Anybody have the ability to fabricate new decals?
 

I thought I had read where somebody on this site could make decals. I am looking for some obsolete decals for a Miller welder and was wondering what it would cost to get them made. I think the decals for my 1650 are still available from some of our sponsoring suppliers. Once I start my Cub resto-rebuild, I'll probably freshen up my welder at the same time.

I don't but today I was talking to Sharon @ Turick? (spelling) and she was just telling me how she does it cheep. They are vinyl if that makes a diff. Also... the girl down @ the local speed shop makes anything you want.... must be on a disk, or some sort of computer thing. Not much help?
Mouse

If you don't find someone close to you I think I can put you in touch with a man here that I think can do it.

Seems to me there should be some kind of computer application or something to design the decals, but I don't know how they would cut them. Must be some sort of CNC machine. Yes, I'd like to get in contact with someone who can do it, at least to find out what it would cost. Thanks.

If you can take a picture of what you need, I can get anything cut from vinyl. I also have access to having full color images printed on vinyl. This is awesome technology.

It's off-topic, so thanks for not flaming me, but I have a Miller welder I want to restore to like-new condition and the decals are obsolete. Miller doesn't supply them any more. See the pic. The white "Miller" decals and the warning labels I can get. The long "Maxtron 300" decals I am going to have to make or have made. They are black with grey and blue stripes and white lettering. They are quite thick, so I will try to remove them and see if I can reuse them after I paint the unit. If that doesn't work, I'll see about having them made.

While I was trying to figure this out, I thought I remembered someone on this site talking about making decals for their Cub restoration. That's why I posted here.

Thanks again for the responses. Jeff122, I'll get back to you in a week or so, after I try to remove them in reusable condition.

Before you pull those decals take a LOT of good pictures from dead straight on.......like was posted previously, digital pictures are what the sign shop will need to duplicate them. You will not be able to remove them and keep them from warping unless you know some magical technique I have never seen....

There are two ways of doing them....digital printing a picture of the decal on new decal substrate, or breaking up the decal into its individual colors and cutting each color out of appropriate vinyl. Digital printing is easier to get the decal into a printable file, vinyl cutting takes some software work and computer time to make cuttable files. However the digital printing equipment is hugely complex and expensive, so not all sign guys have access to it. I own a vinyl cutter myself, spent $300 for it years ago. But I don't have the software to convert a photo into a vector file to cut....yet.

As truckntran said, good, digital pics from dead straight on before you try to remove them. The digital color printer is great, and the vinyl is durable. If necessary, I can do some digital repair to the pics to make them look as new as possible. But keep in mind, the quality and straightness of your pic is key.

Or if you can scan the side of the unit wth a flatbed scanner that would work too.

Just call around to several sign shops in your area and ask what they can do. Shouldn't be too hard to find someone that can do it and cheap too. Some sign shops have the scanner if you can remove the side panel and take it in. If they don't have a scanner they may have a camera on a stand that will take dead on pics for them to use.

We have a Mutoh EcoSolvent printer here at work we have as a demo unit. I printed up some reproduction IH battery decals. Matt G. sent me an IH logo file to use. Worked out great.

Now there's a good idea! I'll just take the side panel down to a sign shop and see what they can do for me. If that doesn't work, I'll at least see if they can scan it and put it on a disk for me. My flatbed scanner is too small. I'll also give it a shot with my camera. I have a decent digital camera, but I'll have to do it by hand. No tripod. I'll stick a measuring tape on it as well, to provide scale. I'll see if I can get something done on this next week and let you know. If I can't get it done locally, I'll get back to you (Jeff) and see if you can do it.

Thanks for all the responses.

Sounds good. No pressure here. Which ever is the best way to go for you.
:biggrin2.gif:

I had obsolete decals made for our dozer once . As everyone has already stated , good photos and measurements are key . I went to Poster Burner online, gave them photos and sizes . They were printed not stacked decals. Mind you they were not the thick base material your looking for , but I have never inquired to see if someone can print one different base stock. Good luck.

FWIW, if I was going to repro these, I'd take one of the best head-on photos, bring it into Adobe Illustrator and simply redraw the graphic right on top of the image. Would make a practically perfect repro and you'd have superior vector art for the printing equipment.

I have made my own logo's and decals such as the pictured examples.
I bought a variety of inkjet decal paper from this outfit,
https://duradecal.com/
They have clear adhesive vinyl or white adhesive paper.

I have used pictures I have taken myself or something I could copy from the net.
I size it to what I want and print.
When the ink is dry I cut it out and clear coat, sometimes before applying, sometimes after, depending on surface situation.

Are those belt guards polished.... :bigeyes:

Yes, aluminum. The originals were rusted through so I fabbed them from an old traffic/road sign.

Nice work!:ThumbsUp:

I use a product called Lightburn to import images and convert to vector format (The format needed to cut on a vinyl or laser cutter).

It is not free but they have a full function 30 day trial. Just choose any laser cutter at startup if you don't have one. Open the jpg/png/bmp then right click and choose trace image and select the delete image after trace. The clearer the image the better it works.

Inkscape is another product that does similar functions and it is free.

On another note, anyone know what the Cub Cadet and "100" font is for a 100 era tractor? i was thinking of making some custom ones from scratch.

thanks.