29 Sep
2016
29 Sep
'16
9:50 a.m.
On 09/29/2016 11:12 AM, Rod Smallwood wrote:
I seem to remember that at least some of the markings
were not actually labels but screened onto the chassis.
White for black metalwork and black on unpainted cad and
pass metalwork.
There is a process used for decals. You peel the back off
and press on to whatever. Then peel the front of and there
you are.
I use some expensive stuff from Vital Presentation
Concepts. It has 2 parts. There is a photosensitive label
material that has a sheet of dye and a sheet of
photoactivated superglue. What you expose to UV gets sticky
and pulls the dye off the other sheet. Then, you turn this
sheet over and stick it down to a double-sticky base layer.
The image is between the two plastic layers, so it is quite
durable. They have many dye colors, and they do have a
clear base sheet, too. So, it looks like they have the
combination of colors to do white lettering on a clear
base. This stuff is NOT cheap, it will cost about $200 to
get the basic stuff (5 sheets of imaging film, 5 base sheets
and the peeling pad). You will also need a way to make
master images (laser printer transparencies should work) and
a UF exposing frame.
See
https://www.vpcinc.com/Category/Quick-Mark-UV-Photographic-49.cfm
for more details.
I use this stuff for instrument panel labels. I use blue
imaging film on a white base. Then, I use an Xacto knife to
cut out for around all the switches, etc. I make the photo
masters on a laser photoplotter, which assures the lettering
all comes out right where it is supposed to. (A laser
printer will not be as accurate, but would be fine for a
simple label.)
Here's an example of one of my units that shows the label well :
http://pico-systems.com/switcher.html
I'm not suggesting this is what anybody should do, I'm just
pointing out that this material does exist, and can be used
to make some good-looking labels.
(I am also NOT volunteering to make DEC labels for anybody!)
Jon