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GrumpyOldMan · 04-24-2011, 05:29 PM

So I have finally received and applied both my DecalGirl and Gelaskin PE skins, and here's a quick comparison:

- Quality: The materials are slightly different, Gelaskin seems to be using a thicker, slightly textured material, more geared towards outdoor use and probably tougher. I don't particularly like glossy, but with that bit of texture it actually works well for me. DecalGirl's material is not flimsy by any means, but doesn't seem quite as tough. On the other hand, they offer both a glossy and a matte option (at extra charge). On the inside, reader side, I like to have a non-distracting material (*), so I tend to choose matte, dark-colored, mostly uniform lightly textured skins, like Carbon or Blue Jeans. Plain black tends to look a bit chintzy, esp. for the price since you pay for the imprint anyway.

- Designs: Both offers a variety of skins presets for the PE, and while DecalGirl apparently offers a way to have them use some of their other designs and request them to be cut to fit the PE, Gelaskins is much better: You have a -very- nice online editor that doesn't just allow you to use any of their existing designs, but you can even pick 2 different ones for the front and back and define the print area for each one. Even better, you can just upload your image(s) and do a completely custom job, with separate front & back if you want to.

- Application: The biggest problem, after having applied a few myself, seems to be stretch: it's good when you need to extend it a bit, but once it's stretched (which happens easily when you have to peel off a decal again to reposition it) it won't go back easily. Because DecalGirl's material is thinner, and had smaller/thinner pieces, that was more of an issue for me. I didn't have any problems with Gelaskin.

- Bang for the Buck: Clearly DecalGirl: Not only is it cheaper, but it covers inside & outside, and not just the big panels, but even smaller areas (as fiddly as the application may be) Gelaskin was worth it me because I really wanted my custom design on the PE with its large book-style outer cover (as opposed to just the bezel on most other readers, where the back is hidden inside the attached cover anyway) And the quality is definitely very high, and there are no extra charges, always the same price no matter what option you choose. Worth the extra money? That'll be up to you...

(*) I think fake-aluminum or white bezels, esp. glossy are the worst, and especially around an eInk display. Offenders include Sony's older readers, Kindle, nook classic and of course the PE. Some of those companies saw the light and offer(ed) a dark version of their reader, for everything else, I think a skin improves readability noticeably.

04-24-2011, 05:29 PM	#21
GrumpyOldMan Edge User	So I have finally received and applied both my DecalGirl and Gelaskin PE skins, and here's a quick comparison: - Quality: The materials are slightly different, Gelaskin seems to be using a thicker, slightly textured material, more geared towards outdoor use and probably tougher. I don't particularly like glossy, but with that bit of texture it actually works well for me. DecalGirl's material is not flimsy by any means, but doesn't seem quite as tough. On the other hand, they offer both a glossy and a matte option (at extra charge). On the inside, reader side, I like to have a non-distracting material (), so I tend to choose matte, dark-colored, mostly uniform lightly textured skins, like Carbon or Blue Jeans. Plain black tends to look a bit chintzy, esp. for the price since you pay for the imprint anyway. - Designs: Both offers a variety of skins presets for the PE, and while DecalGirl apparently offers a way to have them use some of their other designs and request them to be cut to fit the PE, Gelaskins is much better: You have a -very- nice online editor that doesn't just allow you to use any of their existing designs, but you can even pick 2 different ones for the front and back and define the print area for each one. Even better, you can just upload your image(s) and do a completely custom job, with separate front & back if you want to. - Application: The biggest problem, after having applied a few myself, seems to be stretch: it's good when you need to extend it a bit, but once it's stretched (which happens easily when you have to peel off a decal again to reposition it) it won't go back easily. Because DecalGirl's material is thinner, and had smaller/thinner pieces, that was more of an issue for me. I didn't have any problems with Gelaskin. - Bang for the Buck: Clearly DecalGirl: Not only is it cheaper, but it covers inside & outside, and not just the big panels, but even smaller areas (as fiddly as the application may be) Gelaskin was worth it me because I really wanted my custom design on the PE with its large book-style outer cover (as opposed to just the bezel on most other readers, where the back is hidden inside the attached cover anyway) And the quality is definitely very high, and there are no extra charges, always the same price no matter what option you choose. Worth the extra money? That'll be up to you... () I think fake-aluminum or white bezels, esp. glossy are the worst, and especially around an eInk display. Offenders include Sony's older readers, Kindle, nook classic and of course the PE. Some of those companies saw the light and offer(ed) a dark version of their reader, for everything else, I think a skin improves readability noticeably.