Best Cabinet Decals?

[Crashramp]

There's many places on the web that you can buy these from but are they all created equally?  Unfortunately none of the machines that I currently own have cabinet decals available for them but many some of the machines I'd like to one day own do. In particular Bride of Pinbot has decals available from various shops as well as eBay. I have no idea if these are all from the same manufacture or if some are better quality than others. Anybody able to shed some light please?
 

[MartyJ]

Short answer is NO.

The best, is the original factory screen printed art.  This lasted exceptionally well and was resistant to scratches.

In years gone by, screen printed art was the best and the only genuine source of cabinet art (Phoenix Arcade etc).

Unfortunately there was an influx of cheap ink jet cab art, which scratched if you sneezed on it, and would wear out within 6 months (around flipper buttons).

I still see these on eBay being sold locally, from the usual suspects.

Now, I'm not a printer by trade and a good mate is who knows all the technical stuff.  There are differences which will be visible from digital vs screen printed.

In the current climate, without a doubt I would take Wayne's Next Gen cab art over anything else.  (Mr Pinball Australia).  Politics aside, the texture and clear coat (yes protective clear coat) I find is better than anything else out there the market has to offer. 

I qualify my opinion that I've installed around 15 sets (maybe more) of decals over the last couple of years.

I note on eBay Wayne now offers a printing service.  So this means if YOU are restoring your cabinet, and take the time to draw / retrace the artwork he will print it.

[Strangeways]

Short answer is NO.

The best, is the original factory screen printed art.  This lasted exceptionally well and was resistant to scratches.

In years gone by, screen printed art was the best and the only genuine source of cabinet art (Phoenix Arcade etc).

Unfortunately there was an influx of cheap ink jet cab art, which scratched if you sneezed on it, and would wear out within 6 months (around flipper buttons).

I still see these on eBay being sold locally, from the usual suspects.

Now, I'm not a printer by trade and a good mate is who knows all the technical stuff.  There are differences which will be visible from digital vs screen printed.

In the current climate, without a doubt I would take Wayne's Next Gen cab art over anything else.  (Mr Pinball Australia).  Politics aside, the texture and clear coat (yes protective clear coat) I find is better than anything else out there the market has to offer. 

I qualify my opinion that I've installed around 15 sets (maybe more) of decals over the last couple of years.

I note on eBay Wayne now offers a printing service.  So this means if YOU are restoring your cabinet, and take the time to draw / retrace the artwork he will print it.

+1

Politics aside - The Next Gen stuff is the best on the market, and I would be hesitant to install the inkjet versions, or the originally factory sets. I've seen the 20 year old sets and they have shrunk in sections or the adhesive backing has deteriorated.

Next Gen cab art is simply outstanding.

[Crashramp]

Thanks for the feed back guys.
 Once art work is produced and sold for cabinets, do they generally stay in production or is it similar to playfield/ back glass production runs which come and go with long periods between re runs if at all?
 I had a look on Wayne's site, no BOP currently in stock. Anyone brought cab decals from Bay Area Amusements before?
 http://bayareaamusements.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=GS-BOP11-1002-50002NG

[joele]

Thanks for the feed back guys.
 Once art work is produced and sold for cabinets, do they generally stay in production or is it similar to playfield/ back glass production runs which come and go with long periods between re runs if at all?
 I had a look on Wayne's site, no BOP currently in stock. Anyone brought cab decals from Bay Area Amusements before?
 http://bayareaamusements.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=GS-BOP11-1002-50002NG

I just bought FT from them, can let you know in a few weeks if no-one else have bought from them... At least if hard rubbing shifts the ink which today I witnessed in some of the 'bad' ones, scary brand new and rub with the back of your nail shifts the ink almost immediately (thankfully they were not ones I had bought, yet)..

I also have not got some BSD ones coming from eleswhere as they are unlicensed still, if only there were some licensed ones around I would have got them..

[Retropin]

Thanks for the feed back guys.
 Once art work is produced and sold for cabinets, do they generally stay in production or is it similar to playfield/ back glass production runs which come and go with long periods between re runs if at all?
 I had a look on Wayne's site, no BOP currently in stock. Anyone brought cab decals from Bay Area Amusements before?
 http://bayareaamusements.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=GS-BOP11-1002-50002NG

I just bought FT from them, can let you know in a few weeks if no-one else have bought from them... At least if hard rubbing shifts the ink which today I witnessed in some of the 'bad' ones, scary brand new and rub with the back of your nail shifts the ink almost immediately (thankfully they were not ones I had bought, yet)..

I also have not got some BSD ones coming from eleswhere as they are unlicensed still, if only there were some licensed ones around I would have got them..

The ink shifts because the print has not been laminated.. it will also decay pretty fast under UV light.
Screen printed is the best you can get.. then comes the " next Gen" which is a digital print.. this type of p[rinter can print white which standard wide format digital print cannot.
There are a few base vinyls that can be printed onto which range in price ( not by much id like to add).. the cheapest ( monomeric) will lift after a certain amount of time and really is for temporary installations.. then you have polymeric which is for more permanant installations and suffers less shrinkage. Finally we have CAST films which are a stabilised liquid.. it will not shrink as its not a squished out lump of plastic but is formed by a liquid base.
You can print onto any of these vinyls but unless it is run through a laminater, the print will wear off. Rolls of laminate are bought and the print is fed through the machine. This is not like the heat laminater you can buy for A4 sheets etc.. it is a roll of thin clear vinyl that comes in gloss, semi gloss or matt... without this protective layer, any print will wear very quickly.
I printed up some STAR TREK decals for a member here a few years back and they had a semi gloss laminate applied... it makes for easier application and i bet my arse that the decals look as good as the day i supplied them.

[joele]

The ink shifts because the print has not been laminated.. it will also decay pretty fast under UV light.
Screen printed is the best you can get.. then comes the " next Gen" which is a digital print.. this type of p[rinter can print white which standard wide format digital print cannot.
There are a few base vinyls that can be printed onto which range in price ( not by much id like to add).. the cheapest ( monomeric) will lift after a certain amount of time and really is for temporary installations.. then you have polymeric which is for more permanant installations and suffers less shrinkage. Finally we have CAST films which are a stabilised liquid.. it will not shrink as its not a squished out lump of plastic but is formed by a liquid base.
You can print onto any of these vinyls but unless it is run through a laminater, the print will wear off. Rolls of laminate are bought and the print is fed through the machine. This is not like the heat laminater you can buy for A4 sheets etc.. it is a roll of thin clear vinyl that comes in gloss, semi gloss or matt... without this protective layer, any print will wear very quickly.

Thanks for the info, guess I will find out, the BSD ones he just said "high quality vinyl, laminated"....