less wasteful than burning a screen for a one-off print.
 
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Thanks for sharing this. For those us who are inept when it comes to a lot of these things this looks much more realistic. I especially like the face-plate idea, I'm going to have to take a look. I bookmarked the site to take a look at it again when it's all up and running.
 
I just want to say HELLO, and a big THANK YOU to Dan for the shout-out. I am happy to help with printing and branding your projects. Please contact me directly by email, social media, or my website. Email is the best way, and I can send you all the pertinent information. Thank you and have fun building!
-Spencer
@amplifyfun
 
Spencer is GREAT, extremely helpful. I am jacked on time right now but need to finalize the lazer engraved plate for my Cataclysm delay and have him build that one up for me. I am still such a noob at INKSCAPE that I'm learning the ropes on the correct layer presentation so when I send for UV I don't butcher it. The design part of the art/text/software is literally 50,000x more difficult than soldering 90-120 components to a PCB and building the hardware up. Pedal build confidence: 93%. Software confidence: 4%
 

Well then... my question remains: What category of yours is 3% of 100% confidence? 😸
For me it would be routing. I just routered pickup cavities for the first time, and boy is my back tired... ⛏️🪓








Meanwhile, back at the FF lab, I'm wondering how Amplifyfun will work out for Canuckians compared to our brethren & sistren south of the 49th — for Canadians will it be too cost prohibitive? Additional shipping costs, customs delays at the border, taxation...
 

Well then... my question remains: What category of yours is 3% of 100% confidence? 😸
For me it would be routing. I just routered pickup cavities for the first time, and boy is my back tired... ⛏️🪓








Meanwhile, back at the FF lab, I'm wondering how Amplifyfun will work out for Canuckians compared to our brethren & sistren south of the 49th — for Canadians will it be too cost prohibitive? Additional shipping costs, customs delays at the border, taxation...
I'd suggest sending an email, Spencer has been very responsive to my emails and I'm sure he'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have! Just use the contact form on his website (https://amplifyfun.com/ )
 
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