what is an easy way to label the pedal other that signing by hand? I was thinking to get something clear and adhesive one one side, bnut can't seem to find sucj material.

What do you guys do in such cases?

thank you all.

i used to always used fine-tip paintmarkers and stencils, (i found a set at the crafts store with a very "bauhaus" style to it)

now i screen-print my pedals, but i'm thinking of doing the tshirt transfer method other people have talked about here - if you search the archives maybe you can find some info on it

if you have an idea for a custom paintjob drop me an email if you primer the box and draw up a basic desing my buddy dave is a artist with a masters degree. he is now painting all my crap so i don't have to.
he is cheap too.. he will do it for the paint. or a hamburger   lol

I used clear CD labels cut to fit when I labelled 'the blender':



However, this left an annoying 'square' around the text, but i can live with that more than i can put up with my illgible handwriting!

Cheers

A.

I've used those rub off letters you find at art stores (Chartpak brand) under a clear coat. The neatness depends on your ability to line them up and they leave no "halo" effect around the letters. They can be great looking and if you don't like how it looks, you can remove the crooked letters with a piece of tape. They come in many different fonts and sizes. I've only been able to find them in black, and would LOVE to find some white, yellow or silver letters in this style. The black letters limit you to lighter paint backgrounds. They are also pretty cheap at about $2.00 a sheet.

I mentioned a month ago that I would be making some generic decals for pedal makers with words like "Gain, Level, Threshold..." etc.

I'm out of the studio early tonight, so maybe instead of watching the Sopranos (do you REALLY want me to do that?) I will finally get some printed out for you fine Stompboxers.

If you're interested, PM me. Some of you already have a month ago, so I'll let you all know when they're ready.

To refresh you, they look like this:


Roger

Quote from: PB Wilson...I've only been able to find them in black, and would LOVE to find some white, yellow or silver letters in this style. The black letters limit you to lighter paint backgrounds.

This looks interesting- custom dry transfer sheets in various colors:

http://www.letraset.com/us/info/products/Transfers-Getting-transferred.asp

Kerry M

Thanx a lot guys!
Ansil, thanx for the offer.

I will try the CD labellers first, see how they go.

My wonderful and most beautiful girlfriend paints wild pictures on the cases. The Red Fuzz was renamed into the Cheshire Fuzz and now I have a crazy all-colors-of-rainbow cat on it. The letters for gain and volume are problematic cuz they have to be very thin, and that's why I'm trying to make a sticker.

I will post the pics somewhere when I'll get it done.(:

As a board drafter in the mid 80's, I used to have those Letraset letters in my hands all the time. Too bad I wasn't building guitar effects back then...

The T-shirt transfer thing that moosapotamus uses rocks though! Computer generated graphics can be really slick if you have the right medium to get them on your enclosure.

Is there really anything wrong with black permanent marker and some clear-glossy-spray-paint to cover it?

-Colin

That custom lettering from letraset sounds very interesting... depending on the price, which I couldn't find anywhere!

Fp

Quote from: anonymousexperimentalistIs there really anything wrong with black permanent marker and some clear-glossy-spray-paint to cover it?

-Colin

Yes, the ink can run when you spray the clear coat on top (what I've found)

Quote from: bwanasonic

Quote from: PB Wilson...I've only been able to find them in black, and would LOVE to find some white, yellow or silver letters in this style. The black letters limit you to lighter paint backgrounds.

This looks interesting- custom dry transfer sheets in various colors:

http://www.letraset.com/us/info/products/Transfers-Getting-transferred.asp

Kerry M

That's reeeeeally cool.  It'd be useful if you were going to do a bunch of pedals, maybe 10, you could make all of the lables really easily in one sheet.

I wonder how well it would hold up, even without the clear--glossy-spray-paint-stuff.  Enamal.  Enamel?  

-Colin

Quote from: dubs

Quote from: anonymousexperimentalistIs there really anything wrong with black permanent marker and some clear-glossy-spray-paint to cover it?

-Colin

Yes, the ink can run when you spray the clear coat on top (what I've found)

Oh... that was my plan, seemed to simple.

Even if you let it dry for a while?   How dissapointing.

