Quality and samples

Your name is on the box. We act like it.

You are trusting a printer you have never seen, in a country you may never visit, with a product your customer will judge you on. Here is exactly what we do about that, and how to see it for yourself before your first sale.

First 5
Orders photo-checked per new center
Held back
A gated order does not ship until approved
Per order
Checked before it leaves the center
At cost
Samples are priced with no profit added
The first orders are the risky ones

A new production center proves itself on your product before it ships

Most print quality problems happen the first time a new center makes a product it has never made before. So those orders do not go out unseen: they are held for a photo check, and a parcel only moves once someone has looked at what was actually made.

01

A new center takes your work

The first time a production center makes your product, the order is flagged for a photo check before it can ship.

02

They photograph what they made

The center uploads photos of the actual unit, not a render and not the product listing image.

03

Someone approves or rejects it

The photos are reviewed against your product. Approved and the parcel ships. Rejected and it is remade before anyone sends it to your customer.

04

The check relaxes with a track record

Once a center has enough approved orders for you, its work stops being gated, and spot checks continue from there.

What keeps it consistent

Six things standing between a bad print and your customer

Same standard, every center

Production centers are vetted before they join, including a sample print review and an equipment check, and they all work to the same 3DAPI standards.

Photos of the real unit

Quality tickets carry photographs of what was actually made, per item, so a verdict is taken on the object rather than on a description of it.

Checked before dispatch

Orders are quality checked at the production center before shipping, so what reaches your buyer matches what you sold.

You can raise an issue

If something looks wrong on an order, open a ticket from your dashboard with photos. It goes to us and the center together, rather than into an inbox.

A bad parcel gets remade

When an order is wrong, the replacement flow reprints it. Where the production center is at fault, the cost lands on them, not on you.

Measured, not estimated

Products are measured and weighed during review, which is what makes shipping prices and delivery promises real rather than guesses.

Samples

Hold the real thing before your customers do

No amount of quality process replaces holding the product. Order your own product to your own address, at production price with no profit added, and judge the finish, the colour and the packaging yourself. The photos you take of it are usually the ones that sell it.

  • Order your own product. From Manual Orders in your dashboard, place an order for your own product, to your own address.
  • Pay production price, no profit. A sample is charged at production price plus shipping. Your own margin is not added, because you are the buyer.
  • Sample credit covers part of it. Every plan carries a sample credit: $15 on Free, valid for 30 days after signup, and $20 on Growth or $40 on Scale, renewed every 180 days while the subscription is active.
When something is wrong

A process, not an apology

Printing is physical, and physical things occasionally go wrong. What matters is what happens next.

1

Open a ticket with photos

From the order in your dashboard. Photographs of the problem are what make it quick to settle.

2

It reaches us and the center together

The ticket sits on the order, with the production center and our team on it, instead of being an email thread nobody can find.

3

The order is remade

A replacement is produced and shipped. Where the production center is at fault, the cost of that remake sits with them.

4

Serious cases stop the line

A blocking ticket holds further parcels from that center for you until it is settled, so one bad batch does not become ten.

Quality and samples, answered

What sellers ask before they trust us with a customer

How does 3DAPI check quality?

Every order is quality checked at the production center before it ships. On top of that, the first orders a production center makes for you are gated: the center uploads photos of the unit and the parcel is held until those photos are approved. Spot checks continue afterwards.

What happens if a product fails the check?

It does not ship. The order is remade before it reaches your customer. If a parcel that already shipped turns out to be wrong, you open a quality ticket with photos and we run the replacement flow.

Who pays for a replacement?

When the production center is at fault, the cost of the remake sits with them, not with you. Other cases are handled on the facts of the ticket, so it is worth attaching photos when you open one.

Can I see the photos of what was made?

Yes. Photos live on the order, and per-product photo history across orders is available on the Growth and Scale plans.

How do I order a sample?

From Manual Orders in your dashboard, order your own product to your own address. It is charged at production price plus shipping, with no profit added, and your plan sample credit covers part of it.

How much is the sample credit?

$15 on Free, valid for 30 days after signup. $20 on Growth and $40 on Scale, renewed every 180 days while the subscription is active. Sample credit is not withdrawable, it only pays for samples.

Should I order a sample before I start selling?

It is the cheapest way to find out what your buyer will hold. A sample tells you about fit, finish, colour and packaging before a customer does, and the photos you take of it are what sells the product.

Do not take our word for it. Order one.

Create your account, add a product and order a sample at production price. Your plan credit covers part of it.

Checked before dispatch Remade when it is wrong