BYO Marquee questions

[Brad Lee]

Is there a proper way to contruct a marquee?

I've got a flourescent light fixture behind where the glass will go, and I'd like most of it to be translucent.
Can Kinkos print on transparency film at the right size(~24" wide) and if so, will the light shine through too much, just enough, or not at all?
Should I sandwich the print between 2 sheets of clear plexi, or clear in front and white in the back?



The parts that I would like completely solid are the black band behind the Mr.B!    For that effect I plan to take construction paper or poster board and Xacto a piece to cover the black, and mount that behind the film

Should I go with glass for the front, or plexi?

(can't really see in the pic above, but the top part is a scattering of stars from a galaga screenshot, and the bottom is the williams start-up test pattern)


Any and all suggestions are welcome, just trying to make it look nice(and maybe even semi-professional:)

[Chris]

I printed mine on 23" panoramic photo paper and still had to spray-paint the back white to diffuse the light...

If you print on transparency film, you'll see the lamp right through the film...

Should I sandwich the print between 2 sheets of clear plexi, or clear in front and white in the back?

Clear in front, white in back...

I actually attached mine to the front plexi with spray adhesive, and painted the back white directly.  In retrospect, I wish I hadn't done that; the adhesive is visible around the edges...

[SNAAAKE]

Just reguler paper is cool.
Then 2 piece of plexi glass and some scotch tape around the corner.

[Brad Lee]

One thing thats bugging me because I havent been able to find it is a channel to fit across the top & bottom(or all 4 edges)
I know I've seen these, especially like on entertainment center glass doors, it's like a like U-shapped channel, plastic or metal, thats got a little bit of spring to it
I'm going to try a couple craft stores that do picture framing but if that doesn't pan out I'm at a loss

It's not completely neccessary since it'll all be spray-adhesived together, just think it'd be a nice touch

[Chris]

One thing thats bugging me because I havent been able to find it is a channel to fit across the top & bottom(or all 4 edges)
I know I've seen these, especially like on entertainment center glass doors, it's like a like U-shapped channel, plastic or metal, thats got a little bit of spring to it

Look for poster frames.  Rather than being a full frame, these are a pair of plastic U-shaped channels that connect to the top and bottom of a poster to make it hang flat.  They should be available anywhere that sells posters, like Wal-Mart, Target, greeting card stores, etc., probably in a tube standbing next to the posters.

[JLR2000]

Or you can get Marquee holder, which was made for that purpose.

It has a channel and a ridge to screw down, so you put it on from the top and bottom and presto....

Here's a link from Happ for a picture:
http://www.happcontrols.com/amusement/acesor/49100000.htm

I bought everything for my first mame cab from Happ, but for my latest project I found this guy who has tons of stuff and his prices seem hard to beat:

Jim Kaylegian
Phone #: 224-619-6000
Email:      sheljk@attbi.com

Any route you go, I recommend the marquee retainer above, it's cheap, sturdy and made for that purpose...

[Chris]

Didn't someone have a horror story with shipping for this item?

[JLR2000]

Didn't someone have a horror story with shipping for this item?

Maybe, the horror story I remember was the guy trying to get the bezel from Happ and it kept coming cracked/broken in the mail.  The Marquee retainer is a bit stronger, tougher for the ride.  And you could mail it in one of those cardboard tubes.  The bezel was sandwiched btwn two pieces of cardboard and was totally destroyed during shipping if I remember the story right....

[SNAAAKE]

Didn't someone have a horror story with shipping for this item?

That would be me...the $31 shiping from happ...I still have nightmare about that.buahahah...happcontrols comin for ya..bah bah bah bah...

[Brad Lee]

Look for poster frames.

This is exactly what I found, along with white plexi.
And primer.
And paint.
And more paint.
And sandpaper.
And 3/4x3/4x24" square dowels.
And..

