Ordering custom CP graphics. Your opinions.

[Dungeonsdeep]

I live in the US, and I am currently looking to get some custom graphics printed for my CP.

I actually work in a print shop myself, and know my way around different media types. I am going to be printing my own marquee, but we don't have the type of media on stock that I would feel comfortable using on a CP due to wear and tear. But that's why I am asking you. If the media isn't too far off to what I have available to myself, I may just end up printing myself.

I am really curious about your experiences with US sellers, who provides the best price/quality/shipping time, etc.

Also, when you receive a CP is it adhesive backed, or would I be using a 3M style spray adhesive to mount it?

I would LOVE to see photo examples of custom designed artwork you have ordered (not really interested in seeing lighting bolt designs, lol).

I suppose I am mostly curious about the finish/texture of the media, I know that may be difficult to capture in a photo.

Thanks a lot looking forward to seeing some examples!

[EMDB]

GameOnGraphix prints the CP on an adhesive polycarbonate. Very durable and scratch resistant. And it looks very good. Sharp crispy colors.

Here's my custom design (300 DPI ai format) and result:





Their marquee printed on backlit vinyl also came out great:

[mgb]

Everything this subject comes up, I give the same answer but its only because they do a great job and you get a great product:
Gameongrafix

I couldn't be happier with my cp and marquee.
After a few years, the cp stills looks as perfect as the day I installed it.
I have my old cp (lightning bolt off the shelf design) sitting in the basement and it has even held up perfectly.

Because tapatalk sucks, and I'm using my phone, I had to add photos as an attachment rather than embed them.

[Dungeonsdeep]

Thanks guys. This is the exact kind of thing I wanted to see. These pics gives me a pretty good idea about the feel/texture of the material. Definitely am going to consider getting this, as we don't have anything similar.

Looks like with this sort of material you have no need for plexiglass covering the CP.

EMDB: What do you mean exactly by "backlit" vinyl?

mgb: where did you purchase your carriage bolts for the joysticks?

Thanks! would like to see more just for the sake of checking them out. They look great!

[EMDB]

No need for plexi on the laminated CP indeed.

The Marquee is printed on some white material which when light from the back lights up very nice. I'm not sure how to better explain. On the pictures you can see this but not as good as in real life.

[Dungeonsdeep]

I am looking over your build right now. In envy to say the least! Great work!

[mgb]

Hey Dungeons,
  Definitely no need for plexi on these CPOs.
I only have the carriage bolts on the trackball.
If I remember correctly, for those, I picked up regular carriage bolts at Home Depot (either 8/32 or 10/32, can't remember) and its very easy to sand the raised lettering right off. And then I sprayed them black.
For my kick plate, I was able to polish them nicely too

[Dungeonsdeep]

its very easy to sand the raised lettering right off.

Man, I was hoping maybe you knew some secret place to find smooth ones 

[yotsuya]

its very easy to sand the raised lettering right off.

Man, I was hoping maybe you knew some secret place to find smooth ones 

www.therealbobroberts.net

[Dungeonsdeep]

its very easy to sand the raised lettering right off.

Man, I was hoping maybe you knew some secret place to find smooth ones 

www.therealbobroberts.net

Of course!

....I miss websites like this.



Man this guy is old school.

[mgb]

Bob Roberts is the best.
Just keep in mind that you have to email your order, he will tell you the total price, you send him a check and after he receives it, he sends the goods.
On future orders he cross ships. I get parts from him in 2 days to CT.
But for smooth cariage bolts, its so much easier and cheaper to buy local and smooth out.

[AzureKnight]

I also ordered my CP art from GameOnGrafix.  I'm using a plexi top so I ordered the non-adhesive backed version and I am very happy with the quality.  The material has a very strong feel to it and the print quality is great IMO.  Shipping was quick too, I don't recall exactly how long it took but I think it was around a week or so from order to delivered.

I also spent the extra money to get a paper copy of my cp and I was so glad I did.  It comes on a fairly strong vinyl/plastic/paper (I'm no expert on this subject area) and I was able to tape it directly to my cp and drill away.  It made aligning the art with the construction a snap.

