Marquee Question

[javeryh]

I'm getting ready to order my marquee from MameMarquees and I'm not sure how tall I should order it.  The total height of the marquee area is 6.5" which includes the two 0.75" panels on top and bottom.  The "void" where the light goes is only 5" tall.  I am going to be using the Happ Marquee Retainer on the top and bottom to hold it in place.  How tall should the marquee be? 

I'm thinking I should order it to be 6.5" tall and make sure there isn't any art in the 0.75" space on the top and bottom and then just trim it to fit but I'm not sure how easy it is to trim these things once they are printed.  Are they like vellum or a thicker plastic that I might have to score with a razor and then snap off?

Thanks!

[ahofle]

You're right on with the larger 6.5" measurement.  The Happ retainer goes on the outside of the top and bottom wood pieces and so the the marquee will rest on the bottom retainer piece approximately even with the bottom 3/4" wood piece (does that make sense?).  The lip on the retainer does cover up some of the marquee artwork as you said, so you will lose a little bit of it behind the lip when mounted.  I can measure that amount of lip space if you want when I get home.  Personally, I would make it a tad under 6.5" (maybe 6.25") to make sure it's not too tall, yet still plenty high enough to be covered by the marquee retainers.

[releasedtruth]

Don't you pay for 12" in height no matter what with mamemarquees? I used the whole 12" even though I only needed 6", just made some other items that would look cool backlit. Just a thought.

GT

[FrizzleFried]

MAMEMARQUEE's regular material is like a thick photo paper....

Their "ultra" stuff that they charge an extra $10 for is more vinylish (if that's a word)...

I have both kinds ...the first I printed was on the high end stuff then I tried the lower end stuff...I like the higher end stuff.

The lower end material looks good but pretty much requires 2 pieces of plexiglass whereas the higher end stuff only required one piece of plexiglass... and seems much more durable (not that you will be taking out the marquee over and over again).

[ahofle]

Since you have seen both, is there much difference in lighting the two?  I imagine the 'ultra' one looks better?  I'm about to order one from them.

[releasedtruth]

The premium is known as Waterfast backlit in the business. It's far better. White on the back and holds a nice saturation of color. mamemarquees does better than most with it too.

GT

[ahofle]

So you're saying the cheaper "premium" one is better than the "ultimate" (which is $10 more expensive)?

From their site:

The PREMIUM marquee is the same award winning material that we have been printing on for over 3 years.

The new 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.