(Topic ID: 105393)

Silhouette Cameo Pinball Restorers Club!

By Curbfeeler

9 years ago


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    #474 3 years ago

    I’m wondering if anyone else has had the issue I am having with cut&print from Silhouette Studio...

    I recently prepped a full color decal for a playfield repair. Tweaked the colors a bunch, using Pantone values in Illustrator, until I got a decent match to the playfield inks.

    Because this decal was a white waterslide which would cover some inserts, I wanted to print it from S.Studio, and then use the cutter to cut out both the outline of the decal as well as the “windows” where the inserts are.
    I exported the file as a TIFF from Illustrator, making sure first to use a CMYK profile and embed as such.
    Unfortunately, when I printed a test from S.Studio, all the violet came out purple, making the decal unusable to me. I ended up using scissors and an Xacto knife. Very frustrating.

    Has anybody else had this problem/have you figured out how to keep colors consistent between AI and Silhouette Studio? I can’t believe this is some insurmountable issue, but my local graphic artist friend and AI guru was stumped.

    #476 3 years ago
    Quoted from BeachPickle:

    Did you try printing this exact tiff file from photoshop and see if the colors were correct or wrong? That would help indicate if maybe your color profile conversion is messed up, or if it’s actually the software.

    You mean as a check against the AI print? In illustrator it was just right. But worth trying, just to be thorough.
    I’ll try a different format next time and see if it makes a difference. I can’t feature why that would affect the *color* profile, but I’ll be the first to admit there’s PLENTY about the vagaries of software that I don’t understand...
    I’d really like to get to the bottom of this; until I can, it stands to be a substantial stumbling block to the way I want to use the cutter.

    4 months later
    #487 2 years ago

    Just buy mylar in sheets and cut it down. I buy rolls from PinRestore. Draw out whatever shape you need in AI or using the cutter’s software and it’s all set.

    2 weeks later
    #496 2 years ago

    Not sure I understand what you’re attempting here?

    8 months later
    #556 2 years ago
    Quoted from PinballBillinFL:

    Is there any trick to keeping a small artifact like that in place when weeding, or - as I'm looking at - sticking it back down?

    It varies. For some bits, a set of dental tools works well, for both weeding and placing those tiny bits by hand.
    In some instances, the negative space pieces are just too tiny to be usable; in cases like that, you have little choice but to put down your airbrush work and then scrape the paint away. It will never be perfect, but you can get a very good result if you put on strong reading glasses and get right up on the work.

    4 weeks later
    #565 2 years ago

    Nicely done video!
    I was hoping to get some clarification on one aspect, though - When you are placing such a large stencil (like the mid-playfield area with the big logo inserts), how are you able to position is accurately?
    I like the translucent masking you are using, and will plan to switch to that (Gerbermask is a good product, but alignment is tough as it is opaque.)
    In my experience, the masking (again, I’m so far using a different product) is very tenacious and really wants to grab the surface right away. It’s possible to wet the surface to get it into position, then squeegee it down once you’re solid on the placement, but you then have to dry out the area, and I’ve had issues with fuzzy edges from moisture that I didn’t catch.

    What’s your method for positioning bigger stencils? And what are you using for transfer tape?

    3 months later
    #583 1 year ago

    I’m curious - have you used waterslide decals at all?
    I tend to use a mixture of masking/airbrushing and decal work.
    But, granted, the decals require a lot of time on the computer to get them dialed in. What appears to me as a more efficient method might actually be a wash once you factor in the “screen time.”
    Anyhow, this playfield is coming along nicely. RG was the first machine I ever restored!
    And for blacks, paint is definitely more opaque than decals.
    I’d say definitely do the whites! It brightens up the game considerably. And after everything else you’ve done, spraying nice fresh white is easy.

    A labor of love, what you’re doing. Very cool.

    2 weeks later
    #600 1 year ago
    Quoted from dr_nybble:

    Small lettering… someone suggested not weeding the stencil until after it was laid down to help keep tiny stencil pieces in place. It worked great!
    I have a medium tack transfer tape that worked well for this purpose.
    [quoted image]

    Damn, that’s SUCH A GOOD TIP. It never occurred to me and now it seems like the most obvious thing in the world.

    1 month later
    #613 1 year ago
    Quoted from dr_nybble:

    This is a brand new copy of my original playfield. I made a new one mostly to see if I could.

    So many questions.

    But the first in my mind is, how did you register everything?

    I’ve used Oramask a bit, and found it works best if you wet the surface and can then position it, then dry it, then airbrush. But I’m assuming you didn’t Oramask the whole playfield surface in passes a la silk screening?

    My Sihouette use has always been for relatively small details. The baseball guy here is impressive. Again - alignment; you’ve got 3 paint layers there, how did you do it?

