5 Best Ways to Customize Phone Cases for Business
There is no doubt that we use our mobile phones every day, and we do need a protective phone case to protect our phone from scratches or drop off, but also, the phone case has become a part of our personality now.
If you have a few fans and have your own design, LOGO, slogan, or some customized ideas in your mind, and you want to start a phone cases business, the best presentation would be to customize them on the phone case.
Although the number of mobile phone cases users is growing, but the common phone case is being produced every day. It is hard to earn an objective income if selling these common phone cases, but your unique, impressive customized phone case can still make an attractive profit.
Before we start a customized phone cases business, you may be wondering how many ways to customize phone cases? And which customized way is the best choice for you? In this article, we listed the 5 best ways to customize phone cases for business purposes.
2D Sublimation Phone Case
2D sublimation phone case is made of plastic or TPU frame with a metal aluminum sheet. The aluminum metal sheet is for custom print, back with 3M stickers film attached to the basic phone case. It is a simple process to customize phone cases.
| Type | Material | Colors | Model | Cost | Minimum Order Quantity |
| 2D phone case | Plastic TPU+plastic | Colorful | over 200+ | $1.5~$2 / Unit | as low as 1pc / design |
If you plan to launch many models or designs, 2D will be a good choice because the minimum order can be as low as 1pc/model/design. Still, it is a little costly when you get more orders per day. It is better to have a 2D heat press machine, buy the blanks 2D sublimation phone cases, and print the designs when you get an order, because sometimes we can not determine which designs will be selling most.
When you have a 2D sublimation machine, you can also accept customized print designs for your customers.
2D sublimation is now the most widely used service for customizing mobile phone cases. It has no minimum order limit, can be printed any photos or designs, over 200+ phone models for choice. Because of the back metal sheet and production process, the 2D phone cases are not soft flexible, and the edge can not print design.
3D Sublimation Phone Case
The 3D phone case is fully wrapped print, and the edges borders can also be printed design. A 3D printing phone case is finished by a 3D vacuum machine that allows the design to print on the back and edges. Like the 2D processing, the first step is to print the design on a special transfer paper, then put the special transfer paper and 3D blank phone case into the 3D vacuum machine, where the sublimation process occurs.
| Type | Material | Colors | Model | Cost | Minimum Order Quantity |
| 3D phone case | Plastic Plastic+TPU | Colorful | Over 100+ | $1.9~$3.8/ Unit | as low as 1pc / design |
3D printing can have a very bright design no matter on matte finish or glossy finish, but they can be only printed on specific 3D phone cases. They cannot be used with other materials with special transfer paper in the 3D vacuum machine.
With 3D sublimation phone cases, the ink on the special paper can be impregnated entirely on the case after the high temperature. The pattern is very brightly defined and does not peel or fade easily.
If you want a high-end customized phone case, consider the 3D phone case even if it is a little costly, but many companies like Burga and velvet caviar are now using the 3D print phone cases. It is trending now.
UV Printing Phone Case
UV printing is a unique digital printing method, using ultraviolet (UV) light to dry and cure the ink, printing the design by adjusting the CMYK code in the system. It is a fast way to print in bulk.
| Type | Material | Colors | Model | Cost | Minimum Order Quantity |
| UV printing | TPUPlastic TPU+PC TPE Silicone … | Colorful | Over 100+… | $0.89~$1.65 /Unit | as low as 10pcs/design |
The most famous company that uses the UV printing method is Casetify. They have multi types, colors, designs phone cases for choice that only UV printing can, because the ink can be applied to a variety of materials such as TPU, plastic, acrylic, etc. under UV light, and the base material for most phone cases is made of TPU, plastic or acrylic as well,
Due to the operating table and printhead limitations, UV printing can only print pictures and designs on the back of mobile phone cases. But because UV printing can print on a wide range of materials, it allows choosing the proper phone case to match the designs or colors.
Also, UV printing can be printed on soft clear TPU phone cases, which has been very popular these years. When enjoying the personalized patterns, we also don’t want to cover up the color or logo of the phone itself either.
