I am sure that there are people that make them. However, if I am not mistaken there would be some issues with selling them due to rights? Seems like they would be a cheap, low cost alternative to people who just want to build a decent game to play instead of restoring a collectors piece. I also have passed on a ton of older machines due to back glass and will only buy one that has a bad glass if I already know where a replacement is or if I know the price is so right that I can part it out and still make a profit.

This is kind of in between: www.bgresto.com

Yeah I have seen their site before. I wonder if the process of BG restoration would make the old EMs he is talking about end up being way out of the price range.

Its hard to get a super cheap solution here. You still have to get a custom size piece of tempered glass. Not to mention all the time fixing the artwork and finding a proper printer. Also, backglasses all have of silver areas on the back that block all light from passing through. That is an extra process not part of a normal translight.

All in all, BGresto.com is a great deal IMHO.

I honestly have no idea how much they charge. I was just assuming it was expensive.

around 250, shipped.... well worth it if you need a bg and cannot get a "good original" or "real repro"... i have one in my "pro football" (my original had some flaking and was faded to hell)...

as noted by john, there's no "cheap way"...

i'm a complete bg nut... i would spend 250 on a bg for a machine that is only worth 250... i can't help myself, i like looking at nice bg's, and if i know i can get a better one, even a "presentable" one will drive me crazy after awhile...

something to consider as well... the "value" of a "garden variety em" is basically defined by cosmetic condition... while you may not recoup all of the cost of a replacement bg, you will recoup a good portion of it, as well as making the machine that much easier to sell down the road...

If you are good with photoshop and/or can find the art online you can try this
http://www.printmoz.com/backlit-posters

You will still need a mask. I did a Williams single player for $60 ($30 x 2 ) and $27 for the tempered glass.

Some repros here.

http://pinballglass.homestead.com

That is a fair price if it is a machine you really like. I am not in pinball to make a profit by any means. However, I need to break even or pretty close to it when I do decide to sell a machine in order to have available cash for the next one. Now on certain games I'm upside down simply because I like the game. That is a completely different story. I bought my BK2K without a backglass simply because I love the game.

i love me some webb glass...

how'd that come out? that might be a viable option for some...

Any pics?

ain't nothing wrong with being rational... that's a fair enough way to look at things...

i just lose all sense of rationality when it comes to bg's... as well as a few other cosmetic things like legs and so on...

i do have a bit of a unique setup here, in that almost all of the first floor is devoted to our toys... you see the machines all the time, so a few extra bucks spent to make them "look good" is worth it in my case... also, while swmbo doesn't play a lot of pinball, she really likes to look at them (i'll come home, and she will have them all on, just looking at them while she is putzing around with her keyboards)... so that's another "reason" for some irrational spending here...

Just know that I didn't have high rez versions of of the BG, I used some that I found online in an image search. I resized it in GIMP to 21.5" X 25.5" and it scaled it pretty good, but it's not as crisp as it would be with a higher rez scan to start with.

Not great pics, but..

IMG_4687.JPG

IMG_4685.JPG

photo 3t.jpg

That is pretty good. I might have to do something like that with my Sing Along. I have a flatbed scanner I can use on my current one and I also have a vinyl cutter at work I can cut the mask with.....

The mask is the same image just modified.

SE_MASK_COLOR.pdf

that came out well...

Nextopin,
I like how you added color to the illuminated areas of the mask to increase the saturation. Was Spanish Eyes your first attempt at this? Would you do anything differently on your next project? It looks very good in the pics. Good job, buddy. Thank you for sharing.
Art.

I can't take credit for that. This is a BGResto image that they sent me when I was looking into having the SE backglass done, Since it was low rez it was ok to use as the mask, the front side I had to use my own. I hesitated to post it but I wanted to show what a mask would look like in vinyl. They keep the color in the mask so that the color doesn't wash out when backlit due to it being vinyl. If you want it brighter, you can convert the mask to black and white, but I figured they would know more than me about this, so I went with the colors. You need to use brighter lights in mine, but then again, BGResto may use different methods or materials than PrintMoz.

If this was a keeper game, I wouldn't hesitate to use BGResto as it comes with the glass and in full resolution. This was just something I threw together as a xmas present for the wife and daughter, mostly the wife and I as my daughter could care less about pinball.

Gotcha. The one BGResto backglass I bought must have been their "first generation" process, I guess. The mask doesn't have the color and it was too washed out for me to use. If my game had been in a room by itself it would have been fine, but in a line up of richly saturated backglasses it stood out too much.

Again, good job on yours, I bookmarked the website you listed, it looks very promising. I'll definitely try my next backglass with them.

Just to be clear, PrintMoz is just a printing company, they know nothing about Pinball. If you already have a BGResto backglass I would just call them and see if they could send you a color mask. I'm not sure how they assemble them, but you may be able to swap it out.

No worries, I'm a graphic artist/photographer by trade. Most of my artwork is done for screen printing. I would be submitting my own clean artwork for them. I bought the BGRresto to see if I could find a company to take some of my project "to-do" list off of my plate as making/screening my own back glasses takes waaay too long. Not worth if for every game. Printmoz's prices are better than what my local guy wanted. This seems like a good way for me to experiment. Thanks for the link!

Vid1900 turned me on to them, credit goes to him Please post some pics when you have some done, I'd love to see it.

On printmoz website what was the info you entered? Gloss Finish or Matte, Backlit Poster or Film ??

I also notice they don't do fractions, how did you handle that, mine measures 28-1/2" x 25-1/2", I would assume better to go larger??

I went with gloss. Backlit poster. I sized my image to the exact size(21.5x25.5) and then requested that they cut it to that size in the order comments. They have live chat so you can ask them any questions while you order and that's what they told me to do. There was one side that was about 1/16 too long, I just ran an exacto down the edge using the glass as a straight edge.

More info here https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/spanish-eyes-backglass-scan

Once i get off my lazy hump, Nexto will be helping me with my Liberty Belle

While not an EM, a fellow pinsider Underspin helped my son with a Stern Hot Hand that had a bad backglass. He found the file online, cleaned it up and printed it out on a mylar sheet. The masking was done in reverse on a separate sheet. The two were then sandwiched between two 3/32" thick pieces of plexiglass. Below are some pics of the backglass, trimming the mylar and the final finished product.

2014-03-20 19.28.25.jpg2014-03-21 16.57.29.jpg2014-03-21 18.08.18.jpg2014-03-21 22.04.19.jpg

Yeah it turned out pretty good. We leaned a lot from doing this that we we would probably do differently. The masking should be black and not silver. Need to try and find a way to print the masking on the back of the artwork rather than a separate piece. The issue with that is the mylar is matte on one side (printing) and glossy on the other (non-printing). Also the mylar isn't as light transmissive as the backglass...especially through two pieces of mylar. But it sure looks way better than the original...

Can't seem to find a high resolution file, photo or image of the 1972 Williams Olympic Hockey backglass, if anyone comes across one let me know.
Thanks in advance.