How we make a custom pickleball paddle: our 7-step process

Every week we get the question: how does it actually work, making a custom pickleball paddle? The short answer: we take a professional pickleball paddle, add your design in our workshop in the Netherlands, and within 7 days it is on your doorstep. The long answer you can read below. Seven steps, each important enough to write something about.

Step 1: The base paddle

We start with a professional pickleball paddle. Teardrop shape, 360 grams, 100% carbon hitting surface, EVA foam core. The same build as what you know from major pickleball brands, tested on the court before we add anything to it. We keep these paddles in stock in the Netherlands, in white and black as the base. No weeks of waiting for a new production run.

Step 2: Your design

This happens online in our designer. You upload a logo in PNG, JPG, SVG or PDF, or you work only with text and colors. The higher the resolution of the file you supply, the sharper the final print. The designer automatically checks whether your file is suitable and warns you if the resolution is too low.

You do not need any design knowledge. The designer works with simple clicks and drags. Want something specific that does not fit in the system? Send us an email, we will take a look.

Step 3: The proof

This is the most important step, and also the only one we are strict about. Within 24 hours of your order you receive a digital proof: a one-to-one simulation of how your paddle is going to look. Exact colors, logo in the right position, text in the right place. Only once you approve do we start the physical finishing. No surprises afterwards.

If something needs adjusting, we do that free of charge. We keep sending proofs until you are happy.

Step 4: Applying the print

On the approved design we print your artwork as a high-quality, full-color sticker using professional printing equipment. The sticker is UV-resistant, weather-resistant and matched to the carbon surface of the paddle. We place it exactly in the right position on the hitting surface, and with Full Custom on the side as well. Want to know how we weigh this against the printing of major brands? Read custom pickleball paddle vs branded paddle.

This process is deliberately simpler and faster than printing directly into the material. Why? Because that sticker method allows us to make from 1 paddle, within a week, without a minimum order. Other parties have paddles fully produced and printed in Asia, which means you often cannot go into production until 12 or 24 units. We make one for you. That is the trade-off. In the complete guide to pickleball paddle printing we put both techniques side by side.

Quality-wise: a properly applied sticker with professional coating holds up just as well as full-print. It stays in place with intensive use, sweat and weather.

Step 5: Finishing

After applying the print, a protective coating goes on top that fixes the sticker in place and protects it against wear. The paddle then gets a fresh grip tape, a wrist strap, and a standard protective cover. Those who chose the upsell get a premium cover with shoulder strap.

Step 6: Quality check

Every paddle goes through a human quality check before it leaves the door. We check whether the print is straight, whether there are no flecks over it, whether the coating is applied evenly, whether the grip is neat. If something is off, we do it again. That is our guarantee against mistakes on our side.

Step 7: Shipping

Packed, labeled, and shipped to your door via PostNL. Within the Netherlands shipping is free and included in the price. For Belgium or Germany we charge adjusted shipping costs to be agreed. From your approval of the proof to delivery: at most 7 days.

Why this approach works

We deliberately do not have a minimum order of 12 or 24 paddles. Why not? Because a personal gift deserves just as much attention as a club order of fifty. The margin on a paddle is thin, but the satisfaction it brings (someone receiving a paddle at their own wedding with the date on it) is worth it.

For business orders from 5 paddles we work with volume discounts. From 25 units the price drops to €79 per paddle, at 50 units to €72. The same finishing, same workshop, same quality check.

Open the designer and start your design →