Printing Graphics for a black pedal

[tomer629]

Just wondering if anyone here has any experience printing their own graphics for a black pedal. I have done lighter colors but I worry with black if the sticker paper will be kind of translucent and the black will show through or at least make the graphics look darker than they should.

Anyone have experience with this? How badly does the black show through solid colors?

Tips, suggestions, warnings?


I'm thinking of putting this over a black background.




Thanks guys.

[tomer629]

I guess I could mask it and spray white where I want to print...


Any other ideas?

[stallik]

Depends entirely on how opaque the sticker material is. The more translucent, the more you'll see the effect you're concerned about. It will show up much more with lighter colours and your right about backing up the sticker with white to prevent it.
Easy solution with your artwork is to produce 2 stickers, one white, one with the artwork. Lay them both down on the pedal. Saves you masking and spraying but leaves you with a thicker finish.
Alternatively, you can modify the colour of the artwork to compensate for such discolouration but this will not be possible with very light colours.

One tip from my day job where I'm expected to match corporate colours when applying printed clear materials onto varying colour backgrounds. The white backup need not be excessively solid. As little as a 30% tint of white can do the job. I have, in the past been successful in using a non adhesive sticker and applying it using white adhesive (one that stays white when dried)

Nowadays, I have access to white ink on clear materials which is kind of cheating in a way but much can be done without and with a bit of ingenuity and careful design

[tomer629]

Thanks Stallik. This is exactly the kind of stuff I was looking for.

[stallik]

Taking it a step further, the effect is only seen on backgrounds over a certain density. On the other hand, the material you print on to will have enough opacity to not show the effect until the background reaches that density. Therefore, media manufacturers sell products with a grey back - vinyl for car wrapping, or blue back- poster paper where the poster is applied directly over the old one which must not show through.

[bcalla]

Decals are available with white background as well as clear.  That works well for regularly shaped images like the one you want to use (they're easy to trim to size).  I have also used white polyester labels from labelsbythesheet.com. 

Note that the black from your printer will not match the black paint on your enclosure.  To avoid matching problems I usually cover the whole top of the enclosure when I use white-backed labels or decals.