Pedal graphics

[Ratherbephishin]

I am attempting to create my own graphics for a pedal I am building and am running into some trouble.  I plan on having a grey metallic paint colored pedal and the graphic laying over includes black text and a full color picture.  I was unable to find water slide paper locally but a model train shop had micro scale clear trim film they said would work.  I am using an inkjet printer.  When I print on regular paper, it looks great but when I switch to best quality and photo paper and run the film through, the ink on the picture sort of pools or beads up.  I am thinking of ordering some different kinds of paper since I only had 2 sheets of the other and have basically scrapped both.  I thought about trying another brand of clear water slide and a clear sticker paper.  Any brand suggestions or advice? Also if I want the grey to show around the graphic but also want the photo to be bold and not washed out would clear sticker paper be better than water slide?  Thanks for any suggestions!

[bluebunny]

Welcome!  I notice you spell "grey" correctly.  [ Waits for flames to die down...  ]  Where are you located?  East of the Atlantic?

[Ratherbephishin]

I am in the Midwest. 

[Phoenix]

Hi Ratherbephishin,
It sounds as though the paper you have is not compatible with inkjets, but intended for laser printers. You can get waterslide paper that is compatible with inkjets, but you do have to pay attention if that's your only option. If you have access to a laser printer, you may be able to make use of the paper you already have.
Laser printers offer compatibility with a wider range of products, and you can also do things like toner transfer for etching enclosures or circuit boards which you can't do with an ink jet.
Laser printers also generally give better results with water slides or transparencies too - brighter, more light-fast colours, and less likely to run during finishing steps.

If you're stuck with an inkjet printer though, you should be able to find compatible products, just be aware that you will have to specifically look for inkjet compatible products.

[Ratherbephishin]

Thanks for the info!  I originally intended on using clear sticker paper but saw the water slide and thought transfer might be cleaner.  I wonder now though if the color image might lose some quality/clarity when laid over grey paint.  I might order both types of paper and experiment.  Does anyone have a favorite brand?

[Kipper4]

Take this with a pinch of salt if you wish.
I use vinyl labels and like you presumed that setting the printer to photo paper and best setting was the best option.
However to my cost I found that normal paper qaulity and best works for me.
I guess that photo paper needs a greater density of colour.
I still clear coat the paper after printing or the print will rub off with handling. Once it's clear coated lightly the jobs a goodun.
It's up to you if you try it
Ps I'm using Inkjet Vinyl sticker paper.
I hope you find a solution and welcome aboard.

[Ratherbephishin]

All good info and much appreciated!  Do people tend to get good results with clear sticker/water slide paper?  I would prefer it over white because I would like the pedal paint to show in the empty spaces around picture and lettering.

[Bonemud]

Color prints onto clear will always look washed out/discolored unless you stick them on a white/nearly white surface. Since the printer doesn't print white (cmyk) it assumes that the substrate will be white and makes it's color calculations based on that assumption. When you put it on any other color substrate that color takes the place of the white in the balance of the image. Try printing onto grey or any colored printer paper so see the effect.

Even solid colors will be affected in some way because they are typically not printed solid and will have some amount of the substrate showing through. Monochromatic grey scale images should work well though.

Commercial printers designed to print on clear materials generally will lay down a white sub-layer underneath the color print or print the missing white in the white space.

This doesn't mean you're necessarily screwed or anything, it just means if you want to do color graphics you need to take it into consideration during the design phase and do requisite testing. You could also probably do some wizardry in photoshop to compensate, but I don't know what that would be offhand.

I am a sign maker during the day and run a large format inkjet printer, but I have no experience with water slides so I can't speak to that.

[bluebunny]

Do people tend to get good results with clear sticker/water slide paper?

I've used clear laser waterslide (albeit B/W) for the majority of my pedals.  I'll leave it for others to decide if these constitute "good results", but I'm pretty happy with them.

[Ratherbephishin]

So maybe a clear water slide or sticker paper for the border and text and white for the image?  The image is round though so cutting it out would be fun.

[Ratherbephishin]

I think I may order some sheets of water slide from small bear and see if I have any better luck. 

[stringsthings]

I use laser clear waterslide from Smallbear and it works well.  To keep the toner intact, I spray the decal with some clearcoat and let it dry overnight before applying.  YMMV; you may not have to clearcoat.

[Kevin Mitchell]

In our world of DIY stompboxes, it's a shame that we don't have a good and simple DIY silk screening tek.

I've used water slide decals, toner transfers, etchings, swirl paint (the oil paint in a water bucket method) and even stickers.

I'm not impressed by anything I've tried so far. Though I do like using a fine point white sharpie (oil paint marker) for labeling a plain enclosure.

I've been fixing up ideas in my head on how one would use silk screening techniques for stompboxes and PCBs that could yield good results. Sadly I have never silk screened a thing in my life.

So I'll be experimenting on a budget easy to build silk screening rig for us.

Wish me and my wallet luck!
-Sorry if this isn't so relevant. More of a rant and an idea. It certainly would eliminate many "how to finish the box" questions.

[GGBB]

As mentioned, you must have inkjet waterslide paper if you are using an inkjet printer. The ink will not stick properly to laser waterslide paper. Here is an example of inkjet waterslide on metallic grey paint:



I don't recall if I used an inkjet or colour laser printer, but I think it was inkjet and I know for sure it was inkjet paper. Laser toner comes out a bit more opaque than inkjet ink, which can make colours look a little better.

[Ratherbephishin]

Thanks for all the input everyone.  I am going to order some clear waterslide, white waterslide and clear windowfilm from small bear all in inkjet and do some trials before affixing my graphics.  I will post the results when finished unless I am completely defeated lol. 

[mcknib]

the majority of my pedals.

What there's more? why's Prof Tweed got rollers in mate his hairs too short for a bouffant surely? in all my days as a tupperware specialist coiffeur I've never seen the like it's making my hair turn gray give him dreads next time

Very nice pedals BTW

I love that Small Time Delay brilliant look

[bluebunny]

Thanks Billy.  There are no more (yet), but one or two don't feature waterslide.  And what can I say about Albert?  He was young...   

[Ratherbephishin]

Well here it is all finished up.  Thanks for all the input everyone.  I think it turned out pretty good for a first attempt.  Byoc ross compressor clone with vintage upgrade.

www.imgur.com/LOjH63N

[bloxstompboxes]

I like the spelling of Comprossor and Bob Ross, lol.

[Kipper4]

Jeez I remember Bob Ross from back in the day. We used to watch it everyday.
Even tried the techniques. Sure was fun.

Good job