Switch Panel Lettering - Any Ideas?

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MikeA

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I've got a Regal 2665 mobo with badly weathered switch panels (worse than the pic below), it's a common problem with them apparently. Anyway, rather than spend £350+ on a couple of plastic panels, I've decided to rub them down and have them dipped using water transfer or hydrographic transfer which basically applies a film and once laquered should be very similar to new see http://www.wtp-technics.co.uk. My problem is how to replace the white lettering, I know modellers use water-slide transfer decal inkjet or laser sheets to produce good quality small letters and logos, but obviously my printer won't print white and I think any other colour would look wrong. Can anybody suggest how I where I might go about getting the labels made up?

TIA
Mike
 
Thanks, I appreciate the link but I don't think any of the options discussed there would work for me. Black backed stickers would look out of place and are too large, engraving is not an option and printing on an inkjet will mean using a colour other than white which will be difficult to read.

Any other suggestions appreciated

Thanks
Mike
 
You can get white lettering on a black background for a DYMO printer OR, at more expense you could get a strip of lettering engraved on the black laminate material which shows white lettering when cut.
 
I have to admit that mine are just white on black Dymo.

But what does look better on on a dark coloured panel is white on clear Dymo.

I dont know if the clear Dymo tape is still avaialble ... we used it back in the 1960s to put discrete labels on drawer fronts
 
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I have a Brother P-Touch labeller that I've been using lately to label the various wires behind the scenes of my electrical refit. For that I've just been using plain black on white, but various colours are available including, I believe, white on clear. Certainly it can print white, as I have a white-on-red cartridge for doing "emergency" or "safety" labels.

Can the lacquering be done over the stickers to avoid them peeling off? I reckon even the best will do eventually if just stuck on top. I've varnished over one of my labels and it seems to work well.

Pete
 
Another vote for the Brother. Black on yellow is an easily read combination. I would recommend applying the labels at a desk with good light rather than with the panel in-situ.
 
MikeA said:
I know modellers use water-slide transfer decal inkjet or laser sheets to produce good quality small letters and logos, but obviously my printer won't print white and I think any other colour would look wrong. Can anybody suggest how I where I might go about getting the labels made up?
Click to expand...

You can print white letters on black background in Word if you create a text box then set its background colour to black. Set the font colour to white and then you have white letters on black background.
I did this using small self adhesive labels for a black switch panel on my last boat and it seemed to work quite well.
 
I used a Brother P-Touch to re-label some of my switches, and the labels are virtually indistinguishable from the remaining original lettering. I had to experiment with the font size and style, but got great results. I believe you can get transparent matt tape as well as black or white, and various colours.
 
lumphammer said:
You can print white letters on black background in Word if you create a text box then set its background colour to black.
Click to expand...

Right, but I think the OP wants to apply this to some kind of "plastic wood" patterned and coloured background, looking at his picture. So he really needs white on clear, which no ordinary PC printer will do but the P-Touch labeller does easily with the right tape cartridge.

Pete
 
prv said:
Yep, there we go - TZ 135, 12mm white on clear.

Pete
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I also use a Brother hand held printer but make sure you get the model that uses UV resistant tape. We bought one for use for plant labelling but I seem to be the only one using it - on the boat of course! Excellent gadget!
 
MikeA said:
can I just confirm that I will be able to print in a small font using the 12mm white on clear tape?
Click to expand...

If I want small letters I generally just make sure I'm doing two lines (even if one is just a dummy) as that makes the type half-size. But I believe if I bothered to dig out the manual it would tell me how to adjust the size properly. I vaguely remember all sorts of settings for typeface, size, bold, italic, decorative borders, etc etc etc.

Pete
 
MikeA said:
Thanks for all the replies, the P-Touch looks perfect for the job - can I just confirm that I will be able to print in a small font using the 12mm white on clear tape?

Mike
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5 different sizes of font on my Model 1000, from about 2.5mm high to 8mm high.
Also upper, lower, ouline, you name it.
brilliant bit of kit.
 
an old-fashioned way (usually the best :)) is to use clear plastic for the panel and white letraset on the BACK, which then shows through. then spray paint the BACK the colour/finish of your choice. simples, as they say.... :)
 
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