Hi i am looking into some porcelain systems.. and got very interested in d.sign porcelain.
It seems like a lot of ppl here uses inline, but have not seen dsign get mentioned much.
How is this porcelain?.. in terms of handling and shrinkage, and shade matching?.. if you have pics i would love to see them too.
1. HANDLING: Great handling, stacks as well if not much better than any other porcelain on the market.
2. SHRINKAGE: I think dSign is a Female Porcelain and it can't seem to mind how much or which way to shrink... lol just kidding..
I only had 2 problems with Dsign..(2 shrinkage problems) 1. Dentin would shrink up in 1 spot on the margin and I could not solve that problem. If you don't mind sprinkling margin powder around the margins as said above, this will prevent the shrinkage. (I didn't like the idea of the extra step sprinkle, so I switched porcelain.) 2. Add on's in the embrasures can be problems as is many high-end fine grain porcelains.
3. SHADE MATCHING : Shades are prefect out of the bottle if you use Deep Dentin, and no staining is needed to match the shade guide. I never used without using Deep Dentin !
Don't use dSign now but I think its a very beautiful & nicest looking porcelain on the market, plus you have the same type of powders to use with emax. I agree your doctors will notice a difference with dSign.
An average tech can use dSign using a 3 or 4 powder technique and see a huge difference compared to other porcelains, I believe ! Must say some techs have a hell of a time using dsign and I think some of the problems are related to poor training and the other half directly related to the makeup of dSign porcelain. THERE is an learning curve using Dsign !! I never had occlusal cracking- tearing, exploding crown types of problems, or checking. The other older issue with dsign is using a matching CTE alloy. I used Dsign 59 and never had a hint of checking. Ivoclar makes a cheaper alternative, dsign 53, but you could have problems with less than idea frames on large bridges with this higher CTE alloy. Both D53 and 59 are Pd/Ag
In my opinion this porcelain stands out above other porcelains because of the rich Deep Dentin. The DD powder makes the shades pop and you see the shades below the surface of the layered porcelain.
InLine is a cheaper version of dSign but not in the same class unless you are a higher end tech that uses many powders. (I made that statement after making about 10 units with a free starter kit of InLine.) Take this opinion with a grain of salt !
A third alternative is GC which is very similar to dSign, but less technique sensitive. Must say GC is more so of an multi-powder technique porcelain, but not required.
Last alternative in no special order is Creation porcelain. Stacks very well, high chroma like Dsign and GC, and has very accurate shades, but less technique sensitive than Dsign.
Ok, you want to change to a nicer porcelain and see a difference on your first crown, choose your weapon, Dsign, Creation or GC, these are the best of the best porcelains I believe.
If you want a simple to use out of the bottle porcelain, zero technique issues, that can match any of the above porcelains, Noritake is an Best Buy porcelain.
btw: Should you order Dsign porcelain, ask your Ivoclar rep to stop by your lab with your ordered kit to spend a few hours training you on the do's and don't's of using Dsign...
Other days, it's a finicky pain in the ass!!!
........... but I am enjoying stacking more porcelain.. 
