Decals and Printing for your Hyperpin Cabinet

[Lucian045 27]

So I thought I would give back to the community and offer my services with the printing of graphics and decals for your projects. I own a sign company in Connecticut and have a 54" digital printer. I have printed some artwork for Mameman and a couple of others on the forum and have been asked by a few about printing their work. You can see the quality of the printer and material on my build http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13088. So I am starting this thread to offer my services at a fair price which I hope will be less than what it would normally cost you around your area. Here is what you get and how much.

Material:
-Arlon 3165RA (Rapid Air Release Technology) Gloss
-Arlon Oraguard 210 Gloss Laminate

Quality:
-All decals are printed at 720 x 720 resolution
-Material is rated at 7 years outdoor (You'll probably have you cabinet sold 3 times by the time these decals fade )
-Rapid Air Technology means a bubble free application
-Professionally cut to your size specifications, packaged and shipped

Process:
Design your graphics in Photoshop, A.I., whatever and send me the files at 100% scale (Using https://www.yousendit.com/ as files will be large). Samples for color proofing can be made if you require it. Once sizes and color profiles are checked printing will begin and the artwork will be sent out within 2 business days by ground shipping anywhere in the US. US Shipping is $20, overseas shipping is $60.

Pricing:
For a standard size machine you will get:
- 2 Side Decals up to 52" in length
- Coin Door Front area
- 2 Side Back Box Decals

Cost: $135 plus shipping (Custom add-ons at an additional cost)

This price reflects my cost for ink, material, and time for preparing and packaging your decals. Shipping is $20. To give you an example on value, I would charge a customer in CT for something like this about $275 (Plus $65 per hour for design and/or changes in color, whatever). I am doing this because I wanted to give back to this awesome community, and I enjoy Pinball and Video Gaming!

I can design something for your machine if you like but to be honest, I don't have the time or the raw talent that a lot of other people on this forum have. I would much rather you design it and I will make it real.

Payment:
Paypal would be the prefered method for me. My paypal address is [email protected]. Payment can be made once artwork is sent to me or when it's ready to be shipped. I trust the community.

Contact:
Please e-mail me at [email protected] and put in the title Hyperpin Artwork or something like this.

You may use this thread as a place to ask specific questions for the general community and also your thoughts and feedback, but PLEASE do not use this as a place to ask me when your artwork is shipping, etc. All contact will be through e-mail at the above address.

Thanks and I hope you can use my services as a cost effective way to get some great looking artwork on your projects! I welcome your thoughts.

Here is a video on how to apply graphics:

Edited March 10, 2016 by Lucian045
Changed contacte-mail

[billpa 48]

That is very very generous. Thank you! Going to sticky this thread so it doesn't get lost.

[mameman 13]

I highly recommend Bradley. Fantastic work and the only company that I use for printing my artwork. Great value and a big kudos for giving back to this community.

Greg

[maxxsinner 12]

Thanks for this Lucian.

I am willing to do overseas but I think it may just be too expensive

Where I got my graphix printed charged about an extra $50 to ship it to Victoria, Australia and were sill competitive with prices locally so it may be worthing looking into.

The bigest problem with a lot of the local printers I found, did not offer the expertise and knowledge that your offering here.

Could you post suggestions on how to prepare our graphics properly for you. i.e. allowance for bleed, if overlap is required between the sidepanel and coin door (as discussed on another thread), and anything else you can think of . It would be appreciated.

Edited August 4, 2011 by maxxsinner

[Lucian045 27]

Thanks for this Lucian.

Where I got my graphix printed charged about an extra $50 to ship it to Victoria, Australia and were sill competitive with prices locally so it may be worthing looking into.

The bigest problem with a lot of the local printers I found, did not offer the expertise and knowledge that your offering here.

Could you post suggestions on how to prepare our graphics properly for you. i.e. allowance for bleed, if overlap is required between the sidepanel and coin door (as discussed on another thread), and anything else you can think of . It would be appreciated.

Absolutley, great questions. I'll get something up on the thread tomorrow with some diagrams. Thanks for the support and recommendation guys.

[Dazz 71]

I just cross posted this into the HyperSpin Cabinet forum as well.

[gbeef 10]

Can you printer vinyl cut also.?

[Lucian045 27]

Well can't sleep so I'll post a few suggestions and observations on preperation. I think I am going to upload a few videos, as being a visual learner myself, find it easier to understand. That will be later. Also I think I'll upload a video on how to actually install these graphics for those not experienced.

Allowance for Bleed

When your artwork is finished it's important to leave about 1/2" bleed on the sides and bottom for the printing. Nothing is perfect and there is nothing worse than a seem in the graphic when it is not nessasary. This applies to all areas of the cabinet you are putting graphics on. It is not important to bleed the top as this is a perfect place for you to line up your graphic so it is straight. This is of course assuming that you built your cabinet level.

Overlapping

This is totally not nessasary if you prepared your cabinet properly. If all the edges are sanded smooth (Not rounded) and are free from defects such as chipped wood and screw or nail holes, then the graphic will bleed over your edge and allow a nice line for you to cut the graphic The key is cutting the graphic with a sharp new exacto knife blade, keeping it level along the edge of your cabinet and taking your time for an even cut. I can't stress enough that the box must have a sharp edge to it. If you round the corner on the cabinet, then the graphic will not have a clean edge and accomplishing a seamless installation will not be possible. If you feel that you want to overlap the image onto the front, then you must allow yourself at least 1/2" as anything less over time will lift. It might take a while but it will eventually lift.

Colors On Your Screen and in REAL LIFE!

