caution decals etc

[340s]

Hi Guys,

I have 4 old sleds that I am trying to get together copies of all the caution, engine decals etc. I just spent almost $500 to get 10 copies of the 4 decals under the hood made only to find out Brock had some. So I will likely ebay the extra sets (except for one member I am sending one set to) so as not to overlap.

But that leads me to wonder about the other JD sleds before any of us spend $$$ getting decals re-engineered. Mark at jdsleddecals has a lot of sled decals but not all of the 'extra' decals.

So I am wondering how we as a group can compile these harder to find engine and warning etc decals into a database so that they can be easily made when needed? I know I'd rather not spend $$$ if someone has already gone through the same process. I think there are others on this site who know more than me about this, but I think it might be cheaper if between all of us we have at least one NOS (or already re-engineered) decal that can be scanned so as not to pay for them to be re-made from photos when it's already been done??

I ask this since I will be looking for every possible decal for the Liquidator, the 295/s, and the 73 JDX8. I have some ideas too but wanted to see what everyone else thinks too as many of you have already been through this.

Thanks,
Craig

[eppjd]

A database like this would be the cats pajamas.

[KamJD600]

that is an awsome idea

[jdsledsrgr8]

Totally in agreement. These are scattered here and there all over the place. You see them all the time and then when you need one you can not find it. The decal reproduction businesses have not focused on these, which I can understand because they are not the big movers.

I had a pair created by a local graphic company. I am happy to attach to start the collection, Matt why will the site not allow pdfs to upload?? My local print shop does not have the right decal material to make them. Anyways they are free to the site to start the collection. They were for my cyclone, but I am pretty sure they go to other models.

Strongly encourage folks to gather up ones they have and email them in. It would be really nice to gather these up and then folks can pull off the pdfs and have their local print shop print them or maybe we could align with one print shop that has the right material.

If the Matt and the site does not care to do this I am happy to collect and organize but I will need help indentifing which decals go to which sleds.

[340s]

Hi Guys,

Imagine having all these decals in high quality usable format for members so that they just have to take the file(s) to their local decal maker and SHAZZAM!! (well something like that anyway ) I know we have talented people who know about graphics and engineering here (that's not me!).

What is the best type of file to save a scan as for reprinting a high quality decal later from that file? Is pdf as mentioned good? Thoughts?

I see guys are interested in donating decals. Likewise, my 340s warning/engine decals would also be donated for the members to use down the road if they wish. Also, I have a couple nice harder to find NOS decals I will donate too if this is possible.

I also think we would want to gain approval from this site before proceeding too far. Setting up the site to host all these images might be a lot of work for the guys because there is a variety of warning/caution decals over the models and years.

Thanks,
Craig

[Matt]

The forum won't accept PDF files, but I'm sure I can come up with another way to do it with some kind of file-share program.

[Deere Daze]

I have a guy that can repop them to factory specs with the same material.If anyone wants to send me one so I can get him draw it up,I will return the old one along with a new one.After that I can make them available in the store.The ones I have had done already are the Trailfire "340" + "440" engine shroud decals, the Spit,Sprint+Snowfire Ignition decals along with the 80s style belt caution decals,and engine "oil" decals.

[skoalmint]

Great Idea,I have several of these caution,warning,etc nos decals,that i used to repop all the ones i have.I have about probably 50 different under the hood decals allready done.The gal i use does them dirt cheap!! I think this is a great idea ,but all my files are in her computer.She charges like 3.00 each.I just had her run 10 more of each decal last week.I just did this to make the retos easier,and give them the finished touch.I have the spitty,cyclone,liquifire (early) some mid mt,340/s,dator,liquifire new series,traifire, some snowfire and sprint.Still working on more.I am not doing this to make money.I just did it to make my restorations easier.So i dont want to step on anyones toes.I have alot of them covered ,feel free to send me a pm and i will be more than happy to help.Brock

[TOYMECH]

Just thought i would chime in here on this thread so as to be of some help since one part of my business i run is to make decals for my product and custom work.

