Finishing Touches - Designing a Label

[mydementia]

I've got 10 silver 'mystery boxes' laying around now and am starting to get confused about which knob does what...must be time for painting and labeling...
I put together a layout in Excel last night and did a test print on regular paper just to check fit and really don't think I'm using the right tool. 

What do you guys do for your graphic design/layout work?  Free software?  Do you have generic layouts for the 1590BB, 125B, and 1590DD boxes?   I used Solidworks to lay out my Dr. Boogey in a 1590BB (first time for 6 pots) and used a print for my centerpunch template...worked great - but I can't figure out how to get graphics into it.

I've also seen a lot of forum traffic on what material is best (waterslide decal, clear mailing label, adhesive photo paper, etc) - anyone come up with any other ideas on getting these things stuck right the first time?  I think I paid $2 for a sheet of ink-jet waterslide from Smallbear - I don't want to throw too many of those away!

Any help/recommendations will be appreciated.
Mike

[delbowski]

hey for what it's worth.. i'm using photoshop cs for my graphics; i make a template for drilling and then make a layout for graphics... works great if you put the time into it.  i've heard of people using auto-cad and having great success.  as far as getting the decals on, i spray the decal first with a krylon clear coat, then i try to get the decal wet to the point where it starts to curl just the slightest on the edges and then slide it on and try to get the air out from under it.  i haven't had much success with smaller details (small font for labelling pots, etc.) and since then i've been doing my own screenprinting and have had a ton of success.  it really hasn't been too expensive to get into and it seems to be superior and more pro looking then what i could do with the decals.  one note - i'm doing my own powdercoating now instead of the primer and spray paint, but when i was doing the spray painting one piece of advice i could give is to clear coat the pedal before putting the decals on and then clear coat again after the decal is dry.  if you don't you might get some color changes between what is covered by the decal and what is just paint and clear coat.  hope that helps a little

[nelson]

I use clear water slide decals. The example below is going to be put on a white paint background. I would love to powdercoat, but I lack the tools or the space. There is a method that needs to be worked out for applying the decals for professional results. I sand the box, primer, spray paint, clear, decal, clear. This delivers the best methods imo, also its best to use quite a thick coat on the waterslide decal before you apply it to the box so the decal isnt as delicate.

This is an example for a Clone Theory with all the mods. I used GIMP to do the background and its a freeware font from a site, I use visio to get the measurements correct for the full face decal. This decal fits perfectly on a 1590NS size enclosure.

[skiraly017]

I use MS Publisher because I find super easy. I used to use waterslide decals and would print right from Publisher. Now I have my pedals silk screened. I do the design in Publisher and then turn it into a .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) file. From there the silk screener does what he needs to and creates the screen.

[brett]

I don't use anything more complex than MS Word.  There are many funky fonts available on the web to add interest.  I also grab a photo and mess with it in MS PhotoEditor (it was free with many versions of Windows 98 and 2000).
Like Nelson, I use colour decals (local shop does a sheet (4) for $10)).  I usually coat the box in powder coat silver (very tough) or painted gold metallic finish.
cheers

[Processaurus]

Adobe Illustrator might be the most flexible for layout type stuff, if you already know how to use it, but it has a bit of a learning curve and is frustrating as hell in the beginning.

[cab42]

If you want something free you can try The Gimp www.gimp.org.

I have read that its not easy to use when you come from Photoshop, but I have never tried Photoshop, so I don't care

BTW: There is a thread in the lounge with places to download free fonts.

Regards

Carsten

[AdamB]

I use flash MX, it's great for making labels coz you can resize the entire image or parts of the image to as big or small as you like without loosing resolution, so you can design it in some random dimensions then tweak it to fit the top of your box.