The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Main => Artwork => Topic started by: RxBrad on October 23, 2015, 06:42:43 am
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Getting ready to pull the trigger on my Souldraw order for my side art. I'm thinking I want their matte laminated black vinyl print.
Is there any reason that this would be a bad idea, and that I should actually get the glossy lamination?
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After some Googling, I guess I'm going to go with matte finish. I saw some comments saying that glossy may be more prone to scratching. And in a couple photos I'd found of "matte" vinyl, it appears that it actually is still a little glossy.
Also, having seen a Pac-Man/Galaga/etc/multigame cab at Dave & Busters with super-glossy vinyl on the sides, I don't think I like the look of it.
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Aren't all side-art printed on gloss, or semi-gloss vinyl? I don't recall seeing matte prints for side-art...most artwork on cabinets have a bit of a shine to it.
I would say at the very minimum go for semi-gloss if you can find it. I'm not sure what Souldraw has, I've never used them because I couldn't trust the quality, but I know a lot of people here like to go with them.
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I saw some comments saying that glossy may be more prone to scratching.
For home use, are you even worried about this? (if this is even an issue begin with)
I wouldn't do the matte finish unless you know exactly what you are doing/getting. As soon as you apply a matte finish or poly carbonate finish, the color will change dramatically.
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Their "matte" finish -- from the examples I could find -- appears to be a similar finish as the GoG polycarbonate finish, which is still slightly glossy. My art is mostly variations of black & gray, so I'm not terribly worried about exact color reproduction.
I've seen people say in other posts that Souldraw's adhesive might leave a bit to be desired, But I'll also be tacking the art down with the T-molding, so that should make this mostly a non-issue.
At around $80 shipped for my sideart + marquee, I'm willing to roll the dice on this. Will report back on the results...
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Interesting. I'd love to read a detailed review of their prints.
GoG's sideart prints are the perfect sheen, from what I remember the last time I ordered from them.
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Souldraw and couple others only have Matte or Glossy, I think the perfect one is in between, Satin. Most of the less expensive ones dont seem to offer it though.
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Submitted my order Friday night (total cost was $88.46, including shipping).
This morning (Monday), I just got an email saying it was done, along with a photo and a tracking number. So far I'm happy.
(and as you can see, there's not a lot to my art, so I wasn't that concerned about color reproduction)
Photo from Souldraw
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=338090;image)
Sketchup render of my cab
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0gdEb6kgI78/VOpYDcCXErI/AAAAAAAAKPw/erOWfOuFsXI/s1600/Arcade%2BCab%2Bv3%2BRender.png)
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I like it!
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My last few orders from Souldraw have been disappointing. I just ordered 2 weeks ago and since I knew the quality has been sketchy, I ordered duplicates. One of the marquees had a very large noticeable scratch (1/4" wide" and the other one was ok. The sideart won't stick for ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---. I pulled it back and used some glue. If I order from them again, I'm going to use some 3M spray adhesive on my sides first, or something.
It's a crap shoot ordering from them. Good luck! I hope yours is perfect.
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Placed my Souldraw order late Friday 10/23.
Got an email saying they had completed the printing, along with a photo and tracking number on Monday 10/26.
Had my art delivered by UPS on Tuesday 11/3 (I'm in Michigan -- the tracking info says it got to Chicago on 11/2, and was overnighted to me from there).
The art was sent in a sturdy cardboard tube, taped on the ends with duct tape.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=338712;image)
Inside, the art was rolled up, and wrapped in a layer of paper, which was also taped shut.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=338714;image)
In my opinion, the print quality on the vinyl side-art was actually quite good (my art is 200dpi, printed on their black-adhesive vinyl). Granted, my art is fairly simple and dark. Here's an extreme close-up of the Avenger "A" logo. On the parts of the scrap vinyl where nothing was printed, you can tell that they use black adhesive, and the bare white is darkened to kind of a dull gray color. So, I might not recommend it for predominantly white art.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=338720;image)
When they rolled it up, it collected a fairly large number of creases. When I applied the art, I was able to smooth out about 95% of them, but there are a couple places on the edges where you can see some faint creases.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=338716;image)
Here's the art applied on one side. I've seen people say that the adhesive isn't very sticky. I didn't think that was the case at all -- it stuck every bit as well as the polycarbonate CP overlay I bought from GoG. Not sure if it's because I chose the black adhesive, or if my prep work was different than what other people did (I stuck it to a black satin Rustoleum-painted surface). Also, the "matte" surface from Souldraw has about the same amount of glossiness as the satin paint I stuck it on, so I was happy with that aspect.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=338722;image)
Aside from a couple small crease marks on the edges (possibly avoidable with better application technique), there were no printing problems at all on the side art. I give it an 8.5/10 (if you compare the price to other sources, I'd say it's a 9.5/10). My biggest gripe was that the ridges/creases made it so it didn't lay perfectly flat. Not knowing how much the edges would move as I flattened it out during application, this made it somewhat difficult to precisely line up my art (exacerbated by the fact that I have a 3/4" border around the edges).
I still need to get some good photos of the marquee, since my phone's camera didn't want to photograph it very well. It didn't turn out as well as the side art, but I still plan on using it. There are lots of tiny air bubbles underneath the glossy laminate layer, and a few swaths (between 1/4 and 3/4" wide and a few inches long) where the color seems like it was partially rubbed off. The color flaws aren't terribly visible with the marquee light off, but you can definitely see them with the light on. Luckily, to someone who doesn't know how my marquee is supposed to look, they look like they could've been intentional on my marquee design. Overall, I give the marquee a 6/10.
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Those creases--if they show up when applied--are not acceptable. I've never ordered from souldraw, but I'm really surprised they haven't worked that out yet. If you would have gone with glossy I bet they would have been more noticeable.
I have Scott do all our artwork in matte: scratch resistant, goes on better, it's even more chemical resistant (Goof off messes up the gloss finish--it will mess up the matte too but only if left on long enough or scrubbed).
UPDATE: Wow, I've been checking out their site and I can't believe how many spelling and grammar errors there are. I know first hand how easily these can slip by (I'm disgraphic), but that site is riddled with errors!
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the creases are caused by rolling the artwork up too tightly then unrolling and laying it flat. It's referred to as "fingering". It really shouldn't be an issue when it comes to installing. One person holds the artwork away from the substrate while the other person applies it in a side-to-side motion using the application card pushing it onto the substrate.
I'm not familiar with the company that produces the artwork. Do they not use 3M vinyl with air channels or something similar? If they did, that would make getting creases nearly impossible in a flat surface.
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What size was the tube it arrived in?
3 inch is standard, but I've gotten smaller from GOG (2.5 maybe) without issue.
It looks like this stuff is shipping from China (hence the poor grammar), maybe that's they they are using really small tubes (if they are). I'd also expect the quality to be inferior to GOG; you can find good printers in China, but it's really hard, and the quality can vary from one order to the next greatly.
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The tube was 3" diameter. Maybe even a little bigger.
Here's why i gave them the benefit of the doubt about the creases, and said it may have been an application error on my part. Take a look at this photo.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=338716;image)
Focus on the lower-right section. The two bottom creases that go across the bottom aren't continuous. When I was checking the alignment of the art, I folded the vinyl across the edge of the cab, disrupting those creases. On the final product, the creases are really only evident for <1inch on the extreme edge. I think I may have done that while checking the alignment.