How to manage your timeline (Part 2)
For timeline management before production, please refer to our previous post: How to manage your timeline (Part 1)
This blog focuses on which parts of the production process we can control, and which parts are beyond our control. Whether we can control the production timeline mainly depends on the product you choose and the manufacturing process involved.
During Production
What we can control:
For products with relatively simple manufacturing processes, such as acrylic keychains, standees, and similar items without additional technique, holographic lamination, or crystal effects -- we can shorten the production time by prioritizing your order in the queue. However, even for these products, the minimum production time still requires 2-3 business days. So please, please make sure to give us enough lead time!!
And once again, we want to emphasize: production time only begins after you approve the proof. Please do not count the pre-production proof confirmation time as part of production!
What we cannot control:
For some products, we simply cannot control the exact production time. The most classic example is epoxy products. When epoxy is applied to acrylic, it is a liquid that requires sufficient time and the right temperature to solidify. Our standard production time is 5-10 business days for single-sided epoxy, and 7-14 business days for double-sided epoxy. We recommend allowing even more time, because the curing time of epoxy varies depending on the weather, temperature, and humidity. And honestly, epoxy resin production simply cannot be rushed. If the curing time is shortened, the surface may appear solid while the interior remains liquid, which can cause surface indentations during shipping and result in large batches of defective products, it's just not worth the risk.
There are also products that require manual assembly, such as shaker charms, photocard keychains, and quicksand liquid keychains. These products involve semi-manual assembly during the production process, so the timeline cannot be significantly shortened either.
