Catalog or custom: which path fits your job

The workshop runs two ordering paths: the catalog (eight ready-designed items at launch) and the custom-quote intake (anything else). Most of the questions we get are some version of "which one fits my situation?" Here's a workshop-pov breakdown.

The fast answer

| If your job is… | Pick | |---|---| | One of the items we already have on the shelf, in a stock colour | Catalog | | One of the catalog items but in a colour we don't stock | Custom (we'll source the spool) | | A standard object (phone stand, organiser, coaster) we don't have | Custom (sketch + dimensions is enough) | | A specific object you already have an STL for | Custom (upload the file) | | A bespoke design we'd need to model from scratch | Custom (describe it; we'll quote the modelling time) | | More than 50 units of the same thing | Custom, but we may refer you to a print farm with better bulk pricing |

If you're between catalog and custom — say, the catalog item is "almost" what you want — the custom route is usually faster than back-and-forth modification requests on a catalog order.

Catalog: when it fits

The catalog is a small, deliberately curated set. Each item exists because:

1. Someone (us or a previous customer) needed it
2. It works well on a Bambu A1 mini at 0.2 mm layer height
3. The design has been iterated to "actually ships without surprises"

If your job matches one of the catalog items — the same shape, a similar use case, an available stock colour — catalog is faster, cheaper, and lower-risk:

• Faster. Production is 2–5 working days; shipping adds 2–4 more. No design-confirmation round trip.
• Cheaper. Prices in the catalog are calibrated for repeatable production. Custom jobs include modelling time (if needed) and slightly larger margins to absorb iteration risk.
• Lower-risk. We've printed these designs before. We know which orientation, which infill, which retraction settings. The first print is the production print.

Catalog also has the obvious limit: it's only what's on /shop. If your job doesn't match, custom is the path.

Custom: when it fits

Custom is the right path when:

• The catalog doesn't have what you need (most common case)
• You want a catalog item in a non-stock colour, finish, or modification
• You have an STL file already (we accept STL, OBJ, 3MF, STEP — up to 50 MB)
• You want a design we'd have to model from scratch (send a sketch, photo, or written brief — we quote modelling time separately)
• You need 5–50 units of the same thing (we discount per-unit for batches)

The intake at /custom takes a brief, optional files, quantity, deadline, and your contact info. We reply within one working day with:

• Material recommendation (PLA / PETG / TPU — see the materials guide)
• Lead time (production + shipping)
• Per-unit price and total
• Any flags about the design that affect printability (overhangs, thin walls, tolerance concerns)

You can accept, ask follow-up questions, or pass. No follow-up spam if you pass — we don't run a sequence.

When we say no (or "go elsewhere")

Honest list of jobs we won't take on:

• Tight engineering tolerance (better than ±0.05 mm). FDM can't deliver this; you want SLA resin or CNC.
• Production runs above ~50 units. One printer can do it, but slowly — we'll refer you to a print farm with proper bulk pricing.
• Food-safe-on-contact objects. FDM layer lines harbour bacteria; sealing only goes so far. We can quote food-adjacent (sealed coasters, packaging mock-ups), but not "use this as a fork."
• Anatomical models, weapons, anything that violates obvious ethics. Easy decline.
• Time-critical jobs we can't honestly deliver. If you need it Tuesday and we have a 5-day queue, we'll say so rather than overpromise.

For everything else, the intake is the right starting point. If you're not sure whether your job fits, send the brief anyway — we'd rather tell you we can't help than not hear from you.

The hybrid case

A few times a month, a customer wants a catalog item with one small change — a different colour, a slightly bigger version, an engraved name. That's a hybrid case: cheaper than a full custom, slower than a stock catalog order. Send it through /custom with a note like "the hex cable organiser in deep blue, set of 10" and we'll quote it as a small custom job. Usually a 1–2 day lead time more than the catalog version.

For a full walkthrough of the ordering flow from start to finish, see the first-time buyer guide.