# ioline crystal press



## special kay (Dec 15, 2012)

any feed back on users of this machine 

I have one but have mixed feelings thinking of buying from swf instead of investing in another crystal press 

thoughts??


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## manninm5033 (Jun 12, 2007)

I love my Crystal Press. For the money, it cannot be beat!! I have a very great, growing business with it. I considered buying a Cams, but cannot justify the price if it is not absolutely necessary.


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## special kay (Dec 15, 2012)

manninm5033 said:


> I love my Crystal Press. For the money, it cannot be beat!! I have a very great, growing business with it. I considered buying a Cams, but cannot justify the price if it is not absolutely necessary.


Thanks for the reply... do you have any issues with it ... i have had mine about 7 months and today it acts up on a design i have ran before ... it will not work properly. it picks up the stone and drops on the edge then goes all the way to the end of the shaft and back to the middle and stops ... do you have any idea what is causing this... I truly love it and has helped in my business as well but just cannot seem to figure out what this issue is.. 

any help would be wonderful!!


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## ifusion (Jun 3, 2011)

I had a crystal press 1, and then I found a great deal on a lease turn in for a cams 1v2p. I had 2-3 hours of frustration getting it up and running (since I was never formally trained beyond the 1 hour video that came with it), but tech support helped me get it up and running, with 1-2 hours on the phone and I have never looked back.

The crystalpress was a great starter machine, but I cringe when I see all these people saying that they own 2-3 of them rather than moving to a cams machine. My cams operates at 3 times the speed of my crystalpress, and the materials that I can use with the cams vs the crystalpress save me so much money, that I cant understand these people growing lateral rather than forward.

keep and eye on craigslist and ebay, they seem to be showing up there more frequently.


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

Ifusion, please enlighten me. What makes you think people who choose to own and use more than one CP, instead of moving on to a Cams 1v-2p are "growing laterally"? What advantages to "materials" are there in the Cams over the CP?

I'm sorry people like me make you cringe, and trust me I'm not taking it personally, but I think paying $15,000 for a two color machine, irregardless of fast it is, is not efficient. In addition, there are folks like me who have other contraints, outside of pricing, against owning a Cams. For instance, I don't have the space for the air compressor. I can stack two CP machines on top of each other so to speak on a shelf rack. I don't like, nor do I want to be bothered with the maintainence of the Cams. Some folks may not consider it an issue, it's maintainence that makes me cringe. Don't have much of that with my CP. The only thing, I wish it could do, was to place various shaped studs and stones. My CP investments have me about 1/2 cash ready for a 6-color machine, AND and employee to take care of the maintanence. With my CP machines, and the lesser cash investment, I've been able to move out of my basement and into a shop/retail space, all while picking up new customers and still being able to meet production deadlines. I run over 100,000 stones per week on my CP machines, and my gross sales have increased at least 40% per year over each previous year for the past 2 years, with me well on the way to making this year 3. I just don't see that as lateral movement, but maybe I'm missing something


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## manninm5033 (Jun 12, 2007)

Totally agree with Slick!


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## ifusion (Jun 3, 2011)

Well, first off, to each his own. My opinion comes from owning a CP1 and a cams1v2p. Maybe you've seen a cams machine, but my hunch is you've never operated it.

I kept both in my garage on the same 4x6 table, with a laptop hooked up sitting next to it. The $300 compressor from home depot that I use for the cams machine is 4 ft tall, 2 feet wide and 2 feet deep... ok its LOUD too... point Ioline!

My experience with the crystal press found me ordering transfer paper from ioline, where I think I remember a 25 pack of sheets running about 45+shipping, and having flipping issues with stones and being constrained to used coleman and company or ioline for stones..., along with the $15.00 c-tips, etc.... (i know cp2 is different on the ctips)

With the cams machine, I can use the cheapest transfer tape I can get my hands on, and cut it into sheets that run me about .15 cents a 9x11 sheet, and every ss10 and ss20 stone I've gotten my hands on, works fine on my machine, which generally I find a huge savings from the colman and ioline stones of the same quality.

On a 1000 stone design, on a 9x11 sheet, my CP1 would take 25-30 minutes to do, the stones would be around 40 cents per gross ($2.80), and the transfer paper would cost about $1.25, so about $4.00 for materials plus time.

The same design on cams, 15 cents per gross on stones, ($1.05), $.15 cents for transfer paper, and about 7-8 minutes of time.

