How to create a customized iPhone case with Trϋ Protection

At $30, you can have a customized iPhone case shipped within 48 hours after the design is received. Join us on the hands-on to see how we make it happen.

Lots of iPhone case designs out there, but none that truly speaks to you? There’s where customization comes in handy. Several cellphone protection companies thrive on this business so it’s natural to get flustered by the options. But if you’re someone who is environmental conscious, Trϋ Protection’s customized iPhone 4/4S case might be of your interest. Using 100 percent recycled material body, the company’s products are all entirely made in the United States with a kind of eco-friendliness that made it impossible for us not to give the iPhone custom case a sample.

Custom creations

To get started, you’ll need your desired photo at as high a quality as possible. If you’re a Photoshop pro, this means resizing the photo at 300 dpi in CMYK color and making sure it still fits the dimensions of an iPhone. If whatever I said said sounds like gibberish, let’s just go with a photo that exceeds 1,000 pixels per side. That should give it plenty of room to not look pixelated when the printing process takes place.

You can upload your photo directly on Trϋ Protection’s Customize tab, selecting your base case color to begin. After the photo has been uploaded, you can move the picture around to center the print, or optionally add text, quotes, and other graphic effects to enhance your design. When you are satisfied with the result, you can preview the case before submitting the item for production.

Wait! Not so fast. To cover Trϋ Protection’s bases, the company asks that you accept a copyright agreement that states you own the picture uploaded. This is standard, and smart on the company’s part to make sure no one is ripping off art from the Web and creating their own products — whether for personal or commercial use. So as much as you might like the Digital Trends logo, sorry folks, original artwork or photographs only. 

Once the Trϋ Protection team receives your design, they will examine the graphics to ensure your JPEG is a usable size. If there are any issues along production, the company will reach you to you personally to get a better photo or notify you of an issue. If all goes well, the product is printed and shipped within 48 hours after the design was received.

So, how does it look?

Much like our last hands-on with Trϋ Protection’s Spirit of Competition Olympic-themed iPhone cases, the material is identical. The recycled plastic body is minimal, a bit brittle, and somewhat tough to get on and off our iPhone.

The print itself, however, is quite high quality. We see no pixelation, the colors are absolutely accurate, and the matte finish looks lovely. The only thing we would have wanted to do is shift the print up a little bit to center the graphics, but that’s a pure aesthetic issue.

At $30, Trϋ Protection’s customized iPhone case service is an affordable price and competitive to pay for a personalized item. At the rate of other customized iPhone pieces beginning at $40, there’s a lot of value to good quality, fast turnaround time, and an eco-friendly motto. We’re just holding out now for something similar on Android at such variety of options.