There are numerous ways to go about getting mail order insoles. In the past, this was typically done in conjunction with a medical professional such as the individual’s personal doctor or podiatrist. After an extensive consultation regarding any conditions or issues the individual was suffering from, the doctor would then suggest a variety of companies that provide insoles for consumers. At this point the person in question would either call or send a letter requesting the insoles and a mold would be shipped back to either the person or the doctor.

There would then be a process of making an impression of the person’s feet in the aforementioned mold (for the purposes of gaining the exact measurements of the person’s feet) to be used for developing the actual insoles. That mold would then be shipped to the manufacturer, used to design the insole itself, and finally that insole would be sent back to the consumer. For the most part, the only difference now is that the initial request is made on the internet in lieu of snail mail. However, things are changing…

With the introduction of a few different technologies that have become more prevalent in recent years, the whole process of buying mail order insoles has become significantly easier. Smartphones and their cameras, image recognition technology and three dimensional printing are the technologies that have succeeded in making this process so much easier. With these new processes, visiting the doctor and the entire lengthy process of making the mold and shipping it back and forth have been eliminated.

The process now includes merely taking pictures of the feet and sending them off through the internet. The pictures can be taken on the smartphone (the quality of the cameras in phones have improved to the point where they can be used for such a thing) and sent via the internet, moments later, to the manufacturer’s computer. There, an image recognition algorithm can take the photos and render a 3d model of the person’s feet. Then that model is used by a three dimensional printer to make the mold of the person’s feet that is used to make the actual insoles. The insoles are finally made on a vacuum forming machine and shipped off to the consumer. The consumer’s role in the process takes less than a few minutes and requires nothing more than a couple of photos. Mail order insoles have just gotten a lot easier.