Yes, many Morbi slab plants can make slabs in your own design. Digital printing means a new design is mainly a matter of artwork, glaze choice and trials, not new moulds.
Custom slabs take more planning than custom tiles. Each slab is a large canvas, so the artwork must be high resolution, the faces must be planned, and every trial costs more. Expect a higher minimum and a longer lead time than for a stock design.
What can be customised
- The printed design, such as a particular marble, stone, concrete or abstract look.
- The colour of the print and, with some plants, the colour of the body.
- The surface finish, such as polished, matt, satin or textured, where the plant's lines allow it.
- The matching scheme: random faces, book-match or continuous vein.
- The labels on the frames or crates, and sometimes the back stamp on the slab.
Size and thickness limits
Size and thickness are usually limited to what the plant already makes. A new size often means new tooling or cutting setup and is not always possible. The tile version of this question is in custom tile designs from Morbi.
Artwork and faces
The factory's design team works from your reference: a photo of stone, a scan, or a file from a designer. They prepare the print file at the full slab size. If you supply your own file, ask the factory for its required resolution and colour format before you start.
Decide how many different faces the design needs. A slab design with too few faces repeats visibly on a big floor. A book-matched design needs a face and its mirror. Our guide on face variation in digital designs explains this, and book-match in porcelain slabs covers matching.
Trials and approval
- Approve a digital proof of every face first.
- Then approve a fired trial, ideally a full-size slab, because colour changes in the kiln and on different glazes.
- Keep one signed master sample at each end, as the reference for shade at production and inspection.
- Record the glaze, body and print settings in the approval, so a later reorder matches.
Ownership and exclusivity
If the design is yours, say so in writing. Agree that the factory will not sell it to others, for how long, and in which markets. Ask that the print files be kept for your reorders. Without this, a design you paid to develop can appear in a competitor's range.
Minimums and lead time
Custom slab runs usually need a larger minimum per design than stock designs, because the line is set up specially. Trials add time before production starts. Ask for the per-design minimum and a timeline covering proof, trial, approval and production.
Next step
We manage design trials, keep the approved master samples and check production against them before loading. To discuss a custom slab design, book a free sourcing review.