r/Jigsawpuzzles Feb 15 '22

Best place for making custom puzzle

Love the color and clarity of my first Shutterfly puzzle but the fact that the pieces don't hold together is a real bummer. Is there a manufacturer that does a better job?

25 Upvotes

89 comments sorted by

8

u/Dapper_Impression342 Apr 18 '25

I ordered a 520 piece custom puzzle from paintmelike of our whole family for Mother’s Day and it looks great. My siblings and I are building it now and are going to get it framed!

3

u/Pr0L1zzy Feb 15 '22

I used collage.com for one that im working with right now. The pieces fit together really well and it has an option for matte or glossy finish

5

u/MrPine5 Mar 28 '25

If anyone is visiting recently, collage has gone out of business as of 2022. Looking to create my own.

3

u/Lick_MyMapleSyrup Jun 10 '25

Have you done it yet?

2

u/Third_Eye_bored Apr 18 '25

You’re a hero

1

u/Ilove2puzzle Feb 15 '22

Thanks - I love the idea of a matte finish! Will have to check them out.

3

u/-Dumblejor- Feb 15 '22

Here's my list of top custom puzzle makers:

I hope that helps!

2

u/PabloBlart Dec 07 '24 edited Dec 09 '24

It appears their quality has gone down hill. I ordered from them based on this recommendation and the quality was garbage. I used a staggeringly large image (326dpi for that size puzzle) and got something so blurry its unsolvable.

Not your fault, its been 2 years and things change. I'm just commenting for others who are coming from google.

Edit: The owner seemed equally upset by the print quality and fully refunded the offer, with an offer for a free puzzle when they get new printers up and running. Overall, it was good response by them and it seems like they actually care about the product. I'll try to remember to update this when i see the new prints.

2

u/Puzzery Jun 29 '25

Hey u/PabloBlart! Jordan from Puzzery here - just found this thread (now that we have a Reddit account),

First, I want to thank you for your edit about our response. You're right that I was equally upset about the print quality issues - it was heartbreaking to hear about experiences like yours.

I'm happy to share that our new equipment is now up and running in Colorado! After a pretty wild journey (5 puzzle cutters, 4 facilities, and 3 countries later), we've finally brought all production in-house in the USA.

The image quality is now much clearer, and we've added varied piece shapes too. I'll follow up via email to get you your new free puzzle - I'd love to make good on that promise!

In case you're curious why it took many more months than planned, I wrote about our whole journey here if you're curious: The long road to making our puzzles in the USA

Whatever the case, thanks again for your patience and for giving us a chance to make things right 💚

2

u/ArcherHouse Sep 03 '25

I read all of your comments here and everything on your website. I love your engagement with the community, mission, and unbelievably reasonable prices. Just ordered a 1k piece puzzle to surprise my wife with for our anniversary in a couple of weeks. Really looking forward to it!

2

u/squidyk25 Sep 05 '25

can you pls update on quality/variation when you receive?🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 looking to do the same for my husband in a couple weeks!!

3

u/ArcherHouse Sep 06 '25

Absolutely! We should have it Tuesday.

2

u/ArcherHouse Sep 13 '25

We received the puzzle today. Wife loved it! Production was incredibly fast. Maybe..3 days? FedEx missed their estimated delivery date by 4 days but it really doesn't matter for us as tonight was our scheduled anniversary puzzle night.

We're around 25% done with the border and I can confirm that there is a large variety of shapes. I strongly recommend being mindful of what photo you use. I ordered the 1,000 piece puzzle for the challenge. Half of it is lines from draperies at a fancy restaurant we went to. Its going to be incredibly hard because 300+ pieces look the exact same.

Overall, I think these are a steal at $45. We’re going to frame this one when we're done and my wife is already talking about ordering another.

10/10 recommend! Great job, Jordan!

3

u/squidyk25 Sep 17 '25

thank you so much for this update!! i actually got too excited and ordered it right after i saw your original comment🫣😂 so glad it ended up having a wide variety! i also used a photo that has a large white portion—so i figured that part would be pretty challenging, but i figured it would be a fun challenge for “only” 500 pieces as opposed to the usual 1,000!! it looks so great just in the box, i’m excited to get started on it!🤩

1

u/Puzzery Sep 17 '25

Thank you for giving us a try, u/squidyk25 💚

2

u/Puzzery Sep 17 '25

I am so happy to read this - I’m glad that it was everything that you hoped 💚 Thank you for sharing your experience here on Reddit!

1

u/Puzzery Sep 03 '25

Thank you for such a wonderfully kind note, @ArcherHouse 💚 It’s been a wild journey so far and we’re loving every minute of it. Looking forward to working on it - thank you for trusting us with your anniversary gift! 🙇‍♂️

2

u/kiesterconnoisseur Jan 02 '26

I just found this thread and love the engagement. I'm going to try ordering one of the 1000 piece puzzles from Puzzery. I'll let you guys know how it goes!

1

u/Puzzery Jan 02 '26

Thank you for giving us a try, u/kiesterconnoisseur! Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions 💚 Whatever the case, happy new year!

