I have had some feedback on some decal suppliers that supply great looking decals but use very thin vinyl or the art work starts wearing off around the flipper buttons in a few weeks (home use only of course)
I won't mention names but some of these decal suppliers are really putting their hard work to waist by using cheap printing methods or cheap materials.
I see newly decaled machines on a weekly basis and get to here all the cons and pros that customers and professional restores have to say about decal suppliers and I seem to here the same cons over and over again about the same suppliers.
But then if your prep work is not perfect, no matter how good the decals are you will be waisting your time and money.
The decals are obviously not laminated. Print material is thin anyway and the ink just sits on the top. Once printed, the decals will need to be degassed ( allowed to fully set) which takes 12 - 24hrs.. then.. they can be laminated. Without laminate, the print will wear off very quickly, it will also fade in any sunlight and like stated previously, the decals will feel very thin.
In all honesty, the cost to laminate in material cost is bloody negligable ..
Its the same old same old within pinball.. people buying machinery or hiring it to produce products when they either haven't done their homework or just don't care.. weve seen it with backglasses, decals, bumper caps etc.
Beaky, I think you should name the producers.. it prevents pinball owners from buying inferior goods. My guess is that price isn't the issue here.. bet the non laminated ones aren't really any cheaper than the professional ones. If an owner goes to all the trouble of restoring a cab.. getting a lovely finish only to find they've bought shonky decals and it needs to be done again in 6 months then I think they should be able to make an informed decision to prevent it happening at all.
decal manufacturers should either care and make the product properly or do some research before taking people $$$'s.. the fault doesn't lie with the end user
I won't mention the perpetrators because it will end up in a pooh fight and a thread closed.
There are people (like me) who will only look at the price, then there are people like many of my customers that are after quality and don't care about price if it means A+ quality
I will say the people who have bought the decals and have complained to me are / have been willing to pay extra if they were given the option for a thicker vinyl and laminate.
People spend hundreds and thousands (not hundred of thousands) of dollars to rebuild there fav machines, they send their playfield"s to be clear coated and get their cabinets re decaled.
They have many top end machines in their collections in A++ condition
They pay me to come out and install Mods, toppers or a speaker kit.
They pay me to fix the faults that their top end restores have missed (I am not bagging the top end restorers, their work is like art that makes me drewl but some times I have to fix things that are missed, I have not yet met a pinball restoration god that is perfect on the electronics / electrical side, even I make mistakes, if i could restore playfields my next gen would be playable)
They keep their machines in rooms without windows or / and blinds that are never to be opened.
When i work on their machines it is like working on a alpha romeo or Lamborghini, or a doctor performing surgery, mats are covering any exposed surface, mats are in between the playfield and the back box when the P/F is lifted (I am not complaining, I am so used to asking "do you have a towel you can spare" before I lift a playfeld to the vertical position)
They own Multiple LE sterns a WOZ have late model WPC95 machines and have paid for and waiting for the release of the Hobbit and I have advised them on how well built the THUNDER BIRDS will be
All i can say is give the high end restores / owners a choice in decal quality and you WILL get people who will pay the extra.
Believe me when I say I nearly have to where gloves and surgical mask (well the mask is bull sh##) when i work on some of my customer's machines.
They are actually the easiest of customers to deal with! They are business owner, doctors, high end American car importers vets and surgeons, they have the $$$$ and are happy to part with it if it means quality.
When it comes to your stencils Gavin their are NO complaints, Quality = 0 complaints.
