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How are these smartphone back covers made?
(lemmy.ml)
The plastic is polished black, the logo and text is reflective silver grey. I’m interested in replacing with a custom made cover, but I don’t know the process that was used to achieve this. I have found out that they most probably used laser etching for my iPod, but I can’t find anything on this. Thanks.
Update: I found an Ebay listing with the logo half scratched off, confirming my assumption of it being somehow printed on. I still don’t know how though, haha.
You are right that the metal backs are usually laser etched. The plastic ones on the other hand are usually injection molded then screen printed.
The injection molding is well outside what most would consider "hobby grade", however there are many guides on how to diy screen print (though running it on curved surfaces is an extra challenge). So your best bet would probably be to buy a clone back cover with little or no writing on the back, then screen print on your own custom stuff.
Oh yeah, injection moulding is definitely well outside of my scope of capabilities and budget, haha. I’ll look into diy screen printing! Thanks for the help <3
I found that foil transfer like stamping or printing is more likely to be the method they used. Screen print metallic ink is either too flaky or too shimmery, not reflective smooth.