    I’m fascinated, and impressed.

    5 months later
    #654 1 year ago
    Quoted from BorgDog:

    here is an Illustrator file I made for the same style apron. shared on dropbox.

    Thanks so much! I’ve been wanting to do this for my Stars apron for a couple years and just never could find the time! (Of course now I need to find time for actually repainting it, lol. But that’s a huge service you’ve done. Again, thanks.)

    #655 1 year ago
    Quoted from Chrimeg:

    Completed apron. Now clear coating with Kyrlon Clear.

    What worked best for positioning the “frames” around the instruction cards?

    Looks beautiful. I’m inspired to finally do mine now.

    6 months later
    #672 8 months ago

    Anybody have luck with small lettering?

    I’ve got a Secret Service which uses yellow lettering on a couple of inserts, and all the cut settings I try it just shreds the vinyl. I’ve tried Oramask and Gerbermask, used a slow cutting speed, but what comes out just isn’t usable. I hate to admit defeat but am running out of ideas on this one…I welcome any tips of people have had better success?

    #674 8 months ago

    Ooohhh this is the first I’ve heard of that!
    Ordering *now*

    #676 8 months ago

    That’s awesome, thanks guys!
    I must’ve read several dozen silhouette forums and blogs but never heard any reference to this cutter option. I’m pretty excited to see the results - will post pics here assuming I meet with success!

    #680 8 months ago

    ^this was gonna be my input as well. Make sure the bar that holds down the paper for the rear cutter (for slicing the finished work off form the rest of the roll) is fully up and locked, if it’s in the way that could give yoh trouble.

    #684 8 months ago

    Yeah that’s the other thing - if you are using a small piece that’s already cut off of a roll, you definitely want to use a cutting mat at that point. Oramask and Gerbermask cut well from the full roll without a mat, but if I’m trying to use up off cuts or it’s getting to the end of a roll, I’ll switch to using the cutting mat. The piece is fully supported at all times and won’t shift.

    10
    #685 8 months ago

    Thanks to this group, I just made the purchase of a Graphtec blade cartridge; it and 15 blades w/springs cost $16 on Amazon, which is the same or cheaper than another Silhouette auto blade.
    Depth adjustment is a bit fidgety and trial-and-error, but really shouldn’t need to be readjusted very often seeing as I primarily cut the same materials for masking.

    Once I got the depth set right and settled on the right force setting, wowed this thing cuts really clean, and I wish id known about it a while ago. Tiny lettering? No problem!
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    1 month later
    1 week later
    #694 6 months ago

    Depends what you want to do with it. If you need to reproduce cabinet stencils (and can’t just buy them), 24” is the way to go.
    I have a TITAN 30” cutter that’s never come out of the box in 2+ years. I bought the 12” silhouette because at the time that’s the only one I knew of. It’s never posed a limit on what I can do for playfield masking purposes. Gerbermask was only sold in 15” rolls, which the 12” cutter can accommodate but you lose 3” of product. That said, I use Oramask now because of its translucency and haven’t looked back.

    The 12” is also really easy to store when not no in use. I can pull it out to do a single mask if I need, it weighs very little. I usually go big on purchases but in this case might encourage you to keep is small and use the $ savings elsewhere. But that’s just me.

    #695 6 months ago
    Quoted from PinballBillinFL:

    I'm intrigued, and thinking of upgrading to the Graphtec blades, and wondered about how to set them up. I'm guessing that they are not like the autoblade and must be manually set.

    It’s a bit or trial and error initially but once you’re set up you can just leave it, unless you’re cutting a lot of different thickness materials. I tell the software that it’s still using the auto blade and it still “sets the depth”, even though that is now locked in, because I haven’t found the equivalent of an “auxiliary” setting. It works just fine, no issues, cuts WAY better than the stock blade.

    1 week later
    #714 6 months ago
    Quoted from Ollulanus:

    Scanning: still no better/other option than a used 4600, eh?

    The mythology that the 4600 is the only scanner that will give you 1-to-1 results is just that.
    I bought one of those damn things and no amount of sleuthing and tweaking driver software would make it work.
    I have an old Epson Stylus flat bed scanner; I can take the lid off of it and lay the playfield down on it, being careful to make sure it’s sitting flat. I’ve done a number of playfield restorations this way and the results are good. I have inconsistently had issues of 1-to-1 alignment, which I have had to correct with scaling, but I am at this point convinced that those problems owe more to digital gremlins and file formats shifting things slightly as the digital information gets transferred from an image file to a Pshop or AI file and sometimes from that to an SVG for stencils. On the same playfield and working from the same scan I have had decals fit perfectly first try and others that needed to be adjusted. I’ve learned to print tests on paper to verify 1-to-1, as plain paper doesn’t stretch the way a waterslide decal or vinyl masking can.

