Written By:
Date Posted: February 7, 2002

There are many ways one can customize their computer exterior. Case windows are one way, or custom paint jobs are another. Both examples require a lot of work, but the end results make the effort all worthwhile, assuming of course you don't mess up. Why would anyone go through the trouble of customization? Looks baby, and nothing else. Like the drag races, where drivers show off their tricked out cars, LAN party goers arrive with decked out PCs.

Let's say that you've done the mods, now all you need is a little something to say "this" is your PC. Maybe you didn't mod your box at all, but you'd still like something other than the generic "InWin Inc." sticker on your front bezel. If this sounds far fetched, you're probably not aware or the after-market case badge industry. Well, it's not as big as the after-market heatsinks, but for a couple bucks, you can probably do better than having a generic sticker, or maybe no sticker at all.

The problem though, is that after-market case badges aren't really that cheap. You can probably pickup some pre-designed case badges for about 2$ to 5$, but unless you order in bulk, it's going to cost quite a bit to customize your own badge and to have it made. Enter and their DIY Case Badge Kit. The name is exactly what their product implies, ... you can now make your own case badges at home. We're not talking about some crappy printed stickers, but rather the fancy "bubble" type. Also, unlike other DIY mod kits, if you mess something up, you won't wreck your case. Simply peel off and try again.

Specifications

Easy installation
Bubble Seal for Authenticity
Flexible to fit even curved surfaces
Works with plain or coated inkjet paper

We received our product in a regular white envelope. Considering that it's just plastic and paper, I wouldn't expect shipping to be terrible expensive. Inside, there's a sheet of instructions, 6 transparent poly seal domes, and six matching square stickers.

The Poly-Domes

The poly domes appeared to be uniform upon closer inspection. and are of course smooth on one side, sticky on the other, which is to be applied to a printout of your choice. The second sheet with the square stickers have a layer of wax paper on one side, protecting the glue. The idea of course is to peel the wax paper off and attach the completed dome to it. You'll then peel this off from the reverse side to attach your badges to the case.

Badge Adhesive, aka, double sided tape :P

Before beginning, there are a few requirements...

Unless you want a blank plastic dome, you'd best to think of a design you'd want to use. Some ideas are, of course, personal logos, logos of favorite your products or maybe logos of something you're affiliated with, like a website or gaming clan. I chose to use our site logo.

You'll need a decent printer. It's up to you whether or not the printer is colour, or black and white. Your image can be rendered in any program, but the output should be at least 300dpi for decent image quality.

A cutting board, or any solid surface that you don't mind scratching up. The surface should be clean, because you don't want to have your knife hit a bump or fall into a scratch while cutting. You can use scissors, but a cutting board and a sharp exacto knife would make your life easier. If you choose to do it that way, have a ruler handy to help guide the knife.

Step 1 - Printing your badge

Each badge measures 1" x 1". People say that your badge design should also be 1" x 1", but that is not the right way to do it. If you print to such exact measurements, you're going to have fits trying to align the edges to be a perfect fit. The proper thing to do is to make your main 1" x 1" design, but add an extra 1/8" of background filler. This is known as "bleeding". Adding some crop marks is typically done to help guide where the cuts should be. Since we're using the poly badge as a guide, this isn't really necessary. I added them here, cause they make my work look professional :P

For the record, I used Photoshop v6, but any image editing program will do. The image was printed at 600dpi.

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