So just in materials, I went from a design costing me $4.00 to do, to the same design costing about $1.30.

Now, I've seen your work, and I know your a whole lot more invested in this industry then I am, this is more of a side business that I do when I'm done my day job. On a busy day, I probably kick out 8k stones a night in the 1-2 hours I dedicated to this. In the same 2 hour period with my ioline I could do anywhere between 3500-4k stones a night, before I had to start "flipping" the upside-down ones. I had to take much smaller orders because of that.

As for the cams 1v2p maintenance, its soooo minimal, that if you did it once or twice you'd think its nothing....

1) take 2 minutes a month to drain any water build up in the compressor by just opening the bolt at the bottom.
2) dust buster up any loose stones on the bottom.
3) unbolt 4 screws, clean off any build up with a cloth, apply some lube to the spring and gun, and screw it back together.

The only thing I think Ioline did right with their design is the how the sorter trays lock into place for perfect alignment. Switching trays from size to size on the cams is the only down side I can say I've seen. Going from one size to another sometimes requires a few minutes to reallign the stone pickup.

My personal opinion is this...if your that busy that you have 1 machine, and you need a 2nd, I'd sell the first machine, take that money and put it towards the cams, and finance the balance. In my case, savings would would be realized in a few months, and your production time would be cut down drastically.


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

Thanks Ifusion for your input, but I truely hope you are not a betting person, because your hunch would be incorrect. I have not only seen the Cams, but have had the pleasure/displeasure of using one and getting to know the machine intricately.

I love the speed, and would like to have a few hours in my day to eat or sleep from the time I could shave off my transfer production. I have no qualms in stating that when I had $7,500 cash to put towards another machine, the CP was not my first choice, the Cams was. However, I guess I was not impressive enough to deserve financing from Beacon, so I went elsewhere, were at least the company/companies, are professional enough to at least send you a rejection letter if they don't want to do a deal, and not just stop talking with you. I'm a big girl, and that would not have been the first or last time I've heard NO.

In any event, I was able to work our a different deal, and keep my funds for the BIG move up, thus the additional CP.

I am running the attached design today, 4,589 stones. *Total production costs - $4.08. *How? My own transfer paper, imported directly, my own stones, also imported directly. I didn't settle for being bound to one source of supplies, and I find that one of the biggest falsehoods I find being spoken about the CP is that you have to use their stones or only high end stones. That is just not true. Yes, I had to put a little research and work into sourcing lower cost, but still high quality materials, but that's part of efficently running any business. As far as the machine tips, even with my heavy usage, I change tips around every 4 months. That's about $70/year.

I'll call it a trade off for having to flip a few stones as opposed to having to re-adjust alignment between changing sizes on the Cams. The only possible advantage the CP, in my opinion, has here is that the flipping process does not interrupt, again, in my opinion, my work flow. I run an order and set it aside to be Q/C checked before it's packed and shipped. Any flipping is just a part of that process, not a separate step. And I'm sure, just like with your Cams, you don't always have to make that size change adjustment, just like I don't always have any stones to flip in a design.

I don't think noise pushes me one way or the other for either set up. I think you just get used to the type of noise you hear while working.

Initially working in a dusty, poorly circulated part of my basement, which often flooded, the thought of needing "dry air" and a dust free environment to some degree, was truely a drawback, not to mention that I'm just a mechanical phobe anyway. Being in the new space, it's something I can consider. May take a little therapy, but possible

Your financing scenario makes it so easy and inviting. Unfortunately, life is not like that, at least not for a lot of people. So for us folks, you make a different choice, take a different route, and maximize in other areas to still be able to be effective, efficient and profitable. Maybe one day everyone will own a Cams, but most likely not. That's why there are choices out there for people to move forward when the "popular" route is not available or appears overwhelming.

Suffice it to say that these two machines have a personality of their own, just like the people who will choose to use one of them. The only thing that matters is finding the machine that will work both for you and with you in the things that you are trying to accomplish.


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## Krusty (Nov 15, 2007)

Hi Special Kay,

Have you contacted Ioline? It sounds like you might have a clogged c-stick or something similar, and the guys at Ioline can diagnose that quickly and get you up and running again. Please e-mail them or PM me and I'll put you in touch with them.

