setting up photoshop template for cabinet

[saiyan7702]

Hey guys, so I'm making this build here http://www.instructables.com/id/4-Player-Pedestal-Arcade-Cabinet-for-MAME/  I'm trying to setup photoshop to make a template for the sides and the front to put artwork on so i can send it out for vinyl. buttttt i don't know how to do that. Can someone lend a hand, please and thank you.

[saiyan7702]

and the most useless forums award goes toooooooooooooooooo

 

[THK]

well, 1st of all, this is a front-end forum, not a cab building forum. I'd personally at least ask this question over at the BYOAC forum.

2nd, I can be bold enough to call myself somewhat of a Photoshop master, but I have no clue what exactly your on about. To rephrase, what exactly is your question?

What format do the guys that print prefer? What dpi? color mode? what are the measurements of the sides? 

You give no info but expect an answer....

[saiyan7702]

trying to make a template in photoshop for the arcade being built in that link. Im using same measurments but i wanna use my own artwork. how do i create a file in photoshop with those dimensions so when i add artwork to it i can just send the file off to be use an printed so they know what sizes to print.

[Yeuxkes]

You would at least need a 300dpi template and use CMYK colors instead of RGB but the specifics depends on the printer. You can set the dimensions of your canvas in inches instead of pixels. If you know where you will print out your artwork the company will have more details on how you would supply your psd file or whatever format they use. 

If you don't know which company you will use, we can't give you those details at all. It all depends on which company you choose so contact them and they will inform you.

[TpsKevin]

Let me preface this by saying I'm using an old version of photoshop (7.0)

I feel your pain because I just went through this. you can see one of the pieces I made in my one and only other post.

Here goes nothing:

Save Diagram picture from instructables

open in photoshop

picture is too low res and fuzzy so...

image drop down, image size change to 300 pixels per inch, save

layer drop down, create new (mode=normal, color=none)

select pencil tool and trace control panel or what ever piece you are working on (use like 10px for size)

tip- use guides to make sure your lines are straight (go to view drop down, make sure rulers is checked, move pointer to ruler and drag out to create guide line, make one for each vertical and horizontal edge of the part you want to trace.  (you have to have the move tool selected to move a guide once placed)

tip- hold down shift and just click at each corner until shape is created (make sure there is no gap where your first and last lines should be connected)

(if the image was higher quality you could have skipped these steps and just used the magic wand to create the shape)

select original picture layer

layer drop down, delete layer

you should now be left with just your outline

select paint bucket and fill with black

image drop down, canvas size, change to 50 inches wide by 24 tall

(if your shape disappears, edit drop down, step backwards, select move tool and move your black shape to the middle and try again)

view drop down, new guide at 2 inches vertical

view drop down, new guide at 48 inches vertical

(make sure snap is "checked" in view drop down

select move tool, hold down shift to maintain picture ratio, click and hold on corner and drag out to guide lines

you should now have the Control panel made to the correct size (46 inches)

if it is off up or down use the move tool to drag it around until you are happy

select magic wand tool if your shape is not still selected ("glowing lines around shape) and select your shape

create new layer

select drop down, inverse

paint bucket white on outside of your shape

done

save save save

now you can add whatever art to your cp "between" the layers

I hope this helps

I'm sure someone who knows photoshop could do this in 1/4 the steps but it works and that's all I needed

good luck

[Metalzoic]

On 3/5/2017 at 1:31 AM, Yeuxkes said:

You would at least need a 300dpi template and use CMYK colors instead of RGB but the specifics depends on the printer. You can set the dimensions of your canvas in inches instead of pixels. If you know where you will print out your artwork the company will have more details on how you would supply your psd file or whatever format they use. 

If you don't know which company you will use, we can't give you those details at all. It all depends on which company you choose so contact them and they will inform you.

This.

 

First you need to ask your printer what they need in the file to print it correctly. What Yeuxkes said is probably it, but you don't want to find out you did something wrong 50 hours into your design. So call/email your printer and ask. If you don't know who you're using then I recommend Brad/ @Lucian045 who has a pinned topic here. His print work is fantastic and his shop just got an even better printer than when he did mine.

For the process itself I measured my cab top-to-bottom, side-to-side. Then took a picture of it from directly on the side, put it into PS at the corrected inches, blocked it out to make a template and built it from there with a few inches of overhang to correct for margin of error.

[uptown47]

Hi there,

When I did mine the printer required a high definition pdf file. This was the format that their printer read.

To create it, similar to Metalzoic, I measured the whole cabinet. I used large bold characters so that if parts of the character was cut off then it would still be discernible. I left around 20mm overlap around the whole thing and in the gap (imagine the arcade cabinet sideways on, it's not a complete rectangle, at the top on one side it is missed - the bit that is recessed for the screen) I drew the front banner bit. It made printing cheaper as this was dead space and my printer just charged for the overall rectangular dimensions rather than the amount of ink used.

It was a bit of a faff getting it right but by far the hardest bit was sticking the vinyl on to the machine once it was printed. It was like a massive phone screen protector. Trying to stick it without stretching it and/or getting bubbles in it was a right royal pain the ....

Good luck :-)

[Ecinmilo0]

Your question helped me. Stick RPG 2 unblocked