How to make white lettering?

[jimbob]

I recently bought a color lazer printer for my DIY projects, but cant seem to figure out how to do the white lettering found on many of your DIY effects. It does black, red and most the other colors really licely on a unpainted metal/aluminum surface, but what Im wanting to do is add a lettering to a darker background such as the green tube screamer or white lettering to the "RAT" . For whatever reason, it wont work. Even more so, When I do try and print it out I cant find it on the paper.

Any Ideas?

[vanessa]

You will have a problem if your printer does not allow you to print in white ink.

I think you can get Alps printers used on eBay that let you print with white ink.

[JimRayden]

I recently bought a color lazer printer for my DIY projects, but cant seem to figure out how to do the white lettering found on many of your DIY effects. It does black, red and most the other colors really licely on a unpainted metal/aluminum surface, but what Im wanting to do is add a lettering to a darker background such as the green tube screamer or white lettering to the "RAT" . For whatever reason, it wont work. Even more so, When I do try and print it out I cant find it on the paper.

Any Ideas?

First paint the box white, then start applying the printer stuff. Then cover the printed part with masking tape and paint the rest of the box as you wish. Perhaps that's not the best way but the fact is, if you want an ordinary printer do white, you'll need a white base to print on.

Also, I keep hearing people talking about t-shirt transfer stuff, which comes in dark and light or something... anyone care to explain?

-----------
Jimbo

[$uperpuma]

If you are good with scissors, I imagine you could do some outline lettering in an art program and then cut out the lettering and apply to the enclosures on tshirt transfers... but you would have to be both a scissor and iron ninja to get it to work as neither is very precise. Screen printing is really the best way to do white lettering... you can get a hobby screen printing setup for about $79 at Hobby Lobby or the like. Its on my "to get" list right behind the powder coater and drill press....

[skiraly017]

With regular printers (InkJet, LaserJet) white is not a color. It is the absence of color on white paper. The only color that can really be printed from a standard printer is black, unless your pedal is painted white and then you can use any color you like since the white paint acts just like white paper. The only printer that can actually print white is an ALPS printer. New ones are very expensive but used ones can be found on Ebay. Be careful purchasing a used one though, if the price is too good the printer is usually on its way out. ALPS will recondition it for you but it can get expensive. Also, some of the ALPS printers only work with Windows 98. Another option is dry transfer lettering. The downside to that is keeping everything aligned. Other than these options and the one everyone else has listed, that's all I know of.

[jimbob]

Wow! It figures. I really wanted to do white lettering with this printer. I guess i can always just start etching- as there is an AWSOME tutorial here (great job!) Or, I can sand down the front part of the already painted enclosure and label it with some other color.

thanks

[gez]

As far as I'm aware, that T-shirt transfer is white, so leave the lettering white (no ink) and you end up with white lettering.

I did this with simple paper labels:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=35648.msg251051#msg251051

Not brilliant, but it's only for my own use.

[jimbob]

Gez- Very creative! And looks great.

[Pushtone]

Waterslide decal paper, T-shirt transfer paper, and Window Decal paper all come in two flavors. White backing and clear backing.

White backing is opaque. The box top gets completely covered and you have to try to match your paint color on the sides to the laser output. Color matching is tricky. It would be easier to go for contrasting colors between the sides and the top lable and to create a top lable that covers the entire top. Or leave the sides natural aluminum.

These are work-arounds. As mentioned, screen printing produces the best white text results. If you live in a major city it would be easy to find a sign shop that could make the screen from a graphic file. The actual screening would be up to you. A bonus is that the screen could be used over and over again, but thats not much help if you only are making one or two. Hence the work-arounds with fancy papers to get white lettering.

Don't discount just gluing glossy photo paper straight to the top with spray adhesive.

[goodrevdoc]

Here's one i did a few months back with silkscreened white lettering.

The ink is standard T-shirt ink and while it worked and looks ok, i wouldn't reccommed anyone else trying it. Its a PITA without the proper ink, and after a few months time, there is noticable orangepeellike cracking in the ink.
-justin

[Paul Marossy]

I'm not sure if it's still available, but there used to be white Letraset rub-on lettering available years ago. I used to have some a long time ago.

[MartyMart]

Here's one I made earlier .... white lettraset "rub on" style with clearcoat over it :
http://www.pbase.com/martymart/image/46101987

MM.

[John Lyons]

Antique Electronic Supply (tubesandmore.com) and Parts express have Daytak dry transfer lettering in audio terms and individual letters. They have white or black sets. Just rub them onto decal stock from smallbear electronics. Cut out, apply and clear coat when you are done. You can always just rub them directly on you box as well.



Here are some others as well: http://www.mrdwab.com/john


John

[Mark Hammer]

I was able to find some yellow rub-on lettering at a hobby store.  I gather the lettering was for model planes and trains.  I still have some white stuff left over from the "old days", but a lot of the most important letters are all used up and there are only so many decades you can store the stuff before it gets a little crunchy.

How would this work?
1) Draw on legending in alchohol-soluble medium (e.g., Sharpie or Lumocolor)
2) Spray on paint (shouldn't stick to drawn on legending....in theory)
3) After paint dries, dissolve legending.
4) Etch box.
5) Apply white paint to etched areas and wipe off excess.

[Dean Hazelwanter]

There is another way to get white lettering. I just tried custom rub-on transfers from All-Out Graphics (http://www.allout-graphics.com/, located in British Columbia. I decided to use this because I could do the alignment of text around 84 (count' em) holes on a 1.5U rack case front panel. I'll post a little review/build report in the next couple of days.

[G.Neyrey]

http://www.paper-paper.com/WhiteLetter-inst.html

[jimbob]

I might have to give that a try! I'm not sure I completely understand the process but it looks easy enough.

[mikey]

What about getting some white ink for an Alps printer and filling up a clean used black ink cartridge.  You'd just put black in your image where you'd want the white to go.  As long as the ink is compatable with your printer it could work...

[sta63bmx]

That embossing powder looks familiar.  My wife is the high priestess of a stamping coven, and they use that stuff.  When you heat it, it somehow melts onto the pattern they put on the surface of the card.  I think they stamp with something sticky or use a little water pen to make the design the stuff sticks to. 

Stamping = T3H 3V1L!  My mom has burned enough money on stamping and scrapbooking supplies in the last few years to buy a Bogner stack.

[skiraly017]

What about getting some white ink for an Alps printer and filling up a clean used black ink cartridge.  You'd just put black in your image where you'd want the white to go.  As long as the ink is compatable with your printer it could work...

Because ALPS printers don't use ink, they use a ribbon cartridge like old typewriters.