# Crystal press ii & shine art stones



## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

I would like to know if there is anyone with a Crystal Press II that is using Shine Art stones? If so, please let me know what your results have been and which wheel you are using to place the stones. I am mainly concerned with the ss10 stones, and the crystal in particular.

I needed to get a rush order of crystal stones to finish a job I will be sending out on Tuesday. The design is a total of 1,021 stones with 493 of them being in ss10 crystal. I'm doing a total of 50 transfers. I ordered 500 gross of Korean crystal stones from Shine Art, with Saturday delivery because I got a last second loose stone order that took away most of my ss10 crystal stone stock and I didn't want to be caught short on a long weekend.

Ok, stones get here as expected and they have a nice shine, this is my first order of these stones, so while I'm still reeling at the price, the service and quality were acceptable. At least at first.

I set the transfers to run 3 to a sheet on my CPII and go to start on another project. After about 10 mins, I go to check on the transfers and am utterly horrified that close to half of the crystal stones are USD. I am using my normal Ioline wheel which is designed for Korean/Presciosa stones!! Ok, I switched out the wheel to the Swavorski one. Same results. *The only wheel left is the one designed for lower grade Asian stones, and I don't have one of those to test. *

So back to my question, anyone using Shine Art stones, and if so, how much success and with what wheel?

I am sadly dissapointed that these "Korean" stones that have been so highly recommended don't seem to be compatible with the wheel that I have successfully used for 9 months with my Korean stones, as well as Korean stones from DAS and CSTown. The USD rate is so high with these crystal stones, that in order to get my order completed, I ended up cutting a template for the crystal portion of the design, and just running the other stones on the CPII because it will take me less time to lay the printed portion of the transfer on the crystal template, than it would for me to sit and try to flip all these USD stones on 50 transfers.

I'm not trying to bash the Shine Art stones, so I'm hoping that maybe I just got a bad batch and there are other CPII users out there who have had great success with these stones. Also, this is my first interaction with the stones and my CPII, and I've just tried the ss10 crystal, so I'm hoping for some good news from my CPII users.

In the meantime, I'm just frustrated and pressed for time


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## SickPuppy (Aug 10, 2009)

allhamps said:


> I am sadly dissapointed that these "Korean" stones that have been so highly recommended don't seem to be compatible with the wheel that I have successfully used for 9 months with my Korean stones, as well as Korean stones from DAS and CSTown. The USD rate is so high with these crystal stones
> 
> In the meantime, I'm just frustrated and pressed for time


Thanks for this post as I use the Chinese stones from Shine Art and was looking at purchasing the Crystal Press II. 

I was worried how the Crystal Press II would handle Chinese stones. If you are getting a high USD rate with the Korean stones I would hate to see it in action using Chinese stones.


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

Believe it or not, I have had two other CPII users e-mail me and say that they did not have a problem with the Chinese stones working well. Go figure My Korean stone supplier is becoming unreliable, so I'm trying to line up a new source. I'll keep looking


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

Ok, I finally figured out why the Shine Art Korean crystal ss10 stones absolutely stink with the CPII - they are flat as a pancake. While the stones I received appear very sparkly, when I examined them closer, they have little or no height. They almost look like little pieces of circular mirrors. Since the stones are so flat, when the fall into the sorter wheels the wrong way, the little sweeper arm can't pop them out because there is nothing sitting above the hole in the sorter wheel for it to catch on. I put these stones next to my regular stones and some I had from CSTown, and they are about 1/3 as high as the other stones. I have a problem with this. I know not all stones are cut/made exactly the same, and they do vary slightly in circumference, but has anyone else noticed such a huge variance in height in the Korean stones?


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## SickPuppy (Aug 10, 2009)

allhamps said:


> Ok, I finally figured out why the Shine Art Korean crystal ss10 stones absolutely stink with the CPII - they are flat as a pancake. While the stones I received appear very sparkly, when I examined them closer, they have little or no height. They almost look like little pieces of circular mirrors. Since the stones are so flat, when the fall into the sorter wheels the wrong way, the little sweeper arm can't pop them out because there is nothing sitting above the hole in the sorter wheel for it to catch on. I put these stones next to my regular stones and some I had from CSTown, and they are about 1/3 as high as the other stones. I have a problem with this. I know not all stones are cut/made exactly the same, and they do vary slightly in circumference, but has anyone else noticed such a huge variance in height in the Korean stones?