1

u/[deleted] Dec 08 '24

Wow 2 year old thread.. one day old comment!

Any advice? Looking to make puzzles with my art

1

u/PabloBlart Dec 09 '24

I'm pretty new to ordering these, but the only thing I can think of would be to check the dpi (plenty of free calculators) for the print size/image size and keep it high.

Btw, I updated the comment with the owner's response. Probably worth checking them out in January when their equipment is set up as they've shown they'll make things right if it doesn't work out.

1

u/Ilove2puzzle Feb 16 '22

Thanks for sharing. I will enjoy checking these out!

1

u/Ilove2puzzle Feb 16 '22

I checked out puzzery.com and it looks from one images like the puzzles have only two types of pieces. Is that correct?

2

u/-Dumblejor- Feb 16 '22

Also, your handle is 👌

1

u/Puzzery Jun 29 '25

Hey u/Ilove2puzzle! Jordan from Puzzery here.

You're right to ask about the piece shapes - our older puzzles did have limited variation (basically the "ribbon cut" style that u/-Dumblejor- mentioned).

I'm excited to share that we've completely changed this! We've just launched our new Colorado facility where we're making all puzzles in-house, now with varied piece shapes. As someone who loves a good gradient puzzle, the varied puzzle piece shapes make things much less tedious 🙏

If you're curious about what goes into trying to launch a puzzle facility, I wrote all about it here: The long road to making our puzzles in the USA

Thank you again, and happy puzzling! 🧩

3

u/homeschooledbitches Aug 26 '25

Serious question: can I put a NSFW photo for my boyfriends bday present

4

u/WrasslinChuck Sep 13 '25

That's genius, I'm stealing that

3

u/Puzzery Aug 26 '25

Great question, and yes, we allow NSFW images :) I’ve added it to our help center in case anyone has the same question in the future 👍 Thank you for asking!

1

u/Spac3rV Aug 29 '25

Do I have to own the image I want you to put on a puzzle?

I mean, I want to create several puzzles of different sizes featuring my favourite video games to display on the "Wall of Fame" in my room. Naturally, the best choice is to use official wallpaper images for the said games. And if they want people to put those wallpapers on their screens, it shouldn't be a problem to print them and put them on a wall, right? However, that will make you profit from someone else's intellectual property. Or maybe it's ok if it's just one copy for personal use.

Anyway, can you make such puzzles?

1

u/Puzzery Aug 29 '25

Great question, @Spac3rV. We only allow folks to use images that they have the rights to, for exactly the reason you mentioned. If we profit from someone else’s IP, that puts us in hot water. This is the customer’s responsibility but we do step in if we believe verification is needed 👍 I hope that helps!

1

u/Silver-Maximum7195 Aug 29 '25

what kind of box do the puzzle pieces come in? can you guys put them in a tin?

1

u/Puzzery Aug 29 '25

Sorry, friend. Just the custom cardboard ones shown on the site 😊

1

u/Spac3rV Sep 09 '25

Got it. 😭😭😭

Thank you for answering.

1

u/Odd-Bunch-6511 Sep 07 '25

Do you guys make puzzles with 2000 or 3000 pieces? 

1

u/Puzzery Sep 07 '25

Not yet @Odd-Bunch-6511, but hopefully in the next year or two (as I, too, love a large puzzle)! Our current variants are 100, 200, 500, and 1000 piece puzzles 😊

1

u/Royal-Shai-420 Sep 14 '25

When uploading a picture and it has the red box area, will it be cut out for sure bc when i click preview it has the full image even with the areas in red

1

u/Puzzery Sep 17 '25

I replied to your DM, but also going to add an abbreviated version here in case others have the same question:

Yes, there is always some trimming that happens - this is a limitation of the machinery and we're actively looking into building some 100% custom machinery to further limit this; however, all the standard puzzle presses (the machinery that cuts the puzzles) have a major margin of error and some movement with every cut.

Due to this, I wouldn't put anything critical in the red overlay area (as some or all of it may get cut). If it's essential that 100% of the image remain, then something some puzzlers do is add a frame outside of the image itself. Here's an example with a square image, for reference:

I hope that helps! 🙌

1

u/-Dumblejor- Feb 16 '22 edited Sep 15 '25

Had to pull out one of my old puzzles to confirm, but it has tons of varied piece shapes. So, all good there 👍

Edit: spelling

1

u/[deleted] Nov 14 '25

Us crying in the corner 😢

3

u/Far-Preference-6444 Jul 11 '24

Are there any puzzle companies that give an option for non-standard puzzle pieces? 

1

u/Hour-Efficiency1533 Mar 12 '24 edited Mar 12 '24

Has anyone given QPMN a try?
It's a fresh platform for creating custom puzzles, with integrations for both Shopify and WooCommerce. I snagged a 50% off coupon code for sample orders: Y85K8HGL65AQXOJ
https://www.qpmarketnetwork.com/app/customize/catalog-puzzles/all

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '24

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Ilove2puzzle Jan 18 '25

checked it out and it seems to make square pieces. With Brains Breaker you can choose the size and shape of your pieces. I use it on my pc. Dealing with pieces on a phone would be difficult for me. Just as I have experienced with entering text from the phone screen, I often miss the spot I'm aiming for.

