Just a bit of history. Viscount (circa 1974) were amongst the first to move from the old waterslide transfers to a decal which was really a bit of self adhesive clear tape (like Scotchtape) with the badge, name etc printed on it.The early ones had the adhesive leak out, forming a grubby surround to the edge of the transfer which itself stood proud of the paint in the way that the water-slide/lacquered method did not. Reason for this change was the speed of application and de-skilling the job of fixing waterslide transfers neatly. Crease them and it was a re-work. Eagle Transfers supplied Viscount way back then. They were something of pioneers in the technique having supplied Triumph for the TR7 sportscar, Hitherto, badges were cast metal and fastened through holes in the fenders/trunk-lid - good source of early rust problems. Or plastic mouldings which fell off when the glue gave up. There must have been a huge leap forward in the creation of artwork on PCs and the printing off on ever thinner film since those days but I haven't kept up...... John Purser further down Memory Lane, Sudbury, England
Message: 4 Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 13:52:51 -0700 From: Jim Nusbaum <jnusbaum@cybermesa.com> Subject: Re: [CR] Now Repro Decals To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Message-ID: <4D3C9523.5090804@cybermesa.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
The process of producing repro decals is basically the same as other printing processes. The media used is just different to suit the application. A decal reproduction can be produced from an image. How directly it can be produced depends on the image. Is it a flat image or is it a photograph of the decal on a bike? If all you have is photos or other illustrations of the decal on a bike then you will probably need someone with some significant graphics arts horsepower, primarily in the form of tools and knowledge on how to use those tools, to turn it into something that can be printed at the right size with the right colors. If the image is something from a web site that is more of an original graphic of the decal in one of the standard image formats, then you may be able to produce the decal rather easily by simply scaling and color correcting the image, then printing it.
Has anyone used the Papilio media? It must be clearcoated but it seems to offer the ability for the amateur with some reasonable graphics tools and skills to produce their own decals.
Jim Nusbaum Pagosa Springs, CO
On 1/23/2011 11:55 AM, Hugh Thornton wrote:
> In the case of the sign shop that I used, I just gave them the best jpegs I had along with dimensions and they just got on with it. It was a small shop with one smart woman who did most of their graphics work. She did her thing then emailed the graphics to me for approval, after which they printed them, running off several sets at no extra charge, because it didn't cost them any extra to use the whole width of the sheet they were printing on, except for a bit of ink.
>
> I had a quick glance at some of the decals on the hetchins.org site and thoiught that most sign shops wouldn't have any trouble with them (assuming there are no copyright issues).
>
> hugh thornton
> cheshire, england
>
> --- On Sun, 23/1/11, Peter Naiman<hetchinspete1@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> From: Peter Naiman<hetchinspete1@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [CR] Now Repro Decals
> To: "Classic Rendezvous"<classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>, "Hugh Thornton"<hughwthornton@yahoo.co.uk>
> Date: Sunday, 23 January, 2011, 16:02
>
> Hugh,
>
> One of my project this year is building a small paint booth in my basement and buying the equipment to learn how to paint my own frames and learn the art of lug and boxlining, but the transfer reproduction is one thing I'm not up on. I know my friend Keith Helon used a Caad program on his computer to reproduce transfers by drawing them and them giving the drawing to a local sign shop. But this is labor intensive, which is okay, but is there another way to scan a transfer in as quite a few transfers for the Hetchins are available on the Hetchins.org website.
>
> Regards,
> Peter
> ~~~~~
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Peter W. Naiman
> Owner: Cream City Online.
> Registered Ebay Sales Broker/ Trading Assistant
> Glendale, WI USA 53217-5034
> Phone: 414-429-4362
>
>
> --- On Sun, 1/23/11, Hugh Thornton<hughwthornton@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
> From: Hugh Thornton<hughwthornton@yahoo.co.uk>
> Subject: Re: [CR] Now Repro Decals
> To: "Classic Rendezvous"<classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Date: Sunday, January 23, 2011, 9:26 AM
>
>
>
> Most people these days are printing decals on thin adhesive plastic film. The important thing being the UV stability of the film and the ink if they are to retain their appearance for a number of years. They do not have to be printed by a specialist decal manufacturer: I had some made up by a local sign company that produces all sorts of signage and printed products and the results were very good.
>
> > From a quality perspective, these decals are generally considered superior to water slide or varnish fix decals, but they have the disadvantage of extra thickness. The thickness can be masked by clearcoat, but that has the disadvantage of giving a finish which doesn't look at all period. Dulling the finish on the clearcoat can make things look better. Perhaps the experienced refinishers on the list can advise how to get the most realistic vintage appearance using plastic film decals.
>
> Hugh
> Thornton
> Cheshire, England
>
> --- On Sat, 22/1/11, Owen Wrigley<owen_wrigley@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> From: Owen Wrigley<owen_wrigley@hotmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [CR] French bikes / Mercier Decals - Now Repro Decals
> To: "Classic Rendezvous"<classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>, hughwthornton@yahoo.co.uk, "Norris Lockley"<nlockley73@gmail.com>
> Date: Saturday, 22 January, 2011, 17:21
>
>
>
>
> Dear Hugh and all,
>
> Regarding decal reproduction.
>
> I have just acquired a quite rare example of a Hilton Wrigley Connoisseur frame. Norris Lockley, who knew the man Hilton, himself, is providing me enormous assistance with this frame, but the matter of decal/transfers is in the air.
>
> Norris has done a nice piece on Hilton at: http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/
>
> This Hilton Wrigley frame comes with a head badge and seat tube crest transfer that even Norris has never seen before.
>
> While not certain that the bike will require a refinish, I am doing my due diligence to prepare reproductions for the need. Obviously, there will be no big market
> for these, so it?s probably going to be one-off, with a couple spares.
>
> A cousin of mine has already risen to the challenge. He says his "church ladies" include a couple graphic artists who have declared that they can deliver this "professionally 'vectored' into a .eps format which can subsequently be used to create various size .pdf s" within a week. They're working from several photos, none of which is perfect, but should be adequate for a talented artist.
>
> Presuming the artwork is up to snuff, what are the options to make the best possible bike-ready transfers?
>
> I shall spare all the details of the bike for the moment. If others, beside Norris and myself, are interested, I'll happily respond and post a few photos.
>
> Owen "of the Ilk" Wrigley
> Vienna, VA