I found this out by talking to a few sellers of Korean rhinestones. Not all Korean stones are made in Korea some are made in China and just sold by Korean companies.


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

That part I too was aware of. I've never looked at "Korean" stones as being stones strictly from Korea, but stones that were of a certain quality and manufacturing parameter. Until now, that theory has always held pretty true to task.

I'd like to know from the folks out there who consistently use, or recommend, Shine Art stones, if this is the norm for their stones

Shine Art was great in getting me the stones in a hurry, and I didn't really have a heart attack over the price, but if this is the standard for their Korean stones, then I know I can't use them unless I'm doing templates only.


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## stephanieblingz (Sep 13, 2011)

allhamps said:


> That part I too was aware of. I've never looked at "Korean" stones as being stones strictly from Korea, but stones that were of a certain quality and manufacturing parameter. Until now, that theory has always held pretty true to task.
> 
> I'd like to know from the folks out there who consistently use, or recommend, Shine Art stones, if this is the norm for their stones
> 
> Shine Art was great in getting me the stones in a hurry, and I didn't really have a heart attack over the price, but if this is the standard for their Korean stones, then I know I can't use them unless I'm doing templates only.


Yes, unfortunately, there is no regulation for what rhinestones can be considered "Korean". This is kind of a consumer protection issue that concerns me.


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## BlingItOn (May 29, 2008)

I'm a little confused about the whole Korean rhinestone made in Korea or Korean made in China. 

If it's a Korean Rhinestone can anyone tell me what the physical difference is between one made in China and one made in Korea?

Isn't it all about the process of how it's made to be called a Korean rhinestone or is there more to it?

I did a little research last year looking for an overseas supplier and it seems many of the Korean Rhinestone companies have manufacturing plants in China too. So is there really a true Korean Rhinestone only made in Korea now a days? 

Slick I do have some Cobalt Blue rhinestones that I purchase from you a couple months back and I do have to say that yours stands a little higher than the ones that I purchased from Shine Art (I personally do not think they are flat as a pancake). Since they were both made from two different manufacturing companies wouldn't it be normal to expect a variance of this sort coming from two different suppliers?


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## stephanieblingz (Sep 13, 2011)

BlingItOn said:


> I'm a little confused about the whole Korean rhinestone made in Korea or Korean made in China.
> 
> If it's a Korean Rhinestone can anyone tell me what the physical difference is between one made in China and one made in Korea?
> 
> ...


Unfortunately, it is about the manufacturing process not the country of manufacture. Some stones made in Korea are of lesser quality than stones made in China. Although on average, stones made in Korea are of much better quality. That's why I always recommend buying in small quantities before committing to a large purchase so you can see the quality. 

A true "Korean" rhinestone should have at least 8 facets on an SS10 (12 is better) and should stand a decent height. It is also about quality control. A Korean stone should have very few blacked out stones and miscuts.


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

Bling, as Stephanie mentioned, the stones, based on the Korean standard of stone manufacturing, should have a decent height. While some variance can be expecte, the stones I received seem to be on the extreme side of that. I can litterally put two of the on top of each other and only then are the not flat to the surface of my garment. Unfortunately, since I ripped open the bag and used some, I won't send them back. They should be ok for use on decals


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## stephanieblingz (Sep 13, 2011)

Maybe you got mirror stones? I know those are a real thing, a cheaper alternative to rhinestones, maybe they sent them to you by accident. But very disappointing


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

That's what I was thinking, but I haven't used their stones before, so I have nothing to compare. I was hoping some failth Shine Art users could let me know if this was the norm I'd hate to complain to them and that's just the way their stones are


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## BlingItOn (May 29, 2008)

allhamps said:


> That's what I was thinking, but I haven't used their stones before, so I have nothing to compare. I was hoping some failth Shine Art users could let me know if this was the norm I'd hate to complain to them and that's just the way their stones are


Slick maybe you could post a picture of a couple of different colors you received from Shine Art next to the ones you have purchased eslewhere and we can see what the difference is. I purchased from Shine Art all the time and have received rhinestone within the past couple of weeks. I would not consider them flat and as I mentioned before I have Cobalt Blue rhinestones that I purchased from you and some from Shine Art and there is a slight difference in height but not to the extent from which you are describing. Maybe you did receive something other than the Korean cut and a visual picture of the rhinestones may help to determine if you received the right rhinestones or not. 

Shine Art does have a return policy....you just need to call them within a certain period of time.