[Unstupid]

Here's my custom design (300 DPI ai format) and result:

How come your dustwasher is so loose? 

[EMDB]

How come your dustwasher is so loose?

As I use them from my Magstiks and changed the left one to an U360. I did not mount the thicker shaft from the Magstik to the U360 when I took that picture.

This is a picture with the correct shaft installed:

[Dungeonsdeep]

How come your dustwasher is so loose?

As I use them from my Magstiks and changed the left one to an U360. I did not mount the thicker shaft from the Magstik to the U360 when I took that picture.

This is a picture with the correct shaft installed:

Duh. Jeez, didn't he read through your entire thread like me? 

So EMDB, The left stick is a U360 disquised as a Magstick plus correct? How do you like them? Do you like the Magstik plus? I am thinking about getting those.

[EMDB]

Duh. Jeez, didn't he read through your entire thread like me? 

So EMDB, The left stick is a U360 disquised as a Magstick plus correct? How do you like them? Do you like the Magstik plus? I am thinking about getting those.

Yes. First I bought 2 Magstik plus'es because I wanted to easily switch between 4 and 8 way. They switch easily from the top. I think they are a bit too stiff with a very short throw. I bought a Sanwa JLF to compare. Thanks to my (already famous on this forum  ) plated under mount  joystick mounting I could just swap the Sanwa with one of the MagStiks. I can imagine for 8 way games the Sanwa is great, especially fighter games.

I found out switching may be easy but you can't expect users (and even myself) to know when to switch. After that it was an easy step to switch to a U360. It has no switches so is very loose but with an restrictor to shorten the throw I find it a very good stick to control whatever game I throw at it. I use the harness to use it as a true digital stick connected to my iPAC2 like most other arcade sticks. This results in the mapping of the U360 being used and not the internal mapping of MAME for analog sticks.

I programmed a small utility to program it depending on the selected game launched from Hyperspin.

So in the end I am very happy with my U360. I could replace the second Magstik too but 90% of all games played at my house are single player games.

[Dungeonsdeep]

Duh. Jeez, didn't he read through your entire thread like me? 

So EMDB, The left stick is a U360 disquised as a Magstick plus correct? How do you like them? Do you like the Magstik plus? I am thinking about getting those.

Yes. First I bought 2 Magstik plus'es because I wanted to easily switch between 4 and 8 way. They switch easily from the top. I think they are a bit too stiff with a very short throw. I bought a Sanwa JLF to compare. Thanks to my (already famous on this forum  ) plated under mount  joystick mounting I could just swap the Sanwa with one of the MagStiks. I can imagine for 8 way games the Sanwa is great, especially fighter games.

I found out switching may be easy but you can't expect users (and even myself) to know when to switch. After that it was an easy step to switch to a U360. It has no switches so is very loose but with an restrictor to shorten the throw I find it a very good stick to control whatever game I throw at it. I use the harness to use it as a true digital stick connected to my iPAC2 like most other arcade sticks. This results in the mapping of the U360 being used and not the internal mapping of MAME for analog sticks.

I programmed a small utility to program it depending on the selected game launched from Hyperspin.

So in the end I am very happy with my U360. I could replace the second Magstik too but 90% of all games played at my house are single player games.

Does MAME automatically send the information to the 360 if it is 4/8 way, or do you have to program to 360 to each game individually?

I am using Hyperspin as well, couldn't you potentially just show a splash screen dependent to each game about to load, and tell the player to rotate the MagStik? (although I suppose there is no way for a player to know if you are in 4 or 8 way mode by just looking at it)...

Speaking of Hyperspin, I posted a question in the support section of this site, maybe you wouldn't mind taking a look at it? I am stumped and have yet to find any answers across two forums.

[IAmDotorg]

GameOnGraphix prints the CP on an adhesive polycarbonate. Very durable and scratch resistant. And it looks very good. Sharp crispy colors.

