How our materials print
Our inks are semi-transparent, which means the material underneath changes how your design looks. White gives you true, predictable color. Holographic and Cracked Ice are effect finishes — they trade some color accuracy for a metallic, light-shifting look. Here’s exactly what to expect from each.
White
White is our most accurate, most versatile material. The base is a true neutral white, so light passes through the ink and reflects straight back — your colors print exactly as they look in the Lab preview: vibrant, consistent, and sharp.
Pick White for accurate team colors, smooth gradients, photo-style artwork, and any design with fine detail, small text, or intricate logos.
Holographic
Holographic is a silver, prismatic base that splits light into a rainbow which shifts and travels as your stick or skate moves through the light. If you’re choosing it, the shimmer is what you’re after — so the most important thing to understand is where that shimmer lives.
Think of the holographic base as a light shining up through your ink. Your colors act like a tinted filter over it:
- Lighter and brighter colors — and any open space — let the rainbow blaze through. This is where the holographic effect is strongest. Your color reads softer and more rainbow-tinted here, because the shimmer is doing the talking.
- Dark, saturated colors (black, navy, deep red) act like a heavier curtain. They hold their true color and stay bold — but they mute the shimmer, catching just a rainbow edge in bright light.
So it’s one simple dial: more shimmer ↔ more true color. Lighter, airier designs maximize the holographic effect; darker, heavier designs keep colors accurate and bold. Most designs use both — bold color where you want it to read, light and open areas where you want it to shine.
- Fine detail and small text get softened by the shimmer — bold shapes and thick lines read best.
- Want a color to read more accurately and still sit on a holographic finish? We can place a white layer behind chosen elements — your name, number, and team logo — which calms the shimmer in those spots and pulls the color closer to true. It won’t be 100% solid, but it keeps your identity sharp and readable while the rest of the design keeps its full effect.
Cracked Ice
Cracked Ice is a metallic base with a fractured, shattered-glass pattern that scatters light into sharp little sparks of color. It reads as high-energy and aggressive — closer to a chrome-and-glass texture than a smooth rainbow.
It behaves like Holographic, with one extra consideration: the fracture pattern is busy. That makes it a statement finish for bold, simple designs, not a canvas for detail.
- Bold, simple, high-contrast designs look fantastic and let the crystalline pattern do the work.
- Lighter and open areas show off the most sparkle, the same way they do on Holographic.
- Fine detail, small text, thin lines, and photos are the hardest fit — the pattern competes with and breaks up intricate art.
As with Holographic, we can lay a white backing behind your name, number, and logo to calm the sparkle in those spots and pull the color closer to true — keeping your identity readable against the busy pattern.
Will my team colors, name, and number look right on an effect finish?
We make sure they stay readable. On Holographic and Cracked Ice we lay a white layer behind your name, number, and primary logo before the color goes down. That calms the metallic shimmer in just those spots and pulls the color closer to true — it won’t be 100% solid (a little of the effect still comes through), but your identity stays sharp and easy to read while the rest of the design keeps its full effect. The shimmer lives everywhere you didn’t lock down — exactly where you want it.
How durable is the print? Does the effect wear off?
No — your print and its finish are protected, and the effect won’t wear away with normal use.
Sticks are finished with a clear grip coat sprayed over the print, so the graphic is sealed and protected as part of the stick.
Skate wraps come with a clear protective laminate over the print as standard — no add-on, no upcharge. It resists scuffing and moisture and flexes with the boot, which is what keeps the print from cracking and the edges from peeling over time. The holographic and cracked-ice effects sit under that same protective layer, so the shimmer stays put.
Which material should I choose?
- Want your colors and design to look exactly like the preview — true team colors, detail, photos? Choose White.
- Want a metallic rainbow shimmer that shifts in the light? Choose Holographic — and lean into lighter colors and open space for maximum effect.
- Want a bold, high-energy, shattered-chrome look? Choose Cracked Ice — and keep the design simple.
Either way, your name, number, and logo stay sharp and legible.