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## BlingItOn (May 29, 2008)

Hey Slick - Just curious if you ever got the Shine Art rhinestones to work in your Crystal Press? It would be helpful to know in case anyone is looking to purchase this rhinestone setter and use Shine Art as their rhinestone supplier.


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

I only had the clear crystal stones that I was trying to use that worked so badly. If I can figure out a way to take truly representative pictures I will. I just recently got a small amount of ss06 in topaz and ss10 in light siam. I have not compared them yet or tried them in the CPII, but I plan to. Will post the findings


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## idelements (Feb 3, 2009)

I got my calipers out and measured my Shine Art SS10 crystal stones and they measured .94mm height. I measured some SS10 crystal stones I got from Specialty Graphics and they were slightly shorter.

I then measured some Ruby stones I got from you and they measured 1.34mm.


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## BlingItOn (May 29, 2008)

idelements said:


> I got my calipers out and measured my Shine Art SS10 crystal stones and they measured .94mm height. I measured some SS10 crystal stones I got from Specialty Graphics and they were slightly shorter.
> 
> I then measured some Ruby stones I got from you and they measured 1.34mm.


That does seems to be a considerable difference in height. 

Does anyone know what the average height of a rhinestone is suppose to be?


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## idelements (Feb 3, 2009)

I measured some others from Shine Art
Jonquil - 1.09mm
Sm Topaz - 1.24mm
Green - 1.21mm


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

Wow, thanks Chris!! Pardon my ignorance, but where do you get calipers from. I looked at the light siam stones I got from Shine Art and they seemed to be comparable in height to my other stones, and were definitely "taller" than the crystal stones. I'd love to be able to measure them and be accurate with my statements. I have not yet had a chance to run them in the CPII, but I will later today.

I did notice also, that my "darker" colored stones do tend to appear slightly taller (ruby, cobalt, emerald, jet & smoked topaz). In addition, the crystal ab are also slightly taller, but I guessed that had to do with the coating, but don't really know.

I'd love to be able to try and determine the minimum height required for a stone to run properly in the CPII. Maybe I'll give them a call and see if they can let me know. *The 0.94 for the Shine Art crystal still seems pretty low to me, even in comparison to their other stones you measured.*

I do plan to obtain some of all the colors from Shine Art to give them a run test through the CPII. I'll most likely start with the ss10, since they are the most likely used size.

Thanks for all the great input and detective work


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## idelements (Feb 3, 2009)

My husband got these calipers for Christmas. Just do a google search for digital calipers.

Here is one site:
Digital Calipers, Micrometers, Gauges, Indicators Online - Tresna

They are pretty handy to have around.


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## BlingItOn (May 29, 2008)

idelements said:


> I measured some others from Shine Art
> Jonquil - 1.09mm
> Sm Topaz - 1.24mm
> Green - 1.21mm


I wonder if the height varience has to do with what goes into the rhinestone for each specific color? The size seems to increase with the darker colors and is small with the light and clear rhinestones.


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## BlingItOn (May 29, 2008)

allhamps said:


> I'd love to be able to try and determine the minimum height required for a stone to run properly in the CPII. Maybe I'll give them a call and see if they can let me know. *The 0.94 for the Shine Art crystal still seems pretty low to me, even in comparison to their other stones you measured.*
> 
> I do plan to obtain some of all the colors from Shine Art to give them a run test through the CPII. I'll most likely start with the ss10, since they are the most likely used size.
> 
> Thanks for all the great input and detective work


Slick I appreciate you testing out more colors in your CPII and posting the results. I hope one day to purchase something that will help relieve my work load and want to make sure that the rhinestones that I am using will work in different machines.


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

BlingItOn said:


> I wonder if the height varience has to do with what goes into the rhinestone for each specific color? The size seems to increase with the darker colors and is small with the light and clear rhinestones.


That was my thought too, as the darker colors do seem to be more dense. In any event, that's why I think I need to focus now on the "minimum height" of a rhinestone to make it run effectively in the CPII. Those littler sweeper things are flush with the sorter wheels, and if the stone is sitting below where it can get popped out if it's USD, then that makes for a HORRIBLE run.

On a side note, I just got in a shipment of stones from a potential new supplier overseas, and ran 3 designs this morning through the CPII, approximately 3,000 stones, all ss10 crystal, and only had 4 total USD stones!! Now that's the kind of results I like Still have to do a wash test, quality test (chips, shape, etc) & shine test, but so far so good.


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## lizziemaxine (Nov 14, 2007)

allhamps said:


> Wow, thanks Chris!! Pardon my ignorance, but where do you get calipers from.


