That laminate looks pretty damn good to me, nice find and for the right price too.
I’ve had the same issues as you with colour matching the grey, I actually spent an hour at my local printers (with my laptop) tweaking the colour and printing proofs to try and get as close as possible. I gave up in the end as, like you, with CMY all set to 0% I was still getting colour tints. I think local printers don’t calibrate their machines properly or often enough and don’t really care that much as they aren’t really used for proper professional print jobs. So I decided I needed a plan B as I could have spent forever chasing perfection just for it come out totally different on another printer.
So, I actually found a guy in the UK that does repro arcade graphics, it took some searching and I found him totally by accident after seeing his posts on various forums offering to help various people out with similar requests. I’ve sent the original artwork to him and he’s going to colour match my AI file so it’s as close as possible on his printer, he also uses polycarbonate laminated vinyl and thinks he can reproduce the original pretty well in terms of look and feel.
I’ve left it with him to play with now, he’s got a queue of other jobs before me, so I’ll post back once I’ve got more information. His initial quote (before I asked about colour matching) was just £24 for two copies of my artwork, so with a little extra for his time calibrating for colour, it should still come in pretty cheap. If it turns out to be what I was looking for then I’ll post his details up and you guys can contact him.
//edit
And yes, feel free to share the file(s). I’ve edited them myself too, so there are various versions floating around now.
My second set of Saturn HSS-0136 overlays finally got printed. I’m dizzy after staring at so many shades of gray (for the background). The print shop slapped a Pantone swatch book in front of me, and I settled on Pantone Cool Gray 3C. Yeah, it’s not a perfect match, but I don’t give a shit. At least it ain’t green! I’ll be posting more shots once my Sanwa JLF/OBSF modded bad boy is complete.
Well I’ve been busy. Being home with bronchitis (and recovering) has its benefits.
First off, I finalized the mounting solution for the Sanwa JLF. It’s more streamlined and solid as a rock—thanks to a healthy dose of lock washers and Loctite Blue. I hardly ever ride the gate, let alone slam/rage so I’ve got nothing to worry about here.
Next up is the control panel overlay. I had a new batch printed with a tweak to the gray background. I opted to use Pantone Cool Gray 3C—which itself turned out to be inaccurate—too light this time. Cool Gray 4C probably would have been spot on, but I wasn’t into blowing any more money on printed vinyl. Mounting and cutting was a bitch and a half! I am so grateful for Rapid-Tac spray mounting solution and my trusty Olfa 30 Degree Graphics Knife. Both made adjustment and precision-cutting SO much easier.
After mounting and cutting the repro overlay I needed a drink…but I’m on antibiotics, so that was a no-go. Instead I decided to mount my OBSF-30’s and then mount the cp to the case. I actually like the lighter gray background of the repro overlay, when compared to the (probably time/UV/dirt discolored) original. You might disagree—but honestly I really don’t care
Now comes THE FUN PART! The re-wiring! Sadly, I’m spent for the day…so that’s gonna have to wait for another day in the future when I’ve got the energy (and time).
I hope this helps you all out in replacing the overlay nicely. Perhaps in the future I might sell these overlays—already laser cut for mounting. Until then though, it’s going to be a a DIY affair. Just remember to:
liberally spray both the bare metal cp AND the exposed underside of the adhesive layer of your printed vinyl with Rapid-Tac. This will allow you time to align the overlay perfectly upon mounting.
Once mounted, it helps to lift everything up to a light source (like a window) to accurately line things up.
Squeeze out excess Rapid-Tac liquid once you’re satisfied with placement using the felt-side of the squeegee first. Work from center to edge in a fan pattern. Use the plastic side with care, ESPECIALLY if you decide NOT to over-laminate. The overlaminate sheet I linked is super durable, but it isn’t foolproof.
When you cut, CUT SLOWLY. Change the blades often. If you feel the blade hanging/yanking/pulling at the vinyl, don’t hesitate to break that section off and start new. A fresh blade will slice through the overlay like butter (even on a curve or at angles). A dull blade is a messy blade.
The harness for the joystick was easy. The LS-56 and the ASCII (shit stick) that are used by default on the HSS-0136 use Seimitsu’s connection layouts. For the Sanwa JLF all I needed to do was flip the connector. Easy!
I spent the last hour kicking the CPU’s ass in SFZ3 and zipping through levels in Radiant Silvergun. While I love the Saturn pad, this stick now is my #1 for fighters and shmups. Definitely a worthwhile mod in sum, but man was it a time consuming endeavor—when taking everything into account (image color proofing, printing, mounting, aligning, cutting, wiring).