To set things clearly right off the bat, i have done some work for the John Deere snowmobiles for the love of the hobby and the John Deere snowmobiles - i'm not here to make money at it since it is rare i have extra time to create the files. I strictly want to pass on some knowlege to all of you to be some help...

Originally, most of the decals on the snowmobiles were made by offset printing using (silk) screens and then were cut using a "gillotine" type cutter and corner rounder or a steel rule die. The inks used actually chemically bonded into the vinyl which provided a decal which is resistant to most chemicals such as fuels and oils.

With the advent in the last 15 years of affordable electronic machinery, decals can be made using different methods in smaller quantities with less set up costs and time.

The first thing that has to happen to re-create a decal is to have a good example to go by. The best option is an original, unfaded decal which has not been shrunk. Accurate measurements and colours can then be obtained from this example by scanning. Another option which is not as accurate but will produce good results is a photo of the original decal with a ruler captured within the photo so that it can be used as a scale reference when creating the file for the printing machinery.

Files - The factor that determines which type of file to be used is the machine that is being used to print the decal. There are two basic types of machines used by smaller manufacters of decals. One type is called a thermal transfer printer. It does it's thing by thermally (heat) bonding resin from a cartridge on to the vinyl then cutting as per the design. The newer (Solvent-Jet etc) type machines use liquid ink that chemically bonds on to the substrate (vinyl). The newer machines can work with a lot of different types of files but the thermal transfer printers produce the best results when a VECTOR file is used.

Vector files - These are created by either manually redrawing the file from a scan of the original decal or photo of it or by using a high-end tracing program. Vector files produce the best results so long as the files are created carefully - just like doing a good prep job before painting. Vector files are created in programs such as Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw. The key thing or phrase to remember here is "garbage in = garbage out" . To simply scan a decal (even at a very high resolution) will not produce the best decal possible. The best results are from a file created from "scratch". One way to explain how a file is created using a drawing program is by using the example of placing a piece of tracing paper over an image and by using a pencil, you re-create the image on the tracing paper. To apply it to computer terms when creating a file for a decal, you use the scan or photo of the decal and "redraw" the decal using the photo or scan as a template within the drawing program.

Rasterized files - These are images made up of tiny squares (pixels) which are the most common images used on your PC (.jpegs, .gif , .tiff etc). These will not produce a quality decal using a thermal transfer machine. If they are in high resolution form (well detailed) they do work reasonably well with some of the newer "solvent" type machinery. The best results, however are from the thermal machines.

To illutrate what i i mentioned above, here is a link:

http://designinstruct.com/print-design/ ... -printing/

http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum ... d.php?t=41

Hopefully this explains the cost and procedure involved in re-creating decals. The largest cost of re-creating a decal is to create the file for a new one. If there are any other quetions, i will be glad to help out on this thread.

Greg

[400brian]

An example of Greg's work. '72-'73 tunnel decal. It was scanned from an original decal Kevin Campbell cut out of a junk tunnel.

[340s]

Hi Guys,

I figured we had guys who would know about this stuff! I get the feeling that getting good quality decals is not that easy.

This leads me to my next couple questions:

a) Is it hard to get a decal maker to provide you with a vector file if you make that clear before they design the file for you?

Another option is that everytime a site member re-pops a decal at their own preferred decal place the member could post a scan of the end result (with the contact number of the place they used to make it) in a special section created on the site so that others can call that decal place and get some in the future if needed.

b) If the answer to 'a' is that it is difficult to get the files from the decal maker then we likely need a different approach. If that's the case, speaking for myself, I wonder if our group might consider using one or two experienced parties to do our caution etc decals so that we eventually have these decals in the hands of people close to the site. That seems to make sense to me because we would be able to get a few decals when needed simply by sending a PM or picking up the phone.

I also don't want to step on anyone's toes but my original thought with this idea was to try to keep things in the public domain as much as possible and so that's why I asked if option 'a' is even possible. If 'a' is not a realistic option I know I would be happy with ANY alternative that keeps decals being reproduced and eliminates duplication of effort and wasted $$!!

More ideas or comments before we hopefully start the refining process?