-Colin

Quote from: anonymousexperimentalistIs there really anything wrong with black permanent marker and some clear-glossy-spray-paint to cover it?

-Colin

You can get markers that actually leave paint behind, but they don't stand up well to abuse. The maker is Uchida of America, Corp. in Torrance, California. They call them "opaque paint markers" and they're available with a number of different sized tips. The smallest one I've found is called "fine line".

They might do OK if you lay down a thin bead of paint and then hit them with a couple clear coats, but that's just a guess. So far I havn't found anything better than silkscreen ink.

Take care,
-Peter

Quote from: Peter Snowberg

Quote from: anonymousexperimentalistIs there really anything wrong with black permanent marker and some clear-glossy-spray-paint to cover it?

-Colin

You can get markers that actually leave paint behind, but they don't stand up well to abuse. The maker is Uchida of America, Corp. in Torrance, California. They call them "opaque paint markers" and they're available with a number of different sized tips. The smallest one I've found is called "fine line".

They might do OK if you lay down a thin bead of paint and then hit them with a couple clear coats, but that's just a guess. So far I havn't found anything better than silkscreen ink.

Take care,
-Peter

Thanks, Peter.  I guess I'll go with this new printing thing...  Or something orother.  I've yet to actually LABLE something I've built, mostly they're just boring old aluminum boxes.  How chique!  (I'm sure I spelled that wrong, which is very un-sheek)

-Colin

Quote from: Peter SnowbergSo far I havn't found anything better than silkscreen ink.

Another method I was considering is having custom rubber stamps made and using silkscreen ink? How feasible is small scale silkscreening at home? I have access to UV light sources at work, but always imagined silkscreen to be a messy PITA for home use. For an idea of the basic look I am going for:

http://home.earthlink.net/~bwanacentral/images/pedal_design01.jpg


Kerry M

DIY silkscreen is really pretty easy. There are many kinds of screen ink, and the stuff we want is used for Point-of-Purchase displays and stuff like that. Don't go after Plastisol inks (used for t-shirts). I've never used any UV cure ink so I can't tell you anything about it, but I used to have my R&D shop in the old darkroom of a heavy duty screen printer that did fine art and went digital.

I built most of a prototype system for digital direct-to-stencil system that printed digital files with an argon laser at super high resolution, but that was all before I got into DIY/boutique stompboxes. :? I guess timing can be everything.

Check out "how to" pages for t-shirt printers. There are two basic types of emulsion for making stencils. The first is a liquid system for pre-coating screens, this is messy and hard to deal with. The second is a system (called Direct-Film) that has the emulsion pre-coated on an acetate backing. This is the stuff you want. You expose the emulsion with a transparency of your artwork using a UV lamp or the sun, then apply developer, and then wash all the undeveloped emulsion off the acetate with warm water. The water leaves the exposed emulsion soft. The next step is to press the developed stencil into a clean screen. Let it dry, then peel off the acetate. You're left with a screen that has holes in it where you want the ink to go down. The final pre-press step is to coat the edges of the stencil with screen filler and let that dry. Now you need a jig to hold the screen at a little more height than the box you're printing on (just a hair). Add some ink to the top of the screen, and squeegee a few pieces of test material. Now you're ready for printing boxes.

Another option is to talk to a t-shirt printer and get them to make your stencils for you (MUCH easier and very worth it).

Chemicals and stencil material:
http://www.ulano.com/

Primo Inks:
http://www.nazdar.com/

The main solvent is xylene, and if you keep your inks and stencils clean, you and reuse both of them over and over. (you need excess ink on the screen to print)

The only down-side is that the ink is amazingly toxic . The base material for all the ink in the shop I was in was lead napthenate. Copper napthenate is the green stuff you soak fence posts in. I hope the UV stuff is better.

Take care,
-Peter

What about using austomobile Paint pens? At car dealerships, (eg, a ford dealership) they sell these pens to color in minor scratches. They have metalics, HEAPS of colors. I havent used one myself for this purpose, but I think they could be ok, as they ARE paint- just really easy to apply.
Cheers,
Luke

BTW- that custom dry transfer stuff is expensive- REAL expensive. It starts at £ 35.00 and shipping to the US is £ 38.00...

Oh well

Kerry M