Mobile phone covers, faceplates and mice from e-comeleon

The objective is to establish the technology as the graphical imaging method of choice for manufacturers of consumer products who are seeking to achieve a competitive advantage by differentiating their product through customisation or personalisation.

Comeleon Technology part of the Tanfield Group plc.

Comeleon is a technology company that is targeting the global, rapidly developing market for the personalisation, through customisation, of mass-produced consumer products.

The company has developed a proprietary and patented process for applying high quality, full colour, decorative digital images or designs directly onto three dimensional objects manufactured out of materials such as plastic, glass or metal. ("the comeleon technology process") .The comeleon process is scaleable with relatively low capital requirements and is capable of being semi-automated so that designs can be produced quickly and cost effectively.

The technology allows you to put full colour images onto 3 dimensional products. It can do this onto various substrates, plastic, metal, wood, glass, etc. The most obvious are products with plastic shells or hand held electronic devises such as PDA's. This type of product also has the biggest commercial benefit to Tanfield.The technology allows you to decorate the product and to personalise and customise that decoration. The technology is patented and the revenue stream is dependent upon ongoing consumable sales. We supply the machines at cost.

The technology comes in 2 formats. The ImageBox and the ImageBox Supa. The ImageBox is desktop version. I suggest that you look at: www.3dimagebox.com This will give you a background to the desktop product suitable for schools, small businesses, franchise operations, etc. It is being used in several schools in graphical design and technology depts. students can use design software (e.g Adobe Photoshop) create a design the ImageBox allows them to see the design being applied to a product.Design and Technology equipment can be defined as craft equipment it may be woodwork or metawork equipment.

The ImageBoxSupa is the large volume version which is appropriate for plastic injection moulders. What we have found is that manufacturers will take the desk top version to trial the technology and then buy into the large volume format.