Printing white labels (water slide)

[Beedoola]

I often like using black painted enclosures and want to make a waterside decal for an amp switcher I'm making. My questions is: how would I do that?

[chromesphere]

With extreme difficulty

I remember quite a while ago i looked into a printer that could print white.  Pretty much no such thing without paying big bucks.

The other option is to just print onto a white sticker.

Then you've got silkscreening.... (kills himself).

The only "easy" option i have found is the 3d stickers that i use sometimes when i couldnt be bothered (ie all the time), as in this video of the Prismatic Reverb.  Definitely the easiest, but not necessarily the most professional:

Good luck

Paul

[Gledison]

You could try a white waterslide decal! Than try to match the background collor of your graphics with the enclosure(this is very annoying, but possible) lots of trials before applying! If the enclosure is black, might be easier, just set a black backgroud collor, and if doesnt match, try changing the contrast ir bright, etc...

[davent]

Only time i've done a black pedal i created a mask to allow painting white "clouds" so i could lay in the black waterslide and  have it show up.
Some people have vinyl lettering created that can be stuck on.

How small is the lettering needed, i've cut lots of stencils for larger pedal lettering and that can be any colour you need.

You can try printing a black decal with white lettering then apply that to a enclosure painted white in strategic places, the white areas will be clear on your black decal so when applied they show as white. How dense a black decal do you need to eliminate the unwanted white from showing under the decal?

"Cloud" Lettering

Stencils (the white lettering is just the undercoat for another (colour)

dave

[Beedoola]

Dave, that looks sick!

Thanks for the info, guys.

[davent]

Couple more ideas. Forgot about this one, not a pedal but the idea's applicable. Printed using black laserjet onto a white self- stick label, only covered with  clear packing tape for a quick servicable label. Skip the tape and use a proper clearcoat, you might treat the label as a full top cover or as badge such as what madbean and John Lyons sometimes use.



For that black pedal i used liquid frisket to paint on the ╥ sign, spayed with green then rubbed off the frisket. You can apply liquid frisket with brush or ruling pen hand or other instuments, lettering on a white enclosure, allow to dry, paint enclosure black, allow to dry, rub off the frisket revealing your white lettering. (Acrylic paints)



Someone suggested white decal film and with that you could print black lettering onto that and then with a razor knife trim the decals so there is only a narrow band of white around the letters. Effect would be like on the above but you could trim in much closer to the actual letter.



White dry transfer lettering, use to be able to get Letraset lettering in a few different fonts and sizes might find something like that around.

[davent]

Couple more ideas. Forgot about this one, not a pedal but the idea's applicable. Printed using black laserjet onto a white self- stick label, only covered with  clear packing tape for a quick servicable label. Skip the tape and use a proper clearcoat, you might treat the label as a full top cover or as badge such as what madbean and John Lyons sometimes use.



For that black pedal i used liquid frisket to paint on the ╥ sign, spayed with green then rubbed off the frisket. You can apply liquid frisket with brush or ruling pen hand or other instuments, hand lettering on a white enclosure with liquid frisket, allow to dry, paint enclosure black, allow to dry, rub off the frisket revealing your white lettering. (Acrylic paints)



Someone suggested white decal film and with that you could print black lettering onto that and then with a razor knife trim the decals so there is only a narrow band of white around the letters. Effect would be like on the above but you could trim in much closer to the actual letter.



White dry transfer lettering, use to be able to get Letraset lettering in a few different fonts and sizes might find something like that around.

[TNblueshawk]

I'd say 90% of the pedals I've done have been dark colors and I always use a white backed water slide. I've done black enclosures but always with a graphic and not just words per se or most of the time anyway. But with black you can simply use a paint bucket, or whatever it is called on the particular sofware, and blacken the whole pic and write in white color ( or any color mind you ) the words.

If you are looking at all black and then worried about matching the color off the printer to the color on the enclosure the key I think is to make the decal match perfectly with the top of the enclosures edges and corners. That way looking down you only see one shade of black and from the sides one shade kind of thing. At least that is how I have done it and it was close enough if not spot on for these old tired eyes.

[juansolo]

It's a pain in the arse which is why I've only done it twice... I do it by making a double border, white then black. Then I cut off the black border just leaving the white. You have to be VERY accurate for it not to look crap.

[midwayfair]

Vinyl adhesive.

[moosapotamus]

Iron-on t-shirt transfers for dark colored t-shirts.



~ Charlie