Thank you,
Craig

[jdsledsrgr8]

My thoughts:
Sounds like Brock has the majority of them already done and has a gal that can create the file very inexpensively. Brock do you know if she can set them up in a vector format and also a pdf format?

Greg also has a printer conncetion that produces a very high quality decal.

So we just need connect the dots which I am happy to assist with.

1) Lets gather up what we have into a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet can have the decals assigned a number and also have the number linked to a pdf that you can view what it looks like. The decals are listed along the left hand side in rows of the spreadsheet. Then across the top horizontal axis has every JD sled. You have X's in columns that a decal associates with a sled.
2) With the spreadsheet we can see what we are missing and fill in the gaps. Any future decals that need to be created, we utilize Brocks design person.
3) We give the spreadsheet to Greg's printer and make sure for every decal they have a vector file or the format they prefer
4) We post the spreadsheet on the site and then with Greg's printer contact. A person who needs a decal, looks up which decal # it is and then calls Gregs printer to place an order.

I happy to serve as the person to gather up all the files, organize them, create the spreadsheet and such.

I can lay out out a spreadsheet in the next couple days. Matt can we attach an excel file to the board messages?

In the mean time if you have files you want me to start to organize, you can email me at mgabl072@yahoo.com. Brock with all your files it will be easiest to have your person save them to a memory stick and then mail it to me.

Happy to jump in and help. If the group does not approve, then we can continue to each do our own things thus creating alot of duplication and wasted time and money.

[Matt]

No, you can't attach an excel file - it's a security risk. You can e-mail it to me and I'll post it.

[skoalmint]

Hello Guys,I am computer stupid! Vector ,Rectum, spectrum, pdf, LOL!!!!You guys lost me at hello.All i can do is ask her,Im sure she knows all about it.I hope i dont upset her asking her for this info,Even though she would love to get rid of me,Im kinda a pain in her arse at times.But i do give her bussiness.I'm sure she likes that though.Brock

[jdsledsrgr8]

Looking through ebay, does anyone know the person that goes by the ebay name "genesisbt96"? This person has some very good good under the hood reproduction decals. They are very well done and of the right material.

Just wonder if we should not make contact with this person about helping with this project

Again as a winter/spring project I am happy to gather up all the different graphics and organize them into a public accessable form. The thought is to
1) gather up all the different "under the hood" graphics that have been re designed and and able to be printed on new material (this will require folks to share their designs for the good of our group, we understand these folks have spent their own money to have these decals re designed and now we are asking them to share this properitary design with the rest). With that it is up to the individual, if you choose not to share, no hard feelings.
2) Determine which ones we are missing and I will work with Brock's person to redeign (very reasonable at around $3 per redesign (I am happy to foot this cost). Again we are only focusing on the "under the hood decals.
3) Put all this into a spreadsheet for everyone to work off. Hopefully Matt could post this on the site.
4) This spreadsheet would have all the decals under one print format to create conistency of quality. "Vector" appears to be the preferred print format
5) Once this spreadsheet is posted on the site anyone that needs an under the hood decal can locate and pull the file off the spreadsheet and then work with a printer of their choosing (it should be noted the material that these decals are printed on is unique and so by that nature printers that can locate this material may be limited). We can certainly post suggested printers that have the correct material but to keep neutral and allow flexibility, we want people the ability to use the printer of their choosing. Just as a service to our brand and restoration projects we are gathering up all the under the hood decals for people to use.

Please feel free to send me any files that you have had designed and are willing to share, pictures of decals with some type of scale (ruler in the picture) and any other thoughts you may have to my email address (mgabl072@yahoo.com).

I also feel compelled to say , I am gathering up this information for the site and will be keeping everyone posted regularly. Hopefully those that have met me know I am not going to gather up all this material and then go into business myself or disappear with everyone's proprietary designs. I enjoy organizing and these type of projects so please trust that I am really doing it for our group and the restoration needs of our brand. Everything will be public.

Any questions or concerns please feel free to email me or give me a call (608-250-9227)
Matt Gabler