If you are looking for a clear phone case with design print, UV printing will be the best choice, because 2D and 3D phone cases can not print on a clear phone case and have a clear view, and UV printing offers you more inspiration.
If you don’t like the texture of the ink print, you need to consider testing a sample first to see how your design looks.
Laser Engraving Phone Case
We all know that eco-friendly is a long-term, never-ending project, more and more people are joining in. That is why eco-friendly biodegradable phone cases and wood phone cases have become a choice today if you start a phone cases business.
The laser-engraved process is also eco-friendly because it is zero-waste. It uses laser lighting engraving lines, patterns, and logos at the back. No more industrial waste is generated, it perfectly fits the eco-friendly concept.
Laser engraving is a fast and efficient custom processing method, so it has a minimum order quantity on every start-up, usually 100Pcs~200Pcs depending on design patterns, but you can mix models and colors.
| Type | Material | Colors | Model | Cost | Minimum Order Quantity |
| laser engraved | wheat straw wood any material | no color | 20+ | $1.65~$2.15/ Unit | 100pcs~200pcs |
Laser machine not only can print on the biodegradable phone case or wood phone cases, but also any materials after adjusting the laser data, the laser can not make any colors on the product based on the working principle, so except the eco-friendly ideas, laser engraving often uses for small LOGO custom.
IMD print phone case
IMD full name is in-mold decoration, which means the design is not reprocessing, the designs are printed inside of the phone case when producing, due to the complexity of the operation, the order quantity will be higher than other printing methods.
| Type | Material | Colors | Cost | Model | Minimum Order Quantity |
| IMD | TPU TPU PC | Colorful | $1.5~$3/ Unit | 50+ | 500pcs/model |
The printed sheet is placed in the mold for injection molding and can be divided into 3 layers: PET layer, pattern layer, and plastic layer. The outermost layer of PET is available in glossy or frosted versions, as the PET layer protects the ink layer, so the pattern is clear and will never fade.
Also, multiple pattern layers can be injected, for example, the glitters, shiny lines, and gold camera ring, IMD can also make a clear transparent design when the 3 layers are all in clear, IMD printing enables a wider range of design needs no matter clear or colored, The only defect might be the higher minimum order quantity.
Disadvantages and Advantages
After learning about the 5 most commonly used custom printed phone cases, here is the list of disadvantages and advantages for them:
| Printing Way | Advantages | Disadvantages |
| 2D sublimation | Low MOQ Many models Accept many designs custom Colorful designs | Only specific phone cases can be used Not soft edge not print |
| 3D sublimation | Low MOQ Many models Accept many designs custom Colorful designs full wrap print | Only specific phone cases can be used Higher cost Low production capacity |
| UV Printing | Many materials Colorful designs Can make a clear print Flexibility in choice | Colour may lose over time The ink is exposed edge not print |
| Laser Printing | eco-friendly many materials can mix products for custom | No color |
| IMD Printing | No fadeAnti-scratches Colorful designs edge can print Support for more processing methods | High MOQ No hard choice |
Whichever way you print, what works for you is the best, there are also traditional printing methods such as water transfer and silk screen printing which also have a higher MOQ and complicated processing, our main concern is to present the pattern in the most perfect way with the most suitable printing method.
FAQ
How to make a phone case template?
Most of the phone case ratios are 1:2, you can create a 1500*3000pixel PDF file in Photoshop, if you do not know how to use Photoshop, you can contact the supplier to help you to create it, you can also use online photo edit Canva to create and download the files you need.
How to customize a clear phone case?
When you create a design that uses for clear phone cases printing, do not add any colored background if you use Photoshop, and save it as PNG, same step to the online editor, you can also send the original file to the supplier, they will have designer team to get it done.
How to make a phone case mockup?
The faster way would be sent to the manufacturing supplier, they will send back the mockup for confirmation, if you do not want to share the file before confirm, you can download the phone cases mockup and edit it in Photoshop, you can also do it online edit websites at caseapp or printify, then send the mockup to the manufacturer check.
