What's the plastic sheet with printed graphics & text called ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: michaeliv
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2016, 06:12:46 am
content: Hello,Generally instruments / some consumer electronics have a sheet of plastic on which labels/graphics are printed as opposed to the labels / graphics being printed directly on the plastic mold.What is this sheet called / how is it manufactured ?Is it possible for such sheets to be prototyped / made to order / in low quantity, like PCBs can be ?Or any way to home make one ?Thanks!

author: elCap
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2016, 06:32:13 am
content: They are called graphic overlay.There are many many manufacturer of these, just google for it.I guess a plastic laminating machine can used to make good ones yourself.

author: HAL-42b
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2016, 06:41:01 am
content: They are called simply Decals in the printing industry. ROBRENZ did some at home a while ago.

author: DTJ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2016, 06:59:34 am
content: If you are looking to get them made they are often called poly-carbonate labels.https://www.google.com.au/search?q=polycarbonate+label&safe=off&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjOpba7tqHLAhVFsJQKHbxJC2MQsAQIGw&biw=1920&bih=945

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2016, 08:18:22 am
content: They are typically made using multiple silk screen printing steps, on the back of a sheet of plastic (typically polycarbonate) which is textured on the front and smooth on the back. The final printing layers are an all over coat of the background colour, and a layer of glue. Finally, they put a protective backing sheet over the glue. You just peel off the backing, and press the plastic sheet into place.If you want something like an LCD window in the panel you can't really use plastic with a textured surface. In these cases they can use a plastic sheet which is smooth on both sides, and then print a textured layer on the front omitting the area where the LCD window goes. You probably want to choose a thicker sheet for these applications, to have some rigidity over the LCD.If you want clickly buttons or cap touch buttons, may makers can produce a thicker sheet for you with these things integrated.I used to use these sheets on specialised instruments where 100 was a big production run. They were not crazily priced when buying small quantities.

author: android
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2016, 08:41:22 am
content: I call them decals....and you can make your own easily by getting some sheets of Full Sheet Clear Inkjet Adhesive Shipping Labels (for example,Avery 8665), print the words/design that you want to appear on the front panel using any program that you're comfortable with....then simply stick it on.

author: michaeliv
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2016, 09:35:23 am
content: Thanks guys, this is exactly what I was looking to find out. Looking at manufacturers they all require a quote to get pricing info.Can someone give me a ballpark figure for let's say creating something that can replace the Agilent polycarbonate label in the image above ?I have no idea if it's $10 or $1000.Quote from: android on March 02, 2016, 08:41:22 amAny easy way to make cutouts (I don't have a laser cutter) ?

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2016, 09:42:20 am
content: For one-off test equipment front panels at home I print on light grey paper and then hot laminate using Matt finish pouches (way better than the usual shiny ones). This gives a sheet that can be stuck on double sided glue film, it can be cut to size, cutouts etc. without coming apart and withstands any normal lab use, particularly if the outside corners are protected.

author: matkar
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2016, 10:01:12 am
content: Quote from: michaeliv on March 02, 2016, 09:35:23 amAs far as I can remember the price for a front panel for a device with 7" display (a bit larger decal than 7" display is) was 15 EUR for single piece on the prospect of making 100 pieces later.

author: michaeliv
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2016, 10:04:28 am
content: Quote from: Gyro on March 02, 2016, 09:42:20 amCould you share some pics please?

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2016, 11:06:37 am
content: Sure,Actually to save reuploading...https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/picoammeter-design/(Post 23)https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/my-shunt-collection-%28ucurrent-passive%29/msg857960/#msg857960https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/jye-tech-dso-138-review-and-performance-testing/msg857888/#msg857888(Post 2)Edit:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/anyone-else-built-a-hamon-divider/msg776035/#msg776035

author: timb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2016, 11:44:33 am
content: If anyone makes a lot of their own gear, or repairs vintage gear, I highly recommend picking up a "digital cutting machine" aka die-cut machine or cutting plotter. They used to be big and expensive, but in the last 10 years there have been smaller, home versions designed for people into scrapbooking and other paper crafts. One of the biggest brands is Silhouette.Essentially, these are compact little plotters with a tiny extra sharp knife instead of a pen. They will cut thick card stock, vinyl and other items of similar thickness with remarkable precision (I've used mine to cut solder paste stencils down to 0603 sizes). I have both a medium sized semi-professional unit (CraftROBO Pro) and a small original Silhouette (which my ex gave me when she got a new Silhouette Cameo).What I do is get largish sheets of clear adhesive vinyl and print the overlays onto it with my photo printer using UV resistant ink. Then I apply a clear matte spray, which also contains UV blocking elements. Both the ink and spray ensure it won't fade quickly over time if exposed to sunlight.Now, here comes the cool part: Generally I do the design in a vector graphics program like Illustrator. There's a special piece of software that takes the vector file and adds registrations to the corners before printing. Now, when I load the printed piece of vinyl into the CraftROBO Pro, a tiny LED+Photo Transistor built into the head scans it for the registration marks. Once found, it knows exactly where it is in relation to where it needs to cut. (More or less, you mark your cutouts as a special set of colors in your drawing software and then tell the software what color = what cut thickness; that's how it knows where to cut.)I used to make custom vinyl stickers for people online as a side gig about 6 years ago like that. Now I make my own front panel overlays the same way!You can pickup a used Sillhouette for under $100 on eBay. Might be worth looking into.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2016, 11:46:02 am
content: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/homebrew-front-panel's-label-or-product's-graphics/

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2016, 05:22:45 pm
content: Quote from: timb on March 02, 2016, 11:44:33 amTim, can you elaborate on this. Specifically what you think one of these can handle and can't handle in terms of solder paste stencils. This sounds like a really neat solution for prototypes and quick one offs.