Tom/Krusty


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## mlstarr (May 28, 2013)

HELP! I have had my Crystal Press for a year and a half now and I hate it most of the time. It is always having problems.....I know tech support is getting angry with me when I call and they keep telling me to read the tutorials that they send me but I keep doing everything they are telling me and I still am having problems. I have built my business up but I lose so much time having problems with my crystal press.....when it works I do not mind some of the problems but lately it seems to be having more and more.....for instance.....again the stones stick to the c-stick tip and will not drop off and then stack them on the sides of the transfer paper when they do decide to drop them instead of on the pattern. I have tried cleaning the c-stick, replacing the c-stick, cleaning the fiber optic head, doing a alignment test, checking the fiber optic cable for proper placement, cleaning out the clear tubing and filter for clogs....none of it works.....has anyone else had these problems....

And while I am asking I spend hours having to flip stones over on designs after they have printed.....is this all normal?


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

I love my machine but you are right, when they are bad it is very frustrating. It really does sound like an alignment problem. Do you do your test with the alignment tool? I think this works better than doing it with the c-stick in place. Also with the alignment you should check the front/back placement of the stones. The stones may be aligned good left to right but if they are too far towards the front or back of the c-stick you get the same type of misplacement. A quick check is to press the pause button as soon as the stone is picked up so you can see how it is actually sitting on the c-stick. Do this with the ss06 stones as they are most sensitive to placement. 

As far as the USD stones, I haven't found any that equal the Ioline stones in this feature, but there are some that just don't work at all because the stones are too flat and the sweeper arm can't pop them out it's upside down. I haven't tried stones from a lot of places in the past few years since I have found a supplier that I use overseas - great quality and low USD rate but I do know that stones from Shine Art do not work. I'll check to see if I can find the info on the other places I tested that had good quality and reasonable prices. 

Hope something here helps


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## mlstarr (May 28, 2013)

Oh I cannot thank you enough on the USD info.....I use nothing but Ioline stones and have been for the last year an a half but the USD rate is awful.....if there is a better stone out there whereas the USD rate is better please let me know because I spent over 20,000 in crystals with Ioline and it takes a lot of time to sit and flip them over when I have a quick turnaround between shows. 

I do have a alignment tool and I will try that.....

SO you will laugh at this....last time I called the techs on this problem with the stones going to the side of the design they mentioned something about the light shining through the stones correctly on the alignment.......so this morning I noticed that the sun was shining on my machine through the window while I was printing. I closed the blind so the sun was not shining on the machine. And guess what the machine is working now........

So Quirky....LOL.....


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

I believe the light thing. My machines are not in a well lit place and when I added more light I noticed a change in the ability of the machine to recognize it had released the stones from the c-stick and not tap it twice. 

I'm surprised you get high USD with Ioline stones! What exactly do you consider high? I can't afford to use their stones but I have been forced to get some in a pinch and I would say I typically experience less than 10 USD per 500 stones. My stones average around 15.


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## mlstarr (May 28, 2013)

I would say at least 1/8 to 1/4 of each design the stones are USD.....did you say you found a stone that does not have that much of a rate using the crystal press? Ok so now I am having another problem that quick.....I have to sit right next to the machine all the time in order to get a design printed....

I bought AB stones from Ioline....when the c-stick sets the stone on some of them when the c-stick goes down it does not release the stone immediately but what it leaves is a tiny dot on the paper....once that happens you have to press the continue button on the machine because it stalls....this is happening about every 10 revolutions so basically every time I get up to walk away the machine stops......arghhhhhhhh....again I tried replacing the c-stick with a new one.....

Due to the machine issues and the USD stones I end up working 7 days a week 14 hrs a day trying to meet orders or get my inventory ready to go on the road......

I just had to ask because I just cannot imagine others that have businesses are being able to operate with as many problems with their machine as I have......

I appreciate you listening....


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

No problem. With the AB stones it's not the machine. What is happening is that the ability coating on the face of the stone is sticking to the paper but the stones are not. I try not to use AB stones if I don't have to. My COOING doesn't usually stop though. I generally get the stones that have just sort of fallen off the c-stick the second time the machine tries to place the stone.