It’s an lag-free upscaler box called OSSC. I initially thought I cheaped out from not buying the more expensive Micomsoft Frameister, but the OSSC works perfectly. I’ve got the Saturn feeding it RGB (SCART) and the Dreamcast feeding it VGA. Here’s a video on the OSSC:
I still have my Jetfire! It’s yellowed AF, but still in the box (uh in my attic LOL). I was collecting for years. I sold most everything and these guys (and a few oldies in the attic) are the survivors:
I’ve heard many good things about those OSSC. I have a framemeister X-RGB Mini, does the job rather well. Works great with the Saturn and the PC Engine, no VGA though. XRGB-3 I believe handles VGA very well but the OSSC sounds like the more inclusive and cheaper alternative, very cool! Does it generate scanlines as well?
I still have some survivors as well, and to be honest I dipped into some of the newer series like Beast Wars and Generations, they’re doing some amazing stuff last few years. Incidentally Jetfire got re-released but unfortunately is based on the show (goofy looking bot) as opposed to the valkyrie, btw, Tripticon is back!
Yeah the OSSC does scan lines with a number of options.
And unlike the Framemeister X-RGB Mini, the OSSC has no Frame Buffer so no input lag.
The Framemeister does have a noticeable 2 frames of lag. The OSSC Upscales by Linedoubling, and it line doubles up to 5x.
The OSSC can do a few things the Framemeister can’t, like RGsB (sync on Green with RGB),
Only things the OSSC don’t do is Composite Video (Yellow RCA Jack) and S-video.
And the Framemeister handles 480i better than The OSSC, as how the two handles deinterlacing.
The OSSC does have a pass though feature where what ever signal just gets transcoded into HDMI .
But some TVs don’t like or dont accept 240p via HDMI and 480i via HDMI.
And the OSSC does not lose sync like the Framemister when to comes to Resolution changes.
Like Example the PS2 game Crono Cross has the game play in 240p but the menus in 480i, so switching back and forth causes the screen to go black while the framemister tries to regain sync.
The OSSC Also just Transcodes and not change any timings, so certain game consoles with off-spec Refresh rates will be out of range of some HD Displays. The SNES and Neo Geo are both known causes (SNES slightly too fast and the Neo Geo is slightly too slow). Because of this, some HDTVs are completely incompatible (see the Compatibility list on the OSSC site)
Also the flaws of the PS2 become more obvious under the OSSC, the PS2 is engineered quite well, but its engineered as a 480i machine.
My experience with the framemeister has been very positive. I’ve played PC-Engine Ninja Spirit/Saigo no Nindo on both the X-RGB mini and a PVM20, both through RGB with no hiccups to my game at all. A rather simple 1CC game, I know, but it’s the only game I can put to the test on both ends to do a no death run and the abyss/ninja pit requires precision, couldn’t do a no death run without. It is a fact the lag is there due to the transition but it must be quite minimal as to not affect familiarity with this game for me. BTW, using the mini on a Sony Bravia.
I’m definitely going to look into a OSSC though, sounds like an awesome device.
One thing I don’t like about the HSS-0136, is how the joystick sits too “low” as compared with the main 6 buttons of the stick.
I suppose that’s not an issue in Virtua Fighter, or most shooters, where it’s unlikely you would need the X, Y and Z buttons.
Yeah, blame that on the dumbass who designed the PCB. It cuts too much into the real estate for the joystick. I don’t notice it much though, once I get into a game. It’s still annoying nonetheless.
Button placement is actually something I really like. It’s very different, and I like that.
@jopamo Interesting, never knew that was the reason.
I doubt I could get used to it. I have the Hori HSJ-12 Super Famicom arcade stick, which has a similarly situated joystick, and I find it ruins the stick. I tried it for several hours playing on the SNES, and I don’t like it at all. On the HSJ-12, the joystick is also way too far away from the buttons (in my opinion), which adds to the awkwardness. At least they got that more or less right on the HSS-136 (looks slightly further away than standard, but I may be wrong).
Sorry for my absence, I actually thought I was following this thread, but it seems the preferences changed when the forum software was upgraded and I spent the last month thinking everyone was just being quiet!
The guy I sent my artwork to has only just gotten around to printing it today (which is why I came on to see if the thread was actually as quiet as I thought), so I’ll have it back soon hopefully and I’ll get a chance to put it all back together again. I’ll come back with some photos when I’m done.
Glad to see you guys are sharing the artwork still.
Welcome back @JFK1980. If your gray still comes out greenish, try Pantone Cool Gray 4C from the AI Swatch Library. I tried the warm gray variant and it was too green/yellow. Cool might impart a bit of blue tint, but it’s not noticeable.
