Marquee and Control Panel questions regarding graphics/art

[ragnar]

I have a handful of questions.  I realize now that I really need to have things designed before starting.  I'll use game on grafix for examples.

Marquee:
I was wondering how you all order these?  I was either going to do something custom or just grab something that matches my color pallet.  Regardless, let us assume that I want this:

http://www.gameongrafix.com/products/collage-original-marquee-from

But what to order?  There are 4 options:
1) PREMIUM marquee is the same award winning material that we have been printing on for over 3 years.
2) ULTIMATE Marquee is for people who want it all! They are printed on the same type of backlight material that you would find on today’s arcades and then laminated with a luster laminate for a great finish.
3) ULTIMATE with adhesive on the back
4) ULTIMATE mounted directly to Plexiglas, (when ordering, there is no need to also chose plexiglas below)

I was going to go with (4) but I was wondering what people around here do?  Do people get it premounted on plexiglass or do you mount on your own?  I'll spend a few bucks to have something mounted but is that something I can do on my own and have both a professional finish and save a good amount of money (like $20)?

Also, how thick is a marquee? I'm starting to think about how I will mount mine.

Control Panel:
Is it pretty much standard practice to use acrylic over the top of the CP?

In the following image, where are the screws to hold the acrylic?  Do the buttons hold it in place?  What about "edge curling" for lack of a better term?  is the Plexiglas thick enough that it will remain flush forever?



game on grafix says this:

Our Control Panel overlays are covered with Polycarbonate laminate (also used for bullet proof glass!) which offers a very tough, scratch resistant and textured surfaces. This will last a long time and take a lot of abuse.

They are offered with Adhesive or without Adhesive.

Is this a surface that would be used without acrylic (or Plexiglas)?  And if so, would I get it pre-glued?

If using an acrylic (or Plexiglas) top, is vinyl the way to go?  Where would one get the vinyl online?  Do any sites sell predesigned vinyl for arcade cabinets (control panels in particular)?  What about custom graffix?  I think that I would do something custom eventually.  Are 300 dpi PNG files fairly standard when creating ones own graphics?

For flush mounted joysticks (I'm doing u360s), would the graphics go over the top of the joystick's mounting plate or under it, leaving the mounting panel exposed?  How is this accomplished?  Or is under-mounting the only way to get such a nice finish (as in the large image above and how the joystick penetrations look professional?

For what it is worth, I have been leaning towards vinyl w/ acrylic over the top for the CP.  How thick of acrylic do I need?

Finally:
THANK YOU!

Sorry for being long winded.  I wanted to get my thoughts out in one shot.  Hopefully, I can work through all of this via the discussion that follows.

[kronic24601]

A Quick Answer.

Marquee.

Some of these features are quite new, so most of the people here will not yet have done this. I did #2 with basically 2 pieces of plexi. It needs to be sandwiched between the artwork and then put into place.

I was interested in #4 and I asked Scott some questions about it. It is only 1 piece of plexi and it is mounted to the front. So your artwork will be visible. If you want to have that "reflective" look of being behind the plexi, and the extra protection, you could always get #4 and an extra piece of plexi. I don't know if there is a quality difference between #2 & #4 (even though they are both "ultimate" one has a sticky back so  ). However, if you remove the Marquee often, I found it a little bit of a pain to juggle the three pieces, so the sticky back pre-installed might work out great.

Do you need the front piece of plexi? That depends on your setup. I personally like the plexi look in front of the marque, so for me ... yes.

I know Scott told me the width of everything, but I can't seem to remember. I'm "pretty sure" the plexi is 1/8" per piece. and the artwork is really minimal width (few sheets of paper thick).

Control Panel:

No, it isn't necessarily standard practice to use acrylic over the cp top. Sure lots of people do it, but it isn't needed. If you get Scot's stick-on artwork it has a very tough finish and will hold up just fine to most abuse.

To answer your other questions.

Some people use the Black Carrige bolts to install plexi, others just let the buttons grab onto it.

Typically, people like to offset the T-Molding, so all the sides of the plexi fit "in" the T-Molding. The easist way to do this is use 5/8" MDF for the top and 1/8" for the Plexi (tha'ts 6/8 or 3/4, so perfect for 3/4 T-molding). Other people still use the 3/4 MDF, and they just off-set the T-molding up, and round the bottom so it doesn't have an edge.
----

I used the "with Adhesive" even though I was using plexi, that's up to you. But Scott is just mailing you the artwork, you have to apply it yourself.

I created my own 300 DPI PSD file, but so long as the artwork is good enough I'm sure a PNG will work.

Your artwork will always go over the tops of everything, nothing is going on top. If you are going to TOP mount in a traditional way, you will need to route out enough of the top to fit the mounting plate in flush. Also, you will need to BONDO the top smooth, or you will get dimples in the artwork when applied (like me  ). I suggest you read up on mounting, Top or bottom varying from person to person. I don't suggest top mounting the u360's if you are going to adhere the artwork to it, as you will need to take it apart at some point to re-lubricate it over time.

Most people use 1/8" plexi, not LEXAN.

[releasedtruth]

Another clarification. Yes, polycarbonate is used in the lamination process for bullet resistant glass, it is not particularly bullet resistant so the durability claims are exaggerated. Bullet resistant glass relies on thickness of actual glass, often upwards of 70mm thick (I work in security).  But yes, their overlays are water resistant and quite good for standard use.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Here's a video I made on how to install a marquee from those guys.  I got the Ultimate finish and the two pieces of plexi to sandwich the marquee into.  I can't vouch for the one that comes pre-installed (glued) onto the plexi already as that came out recently.

I will say though that the quality of ultimate is amazing.  Nice and thick.  It's about the thickness of a driver's license.  (I live in NY so that's what the material feels like to me - other states may vary).  But yet it still allows light through if you decide to make it backlit.



As for the control panel.  I have mine covered with plexi and the buttons are holding it in place.  Works great without curling and keeps it straight forever.  I also have another machine that doesn't have plexi installed.  Although the finish on that one is very durable for everyday use, I did accidentally drop a screwdriver on it once while it was on the floor uninstalled (from a good height so it fell hard) and I made a nick in the material (but I'm going to keep it without any plexi since, again, it's very durable for laying your hands on while playing.  I got it with the self-adhesive on the back.  You just have to make sure the surface you install it on is non-porous.  So if it's wood, you'll need to give it a coat of gloss paint so that it will stick properly to the CP.

Good luck!

D

[DeLuSioNal29]

A few pics of my control panels.  One with plexi.  The other without.  Both from Mamemarquees (GameonGrafix.com) and the self-adhesive backing.

The green one is the one without.  The blue quad panel has it in the 2nd picture with the controls in it.  It's hard to see but in the 1st one of the blue quad the T-molding is a little higher than the surface so that when the plexi is installed it evens up.

D

[ragnar]

Thanks for all of the reply's.  I think all my questions were answered!  It is much appreciated.

I might have to delay ordering joysticks for 2 weeks but this thing is getting started soon!

Delusional.  Where did you say that you got those marquee holders?  There was some noise when you were saying the site name and I couldn't make it out.

As for marquee mounting, I was actually considering doing a slot cut in the cabinet where the marquee would go and then I'd make the marquee slightly bigger than needed and let it slide into the slot.  The top piece of the cab would be screwed on by a few screws for removal later.