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## shayne0307 (May 18, 2011)

Just going to jump in really quick. Before purchasing my DECOR I looked at the Cams and Inoline. I really wanted to get the Cams, but was very concerned about the cost, so I looked heavily into the inoline. I came across the Decor which I got and have not looked back yet....
My pro for getting the DECOR over the cams:
1. Cost, I was about $2K cheaper
2. No compressor.....additional savings
3. Fingers crossed.....no maintenance issues....My machine has been running non-stop for the last 8 months and I am hoping it will hold up for the next 2 months when I will have someone come in to do maintenance
4. no flipping stones issues
5. Time savings.....I can set up my machine to print and walk away and work on something else while it is running. No need to stand there and watch it 
6. Material cost saving.....when I looked into getting the inoline last March, I was told that I would have to use specific stones and other materials. When pricing out these "specific" materials, it did cost quit a bit more that the materials I need for my DECOR.
7. Switching colors.....no issues, it literally takes no more than 1 minute, maybe less
8. Wider (bigger) footprint printing than the cams.

I am sure I probably missed a few things. I honestly can not think of a negative about my DECOR and Mesa. Setting up my machine and training on the software were great and the one time I had an issue, the support was incredable. What I thought was an issue with my machine turned out to be just that the transfer paper was moving on the mat and all I needed to do was to sprinkle a bit of water on the paper to keep it from moving and I've been on a roll ever since.

I am now looking into upgrading to a 6 color DECOR this spring!

I just post this info here for informational purposes, since it was not mentioned. But if I had to make a recommendation, of these three machines, I would go over and over again with the DECOR.
Good luck!


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## mlstarr (May 28, 2013)

I really appreciate the info because I have a Crystal Press and have had it for about a year an a half and I basically really dislike it......I am always having issues with it and 90 percent of the time I have to sit right by it and babysit it while it is printing plus then more time flipping the USD stones after each design......I make sure I maintain my machine so I know it is not maintenance issues.....

I definitely am going to look into getting this machine you are talking about. The main thing I did not want to deal with was a compressor.


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

I have a Crystal press II, I have had it for a year now, I LOVE it.
I do not have to babysit it, i just have to change out the transfer tape,

I at first had some issues until i found out you have to do a alignment test on your machine on how the Ctip picks up your stone.

I do not use special stones, I use my stones.
I do not use special tape.

Right now I am considering a 2nd one, or a Cams , I know I would love a cams machine as well, 
But right now for this Price this Lil machine has rocked out alot of designs for me,


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## mlstarr (May 28, 2013)

Wow...I am really happy yours(Crystal Press) is working for you...LOL Wanna buy a used one? I still dislike mine very much....I have done all the alignment tests etc on mine and I still have problems.....but I am very interested that you do not have to use their transfer paper or stones......Where do you buy your transfer paper and do you buy it in rolls or sheets? I use the rolls.....what about your stones....

Also I have a questions for you guys that do crystal designs and ship them. I do mine and physically take them to shows and but them on shirts in front of the customers or have to make the shirts before shipping.....my question is I have tryed shipping just the design on the transfer paper. The stones slip in transport every time...I even tried putting a a piece of heavy cardboard behind the transfer paper and putting it in a bag that is heat sealed on the end whereas all the air is sucked out of the package.....they are all in place when I ship them out but they have moved in transport....ANY THOUGHTS GUYS?


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## ifusion (Jun 3, 2011)

When I ship I get 2 piece of light cardboard and sandwich the transfer between it and then tape the cardboard tightly. Thats basically to help prevent it from bending and shifting the stones. I ship a lot of a packages each day and I never get any complaints about shifted stones.

I then stuff them into a light, cheapo polly mailing bag to prevent rain damage and into the mail.


However, if you are still getting shifting stones, that would be a sign of cheap transfer tape.


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## mlstarr (May 28, 2013)

Wow...and that would be upsetting if it is cheap transfer tape since I pay $159.99 a roll for it plus shipping and get it through Ioline.....

I appreciate the advice...I will give that a try.


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## ifusion (Jun 3, 2011)

Ioline didnt sell the rolls when I had my CP1. I know the sheets were running about $1.00+ a sheet when I bought them.

I buy from shineart now. They are sized a little differently than Ioline. I'm spending around $30 a roll and the quality had held up under shipping.

I wouldnt reuse the shineart paper after I press it, but 90% of my business is mailing transfers.


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## sttbtch (Oct 5, 2010)

What is an alignment test and how do you do it. I have a cp11 and just plugged it in and it does its thing. I have to flip an average of 3 stones to every 1000. Not bad compared to templates. 