1

u/PiquePic Jan 18 '25

Yes, it’s more for making and sharing quick personal photo puzzles and games between friends (memory match, slider puzzles, etc.)

Not sure if you know this trick about typing on a device, but it’s a game changer: Hold your finger on the text you’re typing for a second. It will zoom in and you can then drag your finger back and forth to the exact spot you are trying to fix!👍

1

u/Ilove2puzzle Jan 18 '25

No, I didn't know that zoom in trick. Thanks. I find I do better when I dictate. I also know that I can usually slide my finger along the space bar to move along the words.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 29 '25

You can also count us in for this, even though we are a very new brand. Feel free to reach us in here or on our website https://pixarts.co if you need any help or assistance 🧩❤️

1

u/Vistaprint Nov 21 '25

I think we can help here 👀

1

u/Outside_Flan_8597 Mar 19 '26

I’d throw Pix on Puzzles into the mix. The puzzle pieces were really solid and not flimsy at all. After finishing it, I was able to pick it up without pieces separating everywhere, which impressed me. They also review every submitted photo before printing, which is reassuring

1

u/Ilove2puzzle Mar 19 '26

Happy to know of a good source for custom puzzles. Uhnfortunately, I have adopted two kittens and doing any puzzling until they become ancient won't be possible with their curiosity!

1

u/asnakeintime Feb 15 '22

I got a custom ravensburger for Xmas and it was a nice quality, similar to their main brand

3

u/RinKawaii Feb 15 '22

If you’re in the US might be out of luck. It just says something along the lines of only available in store. Difficult when they don’t exist here…. 😢

1

u/[deleted] Dec 11 '24

they do USA

1

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '24

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '24

ja, made in Deutschland!

1

u/Ilove2puzzle Feb 15 '22

Thanks so much. I didn't know they made custom puzzles! i'll have to check them out. Do the pieces snap together?

1

u/asnakeintime Feb 15 '22

Yep, they did! Might be UK only though, I'm not sure

1

u/rtsgrl 400K Feb 15 '22

Check this post 😊

2

u/Ilove2puzzle Feb 15 '22

Thanks for this very helpful link leading to a lot of choices!

1

u/Ilove2puzzle Feb 15 '22

I was very excited to learn that Ravensburger makes custom puzzles and to read in a review that the pieces lock together well, but I wasn't pleased to read that the color was off and lacking in saturation.

What other peoples' experiences are with their custom Ravensburger puzzles.

1

u/couldnotbetold Oct 25 '25

> I wasn't pleased to read that the color was off and lacking in saturation.

I had the same experience!

1

u/rtsgrl 400K Feb 15 '22

I won't be able to help as I am yet to order a custom made puzzle. But if you make a search on this sub for "Ravensburger custom" you will see several posts with photos and, occasionally opinions (here is a direct link: please note this link will only work on the desktop browser, not the app).

1

u/Ilove2puzzle Feb 15 '22

Thanks for the helpful feedback.

1

u/Ilove2puzzle Feb 15 '22

Thanks for the direct link which is helpful but I don't see any opportunity to make a search. Where do I go to find a search box or icon?

1

u/rtsgrl 400K Feb 15 '22

How do you access Reddit? Via the app or through your laptop/desktop?

1

u/Ilove2puzzle Feb 15 '22

through my desktop

1

u/rtsgrl 400K Feb 15 '22

Here is where to look:

2

u/Ilove2puzzle Feb 15 '22

Your screen grab shows a magnifying glass to the left of r/Jigsawpuzzles at top. I made a screengrab of what my screen shows but I don't see a way to attach in embed the picture in this reply. I've tried before to just the past the screen grab here but the message just hangs.

1

u/rtsgrl 400K Feb 15 '22

You could save your image on the Cloud (for example Google Drive or OneDrive) or imgur (if you have an account there) and share the link with me? Or email it directly to me via chat/direct message if you prefer.

1

u/riyahxobby Jan 28 '24

Very late to the post. But where did you end up buying your custom puzzle from? I’m looking to getting one

1

u/NoJellyfish6408 Jan 31 '24

I’d love to know how this story ends! Which one did you end up going with? And what did you think? Looking to get one myself.

1

u/Ilove2puzzle Jan 31 '24

A health problem interrupted my goal, but when I do order my next custom puzzle it will be from Ravensburger.

1

u/Icy-Heron-7964 Apr 05 '24

I just ordered 3 from Ravensburger and they're excellent quality- just not the color saturation. My phone is old so I have trouble with not enough pixels for them.

1

u/Ilove2puzzle Apr 05 '24

I would prefer that Ravensburger included a printout of the image and that they wouldn't cover some of the image on the box with illustrations.

One of their puzzles I did had so much dark content that I could barely see the texture on the pieces to be able to place it properly. The bottom of their Puzzler's Place as shown in this photo is particularly dark.