Even though I’m going to be maining Sagat and Viper, I’m going with Ryu. My favorite pic and color combo. Already ordered the Vermillion ball top and buttons 
I ordered two TEs, however. I may not mod the second as it’s quite pricey :S I guess I’ll wait and see…
Nice 
I can’t wait to see how it turns out, if it looks good on yours though I’ll have no problem ponying up the 40 bucks for something that will last a long time.
^ Yeh. Way I see it, I rather spend $40 than $10 and ruin the aesthetics of a $200 stick.
I’ll make sure to take close-ups and all that so you guys can really get a clear idea.
Now…just gotta figure out how to cleanly change the red bezel to black…lol. Any ideas for the cleanest job?
I may go this route as well,although 40.00 is a crazy amount. Has anyone just tried using their home printer on really good paper? If I can print amazing quality photos on my printer I don’t see why a SF4 pic would be any different. I guess the size of the photo paper would be the only problem.
One thing no one seems to have mentioned is that the source art will play a huge role in how the print turns out. A lot of the templates I’ve seen have come from art that has been garnered from the net and is more than likely not really print quality. Just making an image 300dpi does not make it print quality.
If any image has been scaled up you are going to be running into problems. Some more noticeable than others but it is worth keeping in mind. If you want absolutely professional results then do NOT use a jpg image you found online as your source material. Any lossless format, ideally already at 300dpi is what you need.
Also bear in mind that converting your image from RGB (which it will be if it was a jpg from the web) to CMYK will alter the colours. You may not care and you may be fine with the results but I suggest you keep an eye on it when you convert it. If colour matching is of concern to you then this will be key.
Like wakasashe mentioned, get some test prints done first to make sure you are happy with the results. If all is good then get your final one done.
Also, lamilabel isn’t expensive. You’ll be looking at about $3 for letter size. However, I cannot say whether they even provide this service with 11x17 (my gut is saying no) and you will need 11x17 for the TE stick.
Just something to keep in mind.
do you think mame marquees would print me something with a pokerstars logo on it ?? i hope they do.
Honestly I’ve been surprised at the quality of some of the templates I’ve seen people design. It seems like the majority of people are creating their own artwork and not just cutting and pasting so far.
But yeah, hopefully people will realize the all important rule: If you start with shit you’re going to end up with shit.
I mentioned this earlier, and it’s extremely important. Create your file how it’s going to be printed. As for the Mama Marquees place mentioned above, I wouldn’t be surprised if they used Pantone. If you can’t create in a pantone setting, you may want to leave it in RGB, as that’s closer than CMYK.
Yeah, they do make it in larger sizes. I’ve used it on a roll. But finding it in a store is another question.
What’s the going rate for getting these printed at Kinko’s? Luckily I have a friend who works there…
Do you guys think 28lb paper is good enough to use?
If it’s going under plexiglass you can pretty much use whatever you want. It’s not going to get damaged. Just be careful cutting it.
Someone mentioned earlier that they see alot of people making these templates, but not actually putting them on the stick. I completely agree. I really wonder if they even know how tedious changing the art really is. I plan on getting mine printed today thanks to the info on this form from kinkos, but I’m unsure on two things.
I plan on getting as close to 32lb matte CMYK paper w/ lamination as I can.
First, what matieral should I use to attach the print to the metal (the normal art is held on by some increadably awesome “sticky paste” that reapplies itself upon being pulled off and put back on. I plan on taking the “board” (The metal plate) into both kinkos and someplace like hobby lobby to try to find another similar substance, or the same also.
Second, I want the new artwork to feel as similar to the origional plate as possible. So i’m thinking about getting accrilic to put ontop of the artwork, or put the artwork on top of the accrilic, but not cut the edges offa the 11x17 paper, and use them to fold down to the bottom edge and that will allow me to not have to cut the accrilic ( like drill HUGE holes for the Buttons.
End of post, I kinda got distracted, and lost my train of thought… 
But what do you think I should do?
Lamilabel has adhesive on one side. The other side isn’t going to feel like acrylic however.
Obviously the best look/feel will be putting the art under acrylic, but this is also the harder route which is why people are talking lamilabel.
I really want to see how this turns out. I’ve been wanting to do something like that for a while, and have been considering it for my TE. The feel of acrylic is better than a lot of other surfaces, but I always kinda liked the more textured raw CP surface in the arcade, when the arcade operator hadn’t laid down a protective acrylic layer on top.
What I’m wondering is how thick it is. If it approaches the thickness of the acrylic sheet on the stock TE, I’ll probably just store the acrylic and screw down the new sheet in its place.
RoboKrikit I am probably going to get one or both of my sticks’ art done that way. I’m just waiting for the art to be finished - the deadline is the 17th. Then I’ll have to wait for the MAME Marquee prints to arrive though.
If you cut out a piece of acrylic? Do you need to laminate the paper still or can you just stick the paper with the design under the acrylic and screw everything back down?
You don’t need to laminate it if you use acrylic but make sure you use a matte stock rather than glossy for your artwork.
Just ordered from MAME…$36 + $22 shipping (cheapest) = $58 US/$71 Canadian.
Mind you I live in Toronto.
This better look magical!
Hey, one quick question:
I don’t have a Kinko’s where I live, and the closest one is probably 40 miles away. I was wondering if there are any other major stores that can print up lami-label stuff. Does anyone know if OfficeMax or Office Depot can do this?
Neptrak, my OfficeMax told me that they sporadically stock it. The OfficeDepot had never heard of it. Maybe the Mame Marquees junk would be best for you? Or you could have somebody get the lami-label printed and ship it to you…