Unless you have calibrated your monitor with software to allow for true 1-1 color accuracy, the colors on your screen may not represent what is actually printed. Certain colors like black have multiple levels of darkness, but on a computer screen black looks like well...black. Too many times people will have me print a design they did on their computer and when the black comes out more grayish they blame my printer. A TRUE black mixture is C-75 M-68 Y-67 K-90. Other percentages are used to achieve specific results, for example 100% black with 70% cyan, 35% magenta, and 40% yellow is used to achieve "cool" black. "Warm Black" is 100%K 60%M 60%Y and 35%C. Calibrating your screen is very important. Going through your monitor calibration will give you a 95% accurate reading on color and that is more than enough in my opinion.

CMYK or RGB

Files for best color (Vibrance) should be done as RGB, 8bit and saved as a .tiff. I have found over the years of doing this that many people prefer the look of RGB printed files rather than CMYK. CMYK colors are not as vibrant depending on the pallet that is used. Want a nice deep black, use RGB...at least for my printer. If this changes I will update.

Resolution

If you pull a graphic off of the web and that graphic is 20KB and you choose to expand that image 4 times in size, then you just made that graphic 5kb. That is way too small and it will look like a blocky mess. Things look great on the internet but if the size is not large enough, then the image will look blurry. If you plan on using any image, make sure it is a minimum of 500kb - 1 meg or more in size. The background on my cabinet was 5 megs. I expanded it 3 times in size at a resolution of 300dpi. (No need to go any higher) It's crystal clear because the image was of a high enough resolution from the beginning. Do not design artwork around low resolution graphics because when they are expanded to full size cabinets, they will look awful.

Please feel free to bring up anything else. I covered eveything that I usually run into. Give me a little bit and I will try and upload a few videos.

Edited February 25, 2015 by Lucian045

[Lucian045 27]

Can you printer vinyl cut also.?

Yes I can cut vinyl from cast films of solid color. Also, my printer does have a cut feature on it so it can print, then cut whatever I tell it to.

[mameman 13]

Given the multitude of Color profiles in photoshop etc maybe it's a good idea to recommend one to use so we have a reference point? For example what cmyk profile is advisable?

[Lucian045 27]

Given the multitude of Color profiles in photoshop etc maybe it's a good idea to recommend one to use so we have a reference point? For example what cmyk profile is advisable?

The default setup in Photoshop is U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2 Any of those colors in the swatch table will work fine including the RGB ones. From there you can change the color by mixing CMYK settings.

[gbeef 10]

sending you a PM now i need arcade cabinet graphics printed.

I have everything prepped with bleed need a quote.

[Lucian045 27]

sending you a PM now i need arcade cabinet graphics printed.

I have everything prepped with bleed need a quote.

sounds good Gbeef, but no pm yet or e-mail on my account so far. If you are sending artwork it must be below 10 megs or my account will not get it.

[ArcadesRFun 10]

I have dealt with Brad in the past and can vouch for him. I think what he's doing for the HP community is great!

Jack

[Lucian045 27]

I have dealt with Brad in the past and can vouch for him. I think what he's doing for the HP community is great!

Jack

Thanks Jack!

[Lucian045 27]

Sent off my first decal set today for a member a nice TRON Legacy inspired pin. The cost for shipping was $20 so I think this will be fine for all US shipments. I had a lot of interest so far. Looking forward to seeing the designs.

[mameman 13]

come on then whoever had the Tron set printed, post a pic of your cab... we wanna seeeeeeeeeee....

[joe1 10]

Brad,

The artwork came out great! Turned the cabinet from a plywood box to a real pinball machine! Highly recommend to anyone else looking for cabinet printing.

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The board won't allow me to link the images because I don't have enough post, maybe someone else can?

[Lucian045 27]

I uploaded them for you. So glad you are happy with the prints. Looks like you did an excellent job of applying them. Where is your build by the way on the forum. How about a picture of the coin door?

[chriz99 10]

awesome!

[Numiah 10]

Holy cow !

[Lucian045 27]

Hey Joe1, could you talk about your experience with applying the graphics and the material? Thanks.

[joe1 10]

Installation was straight forward. I received the prints rolled up in a tube, opened the up and let them lay out flat for a few days. I had oversized my prints ~.5" in each direction. I had a couple areas at the cabinet glue joints that were not perfectly flush and used auto body filler to smooth them out. Gave the cabinet a once over with a sanding block then wiped it down with a tack cloth. I then applied some black spray paint to the corners where the decals would meet to help hide any imperfections in my application. Applied the back box decals myself, but had to have assistance handling the cabinet ones. My process was do align a corner, then edge and use the wiper to smooth/apply the remainder of the decal. I've put several screen protectors on various devices and always end up with a ton of bubbles. This material was extremely easy to work with. ~95% of the bubbles could just be pushed out with the wiper. On a couple instances I had to partially peel the decal back and reapply to get a crease out. No problem with tackiness. I used a sharp exacto blade to trim the edges as described earlier in this post. Overall great experience.

My one lesson learned for others is any imperfection, void, or debris that gets under the decal will be visible after application. Not directly, but you can notice it when the light is reflecting at an angle. I had a couple screw heads I had slightly recessed into the wood for cross supports. I should have used a little auto body filler to smooth out the recessed head prior to applying the decal. I am extremely happy with the results and can't wait to finish up my cabinet!

[Lucian045 27]

Awesome Joe1, thanks for the info. Looks sweet man, looking forward to seeing the cab in action.

[pinballlooking 10]

Joe1 it really turned out great I love the Tron graphic.