    Short version: you can use a good quality flat bed scanner for playfield work.

    #718 6 months ago
    Quoted from Oscope:

    Did you make any mods to the scanner? I have heard people say that the focus is off due to the glass offset to the playfield for flatbeds?

    Total bunk. People say *lots* of things in online forums

    No modifications necessary.
    I suppose if the plastic frame were exceptionally thick, that could affect the outcome, but the one I use seems pretty standard. Playfield is not sitting directly on the glass, maybe like 3/32 or 1/8 off it, and it works just fine.

    #720 6 months ago

    It looks to me like you are going really hard at this restoration, seeking something verging on perfection.

    Anytime you restore a playfield, it’s a concessions game. You find the best happy medium you can and move along.

    It is technically possible to reproduce a whole playfield using stencils, but the more complicated the graphic, the more the odds are stacked against you. (And effects like halftones really can’t be mimicked except for printing decals, and even that is pretty complicated, ask how I know….)

    Spraying airbrush paint to reproduce all this art is a pretty coarse solution compared to silk screening. It looks like you’re getting about as good a result as is reasonable to expect. I’m not really seeing the likes you’re talking about; are you referring to the bleed being visible? A lot of imperfections will take a big step back once the playfield is clear coated (and others will jump out. Again, it’s a game of compromises.)

    Choose your battles, and don’t do too much before getting an initial clear coat on. Once you’ve got a big chunk of hours in and the work is satisfactory, lock that down under some clear to protect it.

    Also, I recently tried using Golden High Flow airbrush paints and found them vastly superior to Createx - much thinner and easier to airbrush without clogging the brush nearly as fast. I’ve also heard good things about Liquitex inks as an alternative, and have been considering them for the next playfield restoration. Createx mix well but there’s a whole world of products out there which might ultimately serve this purpose better.

    #728 6 months ago
    Quoted from BMGfan:

    Maybe I'll try hitting the edges with 1k grit if they do build up

    If you do that, go really easy, maybe even start with 1500. I’ve been there, it’s eadybtjj oh “tear” the edge, if the paint is built up.
    Again, don’t worry over it excessively, as after 3-5 layers of clear those ridges *will* level out. But softening them a bit first with light sanding doesn’t hurt. (Be sure you tack cloth after.)

    #731 6 months ago
    Quoted from BMGfan:

    As long as it's not super obvious and you know ....bad, I can always do better next time.

    Based on what I see of your tenacity and your attitude going into it, I’m pretty sure you’re going to get a pretty good result. Looking forward to seeing it shape up!

    1 month later
    #740 4 months ago
    Quoted from gdonovan:

    I'm just talking about keylines around inserts. I'll just hit photoshop and size to insert.

    For circles, just use the circle tool in the Silhouette software. You can enter the exact value for inside and outside diameter, then center them on each other. Reproduce as many as you need.

    For arrows, I like to use the pen tool in AI. It’s a pain to use and I hate it, but it does give straight lines and true curves. (I trace over a scanned image.) Export as line art and the Silhouette can then cut perfect arrows, etc.
    I’ve used pshop and just hand drawn them, and that does work, but it’s impossible to get really clean edges and lines. Mostly it’s kind of an academic distinction since the end results are small and imperfections not very noticeable, but I’m always trying to update my skill set and find the best technical solution.

    #743 4 months ago
    Quoted from gdonovan:

    Ok finally got computer to play ball and now we can get some work done.

    I’ve found that the silhouette studio software is pretty straightforward and easy to use. If your main thing is circle keylines, you’ll have no trouble. I’ve bumped out the thickness in situations where it can save me additional airbrush work (limited wear around inserts.) sometimes an extra millimeter or so of line weight can save a lot of headaches.
    I’ve also used it to make black or background colored circles where Star posts have bitten through the background paint. Really makes those ugly rings disappear, you don’t notice the touch ups much at all once the posts are reinstalled.

    1 month later
    #754 3 months ago

    Nice!! Yes, stencils and airbrush for insert lettering is *the* way to go! No more waterslides!

    2 weeks later
    #762 76 days ago

    I’ve been trying to use waterslides as little as possible. The blacks just aren’t opaque no matter what, and the decals introduce opportunities for clear coat trouble. Mostly isolated inserts work fine, not trying to scare anyone off, but I’ve had a couple of things bubble over the years for reasons so couldn’t fathom, so I’m trying to use airbrush applications as much as possible and decals as a last resort.

    #768 75 days ago
    Quoted from Mageek:

    Most of the text and keylines on this are vinyl

    Wait, are you saying you just cut vinyl and apply it and clear coat over it?

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