Sent from my SM-N900V using T-Shirt Forums


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## discounttshirts (Jan 9, 2009)

we have ioline stones and shineart-- the ioline work the best but only because the shineart are inconsistent from batch to batch - as far as size and glue- sometimes the shinart work fine and sometimes not - we do use the shineart studs in our ioline and they work great

as far as paper we buy the Graphtec tape 19.7"x32.8' it is about $25- so you are still about $1 a sheet for a 15.75x19.8 sheet- but you can fit many designs on that or then cut that in half if you are doing something smaller- we even save 2-3" scraps to use for names and hat designs- all you have to do is run some cheap mask tape on the edge for the rollers- takes very little time.


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## discounttshirts (Jan 9, 2009)

the alignment test if fairly complicated the first time you do it -- 
we had instructions somewhere - got them from ioline - give them a call - super easy to deal with

but basically it will not help upside down stones -- if is for making sure the stone is centered on the tip when picking up so that you have fewer dropped stones-- in 5 years we have only had to run this about 3 times- we always run it with 6ss and it is them set for all stones larger also


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## BBB (Jul 12, 2007)

allhamps said:


> As far as the USD stones, I haven't found any that equal the Ioline stones in this feature, but there are some that just don't work at all because the stones are too flat and the sweeper arm can't pop them out it's upside down. I haven't tried stones from a lot of places in the past few years since I have found a supplier that I use overseas - great quality and low USD rate but I do know that stones from Shine Art do not work. I'll check to see if I can find the info on the other places I tested that had good quality and reasonable prices.
> 
> Hope something here helps


I would LOVE any info you have on the other places you tested!


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## overthetop (Jul 15, 2014)

I am looking for a used rhinestone machine. do you know of ane


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## BlingCouture (Mar 23, 2011)

I use the saran wrap type of stuff from home depot that comes on a small roll, I think its called like a shrink wrap. This way it wont allow the shipped rhinestone transfers to move about in shipping.
I think the roll is about $7.00 and goes a long way also it is is the packaging and shipping supplies aisle of home depot


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## intensethreads (Aug 24, 2010)

Linda, Not sure if you are still looking, but I have one. Message me if interested!


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## r00stuff (Apr 17, 2015)

Hi guys, I have a Crystalpress and I like it. No problems with it so far. I currently design my shirts in Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator but then when I send it to the crystal press studio software I try to fill some of the shapes and it does a bad job. Is there any other design software that i can use to make it easier to design for the crystal press?


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## idonaldson (Sep 29, 2008)

Well I must say that I have picked up some points from this thread, but I am not a CP success story. I had the CP1 could never get it to work, upgraded to the CP2 and have the same problems. I have brought all sort of size wheels, and used every type of stone and stud with the same issue. I would love to see my machine up and running or have the ability to drive it to someone to see it or theirs working. I just cannot honestly vouch for this machine. I do know that some folks that I have seen in the past on this forum are strongly supported for their support. I just say show me or show me how.


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## r00stuff (Apr 17, 2015)

Hi guys, what do you use for software? I'm really struggling with the crystal studio that controls the crystal press.


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## idonaldson (Sep 29, 2008)

I use both the studio and corel. Never had a software issue. I just could never get the machine production ready. In the good few years I have had both versions - I made money on one job.


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## idonaldson (Sep 29, 2008)

I also use Ioline's Design Studio that does things that Corel does not readily do. I just replaced my CPII with another one and like the new machine and the new sorter wheels. I am now closer to being a convert.


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## FlashyExp (Feb 7, 2013)

Hello Forum members. Any have a Crystal Press II for sale? Thinking of purchasing a used second one. Thanks.


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## allerta (Oct 25, 2008)

Yes, Please message if you are still interested.


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## allerta (Oct 25, 2008)

I use Stone cut Pro and export a .dxf file to the Ioline designer. It works well for me. I recently dedicated press to an older computer to the Press and had to convert from the original .DXF files, so hang onto all versions.


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## bullshirtz (Aug 19, 2014)

I have a used one I am thinking about selling as I am no longer doing that type of work. It is the CPII


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## cjudde (Nov 20, 2016)

Hello,
I am looking to go into the tshirt business and considering going for the Ioline crystal press, please advise and give me a price range


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## sinGN (Oct 12, 2016)

Hi,

price of the machine is very less.we can Use up to 6 different size rhinestones and up to 100 colors per design.For designs with more than two colors or two different size stones, CrystalPress owners benefit from a very simple and fast changeout of stones and sorter wheels.machine works very quickly.


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