Question -- how did you cut the holes cleanly in it? I'm just finalizing the art for mine, and was going to order them from GoG, too. (I need three, as its a four-player cocktail cabinet.)

Does the polycarbonate cut cleanly with an x-acto or something? Or did you find a 28/29/30mm punch or something?

I'm less concerned about the buttons and joystick because the button and dust shields cover any lousy cuts, but what do people do about trackball openings or spinners? Those usually are flush and not covered.

[mgb]

They cut clean with an xacto knife.

[IAmDotorg]

They cut clean with an xacto knife.

Thanks. I wasn't sure how tough the polycarbonate made it. I'd hate to spend a pile of money and have something snag and make a mess.

[EMDB]

I used a router with a flush trim bit:

[mgb]

They cut clean with an xacto knife.

Thanks. I wasn't sure how tough the polycarbonate made it. I'd hate to spend a pile of money and have something snag and make a mess.

i also highly recomend paying the extra 12 bucks for the template

[EMDB]

i also highly recomend paying the extra 12 bucks for the template

me2...

[EMDB]

Does MAME automatically send the information to the 360 if it is 4/8 way, or do you have to program to 360 to each game individually?

I am using Hyperspin as well, couldn't you potentially just show a splash screen dependent to each game about to load, and tell the player to rotate the MagStik? (although I suppose there is no way for a player to know if you are in 4 or 8 way mode by just looking at it)...

Speaking of Hyperspin, I posted a question in the support section of this site, maybe you wouldn't mind taking a look at it? I am stumped and have yet to find any answers across two forums.

Hyperspin can't program the U360s. You could use LedBlinky for this (paying 20 dollar) or use my free my HyperMap tool. If you have LED buttons you definitely should use LedBlinky, otherwise it is overkill to pay 20 dollar for just mapping the U360s.

[Dungeonsdeep]

Does MAME automatically send the information to the 360 if it is 4/8 way, or do you have to program to 360 to each game individually?

I am using Hyperspin as well, couldn't you potentially just show a splash screen dependent to each game about to load, and tell the player to rotate the MagStik? (although I suppose there is no way for a player to know if you are in 4 or 8 way mode by just looking at it)...

Speaking of Hyperspin, I posted a question in the support section of this site, maybe you wouldn't mind taking a look at it? I am stumped and have yet to find any answers across two forums.

Hyperspin can't program the U360s. You could use LedBlinky for this (paying 20 dollar) or use my free my HyperMap tool. If you have LED buttons you definitely should use LedBlinky, otherwise it is overkill to pay 20 dollar for just mapping the U360s.

Still confused...I guess what I am asking, is when you load up, say, Pac-Man...how does the U360 know to switch to 4 way? Is that something you have to tell it to do? Like, for all 2000 or so games on my system...do I have to tell the joystick individually what games need to be programmed?

[EMDB]

Does MAME automatically send the information to the 360 if it is 4/8 way, or do you have to program to 360 to each game individually?

I am using Hyperspin as well, couldn't you potentially just show a splash screen dependent to each game about to load, and tell the player to rotate the MagStik? (although I suppose there is no way for a player to know if you are in 4 or 8 way mode by just looking at it)...

Speaking of Hyperspin, I posted a question in the support section of this site, maybe you wouldn't mind taking a look at it? I am stumped and have yet to find any answers across two forums.

Hyperspin can't program the U360s. You could use LedBlinky for this (paying 20 dollar) or use my free my HyperMap tool. If you have LED buttons you definitely should use LedBlinky, otherwise it is overkill to pay 20 dollar for just mapping the U360s.

Still confused...I guess what I am asking, is when you load up, say, Pac-Man...how does the U360 know to switch to 4 way? Is that something you have to tell it to do? Like, for all 2000 or so games on my system...do I have to tell the joystick individually what games need to be programmed?

The U360 does not know. Depending on the selected games somebody has to send the correct mapping to the U360. MAME can output a list of games with all it's specifics including the original type of joystick. Tools like LEDBlinky or UltraMap can use this to determine which mapping to use for each and every game.