Why the Left and Right Insoles Are Printed Separately

A pair of shoes is sold as a left and a right, but a lot of insoles are not. They are one shape, copied. CustomSole does the other thing. The scanner looks at each foot. The printer makes each shell from that foot's file. If you swap them, you have put the wrong arch in the shoe, even though both pieces came in the same box.

What the scan keeps apart

Volumental measures the left foot and the right foot on their own. The report side of that scan includes length, width, and foot height for each one. We do not average those into a single arch and then mirror it. The left shell is the left file. The right shell is the right file. You can see that split on how it works, next to the phone scan.

AAOS points out that the two feet are often not the same size, and that feet swell during the day. That is why a standing scan of both feet is the input, and a single shoe size is not. Our size guide can help you compare a length with the labels you already know. It is not a menu. You order one US size and one length, and two shells. You do not order a 9 for the left and a 10 for the right.

Same length, different arches

Full Length and 3/4 Length describe the outline, and that outline is the one you picked for the pair. Both insoles in the box are that length. What differs is the arch shell under the foam. A wider left foot and a narrower right foot are not blended. If your feet differ a lot in length, not just in width, you may still trim the toe of the Full Length side that bunches. That trim is at the toe only. It does not turn the order into two sizes. The price does not change either. Both lengths are $69.99, with $99.99 shown crossed out.

The 16 designs do not split left and right into different colors unless you somehow ordered two products. One order is one design, one length, two shells. The fabric matches. The arches do not have to.

How to keep them matched

There is no shoe-size stamp to rescue you if you mix them up. The practical rule is physical: the insole comes out of a shoe, dries beside that shoe, and goes back into that shoe.

• Install the left first and leave it there while you do the right.
• If you take both out to dry, put them on the floor in front of the matching shoe.
• When you move the pair to another pair of shoes, move left with left. Do not "try the other one" to see if it feels softer.
• Do not cut a notch into the shell to label it. If you need a mark, a tiny pencil dot on the underside of the toe, away from the arch, is enough. Do not cut the shell.

If you already swapped them and the arches feel odd, swap back before you trim anything. A toe trim made while the wrong shell is in the shoe is a trim you cannot undo.

Why a mirror would be a different product

Mirroring is how molded insoles are made. One cavity, flipped. It is cheap, and it ignores the foot that does not match the master. Printing exists here so we do not have to do that. HP Multi Jet Fusion builds each shell from its own layers of PA12. There is no shared mold that forces the two feet to agree. The foam top and the heel cup are still part of every insole. Those pieces are the finish. They are not a reason to print one arch and copy it. More on the shell itself is in what the printed arch shell does.

One shoe feels different

That can be the point. If your feet are different, the shells should not feel identical. Walk in both shoes before you decide one side "failed." Check the boring causes first: heel not seated, Full Length stacked on the original insole, toe edge bunched, thick sock only on one foot. The install page is how to put them in.

If one insole arrives cracked, or the two covers are not the design you ordered, email support@customsole.shop with the order number. A pair that arrives damaged or made wrong is replaced. A left arch that is not a copy of the right is not a defect.

Each person needs their own scans

The two files belong to the two feet on that order. They do not belong to the household. If someone else wants a pair, they need their own checkout and their own email, then their own photos. Sharing your scan would print your arches into their shoes. The camera steps allow you to hold the phone for another adult. The feet in the frame still have to be theirs, and the email on the scanner still has to be the email that paid for their order.

If one photo fails, retake it before you close the page. A pair needs both feet. We do not print the good side and guess the other. Pant legs, socks, and a curled sheet of paper are the usual reasons a photo has to be redone. Those delays sit in front of the printer. They do not swap which foot the shell is for. When both photos are in, you still put the finished left insole in the left shoe. The screen that showed two feet is not a suggestion that the insoles became interchangeable on the way to your door.

Reordering

The scans stay with the email you used. A later pair can be printed from those same two files, still separately. Scan again if your feet have changed, for example after a large change in weight or in how much you are on them. The new photos replace the guesswork. They do not average you back into one size. You still choose one US shoe size for the pair. The scan does not recommend one. That choice is explained in why you pick a shoe size before the scan.

The scan itself happens after you pay, with that same email. Until both feet are in, we do not have two files, and we do not print one shell "to start." Both wait. US delivery is within 14 days once the order is being made from a finished scan.