KINK3D Behind the Scenes: Color

For those of you new to the blog, I’m Paul and I’m in charge of operations here at KINK3D. Periodically I like to let our fans have a peek behind the curtain here at HQ and learn a bit about all the work going on behind the scenes. There’s a lot I’m planning to share in the coming months, but today I want to talk about color.

By: Paul

We’ve recently announced that our Aqua Blue is headed into retirement. Aqua Blue has been fun, and we've loved having the color dynamism in our product range. However, it’s had its time in the sun and like all good things, that time has come to its end.

We are very aware that color products are something our fans want. From the very beginning, we’ve had requests for every color you can think of. Whether to match puppy gear, highlight a mood, or flag a favorite kink, people have been asking for more. And the reality is, it’s been something we’ve worked on, a lot. It’s been a huge focus for years. But there’s no way for people to know how much work we have put in. And this is especially true for people who are disappointed we don’t have more colors. So let’s talk about the story behind color.

How We Got Here

To get started, let’s focus on our main Black products. These are printed on state of the art 3D-printing machines using a powder based nylon. For years, the only color that we could print with was a medium dark gray. It wasn’t our choice, it was the only raw material that existed for these machines. So to provide a beautiful consistent product, we worked with our manufacturer to develop a dying process that gives our classic cages and rings their deep rich black color.

And we were (and still are) very proud of how our Black products look and feel. So we launched our product and well, you’re reading this blog, so you know how it turned out. All the while we were expanding our operations, we were also already working on color. So for more than 5 years, color has been an ongoing project.

The first opportunity that we were presented with came about with new machines that used new raw material. These new printers were mainly used for prototyping, but we were able to get them up and running for production. And this is how our Fusion Pink was launched.

The Challenges of Color

However, these new machines come with challenges that we’ve never been able to solve. First, the colors are very limited. This isn’t your traditional inkjet printer that can make any color in the rainbow. Instead we’re choosing from predetermined color options and those options rarely fit what we know people want, vibrant, rich, often primary colors.

In addition to the color palette constraints, we also had to work on two major things that are still a challenge for us today, surface texture and cage/ring fitment.

All 3D-printed products come out rough from the printer. To make them smooth, we employ one of two smoothing processes. For our Black and Arctic White products, we use a very intense vapor smoothing that provides the satin feel people love. However, when we tried this process on color printed parts, they came out smooth, but ugly. The smoothing really muddied the color and destroyed the very thing we were going for.

To address this, we had to work with a gentler smoothing process but this wasn’t able to provide the same surface finish that we had hoped for. After some trial and error, we dialed it in to a level we think really works well, balancing a comfortable finish with a vibrant color.

Which leads us to the next challenge, fitment. If you’ve tried our Black or Arctic White cages, you know we’ve done an amazing job of getting the fit between pieces as good as is physically possible using 3D-printing technology. And I mean that based on actual physics. There are precision limits that mean we can’t dial it in any further.

However, because the Fusion Pink and Aqua Blue products don’t have the same smoothing applied, the fitment between pieces is more challenging to dial in. The slight surface texture means the ring and cage don't always fit together with an easy snugness.

In the end, we feel that we got the Fusion Line products to a good balance of color, finish, and fit. And we know that people love them.

Why New Colors Take So Long

So why not develop even more colors? Well, the reality is, we have to redesign the interface for each color because the color affects how things print. Different colors absorb infrared energy differently and that absorption is key to fusing the material together. So a new color isn’t just plugging in a new color pack. It’s months of prototyping just to get a viable design.

And then there’s the cost. Direct color printing is incredibly expensive. Way more expensive than the already expensive 3D-printing we use for Black. So this means our prices are higher and that’s also a challenge. And our lineup is big, we have 40 cages and 48 base rings in our regular stock, which is a lot of SKUs to make and keep on hand. And all of this while offering products people can afford.

Multiply these challenges by every color people want and you can imagine how daunting this is to solve.

But we haven’t given up!

What Comes Next

With the development of the Arctic White, which uses yet another type of printer, and a third type of raw material, making new options available to us. Dark gray can’t be dyed bright colors, but white can. So that’s our next avenue of exploration.

But to be clear, it’s in its early stages and we have no timetable for any product, if we can develop one at all.

The reason we’ve stopped talking about new colors is that we have learned that teasing them before they're ready risks disappointing people. Years ago, we decided not to tease something until we were actually ready to launch. And right now, I’m not intending to tease a new offering. I have a call this week to explore what options we might have. And if we do move forward, it’s a long way before we’ll be announcing anything, whether that's as a limited drop or new line.

We’ve always strived to produce the best products, not just acceptable products, and for color, that holds true more than ever. So we will keep working behind the scenes, and we'll only launch something new when it’s ready, and to the standards that our customers deserve.