I got mine at Harbor Freight.


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## carlaod (May 25, 2007)

I posted a reply last night, and I do not understand why it has not been approved yet, but let me try again....

Slick, I would recommend not wasting your $$ on more stones/colors from Shine Art for the CPII....I've got thousands of $$ in these stones in multiple sizes & colors, and my average USD rate is 25% - 45%. Different colors are better/worse than others, but nothing comes close to the 4 stones per 3000 that you got from your new potential supplier. If that stays true with other colors from them, you've hit the jackpot baby!!

I've stuck with Shine Art thus far because I've got so much $$ tied up in inventory.....I ordered a small quantity of 2 colors in 6ss & 10ss, and they seemed to be ok, so then I stocked my racks with all colors/sizes that I typically use in large quantities....well, after I really got going with them I realized...hmmm, not such a good thing here. I'm doing my best to use up this inventory so that I can move on to stones that work better without having to jump back to the Preciosa stones -- high school students just won't pay that price.

I was actually coming back to this forum to look for help with this very topic when I came across this thread. I had already bookmarked your website as a place to order a few stones to try as soon as I'm low enough in my existing stone stash to justify spending more $$.

Keep up the research for us all, but hopefully, I've contributed a little bit that will save you some time & $$.

Carla
Moonlight Threads


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

Thanks Carla. I'm testing out the stones I have now, and am waiting for some more of the "brighter" colors (lt siam, hyacinth, citrine, etc) to make sure they shine the way I expect.

I ran my Shine Art light siam and #@%!!!! is all I have to say. No more Shine Art stones


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## carlaod (May 25, 2007)

Yep....I'm right there with you.....

I've also been saying those same words about the CPII .... I've had an issue since early spring, and had been getting nowhere with technical support being able to resolve the problem. In their defense, I wasn't calling every day or anything -- rhinestones are about 20% of my business, and so, until the pain became "unbearable", I would just call every so often about it because (1) I run most of my rhinestones at night and on the weekends, when tech support is unavailable when I have a problem, and (2) when I did mention it, the response I always got was, "hmmm, never heard of that problem, never seen that problem, I'll ask the engineers" but I never got any follow up. This week, I finally spent enough time on the phone and they asked enough questions and I described the symptoms again and again enough that a light bulb finally went off and we found the problem. Unfortunately, it means I have to ship the machine back in my very busiest time of the year. I am not looking forward to that....a minimum of 3 weeks without it....I wish they had local sales & service!


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## BlingItOn (May 29, 2008)

Thanks Carla and Slick for sharing your experience with Shine Art rhinestones and the CPII machine. This information will definetly be useful to those of us who purchase our rhinestones from them and may be looking at buying a CPII down the road.

By chance have either one of you sent any of Shine Arts rhinestones so the company that you purchased your CPII machine from? I think I remember reading from one of Slicks posts that you can do that and they will run the rhinestones to see if they are compatable with their machine or to suggest which wheel or hopper (not sure of the technical term name) to use for certain rhinestones.


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## carlaod (May 25, 2007)

I have not done that, but I already have both the Preciosa wheels & the Korean wheels for the machine, so I did my own test. Unfortunately, the stones I tested were the "taller" stones (citrine I think) and the 6ss size (which doesn't give as much trouble as 10ss), so I didn't test lots of colors in small quantities before I jumped in with both feet.....big lesson learned for me.


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## PlumCrazyGlitz (Jul 26, 2010)

carlaod said:


> I have not done that, but I already have both the Preciosa wheels & the Korean wheels for the machine, so I did my own test. Unfortunately, the stones I tested were the "taller" stones (citrine I think) and the 6ss size (which doesn't give as much trouble as 10ss), so I didn't test lots of colors in small quantities before I jumped in with both feet.....big lesson learned for me.


Maybe some of the people that use the ShineArt stones with templates would purchase yours.. I am extremely happy with their stones.. at the moment I am all stocked up though and don't need any.


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

I'm with Carla. I already have all of the sorter wheels available, and since the problem seems to be the stone height, and not the diameter, changing the wheels really does not help the issue. I only purchased about 1,500 gross of the clear crystal because they were able to get me the stones overnight, and everyone seemed to like the quality. Unfortunately, it did not occur to me that they would not work in my CPII. I then bought just a small quantity of light siam and light topaz to try. I'm ok with keeping the crystal, because I can resale them, instead of using them.


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