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Re: Substitute for rub-on lettering

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3/14/2000 4:58 PM

Re: Substitute for rub-on lettering

I've had such good luck with making custom labels using the Dyna-Arts "Toner Transfer System" paper that I don't mess with rub on any more. Unless the panel is black, the decal making method with this stuff, or 'real' decal paper from a graphic arts store works very well indeed.

If I need to letter a black panel, I iron on IBFoil silver metallic to the decal, and have silver letters on the black background. You can also get red, blue, green and paisley (!) IBFoil.

In any case, this stuff takes to a clear lacquer coating naturally. You can also print the paper in a color laser printer and have color decals.

One luthier I know makes his logos this way, applies them to his headstocks, and then lacquers them in with another couple of coats.

The DIY decal method lets you do any thing you can laser print or copy.

3/14/2000 5:02 PM
Jay Doyle	Mark, I don't know about the clear ones but the white mailing labels do take well to clear nailpolish in my experience. the problem I've had with the clear ones is having the ink from the printer rub off of the label. FWIW, Jay Doyle

3/14/2000 5:40 PM

Jay,

Are you referring to inkjet or laser labels? By "rubbing off" what type of operating conditions are you referring to? (i.e., how heavy duty does it need to be?)

RG,

How doth one attain yon Dyna-Arts materials? Sounds interesting.

Jack,

Easier to talk about getting other colours of rub-on stuff than finding it. I live in a municipal region of over a million people that churns out more diagrams and paper per capita than almost anywhere else in the country (civil service town), and I'll be damned if I can find ANY sheets of white lettering anywhere, let alone other colours, or white in preferred type sizes. I've tried stationery places, art supply places, you name it. Mail order is a non-starter. Don't get me started about my most recent experiences with e-commerce!

Mike,

Sheets of rub-on control legends would be great, except for the fact that it may constrain choice of control knobs or spacing of controls. For stompboxes, I think 80% of all the people reading this posting would be happy with a sheet that had multiples of: Distortion, Tone, Volume, Input, Output, 9vdc, and not much more. These same folks, however, probably prefer to clump their pots pretty close together to fit in smaller (and cheaper) chassis. Not to say that a custom request COULDN'T be practical. Rather, it would take a great deal of forethought and consensus to MAKE it practical.

For the moment, I just happy to have my Austin Treble Blaster with the "tex-Mex" style font on the label (I think the font is called "Arriba").

3/14/2000 7:33 PM

quote:
"How doth one attain yon Dyna-Arts materials? Sounds interesting."

This is one that's been in the Guitar Effects FAQ forever. The stuff is available from both Mouser and Digi-Key. It's fairly expensive, about $3 a sheet, but I printed up a full sheet of stuff I knew I'd need, like "Volume" "Level" "Distortion" "Treble" "Amp" "Instrument" and so on. I'm still using my first sheet. You can get similar stuff from Micro Mark, a model/hobby outfit, and from local graphic arts and printing places.

quote:
"Easier to talk about getting other colours of rub-on stuff than finding it."

That's why I went to Dyna-Arts - at least I could have some control and get something I needed.

I also sacrificed a full sheet to my brother-in-law's amplifier that I built - custom knob lettering and scales (that did, indeed, go to 11) and a "Mashburn" logo.

3/16/2000 3:37 AM
anonymous	Iwas wanting to see if anyone has ever done a fender headstock logo with the computer printer and some kind of decal type of material? I have a custom strat that I need a fender strat logo for. Can any one help me? Thanks

3/16/2000 2:48 PM

Do laser labels take to laquer? Yes

Put some clear nail polish on some stompbox labels made with the clear laser stickies last night. Worked out fine, as long as one was relatively quick with the brush/wand. Futzing around, rather than just covering it in one stroke, tend to result in some toner fall-away (which, blended with the polish, came out like smudge).

After I put the labels on, I was having some misgivings, since it looked like a piece of matte scotch tape with writing on it; VERY amateur. The nail polish lets it blend in with the gloss of the paint very nicely, however, especially if the paint layer itself is nice and smooth.

Bear in mind that the labels themselves ARE a bit like 3M "invisible tape", and that the laser toner will only adhere to it under ideal conditions. Wrinkle the label, and the toner layer fractures and falls off.

In sum, it's still not rub-on lettering, which tends to look more silk-screenish, but it's not half bad.

3/16/2000 2:57 PM
R.G.	Laser printed decals on decal paper...

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