control gfx

[G1zm0]

hi i bought some a4 laserjet printable white vinyl in a pack of 10, its sticky, the panel is 15.5" x  9" and for 1 player joy and 3 player buttons  on the panel and a panel above it about 2.5" x 15.5 with 1 & 2 play button and a pause button and maby power on button, would this vinyl be ok printed (2 halfs) stuck down then perspex on top of it?

also how easy is it to get illistrator or photoshop to design and print gfx to that size and easily matched?
never used any of these progs before,also is there any backstrounds i can download and adapt with litte logos like shoot 1 2 3 ect and joystick directions, thanx

[thatitalian]

Firstly,

where did you buy the A4 vinyl from?

Designing in illustrator is not that hard, but it takes time a practice. I personally would go for photoshop if you know the dimensions of your Control Panel already.

Make sure it is set at 300dpi for better quality.

You need to ensure that your printer can handle that and that there is no quality loss.

I personally would go the mamemarquees.com to get my stuff printed but if you want to do it this way then go for it.

Laying Perspex over the top shouldn't be a probelm either! Have you got this drilled already?

[G1zm0]

hi, the perspex aint drilled yet or cut, the vinyl i got was a pack of 10 lazerjet a4 stickers from ebay

[thatitalian]

Even better,

You're basically free to design as you want. Go for Photoshop.

Set the layout you want, size, etc. Then do a draft printout to make sure you are comfortable (I find making a control panel out of a cardboard box helps to get the right feel for the panel layout and size).

If you are happy do a full print.

Be careful laying the vinyl papaer on so you do not get any bubbles! Using a tool (can't remember the name of it) to smooth out the vinyl helps.

[G1zm0]

how do i find out the actual size of the hole and implement it into photoshop, never done this before

[BASS!]

I've got a little trick for you.

make a new document at the same dpi as your document that you are laying out. Make the size the same as the button diameter (ie .345"). Once your document is open create a new layer called button hole, and grab the marquee tool. Hold down your mouse on the button until you are able to select different shapes, and choose the circle.



Now hold down shift and make a selection on the canvas, and fill it the full size of the document.

Once you fill this you will have an object that you can drop into your document that is the perfect size of what you are using.

[thatitalian]

That was a good idea! Lol!

That saved me about 25 years of my life on my printer that does 1 page every 3 years! THANKS!