Still need to go to Kinkos and see what they can do for me

[neuromancer]

Can Kinkos print on transparency film

You want to use "backlight film" it is a translucent media specifically designed to be backlit. If your Kinkos doesn't have it, you can call "printers" and "service bureaus". If all else fails, you can find people on the web who you can FTP a file to who will print it and ship it to you.

Bob

[rampy]

Can Kinkos print on transparency film

You want to use "backlight film" it is a translucent media specifically designed to be backlit. If your Kinkos doesn't have it, you can call "printers" and "service bureaus". If all else fails, you can find people on the web who you can FTP a file to who will print it and ship it to you.

Bob

I'll eventually get to kinko's to print my marquee... on backprint/backlit film and was wondering... should the image that I give them be reversed/mirror imaged to what I want to see?

thanks for you thoughts, bob...

rampy

[SNAAAKE]

you need nothin ...just bring a good looking image and put a light behind the marque and that should do the trick.

[rampy]

you need nothin ...just bring a good looking image and put a light behind the marque and that should do the trick.

Who are you replying to?

rampy

[Dink]

you need nothin ...just bring a good looking image and put a light behind the marque and that should do the trick.

Who are you replying to?

rampy

And, what is he trying to say?

[SNAAAKE]

rampy,
you said if the image has to be reversed and I said "NO".
Thats all..any paper is cool for marque..I just got back from kinkos then maybe tomorrow I can post a pic.

[rampy]

rampy,
you said if the image has to be reversed and I said "NO".
Thats all..any paper is cool for marque..I just got back from kinkos then maybe tomorrow I can post a pic.

That *might* NOT be true if you use backlit paper... think about it a bit, and you'll get confused too =P  hoping that someone whose done backlit paper specificially can answer... I know how regular paper works, thank you very much.  I assume backprint paper would be simliar to if you screened directly onto the plexi/glass/plastic/etc... and would be mirror image.

rampy

[neuromancer]

rampy,
you said if the image has to be reversed and I said "NO".
Thats all..any paper is cool for marque..I just got back from kinkos then maybe tomorrow I can post a pic.

That *might* NOT be true if you use backlit paper... think about it a bit, and you'll get confused too =P  hoping that someone whose done backlit paper specificially can answer... I know how regular paper works, thank you very much.  I assume backprint paper would be simliar to if you screened directly onto the
plexi/glass/plastic/etc... and would be mirror image.

rampy

It depends. Some backlit media are printed on the front, some are reverse printed on the back. They have one you can print on the front and then mount the printed side to a piece of lexan. Talk about cool.

here are some examples:

power-graphics.com/pages/backlit.html

I don't have any experience with that company, but their prices look pretty good. 22x28 for $43 (about $10/ft). If you had a marquee with a universal appeal (Like the "generic" MAME logo), you could put 4 of them on a sheet and sell the extras, or keep them as replacements for when the original fades.

bob

[SNAAAKE]

Yeah but wouldn't be much easier if you just print out the marque in backlit paper then use 2 piece of plexi..works great as I have done it.The print only cost me $12(free...assuming you red the story) but supposed to be $12 and plexi is like $5 and hassle free.good luck though if you with printing on lexan or somethin

[Brad Lee]

I've yet to read the story, but thats my next stop......


So I stopped at Kinkos on lunch today.
A print on backlight--------- $20/square foot at 24"x10" is $40
A print on regular vinyl(for the control panel sandwich) is $7/sq ft, so about $14

I forgot to ask about printing on transparent film

[SNAAAKE]

I've yet to read the story, but thats my next stop......

Hehe he..very funny...

I go to kinkos to pick up the marque and the guy hands me over the marque and "thank you sir,have a nice day".

However the real reason I didn't go back and pay because they printed my control panel art wrong...(short by 2 inchs both ways)and thats why they dont deserve that $12 I owe.
While we are at it..did you see the panel with the art that they got wrong..here


Take a close look at the border...PAINT ..$25 for the print(wrong sized)..boo...I ended up selling the panel because I was so PI$$ED